Flexibility in logistic systems - modeling and performance evaluation

This paper examines potential benefits of flexibility in logistic systems. It briefly reviews flexibility concepts and existing flexibility frameworks before suggesting a bottom-up framework for flexibility in logistic systems. Then, one among the proposed system logistic flexibility types, denoted here trans-routing flexibility, is quantitatively investigated. The research focuses on flexibility's benefits exclusive of cost considerations. Logistics dependability, a customer oriented logistic performance measure is introduced. The analysis is framed in a multi-factor design of experiments (DOE) that considers factors representing changes in operational and environmental conditions of a logistic system and design factors, such as trans-routing flexibility, acting as countermeasures to changes. The model stems from a military logistics scenario easily adaptable to an industrial or service environment. Using DOE to examine the important interactions between the factor effects contributes to a better understanding of the logistics decision problems and their eventual solutions. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.