The characteristics of Engineer to Order (ETO) companies are described in terms of their markets, products and the internal processes of their organisation. | ELSEVIER Int. J. Production Economics 65 2000 179 -190 international journal of production economics locate dsw Supply chain management A strategic issue in engineer to order manufacturing C. Hicksa T. McGovern . Earla Department of Mechanical Materials and Manufacturing Engineering University of Newcastle Stephenson Building Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU UK School of Management University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne UK Received 13 May 1997 accepted 1 February 1999 Abstract The characteristics of Engineer to Order ETO companies are described in terms of their markets products and the internal processes of their organisation. These are set in the context of current trends in supply chain management. The business processes associated with the procurement and marketing functions and the interactions with other processes are analysed. These are compared for a number of different types of ETO company. The variety of work in ETO projects the customised complex products and the underlying uncertainties of markets all indicate that procurement and marketing need to be integrated with other processes particularly tendering and design. These characteristics put constraints on the application of established supply chain management methods. It is argued that a strategic view of supply chain management in which procurement makes a greater contribution in the tendering and early product development activities has the potential to improve performance. 2000 Elsevier Science . All rights reserved. Keywords Supply chain management Engineer to order Business processes Strategy 1. Introduction Companies in all sectors are examining ways to reduce costs shorten product development times and manage risk. The transactions between companies in supply chains are characterised by adding value up through the chain and incurring costs and consequent payments down the chain. Supply chain management aims to reduce costs risk and lead-times associated with .
