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Introduction
In the last decade, fierce competition for market share in retail markets has resulted in a significant increase in the number, frequency and depth of promotions ([4] Ailawadi et al. , 2001; [34] IGD Supply Chain Analysis, 2007; [42] McKinnon et al. , 2007). At the same time, there has been a widespread increase in retailers and manufacturers awareness of the sales, customer loyalty and market share losses induced by poor on-shelf-availability (OSA) ([29] Gruen et al. , 2002; [11] Corsten and Gruen, 2003; [42] McKinnon et al. , 2007; [58] van Woensel et al. , 2007; [66] Zinn and Liu, 2008). The combination of these two factors presents retailers and manufacturers with a complex set of challenges to maintain high (OSA) during promotions.
Demand for promotional products is notoriously difficult to forecast and manage, and can often have a negative effect on OSA ([55] Taylor and Fawcett, 2001; [29] Gruen et al. , 2002; [11] Corsten and Gruen, 2003; [42] McKinnon et al. , 2007). To complicate things further, availability on the shelf is the "first moment of truth" for the entire supply chain, and poor OSA has been recognized as an important cause of customer dissatisfaction ([13] Dadzie and Winston, 2007; [58] van Woensel et al. , 2007; [24] Fernie and Grant, 2008; [57] Trautrims et al. , 2009). For retailers, the most important loss is when the shopper decides to buy the product out-of-stock (OOS) from another retailer. For the manufacturer, the most significant loss is when the consumer decides to substitute the OOS product with one from a competitor's brand ([58] van Woensel et al. , 2007; [29] Gruen et al. , 2002). In both cases the loss is due to the fact that the supply chain has been unable to satisfy the need of the customer. The "service" of providing the product has not been delivered and no value has been added. This is a clear example of a supply chain challenge viewed in the context of service dominated logic ([59] Vargo and Lusch, 2004). For this reason researchers have described product availability as the new battleground for retailers and manufacturers ([11] Corsten and Gruen, 2003).
OSA has been the subject of research for at least 40 years ([3]...