Globalization has not only generated immense business opportunities, but also created a very competitive marketplace. To retain competitive advantage, a manufacturer must satisfy a client's multiproduct and quality requirements with limited in-house capacity. An outsourcing strategy can overcome...

To reduce the order response time or achieve optimal utilization, manufacturers often include an outsourcing alternative in their production plans. Further, undesirable machine breakdowns and nonconforming items produced during the in-house processes must also be effectively managed/corrected to...