Conference
Purpose | Sponsors | Program
"Supply Chain Governance & Regional Development
in The Global Economy"
September 9-10, 2002,
9 a.m.-5 p.m.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Pyle Center (702 Langdon Street)
Purpose
This conference brought together practitioners and academics from the United States and Europe who are concerned with supply chain governance and restructuring in the manufacturing sector. It addressed three interrelated themes:
- The general shift in the character of outsourcing by large Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in sectors such as autos, construction and farm equipment, industrial machinery, and electrical and electronic equipment. This shift can be broadly characterized as a move from capacity subcontracting (where external sourcing supplements OEMs’ own in-house production capabilities) to specialized subcontracting (where customers rely on component suppliers for inputs they do not themselves command, often including technological and design expertise). How far and in what ways this shift is occurring across different sectors and regions formed a primary focus of the workshop.
- Problems of cooperation between large OEMs and suppliers in such areas as product development, logistics, and cost reduction. How do customers and suppliers in different sectors and regions negotiate power imbalances in their relationship and overcome internal organizational barriers to effective collaboration?
- Efforts on the part of OEMs, trade associations, labor unions, and public agencies to help supplier firms successfully make the transition to the new form of subcontracting. What are the strengths and weaknesses of different organizational models of supplier development, training, and restructuring currently being pursued across U.S. states and European regions, from large firm and government-led approaches to consortial and associational initiatives? And how best can policy makers and other concerned actors ensure that the effects of supply chain restructuring prove beneficial for regional economic development, manufacturing employment, and workforce outcomes?
For more information, contact Matt Vidal (mvidal@cows.org; 608-265-5987) at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy.
Sponsors
The conference was co-sponsored by the following organizations:
Center on Wisconsin Strategy
University of Wisconsin • 1180 Observatory Drive • Madison, WI 53706 • TEL (608) 263-3889 • FAX (608) 262-9046 • http://www.cows.org
Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy
University of Wisconsin • 1155 Observatory Drive • Madison, WI 53706 • TEL (608) 262-9774 • FAX (608) 265-2919 • http://www.wisc.edu/wage
Advanced Manufacturing Project
An inter-university research consortium on the component manufacturing sector supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
http://www.cows.org/collab_projects_detail.asp?id=9
Program
September 9: Research Workshop
September 10: Outreach Workshop
A joint academic-practitioner outreach workshop
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