M. Jaison

Abstract

Indian shipbuilding industry has several advantages and a very large untapped potential. This article aims to identify the focus areas in Indian shipbuilding, where tangible improvements made now can substantially increase the supply chain surplus. Interventions recommended for greater shipbuilding supply chain surplus in India are presented and also discussed in the context of some important recent policy initiatives impacting the industry. This study applied a literature review approach to examine the Indian shipbuilding industry, in comparison to shipbuilding industries of US, UK, Japan, China and Korea, for the period after World War II, with a focus on underlying supply chain management strategies. Progress made by Japan, Korea and China towards world leadership in shipbuilding was found to fit the supply chain management approach. The main contribution of this study is in identifying the common factors in supply chain management of shipbuilding among Japan, Korea and China, which helped them accelerate towards world leadership in shipbuilding. Based on this and the study of current status of Indian shipbuilding, focus areas for policy initiatives for realising the industry’s potential were identified. The study also helped evolve a conceptual model for analysis of supply chain management of shipbuilding. This study will help policy makers to frame suitable policies, in the identified focus areas, based on successful policies implemented in the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors in India. This study is among the first to provide theoretical contributions towards supply chain management of shipbuilding in India and is the first to examine the supply chain management of shipbuilding from the perspective that the drivers of supply chain management viz. the logistic drivers -facilities, inventory and transportation and the cross-functional drivers – sourcing, information and pricing, determine the performance of the shipbuilding supply chain, moderated by the supply chain management adaptations, to deliver shipbuilding supply chain surplus.

Keywords- Supply Chain Management (SCM), Shipyard, Craft administration techniques, Bureaucratic administration techniques, Drivers of SCM.