The role of supply chain planning in enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty in the South African steel manufacturing industry

Background: The steel manufacturing industry is widely recognised as a key contributor to both developed and developing economies. In South Africa, it contributes about 1.5% to the gross domestic product and remains important for employment and economic growth. It also supplies essential raw materials to downstream sectors. Despite this contribution, the industry faces ongoing challenges such as cheap imports, high transport costs, skills shortages, and weak economic growth. These pressures affect operational performance and threaten customer satisfaction (CS) and customer loyalty (CL), particularly in business-to-business (B2B) markets in which long-term supplier relationships and reliable service are essential for competitiveness and customer retention. In this context, supply chain planning (SCP) has become important for coordinating strategic, tactical, and operational decisions. Objectives: This study investigated the relationship among SCP, CS, and CL in the South African steel manufacturing industry. Method: A quantitative approach was used. SCP practices, including sales and operations planning, demand and supply planning (SP), production planning (PP), inventory management (IM), capacity planning (CP), and procurement planning (PL), were examined to assess their influence on CS and CL. Data were collected from key industry participants and analysed statistically using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Results: The findings show that SCP does not influence CS in a uniform way. Inventory management and PP had significant positive effects, whereas SP showed a significant inverse relationship with CS. Sales and operations planning, demand planning, CP, and PL were not significant. Customer satisfaction, however, had a strong positive effect on CL. Conclusion: The findings highlight the varying contributions of different SCP practices to CS, which suggests that some practices exert a stronger influence than others. Improving IM and PP remains important for supporting CS and CL within the South African steel manufacturing industry. Contribution: The study offers empirical insights into how different practices of SCP shape customer-related outcomes in a B2B manufacturing environment and informs managerial decision-making within the South African steel industry.