Improving flow is a core Operations Management theme that is set to become even more important following contemporary developments in manufacturing, such as smart products and digital encapsulation that enable new control concepts such as multi-agent holonic control. But, companies often struggle to realize flow improvements in practice, both with and without new technologies. While the literature agrees on the importance of flow, a structured and independent process that supports managers in identifying the root causes of why flow items wait in inventories instead of being processed is missing. Managers often use a single production management concept, such as lean production or the theory of constraints, when they seek to understand the reasons for a flow problem, which may lead to misdirected and unsuccessful interventions. In response, we use design science to develop a comprehensive approach to diagnosing flow problems that is independent from any production management concept. This diagnosis process results from successive iterations with five companies and supports the selection of appropriate analytical models and flow improvement solutions. It enables an organization to widen the focus of its flow improvement actions beyond the scope of a singular production management concept and complements the application of recent advances in technology, allowing smart products to quickly interpret what is happening in a location without first simulating and analyzing the whole system. Furthermore, the study expands buffer theories by showing that buffers have an internal hierarchy and can be absorbed by other buffers, while enhancing other theories related to coordination, material flow control, and lean improvement.

中文翻译：

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流量改进的库存诊断——一种设计科学方法

改进流程是一个核心的运营管理主题，随着当代制造业的发展，例如智能产品和数字封装，实现了多代理整体控制等新控制概念，这一主题将变得更加重要。但是，无论有没有新技术，公司在实践中往往难以实现流程改进。虽然文献都同意流程的重要性，但缺少一个结构化和独立的流程，该流程支持管理人员确定流程项目为何在库存中等待而不是被处理的根本原因。管理人员在寻求了解流动问题的原因时，通常会使用单一的生产管理概念，例如精益生产或约束理论，这可能会导致误导和不成功的干预。作为回应，我们使用设计科学来开发一种综合方法来诊断流量问题，该方法独立于任何生产管理概念。该诊断过程来自与五家公司的连续迭代，并支持选择合适的分析模型和流程改进解决方案。它使组织能够将其流程改进行动的重点扩大到单一生产管理概念的范围之外，并补充了最新技术进步的应用，使智能产品能够快速解释某个位置发生的事情，而无需首先模拟和分析整个系统。此外，该研究通过表明缓冲区具有内部层次结构并且可以被其他缓冲区吸收，同时增强了与协调相关的其他理论，从而扩展了缓冲区理论，