Development of an Approach for Analyzing Supply Chain Complexity

Supply chains are faced with a rising complexity of products, structures, and processes. Because of the strong link between a supply chain’s complexity and its efficiency the supply chain complexity management becomes a major challenge of today’s business management. A two dimensional driver concept is introduced and explained to comprehend the major causes of a supply chains’ complexity. To map the effects of the drivers and to understand the different dimensions of complexity, a general complexity model is introduced. A supply chain complexity analysis approach is presented, to evaluate the initial situation and to provide the necessary information for deriving the right actions and strategies for the management of complexity within a supply chain.