A typology of the situations of cooperation in supply chains

•Information exchanges in supply chains have been analyzed in aeronautical supply chains.•The limitations of existing typologies of situations of cooperation have been shown.•A new typology of the situations of cooperation has been suggested.•Analysis of real situations shows the interest of this taxonomy.

Pushed by globalization and its consequent increased competition, supply chain managers have understood the importance of information sharing, joint decision-making and cooperation across supply chains. Therefore, how to synchronize local activities through global processes and how to establish a collaborative supply chain relationship are actual difficulties that supply chain members have to address. In this context, this paper suggests a model of the situations of cooperation in supply chains for coping with real industrial situations, based on the analysis of the limitations of previous models. It is shown how the suggested model may allow to identify dysfunctions in the cooperation process, especially when both large and small companies are involved, and can also be used to describe and monitor the possible evolution of the cooperation process. Finally, the model may help to specify the way information should be efficiently processed all along a supply chain, depending on the situation of cooperation.