Improving customer journey in company X by localizing assortment through co-creation

The thesis studied the process of product requesting in Company X and related theory. Theoretical framework studied customer experience, retail assortment and co-creation. Customer experience was looked in the light of customer journey, where separate touchpoints along the way creates a path from initial inquiries to after purchase activities. Some of the touchpoints are controlled by the company, but many of them are at least partially out of control of the company. Assortment is one of the key components when customers choose their store. Retailers feel the pressure to make assortments vast to lure customers in, but also to keep the assortment low to gain better control over stock and space. Reductions in assortments can even lift the perceived assortment due to increased clarity but may lower it in the long run. Value creation is not something that only happens inside the company premises. A lot of the value is created by the customer, and by the customer and the company together. A product is only shaped raw material until it gets used, and it may be used in more ways than the producer meant through value co-creation. The empirical part of the thesis studied the product requesting process in Company X. An experiment was set up, where customers were persuaded to make place product requests via new website and platform. It was studied whether the new platform is appropriate way of collecting customer requests. Both the old and the new process were showcased, and their challenges and advantages were considered. The results were promising. The new platform was found suitable for collecting customers’ product requests. The website and back-office tools were found working, and good set of marketing materials were found through testing