Impact of lead time management on customer satisfaction in food industry

Abstract

Customer satisfaction has been very important to the companies to retain them and to make them loyal the firm. And in customer satisfaction one of the most important factors is lead time management to attract the customers. And many companies are trying to use this factor as a competitive advantage. Purpose of this study is to identify the impact of lead time management on customer satisfaction in the food industry and to identify the factors which can determine and assure lead time management appropriately. It will also contribute in the literature of the lead time management and customer satisfaction. The study has been undertaken in the perspective of Pakistani food industry. The study adopted the use of co relational and explanatory research design while the population consisted of 350 restaurants in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Out of the population, a sample size was selected (104) through simple probability sampling more specifically simple systematic sampling which was a representative figure of the whole population. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire that had only close ended questions. The study is considered as explanatory study as it explains the relationship between the two variables. A questionnaire has been used as an instrument to collect the data and get the appropriate answers for the analysis. So population of 350 companies and customers has been used to fill the questionnaires. After collecting the data different tests have been applied to analyze the answers. The study concluded that lead time management has positive impact on the customer satisfaction. The study also concludes that lead time management practices include having multiple suppliers of various products and services, always having a smooth workflow in the organization, expediting some processes and having strong integration between the departments