Information technology and performance management for build-to-order supply chains

En las siguientes líneas se plantea un artículo de reflexión que tiene en cuenta parte del marco teórico que sustenta la investigación titulada “Prácticas pedagógicas que promueven la competencia argumentativa escrita (CAE) en niños campesinos de los grados 4° y 5° del Centro Educativo Municipal La Caldera, Sede Principal de Pasto”, desarrollada en el año 2012. En él se contemplan los aportes de las ciencias del lenguaje y la comunicación, la teoría de la argumentación, la didáctica de la lengua escrita y los géneros discursivos, que dan cuenta de la necesidad de desarrollar la capacidad crítica en los estudiantes a través de la argumentación, lo cual implica transformar las prácticas pedagógicas para que se alejen de la transmisión de conocimientos y den paso a la comunicación, para que la palabra escrita sea apropiada de manera significativa

Decision support for build-to-order supply chain management through multiobjective optimization

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in International Journal of Production Economics. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2010 Elsevier B.V.This paper aims to identify the gaps in decision-making support based on multiobjective optimization (MOO) for build-to-order supply chain management (BTO-SCM). To this end, it reviews the literature available on modelling build-to-order supply chains (BTO-SC) with the focus on adopting MOO techniques as a decision support tool. The literature has been classified based on the nature of the decisions in different part of the supply chain, and the key decision areas across a typical BTO-SC are discussed in detail. Available software packages suitable for supporting decision making in BTO supply chains are also identified and their related solutions are outlined. The gap between the modelling and optimization techniques developed in the literature and the decision support needed in practice are highlighted. Future research directions to better exploit the decision support capabilities of MOO are proposed. These include: reformulation of the extant optimization models with a MOO perspective, development of decision supports for interfaces not involving manufacturers, development of scenarios around service-based objectives, development of efficient solution tools, considering the interests of each supply chain party as a separate objective to account for fair treatment of their requirements, and applying the existing methodologies on real-life data sets.Brunel Research Initiative and Enterprise Fund (BRIEF

Decision support for build-to-order supply chain management through multiobjective optimization

This paper aims to identify the gaps in decision-making support based on multiobjective optimization for build-to-order supply chain management (BTOSCM). To this end, it reviews the literature available on modelling build-to-order supply chains (BTO-SC) with the focus on adopting multiobjective optimization (MOO) techniques as a decision support tool. The literature has been classified based on the nature of the decisions in different part of the supply chain, and the key decision areas across a typical BTO-SC are discussed in detail. Available software packages suitable for supporting decision making in BTO supply chains are also identified and their related solutions are outlined. The gap between the modelling and optimization techniques developed in the literature and the decision support needed in practice are highlighted and future research directions to better exploit the decision support capabilities of MOO are proposed

Multiobjective optimization as a decision aid for managing build-to-order supply chains

This paper provides an overview of multiobjective optimization (MOO) as a decision aid in build-to-order supply chains (BTO-SC). The main features of BTO-SCs are discussed along with capabilities of MOO to enhance decision making at different points along the chain. Key decision points across a typical BTO-SC are identified and potential applications of MOO are discussed. A sample application is presented and future avenues for further research highlighted

Optimizing The Global Performance Of Build-to-order Supply Chains

Build-to-order supply chains (BOSCs) have recently received increasing attention due to the shifting focus of manufacturing companies from mass production to mass customization. This shift has generated a growing need for efficient methods to design BOSCs. This research proposes an approach for BOSC design that simultaneously considers multiple performance measures at three stages of a BOSC Tier I suppliers, the focal manufacturing company and Tier I customers (product delivery couriers). We present a heuristic solution approach that constructs the best BOSC configuration through the selection of suppliers, manufacturing resources at the focal company and delivery couriers. The resulting configuration is the one that yields the best global performance relative to five deterministic performance measures simultaneously, some of which are nonlinear. We compare the heuristic results to those from an exact method, and the results show that the proposed approach yields BOSC configurations with near-optimal performance. The absolute deviation in mean performance across all experiments is consistently less than 4%, with a variance less than 0.5%. We propose a second heuristic approach for the stochastic BOSC environment. Compared to the deterministic BOSC performance, experimental results show that optimizing BOSC performance according to stochastic local performance measures can yield a significantly different supply chain configuration. Local optimization means optimizing according to one performance measure independently of the other four. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we test the impact of local performance variability on the global performance of the BOSC. Experimental results show that, as variability of the local performance increases, the mean global performance decreases, while variation in the global performance increases at steeper levels

Virtual-Build-to-Order as a Mass Customization Order Fulfilment Model

Virtual-build-to-order (VBTO) is a form of order fulfilment system in which the producer has the ability to search across the entire pipeline of finished stock, products in production and those in the production plan, in order to find the best product for a customer. It is a system design that is attractive to Mass Customizers, such as those in the automotive sector, whose manufacturing lead time exceeds their customers' tolerable waiting times, and for whom the holding of partly-finished stocks at a fixed decoupling point is unattractive or unworkable. This paper describes and develops the operational concepts that underpin VBTO, in particular the concepts of reconfiguration flexibility and customer aversion to waiting. Reconfiguration is the process of changing a product's specification at any point along the order fulfilment pipeline. The extent to which an order fulfilment system is flexible or inflexible reveals itself in the reconfiguration cost curve, of which there are four basic types. The operational features of the generic VBTO system are described and simulation is used to study its behaviour and performance. The concepts of reconfiguration flexibility and floating decoupling point are introduced and discussed

Build-to-order is not that easy: adding volume flexibility to mass customization

The present paper reports preliminary observations from a longitudinal case study of the Lawn Mowers & Garden Tractors business unit of Deere & Company. This business unit is interested in analyzing the applicability of a Build-To-Order strategy for its business. By analyzing the problems related to the simultaneous pursuit of volume and mix flexibility we propose a model explaining how these two trade-offs can be simultaneously addressed. We then speculate about the compatibility of the techniques generally advocated to address either volume or mix flexibility, in this case where these two trade-offs have to be jointly reduced.Build to order, Flexibility, Theory building

Managing forecast variability in a build-to-order environment

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 61).In any production environment, managing demand variability is a delicate balancing act. Firms must constantly weigh potential obsolescence costs of unused inventory (should sales not materialize) against potential expedite costs or lost sales (should demand outpace available inventory). For build-to-order manufacturers such as Dell, the balancing act is even more challenging. While it offers a wide array of products, Dell does not hold its safety stock in the form of finished goods inventory. Instead, safety stock is held as parts inventory, sitting in supplier-owned supplier logistics centers. As a result, supplier stocking decisions may impact Dell's ability to respond to forecast variability. Other factors, such as globalization, product proliferation, and geo-manufacturing, all magnify the impact variability has on the forecasting process. This thesis discusses two methods of dealing with demand variability. First, it examines the potential application of statistical modeling techniques to the part-level forecasting process.(cont.) In particular, it looks at the use of time series models to forecast part-level demand. While the results did not merit a recommendation to utilize time series forecasts across the board (in lieu of the current process), certain supplemental applications of such forecasts would benefit Dell. Second, it examines how hedging is currently utilized as a means to account for demand variability. While beneficial to Dell on the surface, a consistent hedge to the forecast is potentially detrimental to its vendor relationships. It has the direct impact of driving excess inventory onto the books of its vendors and it has the indirect impact of higher per part costs to Dell. It also exposes Dell to part shortages due to supplier decommits. To help counter these effects, the thesis identifies potential changes to the hedging process that Dell should consider.y Marshall Einhorn.S.M.M.B.A