Improving interface congruence between manufacturing and marketing in industrial-product manufacturers

Abstract

Volatile market conditions force managers to make strategic decisions concerning new product development, process innovation and capacity planning within more limited time than ever. This time pressure on strategic decisions inevitably calls for a higher degree of consensus between related functional areas on cross-departmental decision problems which occur at their interface. This consensus is termed interface congruence. An interface congruence model based on five integration facilitating factors was proposed and tested through an empirical survey. Consistent understanding of corporate strategic objectives, extensive use of coordination mechanisms and manufacturing flexibility showed significant direct relationships with interface congruence. A closer customer relationship was also related to higher interface congruence if there was extensive use of coordination mechanisms. Vendor relationships, however, did not show a significant relationship with interface congruence. They did show a significant direct relationship with manufacturing flexibility and thus seemed to indirectly influence interface congruence through the relationship with manufacturing flexibility. Many practical ideas for implementing these factors for facilitating integration were also found through case studies on two selected manufacturers with high interface congruence. These abundant practical ideas ranging from organizational structure to information technology will help practitioners to improve interface congruence in real business settings.