Managing Information Complexity in Material Flow Systems

Few people seem to realize how extraordinarily complex the everyday activities involved in making products really are. Even those who are directly involved in these activities ordinarily see only a limited view of the entire process. In this paper, we would like to first call attention to some facts about the character of the information involved in manufacturing, emphasizing how difficult it is to manage This perspective is essential background to the real purpose of the paper, which is to examine alternative strategies for managing manufacturing information. Four strategies will be assessed, their merits and deficiencies will be compared, and a few comments will be added about hybrid methods.