Design and management of (multi-site) global operations networks by using Ferdows’ factory role model

In the current global economy, with an increased international presence of all type of organisations, the design and management of global operations networks (GON) plays a vital role in organisational competitiveness. Whilst all type of organisations are facing significant challenges for managing increasingly complex global operation, current literature on global operation networks is still limited in its scope. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the development and evaluation of a construct for assessing the strategic plant role and developing of an improvement roadmap in GONs. This research makes a contribution to current knowledge on global operations by extending the model proposed by Ferdows (Harvard Bus Rev 75:73–88, 1997a) and operationalising it to enable its application for the design and optimisation of global operations networks.