Production and Operations Management 2002

FROM BUYER TO INTEGRATOR: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SUPPLY‐CHAIN MANAGER IN THE VERTICALLY DISINTEGRATING FIRM

Geoffrey Parker^1,2,3; Edward G. Anderson⁴

¹ Dartmouth College · ² Tulane University · ³ Dartmouth Hospital · ⁴ The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract

Using case study data, we describe how a large personal computer manufacturer changed its supply‐chain management strategy after outsourcing the majority of its design and manufacturing activities to a network of focused suppliers. To cope with this new structure, the firm created highly skilled generalists, “supply‐chain integrators,” who coordinate product development, marketing, production, and logistics from product concept to delivery across firm boundaries. We particularly focus on the skill‐set that characterizes these integrators. Finally, we use the case evidence, combined with previous theory, to suggest a specific program of research into coordinating product development across disaggregated supply chains.

DOI

10.1111/j.1937-5956.2002.tb00185.x

Sources

openalex

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APA 7 MLA 9 Chicago (author–date) Harvard Elsevier Harvard (JFE, JBF…) The Accounting Review Academy of Management American Marketing Association INFORMS (Management Science) Copy citation Copied ✓