The Interface between Marketing and Manufacturing: a Strategic and a Functional Perspective

This paper takes two perspectives on the interface between marketing and manufacturing: a strategic perspective and a functional perspective. The former addresses the strategic links between the two functions, whereas the latter focuses on the more operational aspects of co-ordination between the two functions. While integration of marketing and manufacturing strategies is important, it can only be effective if the two functions operate in a co-ordinated manner. Although some of the issues discussed here also apply at a more general level to the interface between operations comprising manufacturing and service operations and marketing, this paper addresses the specific case of the marketing-manufacturing interface. The manufacturing function is viewed here as the producer of goods for customers, and not as the buyer of inputs to produce the goods. A narrow view of the marketing-manufacturing interface is adopted, by excluding product design and new product development (NPD) from consideration. Although design and NPD need both marketing and manufacturing inputs, in essence they are subject areas with an identity of their own. And although there are interfaces between product design and NPD and both marketing and manufacturing, this paper does not regard these as part of the marketing-manufacturing interface. Finally, given the multitude of links between the two functions, the paper favours breadth over depth, choosing to provide an overview of the links between marketing and manufacturing at the strategic and functional levels, rather than focusing on a particular link.