7. DSM Manufacturing: When Network Analysis Meets Business Reality

John R. Macdonald, Michigan State UniversityKelvin Sakai, UTi Worldwide Group

Introduction

Jim and Phil stood at the rental car counter after arriving from separate coasts for their third and final meeting at DSM (Des Moines) Manufacturing, a FORTUNE 500 and global consumer products company. As external consultants, they had been hired to work on a supply chain network analysis for DSM a few months earlier, and while the analysis itself had gone well, they were struggling with their final recommendations. “I’ll chip in $30 extra if we can get the Mustang today,” Jim said to Phil. “I need the extra muscle and energy to think through all these meeting details.” Phil smiled knowingly ...

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