Supply Chain Management Issues in Boeing - Essay Example

This has also put all other stakeholders into serious problems. This paper presents an analysis of the supply chain of Boeing in the context of various facets of the management of the supply chain by the company. In response to A 380 airliner from its arch rival Boeing Corporation embarked on the manufacture of 'Boeing787 Dreamliner' a light weight model with seating capacity of 210 to 296 passengers. "The 787 Dreamliner is a family of new airplanes that promises to bring big-jet comfort and economics to the mid-size market.

The Boeing 787 incorporates advanced materials, systems and engines to provide a 20% improvement in fuel performance on a per-passenger basis. The 787-8 Dreamliner will carry 210 to 250 passengers about 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles and the 787-9 will carry 250 to 290 passengers about 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles (Boeing Commercial Aerospace). The first delivery was scheduled for May 2008 which now has been pushed as far as the second quarter of 2009. With firm orders worth $ 144 billion the company has found serious issues with its global supply chain as a result of which the company has postponed the delivery of the airliner a number of times causing serious concerns to the major airlines that have placed orders with Boeing for this aircrafts.

The production process of making the new aircraft with new light weight composite materials in itself is a challenge for the company. In addition the company has made drastic changes in its supply chain which eventually has hit the progress in the manufacture and delivery of Dreamliner. The way in which the company has organized its supply chain for 787 manufacturing has put a complicated way in which the supply chain partnering firms share risks and profits from the airliner. This implies that the financial burden will be put up and down on the firms in the chain as every company would like to protect their own financial interest.

This would necessarily result in chaos in the short-term and considerable delays in the completion of the manufacture of the product which will make everyone in the line suffer. The real issue is Boeing attempted to use what appears to be an automotive product like production process in which all the parts and components in a pre-fabricated form are brought the assembly line. This has necessitated sections of the aircraft to be flown out of far off locations in Japan, Italy, South Carolina and Kansas to be assembled in Washington within a short time of as much as three days.

Apart from this there are various other supply chain issues being faced by the company which are explored by this paper.Boeing and Supplier Quality ManagementManufacture of Boeing 787 Dreamliner represents a complete shift in the manufacturingphilosophy of Boeing Corporation as the company