Effects of delivery speed on supply chain planning

Supply chain planning in manufacturing companies is approached in this paper through empirical case-study research. The target is to chart how different types of manufacturing companies are specifying their future volumes and to identify the type of collaborative planning they are implementing with customers and suppliers. Based on interview-study results, a framework is presented to explain how flexibility is gained in the supply chain and how flexibility sources are connected to planning. Two main supply chain planning approaches can be identified: forecast- and order-focused planning.