Collaboration and Coordination in Spare Parts Supply Chains

After sales services increasingly gained importance in the mechanical engineering industry within the last decades. Nowadays, provisioning of spare parts as well as related maintenance, repair and overhaul services constitutes a valuable and differentiating source for profit. Corresponding spare parts supply chains operationalize this substantial success factor and have interdependencies across involved specialized actors. These collaborating actors need to be coordinated in their actions for timely provisioning of spare parts and services at optimal costs.

Despite the high relevance of collaboration and coordination in spare parts supply chains, academia and industry have identified a considerable lack of knowledge in this domain. The need for a comprehensive classification of spare parts supply chains was evident, which would enable assessing and improving collaboration and coordination of actors in spare parts supply chains.

In his dissertation, Mr. Saalmann answers the question how spare parts supply chains in the mechanical engineering industry can be improved by enhanced collaboration and coordination of their actors from an information systems perspective. He developed a taxonomy and maturity model for spare parts supply chains in the mechanical engineering industry. The taxonomy specifies characteristics for collaboration and coordination as well as classifies real-world spare parts supply chains from industry. The adaptable maturity model refines and utilizes derived insights for a targeted assessment as well as improvement of collaboration and coordination in a spare parts supply chain according to differentiating dimensions. The application of the maturity model in industry is promoted through related methodological guidance and provided tool support.