This paper concentrates on risk management in order fulfilment processes in dyadic relationships. “Risk” in this context means the possibility of a negative outcome of any real capital investments from the point of an order acceptance. A number of risk factors that might be of importance for a negative outcome as well as the basic concepts of managing risks in dyadic relationships are identified from a risk management and transaction cost theory perspective. Furthermore, perceived risk factors a number and their active and passive management are discussed. The results show that the risk strategy towards new customers is to avoid some of the risk factors while the same factors are minimized through various mitigation efforts while dealing with established customers.

When risk management is mentioned in the general rhetoric of supply chain management, a high level of sharing of risks and benefits between partners in a supply chain is often per definition, or implicitly, related to a high level of integration between the same partners. The purpose of this paper is to explore what risk management strategies and methods on order related risks that are used by suppliers in different interorganizational relationships. The various factors in focus in this study are factors related to risks from obsolescence in physical flows and acquisitions of equipments when a supplier accepts an order. In a network of logistic and managing directors, risk management issues in interorganizational settings were discussed on several seminars. The observed risk management methods and strategies among the organisations in the study suggest that they tend to view obsolescence risks more as pure risks in the least integrated relationships, and more as speculative risks in the most integrated relationships. However, they tend to limit the speculative risk management to modifications of system outcomes, not modifications of exposure. Nor do they balance the risk/utility level towards the customers. It is thus a relatively static approach to risk management with no changes of risk targets.

Many organisations cooperate with customers and integrate in various ways to create further operational synergy and to reduce uncertainty in demand. Supply chain integration offers the opportunity to capture synergies and there are many advantages for organisations that integrate into networks of customers (and suppliers). Sharing of information between organisations makes it possible for a supplier to obtain early signals about changing market conditions and thereby reduce its reliance on uncertain forecasts on the demand side to get a higher utilization of production facilities and lower safety stocks. However, there are also opposite drivers of uncertainties seen from a subcontractor’s perspective, e.g. smaller customer structure that increases dependency. The optimal strategy is to balance these drivers. The aim of this paper is to observe risk and uncertainties inside the transactional environment from a subcontractor’s perspective. The paper gives a theoretical framework and observations from industry

Scania has performed well above average in the heavy truck industry during a considerable time span. Scania's sources of competitive advantage are presented and their interrelations and significance for the business strategy analysed in order to explain the success of Scania. Strategic issues are traditionally analysed in a top-down procedure starting with the corporate strategy and proceeding by disaggregation of the strategy down in the organisation. This is known as the grand strategy perspective and views strategy as a “chain of causality”. We introduce the grounded strategy perspective which views strategy as a “pattern in a stream of decisions and actions”, and takes its starting point in the stream of activities within the company. Grounded strategy synthesises the strategy according to a bottom-up procedure. The case of Scania and the heavy truck industry is analysed according to these two different perspectives on strategy. The methodological approach may be different depending on the perspective. The results of the case study from each perspective reveal interesting implications to strategists: scholars as well as practitioners. The grand strategy approach appears to be advantageous for analysis at the higher levels of strategy, while the grounded approach appear to be advantageous at the lower levels of strategy.

Scania, the Swedish heavy truck producer, has for a number of years been able to generate profits substantially higher than the industry average. What has made this possible?

The study is one out of nine industry studies forming the base for Export Report No 6 of the Swedish Advisory Panel on Productivity. The study is mainly designed and based on Porter´s three levels. The analysis is extended outside Porter's frame of reference, however explanatory variables are presented and discussed at three levels: national level, industry level and company level.