346 Int. J. Integrated Supply Management, Vol. 1, No. 4, 2005 Copyright © 2005 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Efficient consumer response: literature review Pedro M. Reyes* Baylor University, Hankamer School of Business, PO Box 98006, Waco, TX 76798, USA E-mail: pedro_reyes@baylor.edu *Corresponding author Khurrum Bhutta Nicholls State University, Department of Information Systems, PO Box 2042, Thibodaux, LA 70310, USA E-mail: khurum.bhutta@nicholls.edu Abstract: Since efficient consumer response (ECR) was first introduced into the academic literature in 1993, it has been defined more in the sense of a system or a philosophy rather than a particular concept and stresses the complete vertical integration of the marketing channels. The purpose of this paper is to collect, categorise and merge the existing knowledge of ECR. The paper explains the ECR strategies, definitions and initiatives that were found in the academic literature. The main contribution of the paper is the compilation and classification of the ECR academic literature. Keywords: efficient consumer response; supply chain strategy; analysis. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Reyes, P.M. and Bhutta, K. (2005) ‘Efficient consumer response: literature review’, Int. J. Integrated Supply Management, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp.346–386. Biographical notes: Pedro M. Reyes is an Assistant Professor in the Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University. He received his PhD in Operations Management, an MBA in Operations Management, an MS in Information Systems and a BS in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Arlington. His current research interests are in integrated logistics, global supply chain management, and operation control systems. Dr Reyes’ research publications are included in Production and Inventory Management Journal, Journal of Global Information Technology, Knowledge and Process Management, Applied Mathematics and Computation and International Journal of Distance Education Technologies. Khurrum Bhutta is an Assistant Professor at Nicholls State University, having earned a Doctorate in Operations Management from The University of Texas at Arlington. He has over 8 years of teaching experience in courses such as operations research, production and operations management, quantitative methods and project management. He has published papers on facility location issues, ECR, benchmarking and supplier selection, which have appeared in journals such as Journal of Production Economics, Supply Chain Management: An international Journal and Journal of International Technology and Information Management. His engineering background experience includes working for a large chemical facility; in the textile industry and also with various small manufacturing firms.