A Performance Measurement System For Global Manufacturing Networks

New developments coming along with globalisation increasingly force companies to realize efficient global manufacturing networks (GMN). Current research offers abundant methods aiming at the configuration of GMNs. However, less attention is paid to identifying the need for adapting existing networks and the comparison of enhanced network configurations. In other fields, like for example logistics, performance measurement systems (PMS) are applied to accomplish these tasks. This paper therefore seeks to support the improvement of network configurations by providing a PMS for GMNs. In the course of this research existing PMS are reviewed and a multidimensional evaluation is carried out. The system with the best fit is chosen and transferred to the field of GMNs. Subsequently, performance attributes are deduced from a strategic and operational point of view based on a literature review as well as the application of concepts known from life-cycle-management and systems theory. The proposed PMS is validated by an industrial case study. The results of the multidimensional evaluation show that the concept of selective key figures that is known from the field of logistics has the best fit to serve as a basis for a novel PMS for GMNs. The transferred PMS consists of metrics evaluating the strategic success factors of GMNs like flexibility and delivery reliability on the one hand and possible operational bottlenecks like complexity on the other hand. The validation of the PMS in a real life environment shows that it contributes to overcoming the identified gap in the literature and supports practitioners in the process of enhancing GMNs. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.