Strategic Sourcing of Serial Production Processes in Jet Engine Manufacturing
Fabrication of an individual jet engine component at Pratt & Whitney can go through upwards of 40 manufacturing processes, from an airfoil’s single crystal casting to thermal plasma spray coatings and wire EDM-drilled cooling holes. Many of these processes are extremely specialized, requiring sp...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Published: |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2022
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139456 |
| _version_ | 1811071131340242944 |
|---|---|
| author | Forehand, Brandy |
| author2 | Welsch, Roy |
| author_facet | Welsch, Roy Forehand, Brandy |
| author_sort | Forehand, Brandy |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Fabrication of an individual jet engine component at Pratt & Whitney can go through upwards of 40 manufacturing processes, from an airfoil’s single crystal casting to thermal plasma spray coatings and wire EDM-drilled cooling holes. Many of these processes are extremely specialized, requiring special equipment, environmental controls, and expertise to produce at the precise tolerances required in aerospace.
Utilizing contract manufacturers is an attractive and cost-effective option when lower unit process costs outweigh the associated transaction costs. However, it is not clear that Pratt & Whitney is utilizing an integrated and cost-efficient strategy when making sourcing decisions. Decisions are made locally, by individual production areas with little visibility into overall company impact. Furthermore, outsourcing arrangements established to temporarily supplement capacity end up persisting and becoming longer term or permanent arrangements.
Based on research with Pratt Whitney, this project arrives at a methodology to operationalize continuous analysis of transaction costs in order to arrive an efficient sourcing decision. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:46:31Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/139456 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:46:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1394562022-01-15T04:04:57Z Strategic Sourcing of Serial Production Processes in Jet Engine Manufacturing Forehand, Brandy Welsch, Roy Simchi-Levi, David Sloan School of Management Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Fabrication of an individual jet engine component at Pratt & Whitney can go through upwards of 40 manufacturing processes, from an airfoil’s single crystal casting to thermal plasma spray coatings and wire EDM-drilled cooling holes. Many of these processes are extremely specialized, requiring special equipment, environmental controls, and expertise to produce at the precise tolerances required in aerospace. Utilizing contract manufacturers is an attractive and cost-effective option when lower unit process costs outweigh the associated transaction costs. However, it is not clear that Pratt & Whitney is utilizing an integrated and cost-efficient strategy when making sourcing decisions. Decisions are made locally, by individual production areas with little visibility into overall company impact. Furthermore, outsourcing arrangements established to temporarily supplement capacity end up persisting and becoming longer term or permanent arrangements. Based on research with Pratt Whitney, this project arrives at a methodology to operationalize continuous analysis of transaction costs in order to arrive an efficient sourcing decision. M.B.A. S.M. 2022-01-14T15:12:32Z 2022-01-14T15:12:32Z 2021-06 2021-06-10T19:13:07.907Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139456 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Forehand, Brandy Strategic Sourcing of Serial Production Processes in Jet Engine Manufacturing |
| title | Strategic Sourcing of Serial Production Processes in Jet Engine Manufacturing |
| title_full | Strategic Sourcing of Serial Production Processes in Jet Engine Manufacturing |
| title_fullStr | Strategic Sourcing of Serial Production Processes in Jet Engine Manufacturing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strategic Sourcing of Serial Production Processes in Jet Engine Manufacturing |
| title_short | Strategic Sourcing of Serial Production Processes in Jet Engine Manufacturing |
| title_sort | strategic sourcing of serial production processes in jet engine manufacturing |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139456 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT forehandbrandy strategicsourcingofserialproductionprocessesinjetenginemanufacturing |