Final Case Submission: Avion Inc. 1. What parts of the supply chain are most closely involved with the situation in this case? What is the responsibility of each part in order to maintain a smooth flow of material?

Procurement and Contracts: Should be responsible to amend the agreement that clearly defines what the service level requirements are, sets out the change control mechanism, the communication protocol and representative of both parties and review the agreement in conjunction with the supplier to remove any ambiguity.

Category Management: Should be responsible for developing a SQM that will allow provide both parties with a forum to work in partnership and set targets and KPIs.

Material Management: Should be responsible to understand the required and forecast inventory stocks and coordinate accordingly.

Logistics: Should be responsible for transporting the product through the supply chain.

2. What initially appears to be the problem? What really is the problem(s) in this case?

The problem initially appears to be that the vendor is not meeting the expected performance level required by the customer. However the problem is not with the vendor rather within Avion. It appears that the company does not have appropriate cross function engagement, rather working in silos. There is no obvious communication structure whereby the SCM understands the scope requirements and can translate this to the vendor.
Also following contract award it is not clear what effort, if any, was placed on operationalising the contract.

3. How easy is it to switch suppliers? What could complicate a firm’s ability to switch to a new supplier?

In this instance it would be difficult to change out suppliers immediately without disrupting production of the new product line. Some transition planning would be necessary to determine the cost benefit of the swap