3 rd Intrnational Confrnc on Industrial Enginring and Industrial Managmnt XIII Congrso d Ingniría d Organización Barclona-Trrassa, Sptmbr 2nd-4th 2009 Global Sourcing: lssons from lan companis to improv supply chain prformancs Albrto Portioli Staudachr 1, Marco Tantardini 1 1 Dpartmnt of Managmnt, Economics and Industrial Enginring. Politcnico di Milano. Piazza Lonardo da Vinci, 32. 20133 Milano, Italy. albrto.portioli@polimi.it, marco.tantardini@polimi.it Kywords: Lan Supply, Global Sourcing, Supply Chain Managmnt, cas studis, survy. Abstract In rcnt yars Europan companis ar facing th most important comptitiv challng sinc th scond world war. Th comptition forcs companis to incras tchnology innovation, but also to xploit th managrial and organizational innovation. Two main managrial approachs hav mrgd in th last yars. Th first on is th Lan Approach, which aims at improving prformancs by liminating wasts and non valu addd activitis. Th scond on is th Global Sourcing, which aims at xploiting th global arna to tak advantags from th purchasing lvr. Svral companis ar trying to improv thir comptitivnss by implmnting both Lan Approach and Global Sourcing. But th two approachs sms not to b fully consistnt, sinc Global Sourcing oftn implis purchasing larg quantitis from far away producrs, and this incrass stocks, xposs companis to an highr variability, tc. This rsarch aims at invstigating on th on hand Global Sourcing within Italian Lan companis, in trms of impact, product typologis that ar globally sourcd, and advantags and problms from th us of Global Sourcing. On th othr hand, w want to highlight som of th countrmasurs that Lan companis hav adoptd to rduc th impact of Global Sourcing on wasts and hiddn costs. Such countrmasurs ar not limitd to Lan companis. In ordr to rach our main aim, a survy on 95 companis and 9 cas studis wr carrid out in Italian Lan companis stating th us of Global Sourcing. A validation of rsults was givn by furthr 9 firms both implmnting Lan Approach and Global Sourcing. 1. Introduction Europan companis hav bn facing th most important comptitiv challng sinc th scond world war. It is wll known that thy can stay ahad of low cost countris companis only through innovation. Larg invstmnts and attntion ar dvotd to tchnology innovation, but this is not nough: organizational and managrial innovation is an additional lvr, that must b xploitd. Most companis hav 40-70% of total activitis carrid out which do not add valu to th customr (wast). Thus, comptitiv advantag can b achivd through wast rduction (Ohno, 1988; Womack and Jons, 1996). Lan Approach, th approach of th Toyota Production Systm, focuss on wast rduction to improv oprations prformancs, and shows intrsting rsults in many implmntations. That s why in rcnt yars a lot of intrst from companis and rsarchrs has focusd on it. On th othr hand, in rcnt yars many companis hav bn sarching th global arna to tak advantag from cost rduction in th purchas of raw matrials, componnts, subassmblis and products. In fact, companis hav undrstood that a comptitiv advantag can 1549
b achivd from th stratgic us of th supply lvr, in trms of whr to purchas raw matrials, componnts and sub-assmblis. From th 80s, svral companis hav xtndd thir supply aras looking at East Europ countris and Asian Countris as China, India, Indonsia, Malaysia and Thailand (Nassimbni, 2006). Such countris, offring low cost and quit skilld manpowr, can offr good opportunitis for companis looking at low acquisition prics (Cho Kang, 2000). Paralll to this trnd, also th intrst of th acadmic world for th Global Sourcing has incrasd, as dmonstratd by th considrabl amount of paprs publishd on Global Sourcing topics from mid 80s. Global Sourcing is particularly adoptd in cas of products or componnts charactrizd by an high impact of th manpowr cost, such as articls of clothing or toys (Agrawal t al., 2003). During th last yars, th phnomnon of Global Sourcing was facilitatd by th ICT (Information and communication tchnology) dvlopmnt, by th simultanous rduction in logistic costs, togthr with th improvmnt of th transport infrastructurs, and by th improvmnt in quality and in th fficincy of th global supplirs (Nassimbni, 2006). Libralization of trad also gav a strong contribution (Christophr t al. 2006). China bcam th ky country for Global Sourcing (Nassibni, 2006; Salmi, 2006; Zng, 2000), in particular aftr rforms that ld China to a markt conomy and aftr th rcnt admission in th WTO (World Trad Organization) (Nassimbni, 2006). Thus, Italy and th othr Wst Europ countris incrasd thir imports from China during th last 10 yars (Nassibni, 2006). Global Sourcing rfrs to sourc a componnt from outsid th traditional sourcing aras (Nllor t al., 2001). In particular, w rfr to Global Sourcing whn a componnt is sourcd from countris outsid wstrn Europ to supply production in wstrn Europ, rgardlss supplir nationality. Th focus of this papr is on componnts and raw matrial sourcing. This mans that srvics and indirct matrials ar xcludd from this analysis. Svral companis ar trying to improv thir comptitivnss by implmnting both Lan Approach and Gloal Sourcing. But th two approachs sms not to b fully consistnt sinc Global Sourcing implis purchasing larg quantitativ from far away producrs, and this incrass stocks, xposs to an highr variability, tc. Thus, this papr will go through th us of Global Sourcing into companis that hav bn implmnting Lan Approach, by invstigating global supplis and global supply chain managmnt. Th rmaindr of this papr is organizd as follows. In sction 2 litratur rviw and problm formulation ar prsntd. In sction 3 objctivs of th papr and th mthodology ar providd. In sction 4 main findings ar shown and discussd, whil in sction 5 conclusions about th rsarch ar summarizd. Rfrncs ar in sction 6. 2. Litratur rviw and problm formulation Th main rason for Global Sourcing is th lowr pric of componnts that can b found in low cost countris (Lavy, 1997; Salmi, 2006; Das and Handfild, 1997; Nassimbni and Sartor, 2007; Cartr t al., 1997; Nassimbni, 2006; Kotab and Murray, 2004, Cho and Kang, 2001; Christophr t al., 2006; Trnt and Monczka, 2003; Rajagopal and Brnard, 1994; Zng, 2000). Trnt and Monkza (2003) stat that global supplis could rduc th purchasing pric of componnts by 15% on avrag, with paks of mor than 30%. Howvr, whn a company sourcs globally has to fac spcific problms that can offst gains from lowr pric. Excluding transportation cost and tariffs, most of th othr costs connctd with Global Sourcing ar hiddn, so cost savings may not b as grat as thy sm 1550
(Cartr t al., 1997; Christophr t al., 2006; Song t al., 2007). Exampls of ths costs ar th costs rlatd to difficult communication, diffrnt contxt, difficult logistics and problmatic supplirs. Global communication is difficult. Diffrnt tim zons, lack of English languag skills, cultural diffrncs mak global communication not just difficult but costly (Nassimbni, 2006; Nassimbni and Sartor, 2007; Lavy, 1997; Das and Handfild, 1997; Salmi, 2006; Trnt and Monczka, 2003; Cho and Kang, 2001; Song t al, 2007). Contxt is anothr sourc of problms. Inflation, risk of currncy fluctuations, political and conomical instability can affct Global Sourcing activitis (Das and Handfild, 1997; Nllor t al., 2001; Kotab and Murray, 2004; Trnt and Monczka, 2003; Cho and Kang, 2001; Rajagopal and Brnard, 1994; Song t al, 2007). But logistics problms ar th most critical ons (Cartr t al., 1997). Transportation lad tim, in a global contxt, is not just longr but mor variabl (Lavy, 1997; Das and Handfild, 1997; Salmi, 2006; Christophr t al., 2006; Trnt and Monczka, 2003; Cho and Kang, 2001; Rajagopal and Brnard, 1994). This variability is du to such lmnts as unstabl wathr conditions that affct shipmnt by sa, customs buraucracy, striks and lack of transportation infrastructur (Cartr t al., 1997; Lvy, 1997). Th long and variabl lad tim, on on hand, lads companis to b mor dpndnt on forcasts. On th othr hand, it incrass th bullwhip ffct (Christophr t al., 2006; Kim t al, 2005). Both lmnts lad to highr invntory lvls. In addition, global supplirs can b a sourc of problms too. Litratur notic that frquntly global supplirs don t undrstand customr nds (Nassimbni, 2006; Cartr t al., 1997), that thy ar not flxibl (Cartr t al., 1997), that thy hav poor quality lvls (Das and Handfild, 1997) and that thy hav poor industrial cultur (Nassimbni, 2006). Evn if litratur prsnts svral actions to rduc som of th problms mntiond abov (Kotab and Murray, 2004; Cartr t al., 1997; Salmi, 2006; Lavy, 1997; Nassimbni and Sartor, 2007; Das and Handfild, 1997; Trnt and Monczka, 2003) th problm of how to dcid th right supply location, considring all hiddn costs, is still opn. Song t al. (2007) suggst a framwork for total acquisition cost of Global Sourcing: th total sourcing cost modl. This modl lists all th possibl cost itms that may occur during th Global Sourcing procss and suggsts, through a cas study, a way to calculat thm. Howvr, th systmatic us of this modl in practic is quit rar bcaus it nds tim and rsourcs to collct all th input data rquird (Song t al., 2007). Standard componnts ar mor suitd to b sourcd globally (Salmi, 2006; Nllor t al., 2001; Christophr t al., 2006) whil innovativ componnts and componnts that nd a spcific supplir knowldg should not b sourcd globally. Lan Approach aims at improving flxibility, lad tim, quality and can rduc wasts such as xcss stock, xcss waiting and xcss transportation (Womack and Jons, 1996). Lan principls affct sourcing too: Lan sourcing is basd on a clos customr-supplir rlationship. Customr and supplir shar not just procss and cost information but also risks and bnfits (Likr and Wu, 2000; Womack and Jons, 1996b; Zng, 2000). Supplirs ar slctd mainly on pric, but othr charactristics as quality, accuracy, flxibility, ability to shortn lad tims, and innovation capabilitis ar bcoming part of th valuation (Das and Handfild, 1997). Th Lan Supply Chain is basd on a Just in Tim, pull, systm (Womack and Jons, 1996b; Wu, 2003). This systm nds flxibl production systms, low st-up tim and small production and dlivry lot siz (Womack and Jons, 1996b). A tchniqu usd to 1551
incras dlivry frquncy is th milk run, which involvs stopping at svral supplirs (Wu, 2003). Svral incompatibilitis xist btwn Lan and Global Sourcing. Clos customr-supplir rlationships in a global contxt ar difficult, du to communication problms, and information sharing is risky (Das and Handfild, 1997; Nllor t al., 2001; Lavy, 1997). Morovr, just in tim dlivris of small batchs of products ar not compatibl with longr and mor variabl lad tims and with poorr flxibility and quality (Das and Handfild, 1997; Lavy, 1997; Womack and Jons, 1996b). Litratur suggsts som tchniqus to rduc Global Sourcing logistics problms, in particular tchniqus that ar in lin with th Lan Approach. For instanc, Das and Handfild (1997) suggst th cration of consolidation cntrs in ordr to consolidat dlivris coming from global supplirs. Thy also suggst to stipulat agrmnts with othr customrs in ordr to consolidat dlivris. Both ths tchniqus allow to incras dlivry frquncy. Salmi (2006) suggsts to control quality at supplir location in ordr to avoid dlivris of poor quality componnts. In addition, Cartr t al. (1997) suggst to support th supplir in ordr to incras its flxibility and quality. Lan principls strss th importanc to s th whol by focusing on hiddn costs and wast rduction. Global Sourcing, on th othr hand, is a lvr to rduc dirct purchasing costs, but may incras infficincis and hiddn costs bcaus of th problms highlightd bfor. Tabl 1 blow prsnts diffrncs and incompatibilitis btwn Lan Supply Chain and Global Sourcing. Tabl 1. Diffrncs btwn Lan Supply Chain and Global Sourcing Lan Supply Chain Frqunt, small siz lots dlivris Ordrs mad in a pull logic Supplirs hav flxibl production systms Low-quality problms Clos rlationship with supplirs and singl sourcing Global Sourcing Low frquncy, dlivris of big siz batchs to minimiz transportation costs. Long transportation lad tims prvnt from implmnting a pull systm Supplirs tndntially hav lowr flxibility and produc with big batchs Tndntially lowr quality lvls Communication problms maks difficult th clos rlationship customr-supplir. Singl sourcing is risky 3. Objctivs of th papr and mthodology This papr aims at prsnting svral countrmasurs, that ar consistnt with th Lan Approach, that could b adoptd by companis in ordr to mitigat th problms of Global Sourcing and th apparnt incompatibility btwn Global Sourcing and th Lan Approach. Th Supply Chain Managmnt point of viw is usd. Evn if th analysis is focusd on Lan companis, rsults ar not limitd to ths companis. In fact, th countrmasurs that w ar going to prsnt can b adoptd by non Lan implmntrs too. W choos to focus our rsarch on Lan companis bcaus Lan Approach strsss th focus on hiddn costs and wasts, and thus it is likly to prsnt innovativ solutions to Global Sourcing problms. In addition to th countrmasurs adoptd to rduc th impact of Global Sourcing problms, this study also aims at answring to th following rsarch qustions: (1) Do Italian Lan 1552
implmntrs us Global Sourcing, sinc th contrast that xists btwn Lan and Global Sourcing? (2) Which kind of products ar globally purchasd by Lan companis, and which kind of problms do thy prciv in Global Sourcing? (3) Which managrial and organizational solutions did Lan Implmntrs adoptd in ordr to mitigat problms of global purchass and in ordr to mak global purchass mor consistnt with th Lan Approach? In this rsarch, w hav carrid out both cas studis and a tlphon survy. W hav intrviwd purchasing managrs, logistics managrs and supply chain managrs of Italian companis. Tlphon survy involvd 95 Lan implmntrs; 9 furthr firms wr involvd in th cas study activity. In ordr to validat rsults, 9 firms nithr participating to cas studis nor to th survy, wr contactd. Companis considrd in this rsarch ar both Italian companis and subsidiaris of non Italian companis. Rspondnts ar from a wid rang of industris and ar both rptitiv and non rptitiv companis. Both big companis and small companis wr contactd. Th smallst company intrviwd mploys about 100 mploys. Th biggr on about 35000. All th companis intrviwd hav bn implmnting th Lan Approach for at last 1 yar and stat a quit dp us of Lan mthodologis and concpts. Companis slctd for th cas study activity hav bn implmnting Lan for at last 3 yars. All th 9 companis slctd for th cas study activity ar from th Northrn part of Italy. 4. Findings Th survy highlights that th vast majority of th Lan companis intrviwd (88%) implmnt Global Sourcing. Th rat btwn th globally sourcd componnts valu on th total valu of products purchasd is, in th vast majority of th cass, lowr than 10%. Rarly it gos byond th 25-30%, as rportd in Figur 1 blow. th in c y n u q t fr n r c P ts n d n o sp r y rv su % valu of th ratio global supplis / total supplisfor dirct matrials Figur 1. Phon survy rsults on th ration btwn valu of componnts globally sourcd and total valu of purchass. (73 rspondnts). Survy rsults show that biggr Lan companis (in trms of numbr of mploys) tnd to hav an highr impact of th valu of products globally sourcd on th total valu of products purchasd. This is du to th fact that global contxt is mor difficult, if compard to th local on. In fact, global contxt rquirs highr fforts in trms of financial and human rsourcs to fac problms (Rajagopal and Brnard, 1994). Morovr, th highr intrnational xprinc of biggr companis maks communication problms lss critic, as also statd by Cho and Kang (2001). Thus, it s clar that biggr companis, which can count on gratr financial and human rsourcs, ar facilitatd in global purchass. 1553
Italian Lan companis do Global Sourcing bcaus of th lowr acquisition pric of products and componnts on th global markt. Lowr purchasing pric is th main rason for buying from low cost countris supplirs. In particular, all th companis in th cas studis statd lowr pric as th first rason, and 97% of th survy rspondnts chos lowr acquisition pric as th first rason (87 rspondnts out of 90 rspondnts). Two of th 9 companis from th cas studis also rportd th unavailability of th componnt/product on th local markt as an important rason for th Global Sourcing. Ths motivations ar in lin with thos also rportd in litratur (.g. by Das Handfild, 1997). An intrsting finding from cas studis is that quality lvl from global supplirs is actually not much lowr than quality of local supplirs. On th othr hand, protcting from quality problms in cas of Global Sourcing is mor costly. In fact, it implis highr stock lvls, highr rwork costs and highr transportation costs. Rsults from cas studis and survy show that th dcision on whr to buy th spcific product / componnt dosn t tak into account all th diffrntial costs of th purchas localization problm. In th vast majority of th cass, just vidnt diffrntial costs ar takn into account (.g. transportation costs or duty costs). Thus, costs having to do with products obsolscnc, invntory lvls incras, tc. ar oftn nglctd by Lan companis, vn if th Lan Approach strsss th focus on hiddn costs and th limination of wasts. W can partly xplain this with th fact that purchasing managrs intrviwd in cas studis ar oftn valuatd considring as main drivr th acquisition pric of th product. Invntoris ar in fact oftn in charg to th logistics managr. Howvr it is worth noticing that som companis rdsignd rsponsibilitis of purchasing managr aftr thir adoption of th Lan principls: somtims logistics managr and purchas managr ar co-rsponsibl for invntory costs, in othr cass coopration btwn purchass and logistics has incrasd and in othr cass logistics is mor involvd in th procss of purchasing dcisions, vn if rsponsibilitis on purchasing costs rmain to th purchasing managr and rsponsibilitis on invntory costs rmain to th logistics managr. Also in ths cass acquisition pric and vidnt diffrntial costs has rmaind th most important factors that ar takn into account, and hiddn costs ar gnrally not takn into account. Our rsarch highlights that no substantial changs in th managmnt of global supplirs wr adoptd aftr th Lan principls implmntation in supply ara. Evn if two rspondnts from cas studis activity statd a littl incras in th importanc of flxibility, pric rmains dfinitivly th most important factor. It is also to b noticd that 3 rspondnts xpct an incras in futur importanc of flxibility, dlivris accuracy and on tim dlivris. Also th numbr and typology of products globally purchasd didn t chang aftr th Lan principls implmntation. Most globally purchasd products and componnts could b groupd in 4 catgoris: standard componnts, products mad on customr spcs (howvr, ths products/componnts will b dmandd to th supplir for a long priod), raw matrials and spcial componnts/products (ths componnts ar purchasd globally bcaus of thir unavailability on local markts. Usually ths componnts com from USA or Japan). Th 4 catgoris highlightd bfor ar charactrizd by a vry low collaboration rquird with th supplir. This is in lin with th communication problms highlightd bfor. Th xploitation of global markts for spcial products not found in local markts was also argud by Handfild (1994) and Nassimbni (2006). Global Sourcing of standard componnts is also confirmd by Salmi (2006) and Nallor t al. (2001). Whn w ask rspondnts about th rlationship with supplirs, a 60% of th companis intrviwd in th survy stat to purchas products and componnts in a dirct way. 28% of 1554
th rspondnts uss commrcial dalrs, whil th rmaining 12% uss both th mthods. On th contrary, whn w askd to th survy rspondnts about th 4 most critical problms in Global Sourcing (tabl blow), high and variabl lad tims mrg as th most critical issu. Long and variabl lad tims is statd by 80% of th companis intrviwd. Tabl 2. Problms statd by survy rspondnts in th Global Sourcing Problms of Global Sourcing Long and variabl lad tims 80% Lat dlivris + wrong dlivris in trms of products dlivrd 40% Low innovation 1,6% Lowr quality 23% Poor communication 18,5% Difficult quality controls 4,6% High transportation costs 32,3% Morovr, th charactristics to mak th componnt a good candidat for th Global Sourcing in Lan companis ar: high lvl of standardization, th fact that th componnt will b purchasd for a quit long priod in mdium-high volums, th low volatility of dmand for that componnt, th high manpowr contnt and a low-mdium valu of th componnt/th product. Thus, in cas th company can dcid whthr to buy a componnt in a local markt or in a global markt, will tnd to buy in a global markt whn th dmand volum for th componnt (i.. yarly volum of dmand for th componnt in th mdium-long trm) is high, th volatility of dmand (considrd as th difficulty in forcasting dmand and misalignmnt from what plannd) is low, and th quality rquird (considrd as skills lvl to produc what is rquird) is not critic. This statmnt coms from rsults of cas studis and was validatd by th companis intrviwd at th nd of th rsarch. Global Sourcing incrass lad tims for componnts, incrass variability in lad tims and forcs companis to ordr big batchs of products. Also quality problms ar mor critic in cas of Global Sourcing. All ths factors imply incrasing stock lvls (both cycl stock and safty stock) and incrasing dpndncy on forcasts. Dfinitivly, highr wasts in th systm. Thus, w aimd to invstigat how Lan principls implmntation affctd th supply chain managmnt in cas of Global Sourcing. In particular, w wantd to undrstand if managmnt of global supplirs has changd in trms of: dlivry frquncy and dlivry batch, collaboration with th supplir, information xchang with th supplir and dvlopmnt of common managrial mthodologis with supplirs. Cas studis show how collaboration with global supplirs has not incrasd or changd sinc th Lan principls implmntation. Th sam could b said about communication and informativ systms rquird to support th global supplirs managmnt (for local supplirs th contrary could b said), as also noticd by Das and Handfild (1997). In fact, authors argu that thr is no significant diffrnc in trms of communication and information systms ndd with global supplirs from companis that hav implmntd Lan Approach and companis that hav not implmntd th Lan Approach. Instad, whn w considr logistics aspcts, spcific activitis wr carrid out to limit th impact of stock lvls incrass (both cycl stock and safty stock), th incras in dpndncy on forcasts, tc. Such countrmasurs ar in lin with th Lan Approach and aim at rducing th impact of Global Sourcing problms. Evn if not all th companis 1555
intrviwd in th cas studis hav implmntd all th activitis dscribd blow, w will prsnt thm togthr, as a whol st of altrnativs to allviat som of th problms highlightd bfor. Consolidation cntrs: this countrmasur consists in introducing a consolidation cntr for dlivris nar global supplirs in ordr to consolidat load units with products from multipl supplirs. Thus, supplirs in th consolidation cntr ara, instad of snding products dirctly to th customr, snd products mor frquntly to th consolidation cntr. This allows mor frqunt dlivris to th customr for smallr batchs of products. A similar solution was also highlightd by Das and Handfild (1997) and Wu (2003). On of th companis intrviwd was facilitatd in applying this countrmasur bcaus it has a manufacturing plant in China to srv th local markt. Thus, this company has usd som of th plant spac for th consolidation of dlivris in ordr to incras frquncy of dlivris. Us of a Local supplir nxt to th global supplir: svral companis statd thy hav maintaind, in th cas of componnts and products globally sourcd, a local supplir. Th local supplir could guarant th supplis continuity in cas of problms. This also maks th customr lss dpndnt from th global supplir. Nonthlss, this countrmasur sms to b vry usful to fac th problm of dmand paks and to rduc invntory lvls to fac dmand variability. Th us of a local supplir is also usful to st-up and to tst for quality componnts bfor snding thm to th global supplir for massiv production. In addition, local supplir is also usd for possibl rworks and to rduc non quality costs. Morovr, Salmi (2006) highlights th rduction of th dpndncy on th global supplir as a furthr advantag of th us of a local supplir nxt to th global supplir. In our rsarch, th main motivations for adopting this solution ar th highr flxibility to dmand paks and th possibility to rduc quality costs and products ramp-up costs. Quality control at supplir location: aims at rducing non quality costs, by avoiding uslss long travls of goods. For instanc, on of th companis intrviwd xploits its Chins facility to carry out quality control bfor snding products to Italy. This solution was also highlightd by Salmi (2006). For futur, a possibl xtnsion may b to carry out quality control in th consolidation cntr, in ordr to crat a sort of quality control pooling for products with similar charactristics. Milk runs: this countrmasur sms to b mor an opportunity than a solution. For instanc, in on of th cass invstigatd a company could nlarg its milk runs, in ordr to includ also Eastrn Europ countris (Czch Rpublic and Hungary) by xploiting products flows of both companis of th group and of svral supplirs from East Europ countris. Thus, th company could introduc frqunt milk runs including both companis of th group and som supplirs from East Europ countris with a saturatd truck during th whol run. Flxibility and frquncy incras of th supplir: th incras of flxibility and frquncy of dlivris from supplirs is statd by rspondnts as a masur to rduc stock lvls. Such countrmasur is asir whn global supplirs ar not vry far-off (.g. Turky, or East Europ). In fact, 4 of th 9 companis invstigatd in th cas studis askd thir Chins supplirs to incras th flxibility and dlivry frquncy with scarc rsults. Das and Handfild (1997) stat that frquncy of dlivris of global supplirs in Lan companis is not so highr than th on among non Lan implmntrs. 1556
Company snd Moulds to th global supplir: this countrmasur allows highr quality lvls for mltd componnts. On of th companis intrviwd supplis moulds to its global supplir, bcaus product quality is rlatd with mould quality. Dlivry srvics: rducing and focusing just on mor rliabl dlivry companis is a countrmasur mployd in on of th cas studis and was also found in Wu (2003). Instad, non of th firms invstigatd stipulatd agrmnts with othr companis to consolidat dlivris. This countrmasur was found by Das and Handfild (1997). As a rsult of th countrmasurs summarizd bfor, companis stat rductions in invntory lvls, rduction in th lad tim from purchasing and dlivry, rduction in stockouts, rduction in spac rquird for invntoris. All th countrmasurs statd by th companis ar in lin with th Lan principls, but could b usd by non Lan companis as wll in ordr to rduc impacts of Global Sourcing. 5. Conclusions Global Sourcing within Lan companis is widsprad bcaus of th lowr acquisition prics of componnts and products. About 88% of Lan companis intrviwd statd th us of Global Sourcing for rcurrnt typologis of products/componnts, whos typical charactristics wr discussd in th papr. Th Just in tim pull systm is not applid in Global Sourcing, bcaus of th distanc btwn supplir and customr. Lan companis didn t modify significantly th managmnt of global supplirs aftr approaching Lan principls. In fact, rating logics for global supplirs didn t changd a lot aftr Lan Approach introduction, vn if som company statd that for futur, accuracy, punctuality and flxibility will incras in importanc. Also collaboration and communication btwn global supplirs and customrs sms not to b incrasd aftr th introduction of th Lan Approach. Nithr th informativ flow with global supplirs nor informativ systms usd wr changd. Whn considring th numbr and th typology of itms to b globally purchasd, just vidnt costs ar quantifid and considrd. No hiddn costs or wasts introducd by th Global Sourcing ar xprssly takn into account by Lan companis intrviwd in global purchasing dcision procss. On th othr hand, lad tims, accuracy of dlivris, both in trms of punctuality and quality, and high transportation cost, ar ky issus for Lan companis. In ordr to rduc such problms svral countrmasurs obsrvd from Italian companis and in lin with th Lan Approach wr prsntd in this papr. Such countrmasurs can rduc th impact of Global Sourcing both in Lan and in Non Lan companis and dmonstratd intrsting rsults in th companis analyzd. Lan Supply and Global Sourcing ar two distinct approachs to achiv comptitiv advantags, whos complt intgration is difficult. Howvr, th possibility to xploit managrial countrmasurs to rduc th impact of Global Sourcing sms to b possibl and to produc intrsting rsults. Rfrncs Agrawal, V., Farrl, D., Rms, J.K. 2003. Offshoring and byond. Th McKinsy Quartrly. Spcial dition: Global dirctions. Cartr J.R., Parson J., Png L. 1997. Logistics Barrirs to intrnational oprations: th cas of Popl's Rpublic of China. Journal of Businss Logistics, Vol. 18, 2. 1557
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