Maria Flavia Mogos, Anna Fredriksson, Erlend Alfnes and Jan Ola Strandhagen
This paper explores the operationalization of production network coordination – the production transfer (PT) – and the relationships between transfer risk sources, preventive…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the operationalization of production network coordination – the production transfer (PT) – and the relationships between transfer risk sources, preventive actions, supply chain disruptions, corrective actions and losses to better understand how to mitigate the risk and achieve an effective transfer process.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal field study of a PT process from Norway to Spain was studied in depth for 25 months.
Findings
The paper presents the implications of three areas of importance for PT success: (1) how the transfer influences the plant roles, (2) the cross-locational management of the transfer project at the sender and receiver and (3) whether adapting the transferred production to the receiver's environment is an enabler or an inhibitor of transfer success.
Practical implications
The findings about how to mitigate the transfer risk and the frameworks of risk sources, supply chain disruptions, losses and preventive and corrective actions, along with the examples from the in-depth study, can aid the practitioners in managing PTs and achieving the relocation goals.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies of PT, which is from the perspective of both transfer parties, and addresses both preventive and corrective actions and all the transfer phases. Moreover, this study addresses the operational aspects of production network coordination, which received limited attention in earlier research.
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Keywords
Maria Flavia Mogos, Anna Fredriksson and Erlend Alfnes
This paper aims to develop a procedure for preparing production transfers based on risk management principles. The procedure should help companies reduce the amount of supply…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a procedure for preparing production transfers based on risk management principles. The procedure should help companies reduce the amount of supply chain disruptions during transfers and achieve their outsourcing/offshoring objectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The procedure was developed during a three-year Design Science study. First, a literature review and case studies were conducted to frame the research problem. Second, a preliminary procedure was developed based on preventive risk mitigation actions from the production transfer literature. Third, the procedure was implemented during an electronics-offshoring case and refined during workshops with the sender and receiver’s transfer personnel. Fourth, during a seminar, transfer practitioners verified the procedure by applying it to outsourcing/offshoring cases with which they had experience.
Findings
Most of the preventive actions were evaluated as relevant for the transfers the procedure was applied to, regardless of industry and relocation type. Moreover, the electronics-offshoring case showed that the success of a production transfer not only depends on the physical, knowledge and supply chain transfers, as presented in earlier research, but also on the administrative transfer and on the organisation, project and quality management actions. This paper also attempts to enhance the production transfer literature by clarifying transfer risk management.
Practical implications
The procedure can be used during the production transfer phase as a preparation procedure. Moreover, it informs the decision-making process during the relocation-decision and supplier-selection phases.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first production-transfer-preparation procedure based on risk management principles.
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Eirin Lodgaard, Natalia Iakymenko and Maria Flavia Mogos
The purpose of this study is to investigate how Toyota Kata can be effectively applied in the engineer-to-order (ETO) manufacturing within the construction industry. The objective…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate how Toyota Kata can be effectively applied in the engineer-to-order (ETO) manufacturing within the construction industry. The objective is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for the Toyota Kata implementation in this environment and to develop a continuous improvement (CI) method – based on Toyota Kata and adapted to the ETO manufacturing within the construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
An action research (AR) approach was applied, which includes a participatory form of inquiry and learning from both intended and unintended outcomes, while simultaneously building up scientific knowledge about successful implementation of Toyota Kata.
Findings
All the CSFs in the AR project are addressed by the earlier literature, thus confirming the existing body of knowledge. Moreover, the existing knowledge was arguably extended through the modified Toyota Kata as an approach for CI. New elements regarding how to run the small experiments by extending the core team with personnel who work with the problem on a daily basis.
Originality/value
This research addresses a gap identified in the literature regarding how Toyota Kata can be adapted to the ETO manufacturing within the construction industry. It also presents an overview of CSFs for the Toyota Kata implementation in this environment.
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Keywords
Leandro dos Santos, Elsebeth Holmen, Ann-Charlott Pedersen, Maria Flavia Mogos, Eirin Lodgaard and Daryl John Powell
Toyota had mature lean capabilities when developing its supplier network. This paper aims to explore how companies can develop a Toyota-style supplier network (TSN) while their…
Abstract
Purpose
Toyota had mature lean capabilities when developing its supplier network. This paper aims to explore how companies can develop a Toyota-style supplier network (TSN) while their lean capabilities are still evolving.
Design/methodology/approach
Theoretically, this paper relies on the literature on lean maturity levels and lean supplier network development. Empirically, the paper portrays a Toyota-style initiative, detailing the buyer’s efforts to develop internal lean capabilities concurrently with developing lean in its supplier network. It compares the Network for supplier innovation (NSI) initiative with TSN development regarding activities, organizations and knowledge-sharing routines.
Findings
Unlike the sequential development in the case of Toyota, NSI improved performance and capabilities in the buyer’s supplier network by implementing lean in the firm and its supplier network concurrently. Third-party involvement was the key to the initiative’s success.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are based on an in-depth single-case study which allows theoretical generalization but not statistical generalization. Furthermore, the case study concerns an initiative with Norwegian firms during a financial recession. Future studies should consider these limitations on how firms with evolving lean capabilities can develop a TSN-style supplier network and the importance of involving third parties operating in the role of lean master.
Practical implications
This study suggests what buying firms should consider when designing a TSN initiative, enrolling suppliers and engaging third parties that can take on the role of lean master.
Originality/value
Previous research has focused on how mature lean firms develop lean suppliers and networks. This paper extends this to firms whose lean capabilities are still evolving.