Luis Martín Díaz 
Evaluation of Cooperative Planning in Supply Chains [PDF ebook] 
An Empirical Approach of the European Automotive Industry

The acknowledgement that a network of cooperating companies, e.g. a supply chain, could be more successful in achieving competitive advantage than individual businesses, constitutes one of the most significant paradigm shifts in modern business management as it leaves behind the notion of adversarial companies engaged in fierce competition with one another in order to gain a competitive advantage. The “Survival of the Fittest” in what has been called “The Era of Network Competition” depends on how well companies are able to structure, coordinate, and manage relationships with their business partners. In their search for the best possible place under the sun, companies have redefined their understanding of cooperation and have not only improved the efficiency of cooperation with partners (e.g. suppliers, customers, and complementors) but also discovered the existence of synergies with competitors. The apparently paradoxical situation of cooperating with competitors (or it might be thought of as competing with cooperating partners) shows that collaboration is a widespread approach at all levels of strategic management. In light of these thoughts, the question arises why there are still companies that neither cooperate with business partners nor with competitors; although it seems obvious that this could be advantageous. This work attempts to offer an answer to this question.

Spis treści

Inter-Organizational Cooperation and Supply Chain Management.- Cooperation in Supply Chains and SCM Software Use in the European Automotive Industry.- The Supply Chain of the Audi A8 V8 4.0l Diesel Engine — A Case Study of Audi AG.- SCOptimizer — A Prototype for Quantifying Benefits of Cooperative Planning in Supply Chains.- Summary and Conclusions.

O autorze

Dr. Luis Martín Díaz promovierte bei Prof. Dr. Peter Buxmann am Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftsinformatik der Technischen Universität Darmstadt. Er ist als Projektleiter bei Prodyna Gmb H in Frankfurt am Main tätig.