Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the use of quality management tools and techniques and their integration into the ISO 9001:2008 standard in a wind power (WP) sector supply chain (SC). Design/methodology/approach The research project was carried out in 119 WP sector SC companies (i.e. component suppliers, wind turbine assemblers and wind farm operation and maintenance services) using the questionnaire method. The companies selected employ quality management systems (QMSs) which conform to the ISO 9001:2008 standard. Findings The survey findings reveal that the degree to which quality tools and techniques are used in the WP companies can be characterised as “high”. The results show that internal audits, flowchart diagrams and cost of poor quality are the most-commonly applied tools and techniques, although they also indicate some areas for further improvement, for instance, when using advanced and complex quality techniques such as design of experiments, quality function deployment or business process management. In addition to this, the findings reveal that ISO 9001:2008 establishes a favourable environment for the use of quality tools and techniques. Research limitations/implications The study was based on the perceptions of quality managers, quality engineers and company managers (subjective data) and did not examine the reasons for either not implementing and/or the difficulties encountered while implementing quality tools and techniques. Practical implications The specific findings indicate that employing quality tools and techniques is useful for managers, not only when implementing a QMS, but also when suggesting recommendations for improvement. Originality/value A change of developing a framework integrating the main QT&T procedures into the main ISO 9001 processes.

The present chapter aims to increase the understanding of possible supply chain models and their fit and most effective configuration in a typically engineer-to-order sector, namely the wind business. Our findings argue the pertinence of a Hybrid Supply Chain model combining elements of the Lean, Agile and Leagile paradigms upstream and the Project Management paradigm downstream in the case of a Wind Turbine Manufacturer. We also find that, depending on the complexity of the market and supply diversity, multiple decoupling points emerge. Through the present Wind Energy Supply Chain case, we find that for effective management of a global supply chain characterized by a high number of references and multiple technologies, it is necessary to mix different manufacturing paradigms in order to provide a quick, agile and competitive response to the customer.

This paper evaluates whether ISO certification enables a supplier to become an extended resource in a specific sector. The evaluation consisted of a statistical analysis of data from 90 suppliers to a wind turbine manufacturer. The suppliers were selected, evaluated and audited as extended resources from a resource-based view (RBV). We test the differences that the qualified suppliers exhibit in main ISO processes and we identify specific areas that will improve supplier relationships. We also demonstrate significant differences exist when the level of technology the supplier uses is taken into account. Our results may well be applicable in a wider manufacturing processes context. We determine that ISO certification alone is not enough to cement a positive relationship in an upstream supply chain environment, despite such relationships being crucial to the success of a business, and support the use of a wider sector-specific certification tool that goes beyond ISO certification.

The present chapter aims to increase the understanding of possible supply chain models and their fit and most effective configuration in a typically engineer-to-order sector, namely the wind business. Our findings argue the pertinence of a Hybrid Supply Chain model combining elements of the Lean, Agile and Leagile paradigms upstream and the Project Management paradigm downstream in the case of a Wind Turbine Manufacturer. We also find that, depending on the complexity of the market and supply diversity, multiple decoupling points emerge. Through the present Wind Energy Supply Chain case, we find that for effective management of a global supply chain characterized by a high number of references and multiple technologies, it is necessary to mix different manufacturing paradigms in order to provide a quick, agile and competitive response to the customer.

This paper evaluates whether ISO certification enables a supplier to become an extended resource in a specific sector. The evaluation consisted of a statistical analysis of data from 90 suppliers to a wind turbine manufacturer. The suppliers were selected, evaluated and audited as extended resources from a resource-based view (RBV). We test the differences that the qualified suppliers exhibit in main ISO processes and we identify specific areas that will improve supplier relationships. We also demonstrate significant differences exist when the level of technology the supplier uses is taken into account. Our results may well be applicable in a wider manufacturing processes context. We determine that ISO certification alone is not enough to cement a positive relationship in an upstream supply chain environment, despite such relationships being crucial to the success of a business, and support the use of a wider sector-specific certification tool that goes beyond ISO certification.