A study of supply chain integration in the aeronautics sector

Abstract

Competitive pressure, high development costs, long lead times, rapidly changing technologies and the risks inherent in projects combined with the delays seen in the latest aircraft models (with the rise in costs that these have entailed) highlight the need to reorganise the supply chain in the aeronautics sector paying special attention to an improvement in inter- and intra-organisational integration. The aim of this study is to analyse the situation of supply chain integration (SCI) in the aeronautics sector using three dimensions (information integration, coordination and resource sharing and organisational relationship linkage), considering both internal integration and external integration with customers and suppliers. A group of first-tier supplier experts analyse the dimensions and assess the degree to which the factors that define SCI have been achieved. The results enable strengths and weaknesses to be determined and indicate possible improvements to the situation that is detected with clear managerial implications.

Keywords:

• supply chain integration
• aerospace
• information integration
• coordination
• organisational relationship
• focus group

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the significant contributions made by the anonymous reviewers to improving this study. The authors also express their gratitude for financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education JC2010-0106 research grant, the University of Seville Research Plan and the Andalusian Regional Government.