Unresolved Issues in Supply Chain Network Design

Designing a supply chain network provides the basic structure for supply chain operations, where the network is a major element in a firm’s competitiveness and a significant area of capital investment. With the boundary-spanning scope encouraged by supply chain management, the question is whether existing analyses used for network design are adequate. The general answer is yes, because the number of echelons that the analysis must span is self-limiting to a relative few. However, there remain unresolved issues in network design analysis and in the models used to support the analysis that can enhance its accuracy, appropriateness, and acceptability to practitioners. Issues discussed relate to the development of better models, the treatment of the data needed by them, and the need for comparing the various models for network design.