In today’s competitive environment, companies are paying more attention to product innovations, customized products, manufacturing agility, and lean operations. To support this mode of operations, companies are moving from highly vertically integrated organizations to leaner core business units supported by supplier networks. While partnership companies and their suppliers could take a variety of forms, “fractal manufacturing partnership” (FMP) is an emerging approach designed to maximize the logistical attributes of a lean production system and configured to provide the strategic merging of engineering network capabilities. FMP is most suitable for engineering assembly type work in which seamless operation is desired and where agile feedback is necessary. Based on the case study of the automotive industry, this paper will discuss the characteristics and attributes of FMP. However, more research is required to quantify the direct benefits of this approach.
[1]
Jeffrey H. Dyer,et al.
Strategic Supplier Segmentation: The Next “Best Practice” in Supply Chain Management
,
1998
.
[2]
Hans-Jrgen Warnecke,et al.
The Fractal Company: A Revolution in Corporate Culture
,
1997
.
[3]
M. Phelan.
STALKING THE ELUSIVE 5-DAY CAR
,
1996
.
[4]
Jeffrey H. Dyer.
Specialized supplier networks as a source of competitive advantage : Evidence from the auto industry
,
1996
.
[5]
Hans Gersbach,et al.
The Secret to Competitiveness - Competition
,
1993
.
[6]
R. Devaney,et al.
Chaos, Making a New Science
,
1987
.
[7]
A. Browne.
A walk in the park
,
1986
.
[8]
James P. Womack,et al.
Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation
,
1996
.