An Integrated Approach for Supply Chain Tactical Planning and Cash Flow Valuation

Part 1: Smart Supply NetworksInternational audienceThis paper presents a methodology combining a flow optimization and a cost models in order to, simultaneously, realize a tactical planning of a productive system, and evaluate the financial performance of the proposed plans. The system addressed is a multi-site, multi-product supply chain structure with finite capacities of production, storage and transport. In order to model physical flow, we propose an optimization model taking into consideration all the physical system’s constraints. It calculates production and transport plans while maximizing demand satisfaction rate. Then, in order to financially evaluate the solution found by the optimization model, we propose a cost model using Activity Based Costing (ABC) as a valuation method using cost drivers mechanism. Finally, in order to couple both optimization and cost models in a global integrated model, we use an approach called PREVA for PRocess EVAluation, generally used to set up a supply chain’s management control system using financial and physical metrics

Postponement Revisited – A Typology for Displacement

Part 3: Production Management Theory and MethodologyInternational audienceSince its introduction, postponement as a supply chain strategy has received a lot of attention in the operations management and the supply chain management literature. Nevertheless, there are still mixed answers about the meaning of postponement and as such, about its operational benefits. For instance, while some scholars argue that postponement results in a shorter delivery lead time, others claim the contrary. To reconcile these apparently conflicting findings, the purpose of this study is to establish a typology that highlights the three key properties of displacement, which is a collective term for preponement and postponement. By breaking down postponement into the three dimensions of form, place, and time, as well as introducing its antithesis preponement, a typology for displacement is presented and illustrated using a well-known postponement case

Customizations vs. Platforms – A Conceptual Approach to COSI

Part 2: Operations Management in Engineer-to-Order ManufacturingInternational audienceIn recent years, many manufacturers have experienced an increased demand for customized products and services, which requires the manufacturer to simultaneously offer both standardized and customized products. Consequently, several manufacturing strategies must be efficiently employed. These companies do not express the same prerequisites as ‘pure’ ETO companies since they need to be able to differentiate customized orders from standard orders, but also be able to differentiate between the manufacturing dimension and the engineering dimension of customization. Whereas standard orders can be processed with a platform approach, the customized orders contain specific requirements and information represented by ‘customer-order specific information’ (COSI). This paper defines and presents competitive scenarios where platform constraints are combined with COSI for efficient customizations. Implications for the approach and a path forward is discussed