Significance of Lean, Agile and Leagile Decoupling Point in Supply Chain Management

A supply chain is a system, consisting of material suppliers, production facilities, distribution services and customers. These are all linked together through the downstream feed forward flow of materials and the upstream feedback flow of information. Several organizations have adopted the concept of “Lean†to improve the performance and position in the market place and. The “Agile†manufacturing has been recently emerged as a customer demand driven option. It defines as using market knowledge and virtual corporation to exploit profitable opportunities in a volatile marketplace, leanness stands for developing a value stream to eliminate all waste, including time and to ensure a level schedule. Leagile is one suitable way to exploit the both approaches, lean and agile. It requires the selection and setting up of a material flow decoupling point. The positioning of the decoupling point, therefore, depends upon the longest lead-time and at the same time customer is prepared to tolerate this time lag and the point at which variability in product demand dominates. Downstream from the decoupling point all products are pulled by the customer demand, that is why that part of supply chain is market driven. Upstream from the decoupling point the supply chain is essentially forecast driven. This review paper will explore the approaches of lean, agile and leagile decoupling point to suggest the most suitable supply chain practices, processes and procedures. Several factors are needed for lean and agile practices’ success; not only is it necessary to implement most of the technical tools but an organization’s culture needs transforming too

Designing a flexible supply chain for new product launch

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-56).This thesis examines how companies tactically design flexible supply chains for new product launches. The research focus is on different strategies and tactics used by original equipment manufacturers to improve supply chain flexibility through their engagement with contract manufacturers. Five case studies regarding successful product launches were documented and analyzed, and the successful strategies and tactics were then categorized according to the characteristics of the situation. Finally, the findings from the analysis were applied to a startup company to develop its contract manufacturing engagement plan.by Wai-Kwan Benjamin Ha.M.Eng.in Logistic

TEXTUAL DATA MINING FOR NEXT GENERATION INTELLIGENT DECISION MAKING IN INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT: A SURVEY

This paper proposes textual data mining as a next generation intelligent decision making technology for sustainable knowledge management solutions in any industrial environment. A detailed survey of applications of Data Mining techniques for exploiting information from different data formats and transforming this information into knowledge is presented in the literature survey. The focus of the survey is to show the power of different data mining techniques for exploiting information from data. The literature surveyed in this paper shows that intelligent decision making is of great importance in many contexts within manufacturing, construction and business generally. Business intelligence tools, which can be interpreted as decision support tools, are of increasing importance to companies for their success within competitive global markets. However, these tools are dependent on the relevancy, accuracy and overall quality of the knowledge on which they are based and which they use. Thus the research work presented in the paper uncover the importance and power of different data mining techniques supported by text mining methods used to exploit information from semi-structured or un-structured data formats. A great source of information is available in these formats and when exploited by combined efforts of data and text mining tools help the decision maker to take effective decision for the enhancement of business of industry and discovery of useful knowledge is made for next generation of intelligent decision making. Thus the survey shows the power of textual data mining as the next generation technology for intelligent decision making in the industrial environment

The responsive reply chain: the influence of the positioning of decoupling points

Manufacturing supply chains have been challenged by high competition, dynamic, and stochastic conditions. They have to be constantly responsive in today’s ever-changing manufacturing environment. The proper positioning of decoupling points for material flow and information flow has a significant potential for increasing responsiveness in a supply chain. Positioning the material decoupling point as close to the end consumer as possible whilst the information decoupling point is positioned upstream is the key to the industries’ ability to reduce lead time and enhance performance in the dynamic behaviour of the supply chain. [Continues.

Lean and agile:a comparison between two theories

Abstract. Lean and agile are both theories that firms can utilize for a variety of purposes. The purpose of this study is to compare the two on a general level and draw clear conclusions on when the two can be applied and what determines which approach should be used. The research questions are: “Are lean and agile equally applicable in various situations?”, “Is there a specific factor that determines which approach is better suited for the a certain situation?” and “Can both approaches be used simultaneously?”. The paper first describes both approaches and their applications, comparing lean and agile in a variety of contexts. Finally, a systematic literature review is carried out and conclusions are made based on the review. The goal of the literature review is to determine what conditions lean and agile are each suited for and if both approaches can be utilized simultaneously. The systematic literature review confirms that lean is more suited for stable conditions, whereas agile is recommended when the demand is unstable and markets are more volatile. Moreover, newer literature suggests that both approaches can be utilized simultaneously, even though some past literature has suggested that the two theories are competing paradigms.Tiivistelmä. Lean ja agile ovat molemmat teorioita joita käytetään useisiin eri tarkoituksiin. Tämän työn tarkoitus on vertailla molempia yleisellä tasolla ja tehdä johtopäätöksiä siitä, milloin leania ja agilea voidaan käyttää ja mikä määrittää kumpi on sopivampi tiettyihin olosuhteisiin. Tutkimuskysymyksiä ovat: "Ovatko lean ja agile yhtä käyttökelpoisia eri tilanteissa?", "Onko olemassa jotain tiettyä tekijää mikä määrittää kumpaa lähestymistapaa tulisi käyttää?" sekä "Voidaanko molempia käyttää yhtä aikaa?". Tutkimus alkaa molempien ajattelutapojen avaamisella ja vertailulla eri käyttökohteissa. Tämän jälkeen tehdään systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus ja sen pohjalta johtopäätökset. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen tarkoitus on selvittää mihin olosuhteisiin lean ja agile todella sopivat, sekä voiko molempia lähestymistapoja käyttää yhtä aikaa. Systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus vahvistaa propositiot joiden mukaan lean sopii olosuhteisiin joissa markkinat ja kysyntä ovat vakaita ja ennustettavissa, kun taas agile on omiaan kun olosuhteet ja kysyntä ovat epävakaampia. Lisäksi uudemmasta kirjallisuudesta nähdään että molempia käyttötapoja voidaan käyttää yhtä aikaa, vaikka vanhemman kirjallisuuden mukaan näin ei ole

Textual data mining applications for industrial knowledge management solutions

In recent years knowledge has become an important resource to enhance the business and many activities are required to manage these knowledge resources well and help companies to remain competitive within industrial environments. The data available in most industrial setups is complex in nature and multiple different data formats may be generated to track the progress of different projects either related to developing new products or providing better services to the customers. Knowledge Discovery from different databases requires considerable efforts and energies and data mining techniques serve the purpose through handling structured data formats. If however the data is semi-structured or unstructured the combined efforts of data and text mining technologies may be needed to bring fruitful results. This thesis focuses on issues related to discovery of knowledge from semi-structured or unstructured data formats through the applications of textual data mining techniques to automate the classification of textual information into two different categories or classes which can then be used to help manage the knowledge available in multiple data formats. Applications of different data mining techniques to discover valuable information and knowledge from manufacturing or construction industries have been explored as part of a literature review. The application of text mining techniques to handle semi-structured or unstructured data has been discussed in detail. A novel integration of different data and text mining tools has been proposed in the form of a framework in which knowledge discovery and its refinement processes are performed through the application of Clustering and Apriori Association Rule of Mining algorithms. Finally the hypothesis of acquiring better classification accuracies has been detailed through the application of the methodology on case study data available in the form of Post Project Reviews (PPRs) reports. The process of discovering useful knowledge, its interpretation and utilisation has been automated to classify the textual data into two classes.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Informationsmanagement im betrieblichen Qualitätswesen : Umsetzung in der Agrar- und Ernährungsindustrie

Lebensmittelsicherheit, Rückverfolgbarkeit und eine Vielzahl von weiteren Anforderungen an die Qualität von Produkten sowie ihren Herstellungs- und Handelsprozess sind heute entscheidend für den Markterfolg von Unternehmen der Agrar- und Ernährungsindustrie. Die Erfüllung dieser Anforderungen stellt die Unternehmen jedoch vor immer neue Herausforderungen. Diese sind unter anderem durch Besonderheiten der Ware "Lebensmittel", Komplexitäten der Prozesse, Informationsasymmetrien in Handelsbeziehungen, Sektorstrukturen und die inhaltliche Dynamik der Anforderungen selbst bedingt. Die Arbeit untersucht, ob und wie die aktuellen Anforderungen an das Qualitätsmanagement, die Rückverfolgbarkeit und die Unbedenklichkeit von Lebensmitteln vor diesem Hintergrund mit Hilfe von Informationssystemen effizient bewältigt werden können. Deshalb sind einerseits aktuelle Entwicklungen im Qualitätsmanagement der Agrar- und Ernährungsindustrie sowie die Untersuchung existierender Ansätze zur informationellen Unterstützung des Qualitätsmanagements eine Grundlage der vorliegenden Arbeit. Andererseits bietet das Wissensgebiet des Informationsmanagements mit einer Reihe von Modellen und Konzepten den Ausgangspunkt zur Diskussion von darüber hinausgehenden innovativen Nutzungsszenarien im Qualitätsmanagement. Während dem Informationsmanagement traditionell lediglich eine unterstützende Rolle zugewiesen wird, existieren auch Theorien, die eine gegenseitige Beeinflussung von Unternehmensführung und Informationsmanagement unterstellen. Diesem Ansatz entsprechend stellt die Arbeit die Potentiale des Informationsmanagements als Enabler des Qualitätsmanagements vor. Dabei werden inhaltlich funktionale Elemente einerseits sowie Optionen der Leistungserbringung andererseits ausgeführt. Da auch die Systementwicklung dieser Wechselwirkung Rechnung trägt, wird ein entsprechend angepasstes Prozessmodell der Informationssystementwicklung etabliert. Die so entwickelten Referenzelemente, die Optionen der Leistungserbringung und das entwickelte Vorgehensmodell werden in Fallstudien bei Unternehmen der Agrar- und Ernährungsindustrie untersucht. Neben der grundsätzlichen Überprüfung der Konzepte können dabei Zusammenhänge zwischen bestimmten Gegebenheiten der Unternehmen und den für das spezifische QM System relevanten Unterstützungsoptionen etabliert werden. Die These, dass die aktuellen Anforderungen an das Qualitätsmanagement, die Rückverfolgbarkeit und die Unbedenklichkeit von Lebensmitteln sich mit Hilfe von Informationssystemen effizient bewältigen lassen, kann basierend auf der Untersuchung der Fallstudien bestätigt werden. Dabei bilden die Systeme aber nicht nur die Arbeitsumgebung, in der die externen Anforderungen erfüllt werden können, sondern schaffen auch den Rahmen, um unternehmensintern motivierte Qualitätsstrategien umzusetzen und zu kommunizieren.Information Management in Corporate Quality Management - Implementation in the Agrifood Industry Food safety, traceability and numerous other demands on the quality of products as well as their production and trade-processes are of paramount importance for the market success of enterprises in the agrifood sector. However, meeting those demands poses new, ever changing challenges to the companies. These arise due to specific features of food and feed, complexities in production and trade-processes, information asymmetries in trade relations, sector- characteristics and dynamic development of regulatory as well as market-borne demands on quality management. The present thesis intends to answer the question if and how current demands on quality management, traceability and food safety can be efficiently handled by utilizing appropriate information management techniques. Therefore, current developments in quality management of the agrifood industry as well as existing concepts for information support form one part of the thesis´ background. The other part of the thesis´ background originates in information management science, which supplies a number of models and concepts well suited for the development of innovative solutions for information management in corporate quality management. While information management is traditionally seen as a supporting function to overall business management, there are theories which emphasize that the influence between both spheres is mutual. Following this train of thought the thesis points out potentials of information management as an enabler to quality management. These are delineated in three areas: supporting information systems functions, sourcing options for corporate information management and the design and development process for information systems. The established supporting functions, sourcing options and the model of the development process are tested and evaluated in case studies with companies of the Agribusiness. Beyond the evaluation of their basic fitness for use, these case studies give an insight on the linkage between enterprise characteristics and the type of support needed in information management. The hypothesis that current demands on quality management can only be efficiently dealt with by the means of information management can be verified on the basis of these case studies. The established options for information management do not only form a means to reactively meet external demands but also enables the implementation and communication of quality management for a proactive positioning in the market.</p

Agile Supply Chain Management in the UK Fashion Sector

More demanding customers and the globalisation of both markets and production have led to companies nowadays facing a highly volatile and uncertain environment. In this environment, the ability to react to environmental uncertainty is key for competitiveness. Long lead times and high levels of stock have higher and higher risks associated with and, as a result, producing just-in-time to customer specifications has become the key to succeeding in the market place. Efficient supply chains often become uncompetitive because they don’t adapt to changes in the structures of markets. In this context, the area of agile supply chain management has gained increasing attention over the past few decades. It focuses on increasing the speed and flexibility of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers.If extensive research has been previously conducted on various aspects of agility, the majority of previous studies focus on consumer acceptance of the strategy and not on operational issues. Building on this weakness, this thesis aims to construct a framework of agile supply chain management practices and, through two case studies, investigate the interactions between its components. The UK fashion sector was chosen as the focus of this research, due to its high levels of demand volatility. It also presents a set of challenges, as the high levels of globalization that characterises the sector and the complexity of the supply networks operated by fashion retailers, have previously been identified as barriers to responsiveness.The thesis’ main findings are threefold. First, due to the fact that traditional supply chains are either too complex and cost-laden to distribute low-cost products effectively or too asset-intensive and inflexible to quickly harness and deploy innovation, companies need to build ‘fit-for-purpose’ supply chain networks. This involves configuring supply networks in a tailored fashion to deliver innovation and responsiveness for premium brands and high efficiency for mass value products. Second, through high levels of process integration companies should accelerate the innovation process so that new products and promotions can be introduced into stores more cheaply and quickly. They should also reinvent the value chain by reconfiguring operations to radically cut costs and proactively meet customer demands. Third, to enable high levels of agility in a global sourcing context through rapid supply systems reconfiguration, new supply chain structures and actors, such as trade agents / intermediaries, need to be involved