Identifying uncertainties for industrial service delivery: A systems approach

John Ahmet Erkoyuncu*, Christopher Durugbo, Rajkumar Roy

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Service delivery by industrial firms is increasingly seen as an influential factor for sustained profits. Across industry, this is typically achieved through long term contracts that aim to achieve performance, results, solutions, and so on. However, the increasing shift towards a service-oriented approach for production has created a number of challenges that originate from uncertainties that are experienced across supply networks.Along these lines, this research adopts a soft systems based approach to identify and categorise the uncertainties that are experienced particularly at the bidding stage of service contracts. These uncertainties significantly affect the cost and performance of service-oriented projects. This article presents the findings of a 3-year study with 22 aerospace experts from naval and defence industries that acted as key informants. It seeks to contribute to knowledge in research and industry by identifying and categorising uncertainties for industrial service delivery. Using the findings of the study, the article concludes by discussing implications and future challenges for academe and practice.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6295-6315
Number of pages21
JournalInternational Journal of Production Research
Volume51
Issue number21
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2013

Keywords

  • contracting for availability
  • cost estimation
  • industrial product-service systems
  • industrial services
  • uncertainty

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