Hing Kai Chan

A conceptual model of performance measurement for supply chains

Supply chain management (SCM) has gained a tremendous amount of attention from both industries and researchers since the last decade. Until now, there are numerous papers, articles, and reports that address SCM, but there is still a lack of integration between the existing performance measurement methods and practical requirements for the SCM. An innovative performance measurement method is proposed to provide necessary assistance for performance improvement in SCM. The proposed method will address this purpose in these four aspects: a simplified supply chain model; tangible and intangible performance measures in multiple dimensions; a cross‐organizational performance measurement; and fuzzy set theory and weighted average method.

Development of the supplier selection model - A case study in the advanced technology industry

Abstract Because of the pressure of globalization in the last two decades, outsourcing activities has become an important strategic decision so that supplier selection is a prime concern. In fact, the selection problem is more crucial for the manufacturers of sophisticated semiconductor assembly equipments, as it is a multi-item, multi-person and multi-criterion decision problem. Among the reported literature, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been recognized as an appropriate tool to tackle the said problem. In this paper, a case study is reported to illustrate an innovative model which adopts AHP and quality management system principles in the development of the supplier selection model. The proposed model can provide not only a framework for the organization to select supplier but also capability to deploy the company strategy to suppliers. Added to this, it also has flexibility to respond to the changing needs of the organization due to dynamic business environment. Through an illustration of the proposed model, it is found that the supplier selection problem can be solved in a structural and timely manner.

A comprehensive survey and future trend of simulation study on FMS scheduling

Since the late 1970s when the first collection of papers on scheduling of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) has been published, it has been one of the most popular topics for researchers. A number of approaches have been delivered to schedule FMSs including simulation techniques and analytical methods, whereas the former is the most widely used tool for modeling FMSs. The objective of this paper is to review scheduling study on FMSs and analyse future trend that employed simulation techniques as the analyzing tool. Scheduling methodologies are categorized into, namely traditional simulation techniques with single criterion scheduling approaches, traditional simulation techniques with multi-criteria scheduling approaches, and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches in FMSs. It is concluded that AI approaches will be dominating in future study.

A decision support system for supplier selection in the airline industry

Abstract Supplier selection has increasingly been regarded as one of the most important strategies in the globalization era. While many companies require different resources from the supply market, airline companies require supplies of parts and repair and maintenance services. The suppliers of these products and services are regarded as critical for the industry. With the multidimensional nature of the problem, supplier selection involves both tangible and intangible selection criteria. This paper presents a case study on solving the supplier selection problem in the airline industry through a decision support system that employs the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The system was implemented with the aid of the commercial software package Expert Choice. The significance of the study is to provide a new platform for airline companies in selecting suppliers on the basis of the proposed decision support system, which was tested with a Hong Kong-based airline company during the course of development. In addition, the model highlights the areas of most concern to airline companies in supplier selection. Unlike many similar studies, sensitivity analysis has been performed in order to improve the robustness of the results, and to understand the importance of different criteria with respect to the selected decision.

An AHP approach in benchmarking logistics performance of the postal industry

Purpose – To develop a new benchmarking process for continuous improvement against the market leader, and report a case study in the postal industry by employing the proposed benchmarking process.Design/methodology/approach – A double AHP methodology is developed in this paper to divide benchmarking process into two main parts: performance evaluation and continuous improvement. Both qualitative and quantitative factors have been taken into consideration. The first phase aims at evaluation of the performance of the benchmarked company and its competitors. The second phase aims at finding the best practice from a list of improvement alternatives based on the first phase.Findings – The proposed framework can evaluate the performance of the case company against its competitors. It can also help the company to select the best improvement alternative for implementation in order to enhance its performance on the weakest measures.Originality/value – The proposed benchmarking process in this paper can help the cas...

Comparative study of adaptability and flexibility in distributed manufacturing supply chains

Supply chains need to be flexible and adaptive because their operations are always subject to a variety of uncertainties like customer demand and supplier capacity, particularly for Make-to-Order (MTO) supply chains since their flow of materials is only triggered by customer orders. The main objective of this paper is to study how flexibility and adaptability in delivery quantity and due date can improve the performance in a network of two-level multi-product MTO supply chains. Effect of uncertain customer demand and also supplier capacity, and suppliers capacity utilization are studied. Flexibility and adaptability are realized based on two proposed coordination mechanisms. Agent-based simulation is employed in this study to model the operations of supply chains. Performance of the system is measured in terms of a number of cost items and customer demand fill rate. Simulation results indicate that introduction of such flexibility and adaptability can improve the aforementioned performance. However, there is a trade-off in selecting the coordination mechanism between adaptability and flexibility subject to capacity utilization. Details and concluding remarks are discussed in this paper.

Improving the productivity of order picking of a manual-pick and multi-level rack distribution warehouse through the implementation of class-based storage

Determining the proper storage locations for potentially thousands of products is one major task that faces the warehouse manager during the design of a new warehouse or the refurbishment of existing facility. There are many factors affects the storage assignment. For example, order picking method, size and layout of the storage system, material handling system, product characteristics, demand trends, turnover rates and space requirements. Selecting appropriate storage assignment policies (i.e. random, dedicated or class-based) and routing methods (i.e. transversal, return or combined) with regards to above factors is a possible solution to tackle this problem. However, the efficiency of these policies is interdependent. This paper aims to present a simulation study of a real case regarding storage assignment problem of a manual-pick and multi-level rack warehouse. Performance of the case is measured in terms of travel distance and order retrieval time. The results of the study indicate that the key to effective implementation of a storage assignment system is to match the types of warehouse storage system and the variety of items in the customer order. Also, the use of key performance indicator should clearly reflect the needs of the warehouse.

A review of coordination studies in the context of supply chain dynamics

Supply chain management is and has been a popular research topic in recent years. Among the reported studies, coordination is an important ingredient to improve the performance of supply chains subject to the presence of system dynamics. This paper sets out to review some recent supply chain studies in the last decades that are related to coordination among supply chain members regarding supply chain dynamics. Focus is put on inventory management problems. More than a hundred research papers are reviewed and they are broadly categorised into analytical approaches and simulations approaches. They are further divided into sub-categorises. Observations of each category are summarised in this paper so that characteristics of each of which could be comprehended. In addition, the concluding section reveals some insights that could be considered for future research regarding coordination in supply chains and supply chain systems dynamics.

Effect of information sharing in supply chains with flexibility

Coordination plays a pivotal role in successful design and implementation of supply chains, especially for those that are formed by independent and autonomous companies. More specifically, information sharing has widely been regarded as an essential tool to coordinate supply chains activities in order to overcome supply chains dynamics. A major contribution of this paper is to analyse the effects of negotiation-based information sharing in a distributed make-to-order manufacturing supply chain in a multi-period, multi-product types environment, which is modelled as a multi-agent system. Information can only be exchanged through negotiation in the agent-based framework with delivery quantity and due date flexibility, which is significantly different from the past reported literature that shared information is available anytime. Four schemes, namely, stochastic model (STO), flexibility in delivery quantity and due date without information sharing (FLEX_NI), flexibility in delivery quantity and due date with partial information sharing (FLEX_PI), and flexibility in delivery quantity and due date with full information sharing (FLEX_FI), are considered. Simulation results indicate that FLEX_PI in the system has comparable performance in terms of total cost and fill rate against FLEX_FI, while both systems outperform STO and FLEX_NI. Considering the associated costs and limitations to achieve full information sharing, partial information sharing may be more practical in real-life applications. Nevertheless, the proposed agent-based framework with delivery quantity and due date flexibility but without information sharing (i.e. FLEX_NI) is not that worse as compared with the two schemes of information sharing (FLEX_PI and FLEX_FI). Therefore, by taking the difficulties of implementing information sharing into account, flexibility in delivery quantity and due date that could be introduced may be a more feasible solution.

A hierarchical fuzzy TOPSIS approach to assess improvement areas when implementing green supply chain initiatives

Implementing green supply chain management (GSCM) initiatives can generate more business opportunities for firms. It also requires changes in firms’ operational capabilities and resources that may have an adverse effect on firms’ operations performance. In order to achieve sustainable economic and environmental performance, it is essential for companies to evaluate different green initiatives and assess improvement areas when implementing green initiatives. This study proposes a fuzzy hierarchical TOPSIS approach to support such an assessment. It enables decision makers to better understand the complete evaluation process and provide a more accurate, effective and systematic decision support tool. An illustrative case is presented to help researchers and practitioners understand the importance of developing an appropriate organisation strategy in implementing green practices.