Framework for Improving the Design and Configuration Process of an International Manufacturing Network: An Empirical Study

Abstract

As competition becomes global and the environment in which companies operate is becoming more complex, the design and managing of international manufacturing networks has become crucial. Therefore, it is important to do an analysis of the necessary decisions any company must make, such as facilities location, supply strategy, facility strategy role, etc., in order to accomplish the internationalization process with more reliability and success. The authors of this paper present the GlobOpe framework, which is a model to be used by managers to design and configure a new manufacturing network aided by various techniques. This paper also presents a case study in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this model when reconfiguring an international manufacturing network for a wind generator manufacturer.

The Influence of Collaboration on Enterprises Internationalization Process

“…Despite the benefits, the internationalization start-up process is difficult because it incurs risks, particularly for SMEs. By way of example, many SMEs fail in foreign markets because the production management of global internationalized networks needs more collaboration to accomplish optimal degrees of quality, costs and flexibility [9]. This means that setting up collaborative processes is considered a relevant condition to perform the internationalization process.…”