Dual-Use Supplier Management and Strategic International Sourcing in Aircraft Manufacturing

Introduction Supplier development and management systems of U.S. aircraft manufacturers have evolved rapidly during the 1990s in an environment of reduced military procurement and a worldwide slump in commercial aircraft sales. The result has been an ongoing restructuring within the aircraft industry supplier base, with significant implications for customer-supplier relationships and, potentially, national security. For example, with excess capacity and increasing cost pressures, many aircraft firms are dramatically reducing their numbers of suppliers. At the same time, many of these suppliers are being asked to take on additional responsibilities in design, assembly, materiel management, risk sharing, and even in fostering the internationalization of their customers’ supply base.