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The design, manufacture and delivery of a product requires ever-higher levels of knowledge and expertise within the supply chain. If concurrent engineering (CE) in tiered supply chains is to be fully implemented, a practical CE strategy needs to recognise that successful, concurrent designs are built on rich relationships amongst all parties. Virtual teaming is the most appropriate framework and mechanism in which to examine how such relationships can be created across a distributed supply chain, with members separated geographically. In principle, virtual teaming could allow joint commitment, feelings of mutuality, trust and creativity, and rapid decision making to operate within a supply chain. For this to be possible, a virtual team needs to be built by concentrating on process, teaming and technology factors. However, experience from other IT-based initiatives is that technology will be concentrated on to the exclusion of other factors. Data from the two sources support this contention.

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This paper discusses the information flows in the supply chain, and identifies knowledge and expertise as "richer" more capable entities for its management than data or information. It briefly explores how the structure of the automotive supply chain is changing due to the pressures of increasing complexity and urgency. Then it highlights the inevitability of instability in the supply chain, through a discussion on turbulence. Agility is identified as a response for coping with this uncertainty. The tool identified for introducing agility in the supply chain is Virtual Teaming. It achieves this by forming collaborative supply chain partnerships, unconstrained by geography that can quickly apply knowledge and expertise as corrective and preventive mechanisms. A survey of the suppliers to a major automotive manufacturer has highlighted the need for this form of working.A major function of the information flows in the supply chain is in providing control information. This function is threatened because the structure of the supply chain is changing due to the pressures of increasing complexity and urgency. Tiered supply chains can lead to an increasing possibility of disturbances in the material flow in the supply change, often initiated by frequent and unexpected changes in demand. These disturbances have been termed "turbulence", which can be classified in five categories, design, volume, mix, schedule and process [1]. A number of approaches such as concurrent engineering and late configuration [2] have been proposed to reduce turbulence. However these do not reduce the occurrence of some of the more advanced forms of dynamic behaviour [3]. It is proposed that what is needed is a context in which human knowledge and expertise can be brought to bear. The article examines the agility strategy for competitiveness in changing market conditions and particularly Goldman et al.'s [4] proposals for agile supply chains that exhibit high degrees of reward, enrichment and linkage amongst members: ideas that are congruent with needing to inject human knowledge and expertise. One of the barriers to direct human interaction in the supply chain is, however, the geographical separation of its members. Virtual teaming is proposed as the model and practice that can overcome this geographical barrier. A virtual team, composed of members of the supply chain and using advanced communications technology, can improve the flow of information and quickly dampen turbulence through the ability of members to behave as a team, sharing knowledge and expertise, regardless of location. However, building effective virtual teams requires an organisation to tackle several technology, process and people related factors [5], while Clegg et al. [6] warn that technology factors typically receive attention at the expense of nontechnology factors, thus impeding the success of many IT-based processes. The article presents overview data from two research programs on virtual teaming in the automotive supply chain. The data shows recognition of the promise ...

This paper is the second of a three-part series in which the authors identify best practice for implementing virtual teamworking to aid concurrent engineering. Part 1 examined how five key texts on virtual teamworking contribute to an understanding of how to introduce virtual working to enable concurrent engineering. It developed a structure for comparing and contrasting the texts for this purpose. In Part 2, four general areas of concern are identified from these texts. The authors suggest five other issues, derived from other texts and practical experience important to concurrent engineering involving the supply chain. Part 3 will then synthesise the key elements of a methodology for introducing virtual teaming in a design and manufacture supply chain utilising concurrent engineering.

This paper is the first of a three part series in which the authors identify best practice for implementing virtual teamworking to aid concurrent engineering. Part 1 examines how five key texts on virtual teamworking contribute to an understanding of how to introduce virtual working to enable concurrent engineering. It develops a structure for comparing and contrasting the texts for this purpose. In Part 2, four general areas of concern are identified from these texts. The authors suggest five other issues, derived from other texts and practical experience important to concurrent engineering involving the supply chain. Part 3 then synthesizes the key elements of a methodology for introducing virtual teaming in a design and manufacture supply chain utilising concurrent engineering.

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