Analysis of the Software supply chain from a logistics control point of view

In industries like high-tech and automotive, increasingly more of the product value delivered to the customer is based on a combination of hardware (HW) and software (SW), where SW handles much of the differentiation of capacity and features. The “logistics process” of SW, especially when it merges with HW along the process, has so far been little studied but a problem noticed is the difficulties to control and track the SW flow (e.g. Patton 1998, Pollit 1999, Baxter 2001).
Based on a telecom case study (Ericsson) this paper describes and analyses their SW’s “customer order-to-use” process and the related control process, using a “logistics framework”. The case illustrates “supply chain issues” related to SW in general and control in particular. It is shown both similarities and differences compared to traditional HW "logistics flows". The SW supply chain is, as for HW, also characterized by e.g. the importance of short lead time, delivery accuracy, outsourcing. But the intangible nature of SW, and the need to know what SW and HW the customer uses also after the product is sold, is some differences.