Strategic Management of Global Manufacturing Networks

Professor Dr. Thomas Friedli Managing Director, Chair of Production Management, and Vice Director, Institute of Technology Management, University of St.Gallen (Switzerland)Thomas Friedli’s main research focus is the management of manufacturing enterprises. His area of expertise is in operational excellence in the pharmaceutical industry, collaboration management, management of industrial services and management of global production.In 2004, Thomas habilitated and became Adjunct Professor in St.Gallen. His team of 12 postgraduate students develops new management solutions for manufacturing companies. The Chair is largely financed through external funds, why most of the research projects are industrial projects. In 2007 he became an associate member to the International Academy for Quality (IAQ) and joined the SAQ (Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems) as an advisory council in 2009. Since 2010, he is member of the board of the Swiss Institute of Service Sciences (SISS).Thomas is teaching in several executive programs in St.Gallen, Fribourg, Dornbirn, Salzburg and Aachen; moreover, he is visiting lecturer at the Business School of Bordeaux. In fall 2008, he spent several weeks as Adjunct Associate Professor at the Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. Since 2011, Thomas is Senior Lecturer of the Executive MBA program in St.Gallen and since 2012 also Senior Lecturer of the St.Gallen full time MBA program.Dr. Andreas MundtAndreas Mundt had been a research associate in the team of Thomas Friedli between 2009 and 2012. His main research focus was the management of global production. Andreas’ area of expertise is in configuration and coordination of global manufacturing networks. He wrote his doctoral thesis under the title “Managing manufacturing networks – The coordination perspective”.Andreas graduated in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Darmstadt,Germany, and in Manufacturing Management at the University of Linköping, Sweden. Before he joined the University of St.Gallen for his doctoral studies, he worked in the Supply Chain Management of Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG, Germany. After finishing his doctoral studies at the Chair of Production Management, Andreas became the Secretary to the Supervisory Board of the REHAU Group.Dr. Stefan ThomasStefan Thomas had been a research associate in the team of Thomas Friedli from 2007 till 2012. His main research focus was the management of manufacturing enterprises. Stefan’s area of expertise is in configuration and coordination of global manufacturing networks. He wrote his doctoral thesis under the title “Production network systems – Pathway to efficient manufacturing networks”.Stefan graduated in both Mechanical Engineering and in Industrial Engineering at the University of Darmstadt, Germany. After leaving the Chair of Production Management, he joined the REHAU Group as Assistant to the COO.

From the book reviews: "The authors' aim is to explore strategic management challenges around global manufacturing networks. ... In terms of content and structure, the book follows a logical progression from theory to application, with plenty of examples thrown in. ... it all comes together nicely, making the book both a pleasant and informative read. ... an excellent source for key concepts and their application and the numerous and detailed industry examples are both illustrative and enjoyable to read." (Jannis Angelis, Production Planning & Control, October, 2014)

• Development of Production Management- from Site to Network Optimisation.- A Model for Network Design.- Clarification of the Initial Strategic Situation.- The Network Configuration.- Network Coordination.- Analysis and Design of Networks in Practice.- Outlook and Summary.