Title: Driving sales through disintermediation approach: a case of RFL Plastics Limited in Bangladesh

Authors: Jashim Uddin Ahmed; Nabila Nisha; Muhammad Faisol Chowdhury

Addresses: Department of Management, School of Business and Economics, North South University, Bashundhara, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh ' Department of Accounting and Finance, School of Business and Economics, North South University, Bashundhara, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh ' School of Business, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209, Bangladesh

Abstract: RFL Plastics, subsidiary of RFL Industries, has unmatched plastic products whose name has received trust, quality and assurance all over Bangladesh. This paper is an exploratory case study that focuses on how this plastic manufacturing company reaches out directly to customers through their unique supply chain concept - disintermediation. Using case study methodology, we conclude that introduction of disintermediation in its supply chain management has mostly made 'RFL Best Buy', 'RFL Exclusive' and 'RFL Plastics Online Shop' the future of RFL Plastics, since it eliminates intermediaries and allows more managerial control over products. Moreover, given the non-perishable nature of products, RFL applies four different approaches in its supply chain, initiating from traditional hardware shops to the recent online shops. Disintermediation approach has therefore brought radical changes in the scale, dynamism and structure of the entire organisation of RFL. Although a single case study is the limitation here, discussion and conclusions are addressed for this article.

Keywords: Bangladesh; plastic; Rangpur Foundry Limited; RFL; Best Buy; manufacturing; RFL exclusive outlets; B2C new strategy; disintermediation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSCOR.2016.084036

International Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Resilience, 2016 Vol.2 No.4, pp.345 - 357

Received: 14 Sep 2016
Accepted: 28 Jan 2017
Published online: 05 May 2017 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article