Complex product and supplier interfaces in aeronautics

Rachel Levy (), Ayshe Cagli and Med Kechidi ()
Additional contact information
Rachel Levy: LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Toulouse - ENSFEA - École Nationale Supérieure de Formation de l'Enseignement Agricole de Toulouse-Auzeville

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: urpose - The aeronautical industry is a perfect example of a complex product industry characterized by a hierarchically-organized supply chain. The authors can identify four types of supplier interfaces: interactive, translation, specified and standardized ones. The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors explaining the diversification of these relationships between aircraft manufacturers and their suppliers, through the example of Airbus suppliers. Design/methodology/approach - Network analysis (to define the complexity level of aircraft components), data analysis (to characterize the diversity of aircraft suppliers) and a logit model were combined in order to link the supplier interfaces to the complexity of components and to the suppliers' characteristics. Findings - It is shown that the earlier a supplier is involved in the development process, the more responsibility is delegated to him and the more intertwined its relationship is with the prime contractor. Also, it is shown that component complexity plays a major role in a supplier's involvement during the integral design and face-to-face interactions matter greatly during the co-design phases of the products. Research limitations/implications - The research has rather a static perspective covering all the inter-firm relations within Airbus programs at once. By using the same databases, one could look into the evolution of supplier interfaces within the aeronautical supply chain. A dynamic view would provide some evidence regarding the recent restructuring of the supply chain. Originality/value - The originality of the paper comes from the methodology and the use of original data allowing to test in the same analysis the role of the component complexity and the characterization of the suppliers on the form of relationship between the manufacturer and its principal suppliers.

Keywords: Aerospace industry; Buyer-supplier relationships; New product development; New products; Outsourcing; Supply chain management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 2012, 23 (6), pp.717 - 732. ⟨10.1108/17410381211253308⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00846606

DOI: 10.1108/17410381211253308

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().