Procurement for supply chain integration: responding to complexity in engineer-to-order defence projects

Purpose This case study explores a high-tech defence company, focusing on procurement’s mediating role in enabling supply chain integration (SCI) within complex engineer-to-order (ETO) projects. The study aims to examine how procurement strategically responds to varying complexities to facilitate internal and external integration. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory cross-case study examined procurement’s role in ETO SCI. Semi-structured interviews with procurement professionals and key stakeholders, including project managers, design engineers and other central project members, provided a multifaceted perspective. These interviews provided insights into high-tech ETO-projects’ structural and dynamic complexities. Findings This study shows how procurement mediates SCI dimensions in response to varying structural and dynamic complexities. It develops a framework that links SCI responses to complexity types, offering a more nuanced understanding of procurement’s integrative role in ETO-defence projects. Originality/value Addressing research gaps in the way in which procurement can respond to structural and dynamic complexity to facilitate SCI in ETO defence projects, the paper introduces a supply chain and technical complexity matrix, a framework tailored to high technology defence ETO-projects, by contributing to the SCI, ETO and procurement literature streams. Specifically, it positions procurement at the nexus of SCI dimensions and conceptualises its role in mediating structural and dynamic complexities. The framework offers both theoretical insight into procurement’s integrative function and practical guidance for managing integration challenges in complex project-based environments.