Improving supply chain performance with an understanding of defence industry requirements

Mantec has supported development projects in the defence industry for more than 15 years. Martin Kääriäinen, Managing Director of Mantec Finland, has been involved in assignments within the sector for just as long. According to him, clients’ starting points and development needs can vary considerably.

“An established defence industry company has very different development needs from a production facility that is only beginning to manufacture for the sector. In both cases, we need to understand the industry’s requirements, but the focus of the development work will be different,” Martin Kääriäinen explains.

Established companies focus on improving performance

In companies that have operated in the defence industry for a long time, industry requirements, quality management, traceability and information security are usually already part of daily operations. In these cases, development is not about building the foundations but improving the performance of existing operations.

The work may focus on areas such as leadership, process flow, production planning and control, collaboration between organisations or decision-making. The objectives may include shortening lead times, increasing capacity, reducing quality-related costs and improving delivery reliability and availability.

Understanding both the defence industry and the end customer’s operating environment is essential in this type of development work. Not every stage, control or approval is unnecessary administration, even if it may initially appear to slow the process down. Some are directly linked to security, quality, traceability or the customer’s contractual requirements.

The development team must therefore be able to distinguish essential controls from practices that create no real value for the process, the customer or the end user.

“When we understand the purpose behind the requirements, we can identify what can genuinely be streamlined. The aim is not to remove necessary controls, but to improve operations within the framework they establish,” Kääriäinen says.

For a new supplier, the transition can be significant

At the other end of the spectrum are companies and production facilities that are beginning to manufacture, maintain or modify equipment, systems, components, vehicles or vessels for the defence industry.

These companies may have strong technical expertise and extensive experience in demanding industrial manufacturing. Even so, they may underestimate how extensively the specific characteristics of the defence industry affect their operations.

It is not simply a matter of manufacturing a new product or producing additional documentation. The new operating environment may require changes in leadership, responsibilities, collaboration between engineering and production, procurement, quality assurance, information security, traceability and deviation management.

The requirements may also affect facilities, information systems and daily working practices. In addition, the organisation must be able to demonstrate that agreed procedures have been followed and that the delivered product meets the specified requirements.

The true scale of the change should be identified as early as possible. If the impact of the requirements is only investigated when production is about to begin, the result may be urgent corrective measures, additional costs and delays.

Trust is a prerequisite for collaboration

Regardless of the client’s starting point, defence industry assignments are built on trust. Consultants must understand the client’s operating environment, handle information appropriately and consistently follow agreed procedures.

Trust is reflected in daily work: what information is collected, where it is processed, who can access it and how findings are reported.

Information security is therefore not a separate check carried out at the beginning or end of an assignment. It is an integral part of the entire collaboration, from the first discussions to analysis and the reporting of results.

Requirements must be translated into everyday operations

Knowing the requirements does not yet mean that an organisation knows how to operate in accordance with them. Requirements must be translated into clear responsibilities, management practices, processes, work instructions and principles for decision-making.

The organisation must also be able to provide verifiable evidence that the requirements have been met. It may not be enough for the final product to look right and function as expected. When necessary, the company must be able to demonstrate which version was manufactured, which materials and components were used and how inspections, changes, approvals and deviations were handled.

“Compliance is not just about documentation. It must be visible in daily management, decision-making and the way work is carried out,” Kääriäinen emphasises.

Simply producing new documents does not change how an organisation operates. If responsibilities are unclear or working practices do not correspond to the documented processes, compliance can easily become a separate system running alongside the actual production operation.

Lasting change is achieved when requirements are integrated into the company’s normal management practices and daily production activities. This may also require a cultural change. Procedures should not be followed simply because they are mandatory; their purpose must be understood throughout the organisation.

Compliance extends throughout the supply chain

Defence industry requirements are not usually limited to the prime contractor’s own production. They may also apply to materials, components, outsourced processes and work performed by subcontractors.

The prime contractor must identify which requirements need to be passed down through the supply chain and how compliance will be verified. Every party must understand what is expected of it, how the results of its work will be inspected and what evidence is required to demonstrate compliance.

Compliance with the requirements for a material, component or surface treatment cannot always be assessed visually. Technical properties must meet the relevant specifications, and this must be verified using agreed methods. Otherwise, a poorly managed deviation may travel a long way through the supply chain before it is detected.

The objective is an operationally effective whole

Industry requirements and operational performance are not opposing objectives. Well-designed processes can simultaneously improve efficiency, quality, delivery capability and compliance.

When working with an established defence industry company, development may involve streamlining existing processes and improving leadership. For a manufacturer entering the sector, the starting point may be to establish the required operating practices and manage a broader organisational transition.

In both situations, the objective is a solution that does not remain a process description or a separate development initiative, but becomes part of daily production operations.

Are you looking to improve production performance or prepare your organisation to supply the defence industry? Mantec helps identify the necessary changes and implement them in leadership, processes and daily production operations.