Abstract—The structure of production networks has become more and more complex due to the growth of companies by acquisitions and set ups of production plants to enter new markets. In this paper, we present an approach to design production networks with a minimum level of structural complexity in order to keep up the operability of such networks. The approach consists of three basic elements, all embedded into an optimization algorithm: the capture of structural complexity via characteristic parameters, the determination of causal relations between those parameters and the development of a complexity indicator. Using a data set of a recently conducted industry project, we show that our method is beneficial for the optimization of production networks.

Index Terms—complexity measurement, complexity oriented design, optimization algorithm, production networks.

Cite: G. Schuh, T. Potente, R. M. Varandani, and T. Schmitz, "A Complexity-Oriented Approach to Global Production Network Design," Journal of Advanced  Management Science, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 29-34, March 2013. doi: 10.12720/joams.1.1.29-34