Complementers: Fellow travellers in contract manufacture

Two major markets exist in manufacturing and both are rapidly changing. On the one hand, there are the traditional original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who build their own end-user products. Fewer and fewer of the vital components within the products sold are original. Instead, a structured network of supplier companies builds the components. These contract manufacturers may have a number of OEMs as clients and keep their manufacturing processes running full-time by shifting jobs back and forth among client's orders as demand requires. In recent years, more and more is required of the contract manufacturer. As well as working with traditional external forces the contract manufacturer now has to contend with the concept of complementors. This paper describes research into the concept of the complementor and proposes the complementor impact model for contract manufacturers. This new model demonstrates how contract manufacturers may capitalise relationships with fellow complementors. In doing so they themselves become superior complementors.