Virtual company formation for agile manufacturing using ANP and Goal Programming

In the current competitive environment of further product customisation and agile response to customer requirements, stand-alone corporations are having difficulties in excelling without the aid of the specialised expertise and cooperation of other organisations. Temporary cooperation, achieved through virtual enterprises or corporations, may be valuable in satisfying these dynamic market and customer needs and expectations. In an agile manufacturing environment marked by rapid change and specialised activities and products, the success of the Virtual Corporation (VC) depends on the performance and hence appropriate selection of the various constituent organisations that form the VC which are termed as Virtual Constituent Companies (VCCs). This paper discusses one such comprehensive VCC selection methodology using Analytical Network Process (ANP) and Goal Programming (GP). The VCCs within this multi-phased methodology are evaluated on qualitative as well as quantitative factors.