Commercial aerospace supply chains

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution of commercial aerospace supply chains.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is presented as evolutionary steps by introduction of key supply chain practices. These steps are brought together by applying cladistics, a classification approach from the biological sciences, to classify the evolutionary relationships between supply chain forms. This is presented in two stages.FindingsEarlier research produced a “conceptual cladogram” from secondary data that describes the evolution of aerospace supply chains. This paper expands on this through empirical validation and develops a “factual cladogram”, revealing a newly emerging supply chain form. Key practices define the change of supply chain forms in the evolutionary adaptation to market realities and to proactive responses to increased competition.Research limitations/implicationsThe factual cladogram as such does not necessarily prescribe world‐class performance but may serve as a platform for discussing and monitoring the properties of the emergent supply chain in light of strategies for the future. As such it becomes a strategic bench‐marking tool for the change of practices, technologies and products.Practical implicationsIn practical terms, the approach may be developed as a strategic tool for policy development, and a decision support tool through the creation and exploration of future supply chain form scenarios.Originality/valueTheoretically, this paper elaborates on a framework for how and why evolution produces diversity of supply chain form.