Object-Interactive Transvections: A Theory for Addressing Persistent Retail Supply Chain Problems

In conventional retail supply chains, the primary objective is to fulfill customer demand by delivering the right product at the right time. However, retailers face persistent problems, including product returns, inventory obsolescence, lost sales, and lost demand. This study investigates how digital product fitting (DPF) can help address these challenges. Using engaged research with three companies incorporating DPF into their operations, we identify four use cases: fulfillment switchover, assortment planning, product design, and networked switchover. Our theoretical foundation is based on transvection theory, which centers on a product's journey through transformation and sorting to meet customer needs—in contrast to conventional supply chain management's focus on efficient processes and resource use. In conceptualizing our empirical findings, we develop a novel object-interactive transvection conceptualization that treats both completed and incomplete outcomes as improvable processes. In this conceptualization, digital customer–product interactions enable: (i) a shift from binary fulfillment outcomes to open-ended, customer-specific transvections; (ii) responsive upstream planning that leverages aggregated customer representations; and (iii) digitalized sorting that can be repeated, reversed, and parallelized across nodes. Collectively, these insights reframe static structural choices (match-to-stock vs. customization) as adaptive and interaction-driven operational decisions, and they open new avenues for improving supply chain performance.