AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ROLE OF COMLEXITY IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN AND HOW IT INHIBITS SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

 

Investigators:

Mr G D Frizelle, Cambridge University
Dr H J Efstathiou, Oxford University
   
Collaborators: Unilever
AEA Technology
British Aerospace

EPSRC Funding: £393,709

Abstract:

Manufacturing industry inhabits an ever-more complex and demanding global market. Anecdotal evidence suggests that companies are often coping by diverting complexity outwards along the value chain, causing particular problems to their suppliers. Moreover, moving the problem around like this may actually diminish the efficiency of the whole supply chain.

Undue complexity anywhere within the chain is likely to inhibit systems integration. This project is attempting to understand the impact of complexity on the performance of manufacturing and its associated information processes within the value chain, through direct observation and measurement. The findings will be used to provide tools to identify, measure and manipulate that complexity.

The research is grounded in the study of the three major companies and suppliers designated by these three. It builds on the theoretical work already developed by both Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

The findings to date, though still tentative, support some of the initial observations. There is evidence of companies using their suppliers to help them recover from their problems – ‘exporting operational complexity’. Other findings include using inventory rather than information to buffer the chain against disturbances, and incompatibility between both performance measures and control systems, leading to complex behaviour at the supplier/customer interface.

Download 47KB Zipped Powerpoint presentation from May 14th Workshop


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