Decision support for production localization: Process, activities and localization factors

Traditional production location decisions are mainly based upon economic factors while factors that facilitate decision makers in selecting the most suitable production location in terms of operations performance are rarely considered. Therefore, this paper presents a developed decision support for production localization that emphasises operational factors to be considered in the decision making. The research methodology combines a literature study with a multiple case study method. The findings are synthesised into a five phase decision process for making production localization decisions in practice. For each of these phases, key activities with related tools and expected output are developed.