Boeing:: The Fight for Fasteners

Boeing originally was scheduled to deliver the Dreamliner to airline customers in mid-2008. However, after five announced delays over two years, the company was forced to postpone the first test flight. One driver for the delay was an industry-wide shortage of aerospace fasteners, the hardware that held the aircraft together. Engineers at Boeing never could have imagined that fasteners, which comprise approximately 3% of the total cost of an aircraft, would become such an issue. To address the fastener issue, Boeing's management knew that it could not just use a band-aid solution; rather, it had to drive sweeping changes to the way the industry and supply chain functioned. Boeing's solution: the fastener procurement model (FPM). This case introduces students to the challenges of operating a global supply chain and how a small part can derail a multi-billion dollar project. The case provides deep discussion on the topics of value-sharing, supply chain visibility, program implementation, and globalization