Identification and Prioritizing Demand Chain Factors Based on Factor Analysis and TOPSIS

Subject Areas : Business Strategy

Rahim Moein ¹ , Ali Rajabzadeh Ghatari ²

1 - Researcher at Iran Management and Productivity Study Center, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of Management, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2014-09-01 Accepted : 2014-11-01 Published : 2015-10-01

Keywords: Supply Chain, Demand chain, demand chain management, demand chain optimization, demand chain components,

Abstract :

The aim of this study was to represent effective componentsin demand chain which help organizations attain high performance levelsthrough identification of these components and determining theirdegree of importance. The following questions were major ideas of thisstudy: what are the most effective components in demand chain? Andhow are they effective on organizational performance? To this end,marketing components were used in nominal form. Data analysis wasconducted via inferential statistics and TOPSIS technique as well asfactor analysis. Given to the results, first 39 effective components ondemand chain were identified and then it was determined that threecomponents of price, products/services and process are effective in demandchain through factor analysis approach. It showed that demandprediction and diagnosis of consumers’ needs and demands, consideringpopulation status of customers as well as attracting customer satisfaction,price of products, price of market competitors, seasonal pricesand especial discounts, paying attention to the shape and appearanceof products, after-sale services, quality and design of products, brandname, complementary products, product diversity, interests and preferencesof consumers, innovation, and utilization of modern techniquesin packaging can be the factors effective on the performance of demandchain in organizations.