Capability development in hybrid organizations: enhancing military logistics with additive manufacturing

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has the potential to revolutionize key aspects of Military Logistics and partnerships between governmental and industrial organizations. Extreme outsourcing of key capabilities has created complex and deep hybrid organizations between armed forces and the private sector. In this study, the internal and external effects and requirements of Additive Manufacturing in the context of the hybrid organization of The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) and its strategic partner in Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO), and Millog Oy were studied. First, with a literature review, we sought to link the capability development processes and the change drivers within them in both military and commercial contexts. Then, we utilized an existing, structured capability model used by the FDF (DOTMLPFI) and its individual change drivers to form an initial concept of AM as a part of the hybrid organization in question. The initial concept shows that AM can increase the performance of the commercially backed Military Logistic System by mitigating the risks of spare parts shortage in case of supply line disturbances and by facilitating localized spare parts production. However, the different primary goals of the military and commercial organizations and the contractual base of the hybrid organization impose constraints on the capability development process. Administrative decision-making across the organizations and the conflict between maximizing military and commercial potential are the key challenges in maintaining joint-capability systems of hybrid organizations.