SME and Planning in Supply Chains:a Socio-technical View

The co-existence of large and small companies in nowadays supply chains may led to misunderstandings which are prejudicial to the supply chain performance. Based on several studies in aeronautical supply chains, we list some of typical problems linked to the relationship between large and small companies, and show how the solutions promoted by large companies may in some cases be inadequate. We suggest to use different frameworks suggested in social sciences for better understanding the origins of these problems and provide some guidelines for defining a framework of cooperation between large and small companies, oriented on a better mutual understanding.