Material requirement planning and the supply chain at Alenia Aircraft

This case study analyses how the adoption of material requirement planning (MRP) at Alenia Aircraft has brought about organizational and logistic changes in the firm's supply chain. The impact of the MRP system on the supply chain is investigated by analysing the relationship between Alenia Aircraft and the firm Alfa, one of its more significant subcontractors. The case study highlights the current trends within Alenia Aircraft's supply chain. A tiering of the subcontracting firms is taking place through a selection process, leading some traditional subcontractors to become main subcontractors while only some of them become main verticalized subcontractors. In this selection and tiering process of the supply chain, a crucial role is played by the subcontractors' managerial, organizational and logistic capabilities.