This paper analyzes the influence that buyer firms have on their suppliers' work organization in two supply chains in the automotive industry. One of the supply chains is controlled by a modular plant and the other is organized in the traditional way. In the traditional supply chain, the work organization of an engine manufacturer plant as well as of ten of its suppliers is examined. In the modular plant, a truck and bus manufacturer, the work organization of the whole modular system is examined, exploring the peculiarities of this kind of arrangement. The results of the research shows that in the modular plant the assembler's influence over the work organization, relating to aspects like wages and work time, is more direct. In the traditional supply chain, the influence happens in a indirect way, through requirements done to other areas of management.
Work organization; Supply chain; Modular plant; Automotive industry
