Complexity Assessment of Assembly Supply Chains from the Sustainability Viewpoint
The main point of the paper is to address supply chain networks in terms of sustainability. How can customization of physical networks help to better manage demand?
Testing and Comparison of ASC Complexity Indicators
Testing of C#3
C#3 is proposing the following statement:
If i and j are constant and k is increasing, then the structural complexity of ASC(i,j,k−1) ˂ ASC(i,j,k).
Let us test ASC1(3,4,3) and ASC2(3,4,4), shown in Figure 5. While in Figure 5a, ASC1 consists of three machines and operations (i = k = 3), and the number of parts equals four (j = 4), in Figure 5b, ASC2 contains three machines (i = 3), four operations (k = 4), and the number of parts equals four (j = 4).
Applying Equation (4), according to complexity indicator Ivd, we obtained the following results for Ivd1 and Ivd2:
Ivd1 = 3 × log23 + 3 × log23 + 2 × log22 = 11.51 bits
Ivd2 = 5 × log25 + 3 × log23 + 2 × log22 = 18.37 bits
Applying Equation (5), according to complexity indicator PCI, we obtained the following results for PCI1 and PCI2:
PCI1 = −(0.5 × log20.5 + 0.5 × log20.5 + 0.5 × log20.5 + 0.5 × log20.5) = 4 bits
PCI2 = −(0.25 × log20.25 + 0.25 × log20.25 + 0.5 × log20.5 + 0.25 × log20.25 + 0.25 × log20.25 + 0.5 × log20.5 + 0.5 × log20.5 + 0.5 × log20.5 + 0.5 × log20.5 + 0.5 × log20.5) = 5 bits
Applying Equation (9), according to complexity indicator SDC, we obtained the following results for SDC1 and SDC2:
SDC1 = 4 × ln4 + 2 × ln2 + 2 × ln2 = 8.32 nats
SDC2 = 4 × ln4 + 2 × ln2 + 2 × ln2 = 8.32 nats
Applying Equation (10), according to complexity indicator MFC, we obtained the following results for MFC1 and MFC2:
MFC1 = 0 × 3 + 1 × 7 + 1 × 6 = 13
MFC2 = 0 × 3 + 1 × 7 + 1 × 7 = 14
According to the three complexity indicators Ivd, PCI, and MFC, it was proved that the structural complexity of ASC1(3,4,3) < ASC2(3,4,4), then ASC(i,j,k−1) ˂ ASC(i,j,k).