Information accessibility : Customer responsiveness and enhanced performance

Information is generally believed to be a key component in creating corporate responsiveness, i.e. being able to anticipate or respond quickly to customer requests. Most firms are well aware of the need to become more responsive to customers in order to develop and maintain long‐term close relation‐ships. A recent survey of the warehouse industry confirms the hypothesized relationship between information and responsiveness. Firms that formally collect customer‐related information and internal service/quality information were found to be more responsive as evidenced by enhanced ability to accommodate selected events/ requests. The research also supported a link between responsiveness and improved operating performance. Responsive firms indicated greater success in achieving specific operating performance improvements – improved reliability service, improved customer service/satisfaction, quality improvements, cycle time reductions, productivity improvements, reduced costs, improved organizational structure, and enhanced goal setting – than less responsive firms.