Customer Insights und ihre Rolle in Supply Chain Prozessen: Schwerpunkt letzte Meile der Logistik

Abstract

This Master's thesis addresses the increasing customer centricity in supply chain management, which presents companies with the challenge of aligning their logistics processes more closely with the expectations of end customers. In particular, the so called “last mile of logistics” the final step in delivering goods to end customers is gaining strategic importance due to growing demands for speed, transparency, and individualization. At the same time, companies have access to a wide range of customer data, but the targeted use of this data to optimize logistics processes is often still inadequate. This master's thesis examines the question of how companies can systematically use customer insights, that means comprehensive knowledge about customer behavior, needs and expectations, to make their supply chain more efficient and, in particular, to make the last mile more customer oriented. In the theoretical part of the thesis, basic concepts and connections to supply chain management, the last mile of logistics and customer insights are explained. It highlights, among other things, the increasing importance of customer centricity in supply chain management and last mile logistics, as well as the challenges they face due to trends such as e commerce, sustainability, and digitalization. The empirical part is based on a qualitative study in the form of expert interviews from various industries. The evaluation is based on a qualitative content analysis based on Mayring in order to gain a deeper understanding of current areas of application, challenges and potential of customer insights in the supply chain and the last mile. The results show that while customer insights are already used in many companies, they are rarely systematically integrated into supply chain processes. Especially for the last mile, real time tracking data, information about delivery preferences, and feedback on delivery quality are considered particularly valuable. The targeted use of these insights can not only improve delivery accuracy but also increase customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. Challenges primarily lie in data integration across system boundaries, data protection issues, and the cultural shift toward data driven decision making. Particularly relevant are insights that reveal preferred delivery time windows, flexibility in delivery, and favoured delivery options. Overall, the thesis demonstrates that the use of customer insights offers significant potential to better align supply chain processes especially the last mile of logistics with customer expectations, realize efficiency gains, and simultaneously create sustainable value for both companies and customers.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Andreas Bayer (Supervisor)