Global manufacturing: A review and a framework for planning in a global corporation

The variability and complexity of the global manufacturing scenario emphasize the relevance of two management problems that most Multinational Corporations (MNCs) face, namely the configuration as well as the coordination of the network of global facilities. In this paper we review the literature on these problems, and identify the need for a systematic approach to the coordination problem. The paper also focuses on the issues of coordination in the area of logistics (i.e. supply, manufacturing and distribution phases) of global manufacturing networks. Based on some recent studies on global coordination, we define a framework that systematically addresses the global manufacturing planning (GMP) problem by identifying and classifying the variables involved therein.