The course examines the planning, design and operation of global production networks of manufacturing companies. It gives an overview of the influencing factors and challenges of global production. In-depth knowledge of common methods and procedures for planning, designing and managing global production networks is imparted.

Therefore, the lecture first of all discusses the connections and interdependencies between the business strategy and the production strategy and illustrates necessary tasks for the definition of a production strategy. Methods for site selection, for the site-specific adaptation of product design and production technology as well as for the establishment of new production sites and for the adaptation of existing production networks to changing framework conditions are subsequently taught within the context of the design of the network footprint. With regard to the management of global production networks, the lecture addresses challenges associated with coordination, procurement and order management in global networks.

The lecture is complemented by an exercise that discusses the use of Industry 4.0 applications in the context of global production as well as current trends with regard to the planning, design and management of global production networks. The exercise is not relevant for Mechanical Engineering

The topics include:

• Basic conditions and influencing factors of global production (historical development, targets, chances and threats)
• Framework for planning, designing and managing global production networks
• Production strategies for global production networks
  • From business strategy to production strategy
  • Tasks of the production strategy (product portfolio management, circular economy, planning of production depth, production-related research and development)
• Design of global production networks
  • Basic types of network structures
  • Planning process for the design of the network footprint
  • Adaptation of the network footprint
  • Site selection
  • Location-specific adaptation of production technology and product design
• Management of global production networks
  • Network coordination
  • Procurement process
  • Order management

Exercise contents only for WiWis:
Exercise for Global Production coverring topics with respect to trends in resilience, sustainability and digitalisation in global production networks.

Learning Outcomes:

The students …

• can explain the challenges and enablers of global production networks and evaluate methods for decision support.
• are able to explain factors influencing decision-making in the design and operation of a global production network.
• are able to distinguish between corporate and business unit strategy as well as forms of growth and outsourcing.
• can explain the objectives of production and production network strategies as well as the ideal-typical forms of strategy
• are able to identify ideal-typical network structures of global production networks.
• can apply a network adjustment, taking into account the relevant aspects.
• can systematically analyse, evaluate and select new locations in the global production network.
• are able to apply challenges and solutions for location-specific manufacturing technology and product design.
• can evaluate the suitability of different forms of co-location of R&D and site roles for the sites in a production network.
• are able to explain the role distribution of sites, the management of external suppliers, order processing and demand planning in global production networks.

Workload MACH:
regular attendance: 21 hours
self-study: 99 hours

Workload WiWi:
regular attendance: 26 hours
self-study: 124 hours

Recommendations:
Combination with Strategic Decision-Making in Global Production Network Design: A Seminar on Optimisation and Simulation (76-T-MACH-113372) is recommended.

Medien
Skript zur Veranstaltung wird über (https://ilias.studium.kit.edu/) bereitgestellt

empfohlene Sekundärliteratur:
Abele, E. et al: Handbuch Globale Produktion, Hanser Fachbuchverlag, 2006 (deutsch)

Media
Lecture notes will be provided in Ilias (https://ilias.studium.kit.edu/)

recommended secondary literature:
Abele, E. et al: Global Production – A Handbook for Strategy and Implementation, Springer 2008 (english)