Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

Higher expectations on supply chain performance force organizations to reinvent themselves in order to cut costs and increase customer service, all to gain competitive advantage. Pursuing the best network of manufacturing, supply and distribution facilities relative the marketplace is therefore on top of many managers “most wanted” list concerning supply chain management. Supply chain planners are thus in need of decision support to be able to establish feasible and sufficient plans. This paper discusses how decision support through advanced planning systems (APS) can assist tactical supply chain planning. A case study is presented showing how APS can act as an enabler in adapting logistics and supply chain principles, as well as reducing costs through streamlining the supply chain. The purpose of this paper is primarily to present findings from a case study regarding supply chain planning with the aid of a master planning APS-module. The case study emphasize that APS in the scope of logistics management have several positive effects on supply chain performance.

This conceptual paper focuses a methodology for the analysis of performances of enterprises operating in production networks. In order to derive adequate results exclusively the operative perspective of performance analysis is investigated. Operative performance analysis implies the analysis of performances of network members considering a special value-adding-process. The introduced approach is divided into two segments: the value adding process-neutral phases and the value adding process-specific phases. In that context special methodologies for the determination of performance indicators, corresponding parameters, evaluation functions and weightings are focussed. Additionally possible consequences are discussed.

The importance of industrial service implies an increasing need for principles to design and manage the associated operations. This paper focuses on the information exchanges in globally decentralised service networks. It thereby emphasises cross-functional interactions from an operations strategy perspective. A balanced scorecard framework is then proposed in order to facilitate the implementation and controlling of the information operations. It was found that its application fosters the strategic coordination of the operational action in a decentralised service organisation.

In order to thrive in global markets, enterprises have to distinguish themselves from their competitors not only by manufacturing high quality products at low costs, but also with superior logistic performance. Logistic Operating Curves (LOC) can be applied to facilitate this as well as to derive strategic measures. This will be demonstrated based on the example of the German forging industry.

The design of manufacturing planning and control systems is a strategic decision for manufacturing firms. In this paper we analyze the interrelationships among the choices of planning and control approaches at different hierarchical levels, including sales and operations planning (chase; level), master scheduling (make-to-order; assemble-to-order; make-to-stock), material planning (time-phased; rate-based), and production activity control (MRP-type; JIT-type). We test the relationships with product characteristics and performance. These relationships are explored through a survey of 128 manufacturing plants. The results show that choice of approaches at the two higher planning and control levels, i.e. sales and operations planning and master scheduling, are strongly interrelated. The choices at the two lower hierarchical levels, i.e. material planning and production activity control, are also strongly interrelated. However, the link between any of the two upper and any of the two lower levels is much weaker. The most significant drivers of the choice of planning and control approach are: (i) product volume and delivery lead time for sales and operations planning, (ii) product variants and delivery lead time for master scheduling, and (iii) production lead time for production activity control, while material planning is not significantly related with any product characteristic. Significant effects on performance are found for sales and operations planning on volume flexibility, master scheduling on product mix flexibility, and material planning and production activity control approaches on delivery speed. This research supports the notion that sales and operations planning is concerned with volume planning and that master scheduling is concerned with mix planning.

Handling the complexity of Information Management (IM) is a very challenging issue — especially in global organizations. Such organizations consist of several entities with different strengths and weaknesses. They have to decide on common goals and agree on coordinated measures for improving their IM activities. However, many organizations lack the abilities to define and operationalize relevant goals. In addition, the complexity of existing measures makes it difficult for them to decide on those measures that are best suited for meeting their IM goals. This paper presents a methodology to structure goals and measures for improving IM. It starts on a strategic level and operationalizes both, goals and measures down to an application level. By considering human, organizational and technical aspects all relevant factors are included and interdependencies are highlighted. Organizations can benefit from the methodology since it supports the design of their IM activities and takes their specific strategies into consideration

Manufacturing companies often merely attain reduced levels of logistic performance due to inconsistencies between their logistic objectives, logistic performance targets and logistic performance management actions. Qualitative influence models represent the inter-dependencies between these factors on two levels: firstly between logistic objectives, secondly between logistic performance measures and logistic planning and control parameters. Expert knowledge gained from modelling the dynamic behaviour of logistic systems facilitates the interpretation and evaluation of the qualitative influence models. On this basis, consistent logistic objectives can be defined and objective-oriented planning and control actions can be identified. The modelling insights are integrated into a logistic performance diagnosis procedure and tool that improve logisticians’ understanding of the consequences of their management decisions and enhance the closed-loop management of logistic performance.

One of the requisites for winning corporate competitions today is success in the “global marketing” for quickly offering high-quality, latest model products in response to customer needs. For manufacturers to advance “manufacturing” that precisely meets the customers’ preferences, it is vital that their affairs and management sections also share the global view and become a core of corporate management and strategy. More specifically, the key to success in “global production” lies in full functionalization of “partnering,” in which forefront divisions of technology, production, and sales as well as the affairs and management sections collaborate in a cooperative strategic scheme to realize “global quality and optimal production.” This study proposes Global Intelligence Partnering Model for Corporate Strategy, “GIPM-CS” mainly in connection with the administration. Further, the effectiveness of this model is verified at the successful companies.

Developing an efficient heuristic algorithm to solve a supply chain operations planning model is the main purpose of this paper. The model considers multi period supply chain planning with capacitated resources. The concept of multi period capacity consumption has been developed recently at the context of supply chain management that realizes resource planning at a supply chain. Because of considering setup times and costs, the model contains binary variables. Since the mixed integer model is strongly NP-hard problem and finding a feasible solution is NP-complete, developing an efficient algorithm is remarkable. In this paper a heuristic algorithm is developed to solve this complicated model. Two reasons encouraged the authors to solve this complex problem. First, the model is an advanced and applicable operations planning model at the supply chain environment. Second, this model is strongly NPhard. So it is of important task to develop a solution for the problem to be capable of feasible and efficient.

The most promising feature of a manufacturing system oriented to mass customization is to have at disposal a layout and a governance such to allow: a) to include a new product within the family of products under manufacture; b) and to apply the required modification of the manufacturing process in front of the market-requested product innovations, in such a way to minimise the cost for product inclusion. The inclusion of a new product in a SME network implies to approach two complementary problems: 1) a post-ponement problem , that means to recognise the new characters of the innovated product such to specify its difference with respect to the set of other products already processed, and to adjoin the new working sequence in the existing processing program (to be possibly modified at least) already applied by the SME network; 2) an order-fulfillment problem , that means to include the a-priori estimated production flow required for the new product, within the programmed flows pattern in the existing SME network, by adding the minimum possible innovations to the network itself. The paper will discuss the proposed solution phases, and illustrate a set of integrated procedure to be applied in order to obtain a mass-customisation strategy of practical utilisation for managing SME networks