Search results

Reports a new method for preparing a product structure analysis to improve the effectiveness of the master scheduling function for products that are manufactured on an assemble‐to‐order basis. This methodology for conducting product structure analysis uses relational database management software to identify common and unique material in a product structure. Highlights example results of the application of methodology.

In an effort to better respond to heterogeneous customer needs, an increasing number of companies in different sectors deal with the combination of high variety and frequent product changes/modifications. This entails planning, designing, purchasing and manufacturing activities and exacerbates the alignment of Sales, Production Planning and Engineering goals. This paper aims to suggest a way of improving coordination between such functional areas in contexts characterised by high variety and frequent product changes. Based on the data from an action Research study, a method for taking the contrasting requests of Sales, Production Planning and Engineering into account simultaneously and to facilitate the coordination of their activities is developed. It leverages Modular Bills and product modularity to improve inter‐functional coordination. Initial indications are promising. However, given the specific nature of the studied case, further research is required to evaluate the generalizability of the findings.

The applicability of manufacturing planning and control methods differs between environments. This paper explains the fit between the planning environment and material and capacity planning on the detailed material planning and shop‐floor planning levels. The study is based on a conceptual discussion and a survey of 84 Swedish manufacturing companies. Results show the use of planning methods and their levels of user satisfaction in complex customer order production, configure to order production, batch production of standardized products and repetitive mass production, respectively.

A unitary scheme which classifies certain subsystems, within production management, according to push and pull logics is proposed. The three subsystems described are: inventory management, manufacturing priority assignment and material picking and moving, and production planning. The classification proposed is a starting point for establishing application requirements. The characteristics of the production context, not the inherent logic, determine the choice of the most feasible techniques. Techniques with different logics can hence coexist in the same production system.

The main purpose of this paper is to document the research on development of a conceptual framework for the supply chain. The aims of the research were to develop an integrated framework, and to provide a methodology for planning of many components in the supply chain such as suppliers, materials, resources, warehouses, activities and customers. The proposed framework is based on the unitary structuring technique where bills of materials, bills of warehouses, project networks and operations routings, in both manufacturing and distribution networks, are combined into a single structure.

The framework is described along with illustrated numerical examples in the manufacturing and distribution environments.

The numerical testing has shown that each network in the supply chain provides an integrated approach to planning and execution of many components, and is capable of providing visibility, flexibility and maintainability for further improvement in the supply chain environment.

The framework and planning approach developed in this research are new in the area of supply chain management and provide a foundation for planning, control and execution in supply chain in various industries.

This research provides a literature review in the field of uncertainty dampening methods for manufacturing systems, and proposes a new model to improve materials management effectiveness in materials requirements planning environments. The literature review gives rise to a classification framework of the models along nine structural dimensions that refer to the safety buffer treatment, the environmental characteristics and the type of approach. On the basis of the classification framework, the proposed model provides guidelines for approaching the problem of dimensioning, positioning and managing safety stocks against demand uncertainty. The effectiveness of the proposed model has been tested by comparing it to the traditional approach, through a computer‐based simulation.

Britain's merchant navy dominated the international maritime trade in the 19th century. The strong ship owners' lobby imposed on the shippers the only choice to contract either under bills of lading drafted almost totally on the ship owners' terms or not to contract. The conflict between Britain and its rival the American merchant navy precipitated a movement for the use of model contracts of shipment (carriage) and towards standardisation of the liability of International liner carriers by legislative intervention. The bill of lading through its use in international trade gained the characteristic of being the document which incorporates the contractual terms. So, the orally agreed contract of carriage gave way to the contract of carriage in the form of a bill of lading.

An environmental cost accounting system is a flow‐ and decision‐oriented extension of traditional cost accounting systems. It is based on cause‐and‐effect analysis which helps to assign the costs of environmental impacts correctly to their perpetrators. This article attempts to demonstrate how to use an environmental cost accounting system for internal and external audits and performance improvements. The generated information is appropriate to see if objectives and targets are achieved. High amounts of environmental impacts point to inefficiencies in the production area. Their elimination can help accomplish both ecological and business goals of a company.

An effective production planning and control system requires combining the bill of material (BOM) and routeing data to reflect the material flow through the production process. Presents an integrated BOM and routeing data model which allows flexibility in handling relationships between materials and operations to suit specific needs. It can also be used as a standard data resource for creating production jobs. Maintaining job data independently of the BOM and routeing data allows the system to accommodate a wide range of production variations in practice. In a make‐to‐order environment, jobs are created for making line items on customer orders. To manage customer orders better, develops an extended job model to allow line items of a customer order to be made by one job. Perceives the concept of the extended job model as having considerable value in a wide range of production applications.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.