Concurrent Engineering (CE) has gained acceptance as the key tool to achieve competitive product development. However, there are not many established practical tools to aid in CE project initiation and implementation. Component and services outsourcing is now the predominant mode of operation in general engineering industry. The setting up of Concurrent Engineering with suppliers is becoming a key activity by which competence in CE can be propagated through the Extended Enterprise. Because the capacity, capability, skills and resources of suppliers will differ, decisions have to be made as to the extent to which any supplier can be incorporated in CE and the impact on the processes of the different decisions. The complexity of the problem arises in the integration of: IPR/contractual issues of expense, risk and reward; relationship issues of trust and cultural fit; IT issues of data management, hardware and software with the demanding aerospace manufacture environment of rigorous configuration control and change management.
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