Challenges and Pathways for Small Sub-Contractors in an Era of Global Supply Chain Restructuring

Serving industrial markets as a sub-contractor seems to be an important position taken by small and medium sized enterprises. Data for Europe (European Commission 1994) indicate that between one third to more than half of the SME population act as sub-contractors. A Danish in-depth study indicates that approximately 45 per cent of small and medium sized manufacturers are sub-contractors23 (Andersen and Christensen 1998).