Philip Moscoso

An empirical study on reducing planning instability in hierarchical planning systems

The aim of this article is to contribute empirically to the theory development on planning instabilities in industrial practice by studying in depth an industrial company which has difficulty in meeting its customer deadlines and faces a significant order backlog. Planners at the various levels of the hierarchical planning system and order chasers on the shop floor end up rescheduling open orders and updating (de facto) lead times very frequently when trying to meet deadlines, but eventually are not able to improve order fulfilment. Only after the introduction of an advanced planning system (APS) and centralisation of planning decisions in one single department, planning results could be improved significantly, accomplishing 97% of customer due dates and reducing order backlog drastically. These kinds of planning instabilities have received considerable attention due to their negative impact on planning performance; however, research has been limited to theoretical (e.g. simulation) settings and has focused on specific ways to overcome instabilities. Our main contribution is an empirical investigation of the underlying mechanism of such planning instabilities, with a particular focus on the impact on stability of human and organisational factors. Our findings clearly suggest that structure and frequency significantly influence stability, but that the underlying mechanisms are more subtle and differentiated than assumed in the modelling literature. A further contribution of the article to theory development is the introduction of the general term ‘planning bullwhip’ for such kind of planning instabilities, by integrating in an aggregate manner the different terminologies that have been coined in extant research.

A Design-Oriented Framework for Modelling Production Management Systems

Design-oriented modelling frameworks are intended to support design practice, by helping designers to create models of specific design problems, within a class of design problems. This paper examines the development of a design-oriented framework for the design of production management systems (PMS). It is concluded that such a framework should encourage a holistic and integrated PMS design. A holistic design acknowledges that social and technical subsystems can achieve better management performance by collaborating with one another than one can individually. An integrated design does not artificially separate the PMS from the shop-floor it manages, but rather considers the two as intertwined and complementary parts of an organizational whole. This paper postulates four key axioms to be considered for achieving such a PMS design. A dual modelling framework is then presented that supports the envisioned PMS design approach, and that further allows the use of computer simulation. Its practical contribution is analysed in an industrial case study.

The Role of Quick Response in Accelerating Sales of Fashion Goods

Quick response has been proposed as an appropriate operational strategy to serve volatile markets. In fashion, postponing design, production, and distribution as much as possible may indeed reduce the uncertainty related to product success. In this paper, we provide an empirical study of the influence of lead time and sourcing origin on product success, based on data provided by a European fast fashion retailer. We provide a model of sales diffusion over time where product success is characterized by the speed of sales. We then evaluate how the speed of sales is influenced by the design time and the time-to-market of each particular product. We find that delaying the time of design is very beneficial, because it allows the firm to learn about fashion trends. The effect of time-to-market is more subtle. For a shorter time-to-market, speed of sales is considerably higher, but there is limited learning obtained by postponing design. In contrast, for longer time-to-market, speed of sales is lower, but the learning is higher, so for products designed late in the season, the speed of sales is similar to that of items with short time-to-market.

The Planning Bullwhip: A Complex Dynamic Phenomenon in Hierarchical Systems

Instabilities in production planning and control have received considerable attention due to their negative impact on planning performance. However, extant research has been limited to theoretical (e.g. simulation) settings and has focused on specific methodologies (e.g. mathematical) to overcome instabilities. The objective of this chapter is to make two contributions to the theory development on production planning instabilities. First, it aims to make an empirical contribution through an in-depth case study, and second, it introduces a holistic framework that supports analysis of hierarchical planning systems and their potential instabilities.

Collaborative planning in supply chains: The importance of creating high quality relationships

While collaborative planning and relationship quality are considered key contributors to supply chain performance, their mechanisms and linkages remain unclear. In order to help address this issue this book chapter introduces and unpacks the concepts of collaborative planning and relationship quality and investigates their role in supply chains. A multidisciplinary literature review was undertaken to identify conceptual and empirical work on relationship quality and collaborative planning. The chapter reveals a number of shortcomings in the literature and provides suggestions to guide future research on the links between collaborative planning, relationship quality, and supply chain performance. Implications are also provided for practitioners interested in enhancing the quality of interorganizational relationships and collaborative planning in supply chains.

A modelling framework for complementary design of production planning and control systems

In a business era characterized by a dazzling rate of change, the improvement of production planning and control begins to be a main objective for manufacturing industries. This paper postulates four main statements to be considered for the design of production planning and control systems (PPC-systems) comprising human and technical sub-systems. The first is that production models required for the design of PPC-systems (i.e. design models) cannot be identical to production models required for planning and control of production systems (i.e. regulatory models). The design of PPC-systems must primarily focus on the quality of interaction between the regulatory models. This insight supports the second statement, which postulates that the design of PPC-systems requires a complementary design approach. Complementary design means to take explicitly into account that human and technical sub-systems- based on the differences in strengths and weaknesses of both- can achieve through their interaction a new quality...

A Service Perspective of Cultural Entities and Their Customers

This chapter ends the part of the book devoted to operations management. In it we focus on cultural institutions as service providers and on the important role played by customers and employees in providing the service. We complement the matters discussed in previous sections by giving a view focused primarily on the design, rather than the ongoing management, of a service. We therefore do not limit ourselves to Facilities but also include the other three dimensions, Brand, Focus, and Brain.

Operations Management: Not Just What You Do, But How You Do It

Every media business has some activities required to make a product or service and deliver it into the hands of the end user: that’s operations. If leveraged well, operations (the how we do things in the company) can themselves become a source of competitive advantage, not only in terms of gaining a strong cost position through greater efficiencies, but also in being able to offer breakthrough levels of value that others can’t. This is especially true in the era of digitization. This chapter looks at some of the fundamental methodologies and tools that can be used to improve processes, particularly those where you need to engage customers in delivering an experience—very relevant for media and entertainment operations. Even though today’s new technologies are ushering in radically new business models, the fundamentals of operations management remain just as valid and applicable.

Assisted vs. self-checkout in retail: An empirical analysis of the impact of operational process dimensions on customer satisfaction, recommendation and reuse

In this paper we compare check-out alternatives with different levels of customer participation with regard to the impact that operational process dimensions have on customers. The study was conducted in a supermarket offering two types of check-out options: conventionally assisted, and self-service. Our analysis focused on the impact of three operational dimensions of check-out processes (efficiency, assistance, and convenience) on customer satisfaction, recommendation and reuse. Our results show that the impact of these dimensions on customers is relevant, but varies according to the level of customer participation (assisted vs. self-check-out). This has important implications for the adoption and management of self-checkout in retail practice.

The ‘la Caixa’ Foundation: Art exhibitions

The attendees at the weekly meeting to coordinate cultural activities of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation (FLC) understood quite clearly that they definitely had a problem. After nearly two years of preparation, the exhibition on painter Joaquim Mir, a twentieth-century landscape artist, at the CaixaForum center in Barcelona, had been a great success since its opening on February 3, 2009. But, as had been noted by the FLC’s deputy director of production, if the Mir exhibition ended as planned on April 26, there would not be enough time to prepare the space for the following exhibition of Andrea Palladio, a famous Renaissance architect. As he explained, he had met with the various contractors used by FLC, and the conclusion was clear: the physical preparation of the rooms required more time than was currently available between the closing of the Mir exhibition and the scheduled opening for the Palladio exhibition. Either they had to close the Mir exhibition sooner or delay the opening of the Palladio exhibition.