Prerequisites for successful production transfers in the electronics industry

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify prerequisites for successful production transfers i.e. for achieving a stable production at the receiver at targeted supply-performance levels. The research findings consist of a collection of 43 prerequisites identified in the extant literature and structured according to the main transfer phases. Moreover, the authors present the challenges encountered during two transfers of electronics production, and discuss how those challenges could have been avoided or easily dealt with if some of the identified prerequisites had been in place. The paper provides a detailed overview over recommended activities when transferring production. In addition, risk-mitigation measures are highlighted along the transfer process, and there are suggested methods and tools for supply-chain risk management. Practitioners can use the collection of prerequisites as a checklist when preparing the transfer plan. These results represent a first step towards configuring a project development model for systematic production transfer management.