DU FANG
06

Supply Chain Management · Aerospace

2026

Airbus A320 Supply Chain Strategy & Resilience

An end-to-end case study of the Airbus A320 supply network, from multi-tier sourcing and global assembly flows to strategic fit, supplier dependency and resilience governance.

Download presentation PDF
Cover of the Airbus supply chain management case study.
Role

Team member · Network mapping, strategic fit and supply-risk analysis

Context

Group 2, seven-person team · Politecnico di Milano

Methods

Supply Chain Mapping · Strategic Fit · JIT · Supplier Risk · Resilience · Sustainable Procurement

The challenge

Airbus must coordinate thousands of suppliers, large modules, four final-assembly locations and time-critical JIT flows while managing single-source dependencies, ramp-up pressure, geopolitical exposure and sustainability requirements.

The approach

  1. Mapped the global supplier footprint, three-tier inbound structure, focused factories, consolidation hubs, final assembly lines and aftermarket network.
  2. Applied Fisher's demand framework and Hau Lee's supply-uncertainty model to test the fit between product characteristics and supply-chain strategy.
  3. Analyzed recurrent network risk through the Spirit AeroSystems case, then connected risk mapping, diversification, supplier surveillance and industrial ramp-up into a resilience roadmap.
8,000+companies in supplier base
4global final assembly hubs
20,000goods arriving per day
3-tierinbound sourcing structure

Outcome

The analysis characterizes the A320 network as demand-stable but supply-evolving, making risk hedging more appropriate than a purely efficient chain. It links operational architecture to concrete resilience levers: visibility beyond Tier 1, selective buffers, dual sourcing, regional proximity and tighter supplier development.

Airbus global supplier footprint and final assembly network.
01The A320 combines a dense European manufacturing core with suppliers across six continents and four regional final-assembly hubs.
Three-tier Airbus supplier structure and sourcing logic.
02Tiered sourcing moves raw materials through sub-assemblies into integrated modules, with different dependency and buffering logic at each level.
End-to-end Airbus inbound, final assembly and aftermarket flows.
03The operating model connects hub-and-spoke inbound modules, JIT final assembly and a service-parts network built around fleet uptime.
Spirit AeroSystems dependency and supply-risk analysis.
04The Spirit case traces recurrent disruption from a network dependency to capacity, cost, quality and delivery consequences.
Airbus sustainable supply chain and resilience roadmap.
05Risk mapping, geographic proximity, supplier surveillance and development form a continuous resilience system rather than isolated responses.
Next projectSvicom Digital Strategy