Michiya Morita

Many industries face open, global markets with requirements for rapid response and low costs. Given the major role that technology plays in business competitiveness, proper technology management (T) in combination with a good production strategy (S), is important to address current challenges. This paper analyzes the nature of T & S implementation in different industrial contexts to examine whether there are differences in how T & S are implemented in different sectors, whether implementation is linked to performance, and whether contextual factors explain the differences. A database from the High Performance Manufacturing Project is used to test the research questions based on a survey of 267 plants across nine countries in three different industrial contexts (machinery, electronics and auto suppliers). The findings show some differences between the T and S practice modes in the three industries. T and S implementation is observed to be related to performance, but not in the same way. Three of the eight contextual factors are found to differ in the three sectors, which may explain the differences found in T and S implementation. The results imply that plants should consider the joint implementation of T and S as their interdependencies may affect performance, outweighing the possible differences between industries in which plants operate. However, when implementing a specific technology practice, not all plants necessarily consider the same production strategy practices across industries. Likewise, when adopting a certain production strategy, it is not necessarily influenced by the same technology practices across industries. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The fit between designed product characteristics and the supply chain process has been researched in the operations and supply chain management literature as an important strategic part of operations, but how to secure this fit is still a pending issue. The aim of this study is twofold: (a) to examine the relationship between product characteristics and the supply chain process; and (b) based on the research results, to explore how their alignment should be constructed. This is done by a survey-based experimental analysis using a normative model of supply chain management, which is motivated by consideration of Little's law in a supply chain context. The study provides confirmatory results of past research as well as new results regarding the relationship between product characteristics and the supply chain process. The research introduces the concept of absolute supply chain orientation strategy (ASCOS), which focuses on perpetual improvements to lead-time, just-in-time control, quality and demand variability to ensure the fit between product characteristics and the supply chain process, as a culture or mind-set that should be encouraged in the firm. The research proposes that ASCOS leads to high competitiveness over time. The results also indicate that the inter-functional product development capability contributes to the development as well as to the implementation of the absolute supply chain strategy. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In industries characterised by strong uncertainties on demand, supply chain collaboration has been considered an important factor to improve performance, but remains difficult to implement. Drawing on a comparative case study of the relationships between a Japanese manufacturer and three French retailers in the digital still camera industry, we delineate a series of contingent factors that determine the conditions under which supply chain collaboration with retailers can be effective. We propose the concept of adaptive collaboration, contingent on the product life cycle and retail partners attributes, to determine the fit between product strategy and supply chain processes. We show how it can help solve some of the issues associated with the development of collaboration and help improve a company's supply chain performance.