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Low information exchange in global production networks results in long response time to disruption and negative performance impact. Digitalization enables a more intensive information exchange. This paper analyses the performance of order management, quality problem resolution and engineering change management in production networks with respect to different disruptions and information flows. Cause-effect relationships are revealed based on a multi-method simulation model and statistical experiments. Using surrogate modelling and robust optimization, a target picture for information exchange is determined. The benefits of the approach are demonstrated using a case study for the production of metal-plastic parts for the automotive supplier industry.

Kurzfassung Die Nachverfolgbarkeit (engl. traceability) von Produkten entlang ihres Lebenszyklus ist eine Grundvoraussetzung für zahlreiche Anwendungsfelder: der Ermöglichung von Kreislaufwirtschaftsprozessen, dem Schutz vor Produktpiraterie und der zielgerichteten Qualitätssicherung. Jedoch existieren über die gesetzlich vorgeschriebenen Standards hinaus wenig umfassende Lösungen, um Produkte unternehmensübergreifend nachzuverfolgen. Dieser Beitrag zeigt ein Konzept zur strukturierten Konzeption, Implementierung und Bewertung solcher Traceability-Systeme.

Kurzfassung Vielen kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen bedarf es eines effizienten Managements des Produktionsanlaufs, um ihre globale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu erhöhen. Dieser Beitrag stellt einen Ansatz vor, mithilfe einer Standortanalyse und eines Planungs- und Steuerungsmodells den Produktionsanlauf an verschiedenen Standorten effizient durchzuführen. Hierzu werden gegebene Rahmenbedingungen eines Produktionsanlaufs an global verteilten Standorten analysiert und mit Hilfe einer Methodik einem Referenzprozess zugeordnet, um eine Anpassung an wechselnde globale Einflussfaktoren, wie z. B. Faktorkos-ten oder Marktentwicklungen, zu gewährleisten.

An increasingly uncertain and dynamic competitive environment is challenging industrial companies nowadays. Against this backdrop, companies are focusing on their core competences. They organize their production in global production networks. While the competitiveness of production networks could be maintained for a long time by optimizing individual production sites, the overall network is increasingly becoming the focus of attention. In particular, the elimination of redundant production technologies offers the potential to exploit economies of scale, to bundle technology-specific competences and to achieve an increase in efficiency. The purely mathematical optimization models disseminated in research are unable to consider all the sub tasks of planning. For this reason, this article proposes a practice oriented methodology for reallocating production technologies to production locations in global production networks. The procedure consists of three phases: the investigation of current production technology-to-site allocation in the production network, the generation and planning of alternative reallocations as well as the evaluation of reallocations. For testing its practical suitability, the procedure is exemplary applied to the global production network for forging processes of a medical device manufacturer.

Operational management of global production networks is challenged by disruptions which result e.g. in order changes, quality problems and engineering changes. Their negative impact on performance may be reduced by a more intensive exchange of information between the network partners. Digitalization offers many new measures for such an increase of transparency. However, the interactions, the optimal level and the realisation of a broader information exchange define a challenging decision problem. This paper improves operational performance of production networks by applying multimethod simulation, statistical experiments and metamodeling techniques to identify a state of information exchange which is robust to disruptions.

Today, companies of all industries are part of global production networks. They have a variety of performance relationships with suppliers and customers. Digitalization offers the potential to exchange more information between the partners of global production networks. This may improve operational performance. Especially within the three business processes order management, quality problem solving and engineering change management, a targeted increase in transparency promises a better handling of disruptions and an increase in robustness. This paper presents a simulation-based methodology for modeling production and business processes as well as information exchange in global production networks. Following the principles of Design of Experiment (DoE), screening test plans first carve out the impact of disruptions and information exchange on the performance of the production network. This is followed by the determination of the disruption-robust information exchange using Taguchi-experiments. Starting from the actual state of information exchange, digitalization activities to increase transparency are finally determined. The activities consist of the implementation of digitalization technologies and the stronger linkage of information systems. The paper ends with an application of the methodology to a global production network for plastic-metal components in the automotive supplier industry.

Modern globalization is characterized by a production in networks. With an increasingly dynamic business environment, the focus of production planning shifts to network management. This paper presents a method for managing production networks. The emphasis is on capacity planning and the use of instruments that render the staff more flexible. The methodology also integrates an approach to hedge against the risk of systematic errors in forecasting the market demand.

Modern companies operate in global production networks. The operational performance of production networks is hampered by disrupting events. Digitalization and the horizontal interlinkage of production networks may increase information exchange and lead to more transparency. It is propagated as being an enabler for a faster identification and reaction to disruptions. This paper presents a metamodeling approach that maps disruptions as systematic parameter variations and analyzes their impact on the performance of production networks under different level of information exchange. The method aims for the determination of cause-effect relationships and contributes to the determination of the appropriate level of information exchange in production networks.

Companies nowadays act in global production networks. These networks offer advantages such as production close to market as well as the exploitation of low factor costs. However, due to their interlinkage and complex structure, the resulting networks are characterized by a high susceptibility to disruptions. This paper presents an approach, which quantitatively examines the effects of disrupting events in production networks. The main focus of the study is on the question of how product quality is influenced by quality-related disruptions. To describe the analyzed relationships best, a Kriging based metamodel is adapted to the behavior of the developed multimethod simulation model. The results of the investigation are formalized causal relationships between the error probabilities in production networks, the inspection frequencies of the production systems involved, the respective generic network configurations and the observed PPM quality score.

Die Globalisierung hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten zu einer Dezentralisierung der Produktion sowie der Entstehung global verteilter Produktionsnetzwerke geführt. Produktionsnetzwerke ermöglichen es Unternehmen, neue Absatzmärkte zu erschließen und lokale Produktionsvorteile zu nutzen. Gleichzeitig stellen die Vielzahl Beteiligter sowie Zielkonflikte und Intransparenzen sowohl Planer als auch Entscheider vor Herausforderungen. Der vorliegende Beitrag erläutert Herausforderungen im Management globaler Produktionsnetzwerke auf strategischer, gestalterischer und operativer Planungsebene. Er zeigt Ansätze auf, die je Planungsebene einen bestmöglichen Umgang mit den Hürden ermöglichen. Der Beitrag beschreibt zudem, wie durch eine ganzheitliche und Ebenen übergreifende Betrachtung Verbesserungen im Management von Produktionsnetzwerken erzielt werden können.*)

Professional action-related competence of employees plays an increasingly important role for globally operating manufacturing companies to remain competitive. Furthermore, the Bologna process calls for a paradigm change in higher education by placing greater emphasis on the learning process and learner. In order to meet both requirements within the framework of academic teaching and further education, a novel training concept was developed and utilized at wbk's practical and engineering-oriented Learning Factory on Global Production (LGP). The concept aims promoting professional and methodological competencies. Based on specified teaching and learning objectives, indicators are defined to make the promotion of these competencies ascertainable.