Dominant supply chain co-ordination strategies in the Dutch aerospace industry

Purpose – Firms in the aerospace industry face considerable pressure to improve co-ordination in their supply chains. The major question of the present study is what supply chain co-ordination strategies are dominant in the Dutch aerospace industry given the market environment of this industry? Design/methodology/approach – Because information is the key ingredient for coordinating the supply chain in a given problem situation, an information processing point of view is adopted. In the empirical research, supply chain co-ordination strategies are investigated for six Dutch-based aerospace firms with different products and technologies. Findings – It is concluded that in terms of the framework of Galbraith, co-ordination strategies increasing the capacity to process information dominate supply chain management in the Dutch aerospace industry. The information-processing capacity is increased by investing in lateral relations, long-term planning and information systems between companies involved in the same supply chain. Originality/value – Information is provided on Dutch aerospace firms' supply chain strategies.