Stefan Thomas

Management globaler Produktionsnetzwerke : Strategie, Konfiguration, Koordination

Klassische auf den Einzelstandort bezogene Optimierungsansatze fur produzierende Unternehmen haben ihre Grenze erreicht. Global aufgestelle Unternehmen produzieren heute an weltweit verteilten Produktionsstandorten. Dies stellt das Management vor neue Herausforderungen, bietet aber auch Chancen zur Verbesserung der Produktionseffektivitat und -effizienz. Notwendig ist daher eine umfassende Betrachtung des gesamten Produktionsnetzwerkes. Dieses Buch beschreibt einen integrierten Ansatz zur globalen Produktionsoptimierung. Neben der Frage der strategischen Anforderungen an das Netzwerk werden dabei das optimale Design des internationalen Produktionsverbunds und die Optimierung der entsprechenden Koordinationsaktivitaten dargestellt.

Strategisches Management globaler Produktionsnetzwerke

Kurzfassung Zum Management globaler Produktionsnetzwerke bedarf es eines integralen und ganzheitlichen Ansatzes. Die Basis hierfür liefert eine neu entwickelte Methode, der sog. Network Quick-Check, mit dessen Hilfe sich die drei wesentlichen Ebenen eines Produktionsnetzwerks – Strategie, Konfiguration und Koordination – analysieren lassen. Die Betrachtung der in jeder Ebene zentralen Entscheidungsdimensionen bildet den Ausgangspunkt für die Definition von Optimierungsmaßnahmen, welche Netzwerkmanager in der (Weiter-)Entwicklung ihres Produktionsverbunds unterstützen.

Outlook and Summary

This chapter completes the book – for the time being – with a look at the institutionalisation of network management and a short recap. Regarding institutionalisation, we want to cover the role of process owners in particular, which could play a key role in establishing network management organisationally, much like OPEX initiatives.

Clarification of the Initial Strategic Situation

This chapter starts of by putting manufacturing strategy within the contexts of overarching company strategy, and establishes a deeper understanding of site and network competencies, and their relationship to strategic differentiating factors and Strategic Excellence Positions (SEP). Subsequently, different strategy types from the real world will be presented, concluding with an overview of the process of strategy analysis and definition for a manufacturing network, using Mechanical Engineering Ltd. as an example.

Development of Production Management: From Site to Network Optimisation

In this chapter we shed some light on the relation between operations management and manufacturing networks. After that we focus on the development of network management evolving from site management. The third section is dedicated to three classic optimisation approaches at site level. They are intended to argue in favour of the dire necessity to address the network level as well. Some ideas for the further development of production systems towards production network systems will close this chapter.

A Reference Framework for Network Design

In this chapter we present our approach for the management of production networks in more detail. After a short introduction to our framework model, its three design layers strategy, configuration and coordination are explained, and their decision dimensions described. After that, the concept of network FIT is introduced, which links these three layers together in a meaningful way and aims at harmonising them. The chapter ends by connecting the framework model to the so-called PARTS method, and thus by introducing a network architecture as a methodological starting point for analysing and designing a production network.

Analysis and Design of Networks in Practice

After introducing the individual levels of the production network model and their respective decision categories, this chapter addresses the development of an optimisation process resuming the previously discussed topics. This process is meant to provide operations managers with a structured approach for the (re-)design of production networks. Afterwards, the real life example of Food Ltd. will be used to illustrate this process.