Participating companies
| Company Alpha | Company Beta | Company Gamma | Company Delta | Company Epsilon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 employees | 25 employees | 100,000 employees | 400 employees | 150 employees |
| Engineering consultancy firm | Manufacturer of doors and gates | Equipment supplier | Contract manufacturer | Manufacturer of industrial machinery |
| Services include commitment projects and taking responsibility for the development of its customers’ products. It is common for customer requirements to change during the development process, which calls for responsiveness toward the customer | Customers varying from construction firms and housing cooperatives to individual private customers. These customer segments require different approaches as they generally involve different numbers of actors and have varying specificities in their requirements | Complex production with many variants. Its production and the flow of information in its internal supply chain are both characterized by complexity. Being a large and geographically scattered company, customers can also be internal – this sometimes makes the supplier handle the relation with relative ease | Developing and supplying customized solutions in small- and medium-sized series to industrial customers. It is a global company, but the three plants considered in this study are all located in Sweden. These plants develop and manufacture products for a variety of markets and customers | Provides industrial machines to customers located around the world. Their products are similar in terms of basic purpose and function but differ in areas of application. Sometimes, this requires an understanding of regulations that not even the customer is aware of |
| Company Alpha | Company Beta | Company Gamma | Company Delta | Company Epsilon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 employees | 25 employees | 100,000 employees | 400 employees | 150 employees |
| Engineering consultancy firm | Manufacturer of doors and gates | Equipment supplier | Contract manufacturer | Manufacturer of industrial machinery |
| Services include commitment projects and taking responsibility for the development of its customers’ products. It is common for customer requirements to change during the development process, which calls for responsiveness toward the customer | Customers varying from construction firms and housing cooperatives to individual private customers. These customer segments require different approaches as they generally involve different numbers of actors and have varying specificities in their requirements | Complex production with many variants. Its production and the flow of information in its internal supply chain are both characterized by complexity. Being a large and geographically scattered company, customers can also be internal – this sometimes makes the supplier handle the relation with relative ease | Developing and supplying customized solutions in small- and medium-sized series to industrial customers. It is a global company, but the three plants considered in this study are all located in Sweden. These plants develop and manufacture products for a variety of markets and customers | Provides industrial machines to customers located around the world. Their products are similar in terms of basic purpose and function but differ in areas of application. Sometimes, this requires an understanding of regulations that not even the customer is aware of |