coordination

The offshoring of engineering services requires sourcing structures that align with the strategic objectives of the company as well as with the prevailing structural and cultural conditions. The study of a global automobile company active in India provides support for the selection process of an appropriate structure. While no structure is best suited universally, captive centers are becoming increasingly popular.

We consider a network of transport service providers where transport orders can be exchanged between carrier organisations. For an efficient allocation of the transport orders we propose a bargaining mechanism to be implemented in an exchange market. In order to evaluate possible exchanges of transport orders between carriers we calculate the individual contribution margins of orders on the basis of solving a routing problem. The paper investigates the impact of this strategy on the total profit achieved in the transportation network.

In order to put virtual supply chains into practice a suitable option for coordination is necessary. This contribution presents which actors and which processes are required, if the problem will be solved by electronic marketplaces. Finally it will be shown which chances and opportunities are associated with the suggested approach.