Making supply chain design the rational differentiating characteristic of the OEMs

For more complex products that require customers to undertake learning in order to retrieve or realize the products’ true values, the product design and supply management decisions are different from those of less complex products. Nonetheless, in spite of the undeniable significance of coordinating decisions across product design and supply chain structures, we know very little about how to do so in practical ways. In this paper, we build on previous findings and offer a framework to enable the application of the supply chain structure design early in the new product introduction process. The proposed framework is based on a field study of the common practices in one of the major North American automakers, but we believe that it is widely applicable in other industries.