Spoilt for choice (English) (Management School Alumni Magazine)
Over the last few years, in reaction to a period of economic uncertainty, businesses have been extending their product variety in order to provide a more tailored approach for customers, with greater flexibility and responsiveness-enhancing initiatives being implemented to help businesses to adopt customer centric strategies. These strategies can require major changes to the way manufacturing operations and supply chains are organised, but to date, very little research has been undertaken on the impact that increasing the amount and variety of products a business offers can have on supply chain performance.
This challenge is currently being addressed at ULMS through its involvement as an academic partner in the EU Framework 7 REMPLANET (Resilient Multi-Plant Networks) research project. The aims of the research are:
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To devise methods to reduce supply chain complexity and uncertainty costs associated with the provision of high-variety solutions.
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To design supply chain networks and configurations to support the delivery of high-variety solutions.
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To develop approaches to justify and evaluate supply chain performance within a high-variety context.
Dr Andy Lyons, Principal Investigator on the REMPLANET project, explains: “We were approached to be involved in the project because of the School’s expertise in responsive supply chain design.
“For REMPLANET we’re looking to design supply chains that are ‘customer-driven’, in other words initiatives that are concerned with analysing and improving the flexibility of a particular business unit in order to respond to changes in customer requirements. This requires effective, customer-driven processes that align production with demand, eliminate waste and creatively involve the workforce in process improvement activities. It also requires synchronicity in terms of planning, production and delivery of products and materials.” ULMS researchers are exploring the benefits of the ‘glass pipeline’ approach, information systems that allow the sharing of demand and production data across supply chain tiers so that customer and supply chain behaviour are completely transparent to decision makers. However the concept is not only dependent on the appropriate use of information and communications technologies, but also requires inter-organisational collaboration and agile processes that can take advantage of real-time access to data.
“We have been studying companies like NikeID and Shoes of Prey who offer customised products and services to their customers, allowing individuals to design their own shoes,” said Andy. “By looking at their supply chain processes, we have been able to use these models to translate our research into practical solutions for local companies. “At Newton Industrial, for example, which is a Merseyside-based manufacturer of solar panels, the REMPLANET team is working on the implementation of a series of initiatives that enable the company to more efficiently produce a high variety range of solar panels, in addition to specific customised products. This should help Newton to enhance its customer service by fostering better collaborative relationships with both customers and suppliers. The result is a business that can reduce its cost base, in addition to providing a more responsive service for customers. “The project runs until September 2012 and aims to provide companies with a set of guidelines that will help them to profitably manage variety. We hope that by following these guidelines, the businesses we are working with will be able to make best use of their supply partners and respond to customer requests more efficiently.”
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