From supply chain to welding network: A framework of the prospects of networks in welding

Authors

  • Jenni Toivanen Lappeenranta University of Technology
  • Jukka Martikainen Lappeenranta University of Technology
  • Pia Heilmann Lappeenranta University of Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.21.2.8463

Keywords:

manufacturing network, network management, welding linkages, welding network, welding supply chain

Abstract

Changes in the competitiveenvironment of global manufacturing markets mean that study of supply chainsand business networks has become an important aspect of efforts to enhanceefficiency in industrial manufacturing. The difference between a supply chain andnetwork approach is not unambiguous and the utility of such approaches inspecific manufacturing contexts is not always clear. This paper reviews networkingtheory as it pertains to industrial manufacturing and compares this theoreticalinformation with practices in welding manufacturing. The study analyzes weldingnetworks with the example of a three welding network structure with multiplelinkages. The analysis shows that the level of cooperation in welding manufacturingis insufficiently developed for optimal network prospects and that weldingnetworks have enormous potential to increase the profitability of productionthrough effective management of internal cooperation linkages and by focusingexternal cooperation on quality assurance and welding requirements.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.21.2.8463

Author Biographies

  • Jenni Toivanen, Lappeenranta University of Technology
    Doctoral Student of Welding Technology, School of Technology, Mechanical Engineering
  • Jukka Martikainen, Lappeenranta University of Technology
    Professor of Welding Technology, School of Technology, Mechanical Engineering
  • Pia Heilmann, Lappeenranta University of Technology
    Professor of Strategic Human Resource Management, School of Business

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Published

2015-04-13

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 2 (2015)

Section

MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGIES

License

The copyright for the articles in this journal is retained by the author(s) with the first publication right granted to the journal. The journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).