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In a hospital, the management of different materials (i.e. waste, drugs, equipment, etc.) is fundamental from an economical point of view and also when considering its impact on patient treatment. The purpose of this paper is to introduce by an innovative approach lean principles in the management of this supply chain.

After the contextualization of the importance of the drug management in hospitals, authors analyze the literature in particular discussing the points of weakness. They propose an innovative methodology to implement a lean principle in this particular supply chain. After a general discussion authors discuss the application of the proposed methodology in the largest Italian hospital, the Policlinico Sant’Orsola – Malpighi in Bologna.

The results are very encouraging, confirm the value of the methods and motivate the authors to do further research. The proposed methodology takes into account both a technical approach and the real behavior of a hospital including logistics knowledge and motivation for material management in ward personnel. Real results are interesting both in term of economic impact and in term of effect on patient care.

Maximizing patient care is the mission of the healthcare system; however, poor management of drugs and materials can have serious effects on the quality of service. In the last years, several excellent technological solutions have been developed, but often their application in the field was limited and ineffective due to the gap in knowledge and commitment required and available in the ward’s personnel. The new methodology developed is focused to solve this gap and was tested in an important case study.

Personalization of products, mix variability and short time to market are the most important factors that have forced companies to a new form of organization during past years. A very common reply to this question is a lean organization based on flexibility of productive lines, reduction of storage and integration among company sections. In this context, quite differently from a traditional system, the maintenance function must work efficiently. Also the maintenance division must contribute to the success of the factory. Aims to introduce a methodology for a soft and tenable application of the principles of total productive maintenance (TPM) in Italian factories. The first step of the study is an explanation of the actual situation, usually based on traditional or on productive maintenance. After a brief introduction, focuses on TPM links with productive maintenance in order to suggest a method for TPM. Concludes with a real application of TPM in a big factory, with a description of a world leader in plant manufacturing for the ceramics industry.

This paper aims to introduce, apply and validate, through a realistic case study, an analytical cost model to support the design of the tow-train feeding system for mixed-model assembly lines managed according to the just-in-time concept. The fleet size and inventory level, minimizing the total annual cost, are the key model goals, while the tow-train shipping capacity and the service level are the decisional variables to set.

The model computes the material handling, inventory and stockout rising costs of the tow-train feeding system and looks for their minimization. It further computes the expected lead time between consecutive round-trips and the Kanban card number, distinguishing among parts and assembly lines, overcoming the simplifying hypothesis assuming a constant lead time for all parts. The model is validated against a dedicated case study stressing its strengths in terms of cost and inventory-level reduction.

The proposed approach is found to be effective if compared to the standard literature in the field of Kanban system design. The 10.76 per cent cost saving is experienced for the considered case study, and the inventory level is closer to the field-experienced profile.

The model adopts a practical perspective, making it easy and applicable to common operative industries.

The literature neglects to consider the differences in the part consumption when estimating the lead time between tow-train round-trips. The proposed model overcomes such limitations and strengthens the model applicability and performances.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a system for the performance evaluation of humanitarian supply chains. The system will help humanitarian organizations (HOs) to make better decisions, improve their performance, and provide accountability, as well as helping them measure their operational performance during disaster response and reconstruction projects.

A holistic and implementable performance measurement system was developed to measure the operational performance of HOs during disaster response and reconstruction projects. The system is divided into five categories with several key performance indicators (KPIs) being identified for each; identifiers are qualitative and quantitative, as well as financial and non-financial.

Empirical testing of the system demonstrated the low use of existing performance indicators in humanitarian supply chains and the possible added value for HOs to improve their operational efficiency.

The performance measurement system could help HOs improve their operations and resource allocation.

The paper is one of the first research contributions in which a sample of developed KPIs is empirically tested in various HOs. Prior to this paper, a limited number of articles examined the performance of HOs, and no defined system of KPIs existed. By analyzing real results in the field of the humanitarian projects and applying the proposed performance measurement system, it will be possible to define a set of best approaches to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian supply chains.

Recently, material flows have been viewed as an integral part of the overall manufacturing system and a critical factor in SCM. Static approaches and theoretical models are ineffective in considering all variables and constraints involved in complex instances: these often require a lot of computing time and present poor flexibility in terms of model changes. VIS approach is a valid way to support design and management decisions in order to achieve the integrated optimisation of the whole chain, but literature does not discuss difficulties and time required in applying it, or its related costs.

Discrete/continuous hybrid simulation tools are used in order to model and simulate several operating conditions in combination with different system configurations.

The discussion of the industrial cases shows the importance of simulation in supporting decisions concerning the design and management of supply chains in their great complexity and in a stochastic competitive and extended context.

The paper deals with five significant industrial cases, which are simulated in collaboration with important enterprises and belong to different industrial sectors, in order to obtain an original quantitative analysis of time and costs resulting from a simulation optimisation based on the introduction of a set of innovative performance indices.

Double pressing systems have recently been introduced to speed up and improve the pressing step of porcelain stoneware tiles. This paper aims to analyze double pressing systems using discontinuous pre‐compaction, both technically and economically. Two operative conditions are considered: the traditional forming of tiles during pressing is compared with the innovative production of a unique large‐sized slab, subsequently customized according to market requirements. Furthermore, manufacturing conditions are explored with infrequent or frequent production runs, due to increasingly smaller production batches, in order to evaluate which production process is more suitable when changing operative conditions are managed.

The analysis is carried out experimentally, by collecting data in existing pilot plants, producing batches of products of different size and colour. Details are provided concerning the technical characteristics of the systems, along with costs per manufactured square metre for investments, personnel, maintenance, spare parts and electric power. A case in which some production days are reserved for each manufactured batch is compared to a case in which production runs are repeated more frequently in a day.

Manufacturing large‐sized slabs and customization has shown to be an efficient solution for companies operating in changing markets.

Further research should study double pressing systems using continuous pre‐compaction.

The proposed analysis, by presenting an evaluation process and sharing data collected experimentally, provides innovative support for addressing decision makers when new pressing systems for porcelain stoneware tiles are selected.

To present an innovative approach to the design of a flexible order‐picking systems (OPS). The proposed conceptual framework is the first step to the development of an expert system created in a rapid and innovative manner, i.e. based on the integration of simulation, genetic algorithms and factorial analysis.

The impact of alternative policies and configurations of both picker‐to‐part and part‐to‐picker OPS is quantified, with the aim of designing and optimising robust facilities capable of minimising global costs and maximising their performances in terms of efficiency and customer service quality.

The importance of validation analysis and both virtual and on‐field data collection emerges.

Compared with the studies found in the literature, this article presents an innovative approach with original results that will be of use in the design and control of a flexible OPS.

Versatile manufacturing (VM) companies typically manufacture high variety, mainly customised products in relatively low volumes, competing for each order with other supplier companies on the basis of price, technical expertise, delivery time and punctuality. The research presented in this study is included in a wide cross‐disciplinary project which involved seven research centres. In particular, this paper aims at identifying the general requirements and guidelines for the definition of an integrated model of the order to delivery cycle in a VM environment, which can particularly be suitable for the small‐medium enterprise needs. A number of guidelines emerged, mainly in the areas of customer requirements definition and commercial configuration of customer order, supply and production planning, and intermediate and final project evaluation.