Methodology for realignment of supply-chain structural elements

Supply-chain competitiveness is a holistic matter that requires each partner within the supply chain to align their structural elements. With this idea in mind, the following paper presents the manufacturing organization from a supply-chain standpoint (supply chain structural elements), discusses the importance of the alignment within and among supply-chain structural elements, and proposes a quantitative methodology to achieve a proper alignment, from cost, time, easiness, and expertise perspectives. The methodology is applied to a real case in order to probe its usefulness to the supply-chain strategist. Future research will extend the methodology for the case of hybrid business models.