UTILIZATION OF TIME-BASED STRATEGIES - CREATING DISTRIBUTION FLEXIBILITY RESPONSIVENESS

Explores how firms can use time-based strategies within their distribu tion operations. Exploratory results are presented detailing strategic distribution responses employed to meet competitive challenges and ga in competitive advantages. These firms have proactively worked to make their operations more flexible and allow them to respond more quickly to customer requests. They have developed capabilities to customize o r tailor services to specific market segments in a timely manner, lear ned to prioritize requests and respond with differentiated service pro grams, and strategically exploited information capabilities in order t o substitute ''information for inventory'' in a cost-effective manner. The research results emphasize the important role distribution/logist ics plays in supporting manufacturing and marketing efforts.