Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2022, Weatherhead School of Management

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) entrepreneurial activity is disrupting both traditional retailers and manufacturers by directly linking consumers with products and services, disintermediating elements of the traditional value chain. We conducted a mixed methods, three-phase study to better understand how supply chain strategy choices influence D2C firms' competitive advantage. In phase one we conducted in-depth interviews with leaders of small to medium sized D2C businesses. One key finding: only a subset of D2C companies are willing to invest in differentiated supply chain capabilities. Many viewed supply chain as a utility function. This informed phase two, a quantitative analysis (scenario-based experiment) of the degree to which logistics quality drives customer satisfaction, finding a strong positive effect. This motivated phase three, a quantitative modeling exercise determining the relationship between distribution network size (number of DCs) and proximity to customers, an indicator of lead time performance. This analysis suggests that most D2C firms, with just one or two DCs are significantly disadvantaged, with deleterious consequences for customer service.

Committee: Kalle Lyytinen Ph.D. (Advisor); Manoj Malhotra Ph.D. (Advisor); Yunmei Wang Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Entrepreneurship; Operations Research