Geography of Production Linkages in the Irish and Scottish Microcomputer Industry:The Role of Logistics是一篇关于物流方面的文章

Geography of Production Linkages in the Irish and Scottish Microcomputer Industry:The Role of Logistics是一篇关于物流方面的文章
Geography of Production Linkages in the Irish and Scottish Microcomputer Industry:The Role of Logi
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是一篇关于物流方面的文章

Geography of Production Linkages in the Irish and Scottish Microcomputer Industry:The Role of Logistics是一篇关于物流方面的文章
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Geography of Production Linkages in the Irish and Scottish Microcomputer Industry: The Role of Logistics

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外文文献
Geography of Production Linkages in the Irish and Scottish Microcomputer Industry: The Role of Logistics

Source: Economic Geography, Vol. 81, No. 3 (Jul., 2005), pp. 283-303

Abstract: The economic crisis of the mid 1970s marked the transition from the traditional Fordist mode of industrial organization to one of time based competition (TBC). It has been postulated that the rise of TBC will lead to an increase in local and regional production linkages. Part of the argument is that the associated search for logistical efficiency and the adoption of the just-in-time (JIT) principles will lead to closer buyer-supplier proximity. In this article, we test the relevance of this idea in a case study of the microcomputer hardware industry in Ireland and Scotland. Most of the data were collected during multiple interviews with subsidiaries of all global microcomputer assemblers with operations in one of the two countries. The study shows that rather than sourcing locally or regionally, the assemblers import the vast majority of their material inputs from regions outside Ireland and Britain, notably from the Far East, and that the inbound logistics pipelines of most components involve inventories, often hubbed in local warehouses. Such supply systems have been interpreted as pseudo JIT, suboptimal inbound logistics systems that are organized on traditional Fordist principles. We argue that the logistics systems and the geography of the supply linkages should not be interpreted this way. Inbound inventories were tightly managed, leading to modest target buffer levels and high shipment frequencies. Even under JIT supply, the geographic configuration of production linkages and the details of logistics systems remain highly dependent on a range of contextual conditions and component characteristics. The findings of this study suggest that a strategy of building integrated vertical production clusters around subsidiaries of multinational enterprises is no longer suitable for Ireland and Scotland, at least not in the context of the microcomputer industry.

Key words: computer industry, production linkages, logistics.

According to some, the economic crisis of the mid-1970s marked the transition from the traditional Fordist mode of industrial organization to one of time based competition (TBC) (Schoenberger 1997; Stalk 1988; Stalk and Hout 1990). As an industrial paradigm, the "old," ideal type, Fordism was a system of "assembly-line-based mass production" of standardized goods (Asheim 1992). Production took place in large vertically integrated plants that were owned and centrally controlled by large, often multinational corporations. Rising productivity was based on mechanization, the pursuit of internal economies of scale, a detailed division of tasks, and the intensification of work(Amin 1994). Long production runs and dedicated machinery were intended to minimize downtime. Driven by similar considerations, suppliers produced and delivered standardized components in large, infrequent batches. Price competitiveness was the most important criterion in the selection of suppliers (Sayer 1986). Finally, with regard to the geography of production, the narrow focus on the minimization of prices, production costs, and labor costs meant that the Fordist system was often characterize by an extreme spatial division of labor and spaced-out supply chains. Peripheral regions were incorporated in a dependent way through branch plant investment that contributed little to regional development.
The Fordist methods of work organization had reached their limits in terms of growth in productivity by the 1970s. Furthermore, owning to its inherent rigidities, the Fordist system was unable to cater to modern markets, characterized by the demand for variety, quality, and responsiveness and by shorter product life cycles. For these reasons, among others, the economic crisis of the mid-1970s has been interpreted as a "crisis of Fordism" (Amin 1994; Schoenberger 1997). One idea is that a resolution of this crisis, if such a resolution is possible, would require a return to a more flexible, craft-based mode of production (see, for example, Piore and Sabel 1984 on "flexible specialization" and Storper and Scott 1989 on "flexible accumulation").
Others havepointed to many firms that are successfully competing in the new
market environment with new flexible forms of high volume production that are blurring the distinction between craft and mass production (Jessop 1992; Tomaney 1994). These firms are not producing standardized end products, but instead have succeeded in combining mass production with product variety and customization. All new high- volume production firms, in one way or another, "combine the benefits of economies of scope and greater flexibility in responding to consumer demand, which are characteristic of small batch production, with those of economies of scale, characteristic of mass production" (Hudson 1997b, 303). These
ideas are captured in a number of production concepts, including lean production (Womack, Jones, and Roos 1990), mass customization (Pine 1993), dynamic flexibility (Coriat 1991; Veltz 1991), diversified quality production (Jessop 1992), and TBC (Stalk and Hout 1990; Schoenberger 1997).
The TBC model emphasizes that the new competitive environment and the requirements of modern markets have drastic all changed the role of time in competition . According to its proponents, firms now compete primarily on the basis of their ability to compress time in all elements of the value chain and, beyond that, in the firms relations with upstream and downstream partners. The central focus is on reducing product development times and order to delivery cycles. This focus, in theory, result in a highly flexible production system that offers a combination of fast response, increased variety, high value, and low cost(Stalk and Hout 1990).
Schoenberger (1997) postulated that the rise of TBC will have repercussions for the geography of production and regional development. She depicted a stylized scenario of "concentrated deconcentration," in which a multinational firm creates tightly integrated production complexes in each of its primary market regions, including North America, the European Union, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The regional complexes would include various manufacturing functions, as well as some degree of technical and strategic responsibility that would allow the firm to respond to the particular needs of the individual markets.
Schoenberger also postulated that TBC will lead to a greater proximity between buyers and their suppliers and an increase in local and regional production linkages .The argument basically involves two driver of buyer-supplier proximity: the efficien exchange of technical information and the efficient flow of products, or logistical efficiency. With regard to the efficient flow of products, one of the central targets of TBC is a reduction of the order-to-delivery cycles or chain cycle times (Stalk and Hout 1990). Toward this end, TBC envelops the just in time (JIT) production and supply principles, which are expected to lead to close buyer-supplier proximity.
We tested the relevance of these ideas in a case study of the microcomputer hard ware industry in Ireland and Scotland. The microcomputer industry is here defined as the industry that produces personal computers (including laptops and note-books), workstations, and entry-level server that cost less than $100,000 in 2001. It involves both microcomputer assemblers and the manufacturers of components and parts Companies in this industry have been portrayed as prime examples of TBC and JIT supply (Hudson 1997a; "Just-In-Tim Inventories: Combating Foreign Rivals"1984; Sayer 1986; Morgan 1991). The micro computer sector is a good example of an industry that is facing highly volatile market and irregular and unpredictable demand--characteristics that prove to be central to the analysis we present later in this article. The findings concerning the relevance of the firs driver, the efficient exchange of technica information, have been documented else-where (van Egeraat and Jacobson 2005; van Egeraat, Jacobson, and Phelps 2002). This article focuses on how the logistical considerations have influenced the geography of production linkages in the industry. Related studies on the industry (e.g., Angel and Engstrom 1995; Dedrick and Kraemer 2002) have tended to focus on the geography of production networks in the United States and the Far East. Our study specifically focused on the production networks of companies that are located in the European semi periphery. Furthermore, Angel and Engstrom analyzed the role of technical information exchange and paid no attention to logistical considerations.
This article focuses strongly on the relevance of the efficiency argument for buyer- supplier proximity. Less attention is paid to other aspects of buyer-supplier relationships, notably a shift from producer driven to buyer-driven commodity chains (Gereffi2001) or from supplier to client markets and the associated shift of relative power among members of the chains. Whether governance mechanisms in the microcomputer hardware industry are really shifting toward buyer driven chains is a matter for debate (see, e.g., Chen 2002). Nevertheless, power relations, in general, could have a confounding effect on the analysis of logistical arrangements, so their influence receives attention as well.
Most data were collected during inter-views with general managers, materials managers, and logistics managers who were employed by the 11 branded microcomputer makers in Ireland (Apple, AST, Dell, Gateway, and Intel) and Scotland (Apricot Mitsubishi, Compaq, Digital, IBM, Packard Bell-NEC, and Sun Microsystems)-from here on referred to as "the focal companies" or "the focal plants." Three rounds of semi structured and structured interviews were conducted from 1998 to 2001. Unless we state otherwise, all of the data presented here pertain to the situation during the period 1998 to early 1999. Additional data
were collected through mailed questionnaires that were completed by staff members at the focal companies and newspaper research. Finally, telephone interviews were conducted with staff at a selection of local supplier firms.
The next section more closely examines the logic underlying the idea that logistical considerations in the context of TBC will drive close buyer-supplier proximity. This section is followed by an outline of the geography of the supply chains of the microcomputer companies in Ireland and Scotland. It shows that the focal companies source the vast majority of material inputs from regions outside Ireland and Britain, notably from the Far East. The next section, which yields insights into the ways in which the focal companies structured their inbound logistics pipelines, provides the basis for the subsequent analysis of data on inventory levels, shipment frequencies, and modes of transport. We focus on whether the focal companies are still operating suboptimal inbound logistics systems organized on traditional Fordist, mass production principles, or whether, in line with TBC, the focal companies have optimal (or, at least, less suboptimal)' inbound logistics systems that take full account of the modem comprehensive logistics management principles underlying TBC. If the latter is the case, then we will have to conclude that these principles do not necessarily lead to buyer- supplier proximity. In the conclusion, we consider the implications of this point for industrial policy.

Geography of Production Linkages

This section outlines the sources of the parts and components that are used by the 11 focal companies. Interviewees provided the names of their suppliers as well as the location of manufacturing. The precise detail of the geographic configuration of the supplier networks differed from company to company. However, great commonalities existed, especially with respect to the regional supply situation. The main area of difference was the location of the mother board/back panel suppliers. The geographic origin of parts and components is summarized in Table 1. For more detailed data on individual companies, see van Egeraat, Turok, and Jacobson (1999) and van Egeraat (2002).
The vast majority of components and parts were imported from regions outside Ireland and Britain, notably from the Far East and, to a lesser extent, the United States. The only items that were significantly
sourced in Ireland and/or Scotland were enclosures, motherboards/back panels (mainly from Scotland), network cards (from Ireland only), non-English-language keyboards, digital/printed media, accessory kits,5 cables/interconnect, and packaging material. Furthermore, England and Wales figured, to a small extent, in the area of monitors, while England also played a role in the supply of motherboards. However, mostof these components were imported from other regions as well. Thus, the majority of motherboards/back panels, network cards, cables, keyboards, and monitors were manufactured in other regions, notably in the Far East. Only enclosures, packaging, media, kits, and non-English language keyboards were sourced mainly from suppliers in Ireland or Scotland.

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