Approximation

Global production networks connect partners with outstanding expertise, and make use of regional cost advantages for purchasing and production operations. This development leads to an increasing structural complexity of the networks, which is accompanied by a closer collaboration of dynamic logistics processes. Hence, the resulting dynamics of a large-scale production network is characterized by the dynamics of the individual logistics processes, the dynamics of the network structure and dynamics of the external processes that affect the production network. However, in practice a lack of adequate procedures for the analysis and design of these networks can be observed. The presented article addresses this need by introducing tools and methods for the approximation of large-scale production networks, analysis of their dynamics and the robust design of the network resources.

Planning and control of logistics processes is more and more determined by an increasing complexity of structure of logistics networks and dynamics. However, in many aspects methods and tools for a comprehensive analysis of large-scale logistics networks are missing. This set of problems is the object of investigation in the new research project ‘Stability, Robustness and Approximation of Dynamic Large-Scale Networks - Theory and Applications in Logistics Networks’ founded by Volkswagen Foundation. The project will be run in a dual way: Mathematicians from the university of Bremen und the university of Würzburg cooperate with researchers from the field of engineering of the university of Bremen.