Supply chain centric product line selection: a functional risk focused approach

In view of the significant implications of new product design decisions for the entire supply chain of a product focused manufacturing enterprise, the underlying research motivation in this work is to aid supply chain managers to converge upon the least risk-averse product profile(s) at early stages of product development such that subsequent supply chain planning and coordination activities can be seamlessly addressed. To this end, technical aspects related to a product line are assessed from the perspective of considerations related to three primary supply chain functionalities namely: planning, sourcing and logistics. A product profile within a product line is represented in terms of underlying attribute levels of respective product attributes. Three broader supply chain risks are assumed to exist in various states in terms of parent nodes and associated root nodes in that their interdependencies are considered as well. Thereafter, a detailed mathematical formulation is evolved where-in three different...