Design for global manufacturing and assembly

In this paper the author presents and tests new concurrent engineering strategies that focus on manufacturing and assembly operations with a global perspective. Specifically, the focus is upon new design for manufacturability and assembly (DFMA) strategies to support multi-facility, global operations. These DFMA stategies are more holistic than most published techniques in that they focus on total system approaches that explicitly consider product mix, process configuration, and capital procurement strategies, as well as tooling, design, and set-up costs associated with manufacture and assembly. Furthermore, the DFMA strategies presented here consider the cost of transportation logistics in multi-facility, global manufacturing, assembly, and distribution networks. A general mathematical formulation is presented and tested under realistic conditions. It is demonstrated that this model can be used for capacity planning and product sourcing for multiple part types in many facilities. Similarly, it can be used to examine the sensitivity of solutions to changes in various costs, productivity levels, or product configuration and mix assumptions at each facility. Test results demonstrate the efficacy of use of the formulation in general terms. Finally, a research agenda is posited for the future development of the strategies.