Linking QFD and the manufacturing network strategy : Integrating the site and network perspectives

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to integrate the manufacturing site and network perspectives for the purposes of strategy fulfilment, which has rarely been jointly discussed. By doing this, the site and network perspectives are broken into their constituents and linked to one another. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides qualitative research; it conducts a comprehensive literature review and merges the results with the concept of the quality function deployment to link the relevant dimensions. The developed framework is discussed based on a single case study. Findings The proposed framework relates the network and site perspectives in different dimensions, which range from the strategic dimension to the network and site dimensions. The paper, furthermore, offers the groundwork of developing relationship maps of the site and network capabilities, network configuration and coordination, and the structural and infrastructural dimensions. Research limitations/implications The paper contains a single case study and lacks foundation with a broader data set. Practical implications The results support the decision-making process of the manufacturing network managers who assess, design, and develop their manufacturing networks and attempt to gain transparency by using different levels of analysis. Originality/value The paper is the first attempt to show how the different network and site capabilities contribute to strategy fulfilment, to link the configuration and coordination dimensions of the manufacturing network level, and to link the structural and infrastructural dimensions on the site level. Thus, the authors add to multilevel research in operations management because the authors provide a combined framework for the network- and site-level analysis.