A bicycle company owns a design office in Singapore, a factory in Vietnam and a sales centre in Australia. Designers send files online. Finished bicycles travel by ship. Follow each part of the network.
Move the bicycles
- Vietnam to Australia: Container ships carry finished bicycles from the factory to the sales centre.
- Transport: A reliable shipping route makes regular physical deliveries possible.
- Information: The ship does not tell the factory which models customers ordered. That information needs its own link.
Transport connects production with customers across a border. It moves the product; orders and design instructions also need to reach the right people.
Share the design and orders
- Singapore to Vietnam: Designers share an updated frame file with the factory through an online workspace.
- Australia to the production team: The sales centre sends order quantities so the office and factory can plan the next batch.
- Physical materials: An instant file transfer does not deliver metal, parts or finished bicycles.
Digital technology coordinates different parts of the business across countries. It can speed up decisions while production and physical delivery still take time.
Run operations in three countries
- Company-owned activities: The company controls its design office, factory and sales centre in three countries.
- Multinational corporation: Its investment, shared designs and coordinated production connect its overseas operations.
- An independent supplier: If the factory buys tyres from another business, that purchase alone does not make the supplier part of the same company.
Ownership and control establish the multinational operation. The business also depends on transport and digital links to coordinate its separate locations.