Core Disciplines: Cross-Border Activities; International Business; Operations Management/Supply Chain; Operations Management/Supply Chain
DESCRIPTION: Boeing originally was scheduled to deliver the Dreamliner to airline customers in mid-2008. However, after five announced delays over two years, the company was forced to postpone the first test flight. One driver for the delay was an industry-wide shortage of aerospace fasteners, the hardware that held the aircraft together. Engineers at Boeing never could have imagined that fasteners, which comprise approximately 3% of the total cost of an aircraft, would become such an issue. To address the fastener issue, Boeing's management knew that it could not just use a band-aid solution; rather, it had to drive sweeping changes to the way the industry and supply chain functioned. Boeing's solution: the fastener procurement model (FPM).
TEACHING POINTS: After discussing this case study, students will be able to: describe appropriate business terms and principles approriate to this case, apply critical concepts from earlier learning to define a solution to the case, successfully articulate data and information in support of the solution proposed, critically analyze and discuss other responses and solutions to the case, draw lessons from the case analysis, generalize the learnings of this case to other business challenges and decisions in organizations other than the one analyzed in this case study, demonstrate leadership and scholarship in analysis.
Secondary Tags: Change Management; Globalization of Services; Outsourcing Sales Rank: #10