First, we will give a short introduction to the company considered. The example refers to the current situation of a three-stage supplier network of a company in the telecommunication and automotive industry (tier 2).
The telecommunication industry is an example of a heterogeneous industry where the clockspeed has increased considerably. This industry is also characterized by outsourcing of manufacturing and R&D to suppliers, short product life cycles, compressed time-tomarket and increased demand for on-time deliveries and generally short lead times (see Agrell et al.,2004). The automotive industry shows a similar tendency, but R&D and final assembly are mostly conducted by the original equipment manufacturers (OEM). But in the not-so-distinct future also, in the automotive industry a power shift from OEMs to suppliers will be expected (see Fine, 2000; Biller et al., 2002).