AN INTERACTIVE DECISION SUPPORT MODEL ON LOCATION AND ALLOCATION PROBLEMS FORMEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON EASTERN EUROPE

The changes within the economic system in Eastern Europe at the end of the eighties have resulted in the current significant gap in wage costs between east and west. Against the background of geographic proximity in Europe, there are also possibilities for cost reduction by choosing appropriate locations combined with the transfer of cost-intensive partial processes to Eastern European low-wage countries. This applies especially to small and medium-sized companies (< 2000 employees) which previously had no possibility of choosing worldwide sites due to a lack of coordination and control. Within the scope of this article, a simplified model for a simulative assessment of material flow relations between various locations will be developed. Furthermore, methods for adapting the material flow relations against the background of turbulent development in Eastern Europe are to be evaluated. The concept of industrial learning will be referred to for this purpose.