The traditional industry sector in the changing business environment – a case study of the Finnish steel product industry

Abstract

The emerging business paradigm agility, namely, the ability to rapidly respond to changes in market and customer demand, addresses new ways of running companies to meet the challenges of today's changing business environment. The need for agility has traditionally been associated with supply chains operating in high technology industries. However, more traditional industries such as in steel product manufacturing also face similar challenges in terms of speed, flexibility, increased product diversity and customisation. The main objective of this study is to identify those drivers that lead companies towards agility in the metal industry. The study analyses the driving forces and the ability for agility in two case networks. Both networks have their origin in the steel product manufacturing, but the changes in the business environment have led them to develop their ability for agility in different ways. Today, these networks represent two relatively different parts of the steel manufacturing industry. This paper concludes that the need for agility is clearly recognised in both case networks and has to seriously be taken into account in long-run strategy plans of companies.