G. Volpato, A. Camuffo, A. Comacchio 1.1 The background During recent years the dynamics of automotive industry and its supply chain has catalysed the attention and the research effort of a wide international group of scholars as: the International Motor Vehicle Program (JMVP) of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Permanent Study Group for the Automobile Industry and Its Employees (GERPISA) of Paris, and the International Car Distribution l Programme (ICDP) of Solihull. This favoured the publication of relevant studies and the growth of networks of academicians and practitioners...