Final Summary Paper

John Lauer

ENGL 250

Summary Paper

1/24/14

Connecting Product Design, Process and Supply Chain Decisions to Strengthen Global Supply Chain Capabilities

By Erika Marsillac, James Jungbae Roh

               This scholarly article starts with an overview of the key concepts related to products, processes, and supply chains for worldwide companies. Each of these concepts is covered in depth and specifically analyzed. The focus of the paper is the concepts behind the relation between product design and how it changes process and supply chain practices on a local and global scale. This was analyzed through using a 3DCE theory base. This approach helped with comparing and contrasting the relationships and dependencies of product, process, and supply chain behaviors and capabilities. This article includes a review of all the terminology later used in explaining the data, along with a research methodology of multiple companies, an analysis of the data, and a conclusion to sum up the study and lead future researchers in the right direction.

               In previous research, many companies have emphasized the importance of product design as a large contributing factor of the total cost of making and transporting products. This is so important because it affects so many processes, such as the cost of making a product, what equipment is needed to make it, how will it have to be marketed, what transportation will it need to get to stores, etc. All of these factors are the reason why companies are working day after day to maximize profit and minimize cost.

               This study was executed using the 3DCE system or the three dimensional concurrent engineering system. This process was introduced by Fine in the late 1990s. 3DCE addresses product, process, and supply chain development and design and is used to examine the influences of each area in relation to the other. The process can be used to determine how those areas develop and evolve over time and most importantly, 3DCE explores how those areas can be leveraged and changed to improve international and global behavior among supply chains.

               In the meat of the article, there is the research and the case analyses of the study. All of the research was gathered from multiple case studies. The results were derived from adopting firms and reviewing reports of current and expected future numbers outcomes and benefits. Many cases were reviewed and in each case, three categories were focused on which included: major changes in product design, the scope and scale of process and supply chain modifications, and the relationships between product design changes and process and supply chain modifications. Each of these areas was analyzed among four companies and for the sake of space, the findings will not be reviewed in this paper, but are very interesting to read and review.

               After all the results were observed, many if the findings were related to each other. There were eight propositions they came up with. Starting with proposition one stating that, “Product design changes that are more substantial and complex, generate more substantial and complex changes in the process of supply chain systems.” If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. If you create a more complex product, then you will have to make more changes to the supply chain system so that you can make the product correctly and manufacture it in a systematic way. That was just an example if one of them and you can find the other seven in the article, but they all relate product design to competitive companies and how they react to changes and implementation throughout their processes.

               Some of the findings were actually very straight forward. For instance, process changes were found to be particularly influenced be the number of product design changes with some change also being extended to manufacturing lines. In relation to supply chain behavior, the influence of product design was connected to the level of product design change implemented. The complexity of the supply chain and product design makes it more challenging to manage and carry out production in a company in a cost effective way.

               So for this matter, we turn to the question of,” Who is this information for to use?” All of this information helps managers make the big decisions, the people who practice these measures, and the researchers who continue the analysis of the topic. These results provide those people with the knowledge to better understand and make operational decisions when determining courses of actions in a functioning production chain. Although these results are only samples, they have the potential to lead companies in the right direction for success.

               The aftermath states that there are many relations between product design, process, and supply chain decisions that affect global supply chain capabilities. Future research may expand this investigation and further better describe and illustrate the design nature for operations planning. It may also bring about more practical applications for the research. The authors thank the case study company representatives, anonymous reviewers for their time to improve the article, and you, for absorbing the article and using the information.

Works Cited

Marsillac, Erika, and James James Jungbae Roh. "Connecting Product Design, Process and Supply Chain Decisions to Strengthen Global Supply Chain Capabilities." International Journal of Production Economics 147 (2014): 317-29. Sciencedirect.com. Science Direct, Jan. 2014. Web. 31 Jan. 2014. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527313001758>.