Decision Sciences Journal
Volume 29, Number 3
Summer 1998
Simulation Analysis of a Manufacturing Supply Chain
Sita Bhaskaran
Operations Research Department, Mailcode: 480-106-359, General
Motors R&D Center, 30500 Mound Road, Warren, MI 48090-9055,
email: sita_bhaskaran@notes.gmr.com
Abstract: A supply chain is a series of manufacturing
plants that transform raw material into finished product. A pipeline
within a supply chain refers to the stream of information, material,
components, and assemblies that are associated with a particular
product. It is typical for manufacturing plants to put considerable
effort to optimize the performance of a horizontal slice of a
supply chain (such as coordination among parts that share a common
resource). The need to optimize the performance of the vertical
slice (the supply chain connecting raw material to finished product)
by controlling the transmission of schedule instability and the
resulting inventory fluctuation is often overlooked. A schedule
is stable if actual production requirements for a given period
do not change from the forecast production requirements. Stable
production schedules are important when managing supply chains
as they help control inventory fluctuation and inventory accumulation.
Failure to control schedule instability results in high average
inventory levels in the system.
In this paper a simulation analysis of supply chain instability
and inventory is conducted, and it is shown how supply chains
can be analyzed for continuous improvement opportunities using
simulation. The focus is on a stamping pipeline in an automobile
supply chain based on operating data from General Motors (GM).
It is shown that the techniques used in this paper are a useful
tool for supply chain analysis.
Subject Areas: Kanban, MRP, Multiechelon Production
Inventory Control, Push and Pull Material Control, Simulation
Analysis, and Supply Chain Management. |