Sarkandi, MohammadBaguley, PaulTiwari, Ashutosh2015-09-252015-09-252013-09-19Sarkandi M., Baguley P. and Tiwari A. (2013). Analysis of the “make or buy” decision process in a research and development sme. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Manufacturing Research (ICMR2013), Cranfield University, UK, 19th – 20th September 2013, pp 473-4789781907413230http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/9508Start-up SMEs face various challenges and difficulties during their existence and due to their nature they often lack knowledge and resources to fully address these challenges. Unlike large companies which have access to various resources, those resources are a significant gap for SMEs and the business owners have to rely on their own limited knowledge. The “Make or buy” decision is a critical decision in an organisation. This decision can affect current and future costs, capability and competences in the company and by taking best practice approaches and measures towards the decision making, extensive costs can be potentially saved. In this study, literature best practices have been reviewed. In addition a small company has been studied and the current practices of the company have been compared to academic best practices. The result of the study will be used to improve the “Make or buy” decision process in the company.enSMEcost engineeringMake or buyConference paper