Evaluation of materials supply systems during product development projects

Journal article, 2006

The aim of this paper is to analyse how materials supply systems can be evaluated during product development projects in a concurrent engineering context. The focus is on performance assessment of materials supply systems and the input data required. A case study was conducted in close cooperation with a company and two performance measures were assessed during the concept definition phase and recalculated during the product and process validation phase. The results show that preliminary input data can be used to calculate performance measures by means of the following approaches: indicators, standards or scenarios. Furthermore, it is discussed how performance assessment can assist the materials supply systems design process in a concurrent engineering context by facilitating early problem discovery, early decision-making, and common understanding.