Operational design in VO supply networks creation

Abstract

Outsourcing is a major driver in the growth of Virtual Organisations (VOs) in the manufacturing domain. These outsourcing networks can be classified as Virtual Organisations (VOs) as they are created from different organisational entities for a specific purpose and exist for a specified period of time. The electronics industry is in the vanguard with a projected 23% of electronics manufacturing forecasted to be outsourced in 2007. The process of establishing these VOs is known in the industry as the Request for X (RFx) process. This paper argues that in the creation of VO supply networks, supply network design support is required.