A Framework for Mitigating Excessive Transportation in the Context of Manufacturing Localization

While the zeitgeist of today prescribes localization as a key to eliminate the excessive transportation for manufacturing firms, firm-level practical and workable guidelines that go beyond maxims are scant. Laden with analytical methods, this article offers a phronetic, customizable framework based on lean six sigma (LSS). The framework mimics Define–Measure–Analyze–Improve–Control process. The early phases of the framework, ex-ante, prescribe the use of a variety of tools and techniques from LSS and employ a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to extract the vital few root causes that may impede localization. The latter phases suggest the use of the design of experiments to evaluate the root causes, ex-post. The article outlines a clear and established procedure and demonstrates each analytical phase using evidence from a two-year real-world application in the steel industry.