Shipyards in the Netherlands rely on a flexible infrastructure of subcontractors, colleague yards, and manpower pools to temporarily increase their capacity. In addition, the industry has developed some unique concepts with respect to marketing, and to facilitating enterprises for design and engineering, partial work preparation, parts fabrication, hull erection, and outfitting. This paper addresses the subject of competitiveness in shipbuilding and the factors which determine the strategic competitive position of shipyards. The applicability of various simple models, which can be used to describe shipyards' strategic market positions, are discussed. In particular, a model addressing a ship's life-cycle is detailed. The paper further focuses on solutions generated by the shipbuilding industry in the Netherlands in its drive to achieve and maintain a competitive position in domestic and world markets.

Keywords:
Engineering, strategic market position, delivery time, market position, shipyard, northern shipbuilder, Netherlands, factor price, Maritime Technology, fabrication
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1995. The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
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