A Framework for Supply Resilience in Engineering-To-Order Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

Engineering-to-order companies are a group of manufacturers that design and produce “one of a kind” products according to special customer orders. These companies play an important role in development of production technologies and technical knowledge. So, their survival and improving their productive performance have a considerable effect on economic development. One of the problems these companies face is the low economic scale of production for each specific product. As a result, their suppliers do not have enough motivation to cooperate in their supply chains and there is always a risk of disruption in their supply network. The main issue in this research is to provide a multifaceted framework to increase the stability of this network. The strategy of this research is multiple case study, and the information needed in the first step was obtained through the examination of cases and interviews with experts. Then, the results obtained from the survey, are weighted and ranked by BWM technique. The postponement strategy and redesigning production processes to maximize internal similarity is among the most important strategies identified for improving resilience in supply base of ETO companies.