Examining the Relationship between Contract Manufacturing Inventory Efficiency and Information System Investment: an Empirical Study of the U.S. Manufacturing Sector

In this thesis, we conduct an empirical study on how contract manufacturing drives the change in inventory levels and what role the information system plays under the contract manufacturing strategy. Contract manufacturing commonly exists in the manufacturing sector. Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) prefers to simplify its inner operating processes, so OEM outsources the manufacturing process or assembling process to the contract manufacturer (CM). The utilization of outsourcing strategy optimizes the operation structure and management hierarchy. In the OEM-CM supply chain network, enterprise-wide information system not only performs as the platform for information sharing, but also lubricates the internal and external information flow exchange. A supply chain network with efficient communication can achieve outstanding operation performance. We launch an industry-level research to investigate the integrated utilization of contract manufacturing and information system, and examine the relationship between contract manufacturing inventory and information system investment.