Some aerospace and defense (A&D) executives worry that today's global business environment of high demand with high levels of complexity is moving too fast for their supply chains to keep pace. We have found that significantly improving your supply chain for high-speed performance is the most effective way to deliver what the markets expect. Overcoming fundamental barriers and getting alignment between sales, operations, finance and engineering demands executive involvement. Without a robust and aligned supply chain, profits will not be sustainable and revenues will be more difficult to sustain. To compete profitably in their environment, A&D executives need to fundamentally reexamine their supply chain and raise the ante for performance.

Deloitte helps A&D companies with five innovative techniques to boost their supply chain performance:

1. Drive alignment of supply chain and business strategy: Many critical decisions about a product are made early on in the product’s life cycle; careful thinking about how to align supply chain network strategy with business strategy early on can drive performance down the road.
2. Integrate multiple supply networks: Knowing when and where to integrate supply chain networks that support each business model is critical to improving performance. Single supply chains that serve all businesses will typically underperform on both cost and service objectives.
3. Align and integrate supply chain planning: Poorly integrated planning activities can be detrimental. Companies need to exercise tight coordination and integration of demand plans, inventory plans and production schedules to drive the required outputs.
4. Strategically manage the supply network: Aligning supply chain organization to facilitate better decision-making is key. Businesses must manage multiple linkages and dependencies within the network to gain flexibility and competitive advantage.
5. Mitigate tiering risks: Companies need to provide a consolidated view of demand down multiple levels within the supply chain. As visibility has shifted away from original equipment manufacturers to Tier 1, supply chain managers must increase their focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 players that have dropped below the radar.

Learn more about Supply Chain Strategy.

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As used in this document, ‘Deloitte’ means Deloitte LLP (and its subsidiaries). Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.