Methodology for the Assessment of Structural Complexity in Global Production Networks

Abstract

The structure of production networks is mainly determined by the amount of production sites, the number of people working in these production sites and the distribution of products and production processes. Due to the dynamic and unpredictable changes in global market requirements production networks have become more and more complex driven by the growth of multinational companies through acquisitions and set ups of production plants. This paper presents an approach to design production networks with an optimal level of structural complexity in order to increase the efficiency of production processes around the world. The approach consists of two basic elements: firstly, the structural complexity is captured via characteristic parameters and quantified. The main characteristics of a production network such as the amount of production sites, the number of employees and the product and process distribution form the basis for the quantification. The second cornerstone is set by the intelligent visualization of the structural complexity with respect to organizational and communication aspects. Organization and communication structure of a company can be optimized comparing different production network scenarios, hence increasing the overall efficiency within global production networks. A validation of our approach is presented using a data set of a recently conducted industry project. Different network scenarios of a global manufacturer in the mechanical engineering field are compared to point out design rules for the optimization of structural complexity within the company.