Design of redistributed manufacturing networks: a model-based decision-making framework

In this paper, a decision-making framework for the design of redistributed manufacturing (RdM) networks is developed. Redistributed manufacturing, a manufacturing paradigm greatly empowered by the Industry 4.0 toolset, is the shift in production towards geographically dispersed interconnected facilities. The framework is context independent, accounts for the collective impact of all decision-making levels on one another in an iterative manner, and incorporates uncertainty. The framework has been applied to a case study in the aerospace spare parts production sector. Results indicated that the RdM paradigm demonstrated considerable improvements in service level when compared with a traditional centralized counterpart, while it was not as competitive with regards to total cost. This paper contributes to the literature on model-based distributed manufacturing systems design under uncertainty, and enables informed decision-making regarding the redistribution of resources and decentralization of decision-making. The novelty of this paper is the approach employed to handle complexity, nonlinear interrelationships and uncertainty, within the domain of RdM network design. These computationally demanding attributes are handled through simulation, and only their impact is passed back to an analytical model that generates the RdM network.