New metrics for measuring supply chain reconfigurability

Area of Science:

• Supply Chain Management
• Operations Research
• Industrial Engineering

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuating demand, and market uncertainty necessitate more flexible and agile supply chains.
• Building adaptive and reconfigurable supply chains requires careful consideration of key factors.
• Supply chain reconfigurability quantifies the ease with which a supply chain can alter its structure and functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the level of reconfigurability within supply chains.
• To develop a quantitative framework for assessing supply chain adaptability.
• To provide a method for selecting the most reconfigurable supply chain configurations.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative measurement of six key indicators characterizing supply chain reconfigurability.
• Development of a supply chain reconfigurability index using Multi-Attribute Utility Theory.
• Application of an illustrative example to demonstrate the index's utility.

Main Results:

• Six quantitative indicators for reconfigurability were identified and measured.
• A novel index for supply chain reconfigurability was successfully developed.
• The illustrative example confirmed the index's applicability in configuration selection.

Conclusions:

• The characteristics of a reconfigurable supply chain positively influence its degree of reconfigurability.
• The developed index provides a valuable tool for enhancing supply chain adaptability.
• This research contributes to building more resilient and responsive supply chain systems.