ABSTRACT
Competition between producers in high-wage and low-wage countries is typically carried out in two dimensions, the economy of planning (scale vs. scope) and the economy of production (plan vs. value) which together form the “Polylemma of Production”. The determination of a company’s optimal operating point is carried out depending on the cost of labor and is thus dependent on location. Recent developments show that the key to sustainably produce in high-wage countries cannot lie in achieving a better position within each of the dichotomies but implies the resolution of the contradictions in the fields of planning economy and production economy. Within the Cluster of Excellence “Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries” (CoE), researchers from the areas of production engineering and material sciences at RWTH Aachen University develop tailored methods for the organization and the use of technology in high-wage production sites. The scientific core result of the CoE is the development of a production engineering based theory of production which includes holistic description, explanation and design models for production systems and delivers answers how future production in high-wage countries can turn out both sustainable and successful.
