Towards an Efficient, Comprehensive Value Stream Planning in Production Networks

Globally operating companies' production networks usually consist of multiple sites, each having its local value stream. These value streams need to be interlinked to fulfill customers' orders. Major challenges arise during strategic network design of the resulting comprehensive value stream within the production network. Adjustments to the network structure, uncertain planning data, e.g., uncertain key performance indicator (KPI) values, and planning experts optimizing their local value stream lead to inefficiencies like high total inventories. This article presents a planning approach for an efficient, comprehensive value stream planning to address the aforementioned problem. Using a discrete-event simulation model, parametrized by uncertain planning data, simulation experiments were executed to generate simulation data using a data farming approach. Subsequently, this data was used to apply data mining analysis aiming for data-based planning decisions for production network operations. Exemplary scenarios for the steps of the approach show an initial applicability of the planning approach and future research areas were derived.