Sourcing organization and management model in spare parts business : Case study

The aim of this study was to find the best sourcing organization and management model in the spare parts business, co-operating with global sourcing in division-structured organization. The first phase of the research was done using quantitative research methods. The organization models A, B, and C were built based on the findings from literature review and an internal survey in the global spare parts organization. The internal survey covered answers from 14 countries inside case study company. The second phase of the research was done using qualitative research methods. The internal survey results and the created organization models were discussed in the interviews. The interviewees were selected based on their experience in service operations or sourcing. The results show that the best organization model was a hybrid organization, where the spare parts organization co-operated with global sourcing with common suppliers. The head of spare parts sourcing would co-ordinate the actions and set annual sourcing targets together with the head of spare parts and global sourcing. Sourcing in spare parts would operate with the supplier without supplier managers according to the given targets. The study can be applied to several different aims. The case study company can use the results for planning the organization model in the selected region. The results can be applied in other case study company regions or by other companies who operate in both manufacturing and after-sales business