Candidate selection for network design of distributed manufacturing systems

Supply chains are distributed manufacturing systems composed of various resources belonging to different companies. Efficient design of the supply chain network is essential for business to pursue a competitive advantage. In this paper a hierarchical methodology previously outlined by the authors is considered for supply chain network design. In the first level the performance of the entities candidate to join the network is evaluated and efficient elements are singled out. The second level is aimed at developing a model to configure the network. Finally, the third level is devoted to validating the solution proposed in the first two levels. The paper focuses on the first level and proposes a four-step procedure to select the candidates in the supply chain stages. Some optimization multi-criteria techniques are considered and the proposed decision level is illustrated by way of a case study describing a network for desktop computer production.