Performing Supply Chain Design in Three-Dimensional Concurrent Engineering: Requirements and Challenges

Designing the supply chain at the same time as developing new innovative products and efficient production processes holds the potential of being a source of competitiveness for a pressured manufacturing industry. This paper studies actors that influence the practices of three dimensional concurrent engineering (3DCE). Developing product, process and supply chain in parallel requires considerable cross-functional coordination and strong supplier involvement. A single case study of a large manufacturer of security products and systems was applied to explore current practices in an ongoing new product development (NPD) project. Five key challenges were found as barriers to performing supply chain design within this complex collaborative effort. Also, five requirements are suggested as enablers to organizations that aim for reaping the benefits of integrating supply chain design in their development process. By understanding the retirements and challenges of this process, the potential of 3DCE can be released and create value for practitioners in industry.