Globally integrated manufacturing service networks

People think of a Manufacturing Supply Chain as a simple linear process of goods swiftly passing though an efficient ‘logistics pipeline’. They concentrate only on the portion of the pipe directly controlled by them or at best by their customers and suppliers. This is a myopic view. Supply chains are in fact complex interacting networks linking industries, economies and other organizations, which in turn interact with the landscape and climate. We should identify and study these interactions in order to understand the complexity of operations, to acquire domain knowledge and expertise for building analytics towards excellence in strategy and execution, and to also mitigate the risks involved. For most manufacturing companies their product quality and performance are dealt with by well established manufacturing processes. Companies are now also assessed by the level of secure services provided before, during and after the sale of sustainable products by meeting social, environmental and economic needs. Customers make comparisons based on Total Cost of Ownership rather than Cost of Acquisition. Furthermore the demographics and hence the consumerism of the world will be changing. According to Goldman Sachs, two billion people may join the global middle class by 2030. These new consumer markets should develop economically in a sustainable way. Hence “green” awareness, compliance and regulations around societal, economic concerns will assume great importance. A tangible product, the services associated with it, and the relationship between the two over time constitute the three dimensions that together fully define a “service product”. We look at this rather complex and important problem and suggest a framework for analysis and design of GIMSN.