Robert Beauregard

Furniture supply chain tactical planning optimization using a time decomposition approach

We study the supply chain tactical planning problem of an integrated furniture company located in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The paper presents a mathematical model for tactical planning of a subset of the supply chain. The decisions concern procurement, inventory, outsourcing and demand allocation policies. The goal is to define manufacturing and logistics policies that will allow the furniture company to have a competitive level of service at minimum cost. We consider planning horizon of 1 year and the time periods are based on weeks. We assume that customers demand is known and dynamic over the planning horizon. Supply chain planning is formulated as a large mixed integer programming model. We developed a heuristic using a time decomposition approach in order to obtain good solutions within reasonable time limit for large size problems. Computational results of the heuristic are reported. We also present the quantitative and qualitative results of the application of the mathematical model to a real industrial case.

Simulation and performance evaluation of partially and fully integrated sales and operations planning

This article presents rolling horizon simulation models and performance analysis of partially and fully integrated sales and operations planning (S&OP) against traditional decoupled planning in a multi-site make-to-order (MTO) based manufacturing supply chain. Three simulation models are developed illustrating, respectively, the fully integrated S&OP model, which integrates cross-functional planning of sales, production, distribution, and procurement centrally; the partially integrated S&OP model, in which the joint sales and production planning is performed centrally while distribution and procurement are planned separately at each site; and the decoupled planning model, in which sales planning is carried out centrally while production, distribution, and procurement are planned separately and locally. A solution procedure is provided for each model so that a more realistic planning process can be simulated. Performances of rolling horizon simulation models are evaluated against those of the fixed horizon deterministic models. The results demonstrate that while deterministic models are important for theoretical studies, they are insufficient for decision support and performance evaluations in a real business environment. A rolling horizon simulation model is required to provide more realistic solutions. The effects of demand uncertainties and forecast inaccuracies are incorporated in the evaluation. The study is carried out based on a real industrial case of a Canadian-based oriented strand board (OSB) manufacturing company.

Mass customisation of wood furniture as a competitive strategy

The existence of some segments of the US furniture industry is threatened by imports from offshore countries. Mass Customisation (MC) is discussed as a competitive strategy for US furniture manufacturers to offset their intrinsic production cost disadvantage. Examples from four domestic furniture industry subsectors are used to propose a possible correlation between the level of product customisation (MC) offered and their success in the market. The US kitchen cabinet industry was found to offer the highest level of MC of all subsectors analysed. Interestingly, at the present time, the kitchen cabinet industry is not heavily affected by offshore imports. The wood household furniture industry, on the other hand, was ranked last in regard to MC and was also the one most heavily affected by offshore imported furniture. The study indicates that MC can be used as a successful business strategy for domestic producers competing with low-cost offshore manufacturers.

Identification of internal defect of sugar maple logs from CT images using supervised classification methods

Sugar maple logs (Acer saccharum Marsh.) were scanned using X-ray medical scanner in order to develop a classification procedure for this type of imagery (CT images). The classification procedure was required in order to separate sapwood from colored heartwood, knots, rot and bark. Five logs coming from a freshly cut tree (group 1) and three logs sampled from a sawmill yard (group 2) were chosen for this purpose. Two parametric supervised classification algorithms, a minimum distance (MDC) and maximum likelihood (MLC) ones, were qualitatively and quantitatively tested and the resulting thematic maps were filtered by a 5×5 median filter. The classification accuracy was evaluated with confusion matrix and Kappa analyses. Sapwood is known to be the key factor determining sugar maple lumber value. The sapwood identification accuracy was found to be 98.6% (MDC) and 97.2% (MLC) for group 1 and 80.7% (MDC) and 81.8% (MLC) for group 2, respectively. Misclassification of defects occurred mainly between knots and colored heartwood. The overall accuracy of classification was about 83.1% (MDC) and 82.6% (MLC) for group 1 and 76.4 (MDC) and 78.0% (MLC) for group 2, respectively. The Kappa value from MDC and MLC was 0.622 and 0.624 for group 1 and 0.440 and 0.470 for group 2, respectively. These Kappa values indicate the existence of strong and moderate degree of conformity between the reference data and the classification procedure for groups 1 and 2 of logs, respectively. Both classifiers show no statistically significant differences in their capability of separation of sapwood from the other classes. Nevertheless, as MLC accuracy for colored heartwood is higher than MDC accuracy in logs without bark (normal situation in sawmills), MLC appears at this stage as the better alternative for analysing CT images of sugar maple logs. ZusammenfassungAm Beispiel von Zuckerahorn-Stammabschnitten (Acer saccarum Marsh.), die mit einem Computertomographen gescannt wurden, wurde ein Auswerteverfahren für die CT-Bilder entwickelt. Dieses Verfahren war erforderlich, um Splintholz von Farbkernholz, Ästen, Fäule und Rinde unterscheiden zu können. Dazu wurden fünf Stammabschnitte von frisch gefällten Bäumen (Gruppe 1) und drei Stammabschnitte aus einem Sägewerk (Gruppe 2) entnommen. Zwei vorwissensbasierte Auswerteverfahren, Minimum Distance (MDC) und Maximum-Likelihood (MLC), wurden sowohl qualitativ als auch quantitativ getestet. Die daraus resultierenden thematischen Karten wurden mit einem 5×5 Medianfilter gefiltert. Die Auswertegenauigkeit wurde anhand einer Konfusionsmatrix und mittels Kappa-Analysen bewertet. Splintholz ist der entscheidende Faktor, der den Wert von Zuckerahorn-Schnittholz bestimmt. Splintholz konnte in der Gruppe 1 mit einer Genauigkeit von 98.6% (MDC) und 97.2% (MLC) und in der Gruppe 2 mit 80.7% (MDC) und 81.8% (MLC) erkannt werden. Auswertefehler ergaben sich hauptsächlich bei der Unterscheidung zwischen Ästen und Farbkernholz. Insgesamt lag die Auswertegenauigkeit in der Gruppe 1 bei 83.1% (MDC) und 82.6% (MLC) und in der Gruppe 2 bei 76.4% (MDC) und 78.0% (MLC). Der Kappa-Wert von MDC und MLC lag in der Gruppe 1 bei 0.622 und 0.624 bzw. in der Gruppe 2 bei 0.440 und 0.470. Diese Kappa-Werte weisen auf einen hohen bzw. mittleren Übereinstimmungsgrad zwischen den Referenz- und den Auswertedaten für Stammabschnitte der Gruppen 1 bzw. 2 hin. Beide Verfahren unterscheiden sich statistisch nicht signifikant bezüglich ihrer Fähigkeit, Splintholz von den anderen Holzmerkmalen zu trennen. Dennoch erscheint zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt MLC die bessere Alternative zur Auswertung von CT-Bildern von Zuckerahorn-Stammabschnitten zu sein, da MLC Farbkernholz in Stammabschnitten ohne Rinde (Normalsituation in Sägewerken) mit höherer Genauigkeit identifiziert als MOC.

Optimization Helps Shermag Gain Competitive Edge

Shermag Inc. is a vertically integrated furniture company with business units across the supply chain from the forest to the final customer. During the last decade, Shermag has been losing market share to low-cost Asian manufacturers. To reduce the procurement and other significant costs of Shermags raw material wood, which constitute a major component of its total furniture cost, we developed a tool to optimize the tactical planning of the companys wood supply chain. We propose an optimization-based approach for coordinating operations at each echelon of the wood supply chain. However, the problem size caused computer-related issues, such as long processing times and computer crashes. In our proposed solution approach, we use decomposition to overcome these issues. Our implementation uses C++, CPLEX optimization software, and Microsoft Access. In this paper, we present a comparative study of traditional decision making versus optimal decision making. Using Shermag data for 2004 and 2005, we show that our solution reduces total operations costs by more than 22 percent. For any set of parameters, the tool can generate a good, feasible solution. These results convinced Shermag to use our tool for future configurations of its supply chain network.

Extending relationship value: observations from a case study of the Canadian structural wood products industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present how the construct of relationship value (RV) has the potential to help suppliers understand how to create superior value in their customer relationships and ultimately improve their competitiveness. Nowhere is this truer than in the Canadian wood products industry, where sales to its most important market, the USA, have recently been dwindling. The paper seeks to present how RV was adapted in this research context and extended over elements of scope, range of potential applications, scale of measurement, and computational techniques.Design/methodology/approach – A multiple‐case study was undertaken and consisted of the evaluation of 58 customer relationships for three wood products manufacturers.Findings – Findings highlight the necessary distinction between “value for” and “value of” customers when measuring relationship value from a supply perspective. Based on the value and orientation of exchange, a new segmentation of customer relationships emerges wh...

The Strategic Design of Forest Industry Supply Chains

Abstract This paper presents a market-driven approach to design production-distribution networks for the lumber industry. The approach is developed to tackle a vast array of issues, from the adaptation of an enterprise supply chain to its evolving environment, such as changing forest policies, to enterprise rationalizations through mergers or acquisitions. The methodology takes into account the specificity of the industry divergent manufacturing processes as well as the lumber market segmentation into contracts, vendor managed inventory (VMI) agreements and spot markets. The approach is based on a comprehensive two-stage stochastic programming with recourse model. A sample average approximation (SAA) method based on Monte Carlo sampling techniques is proposed to solve this stochastic program, and it is shown that this approach outperforms the use of a comparable deterministic model based on averages. Finally, the decision support system developed to implement the approach is used to show how it can contribute to dealing with strategic issues in the Eastern-Canadian lumber industry. Forest policy as well as acquisition and rationalization issues are analyzed through applications of the methodology to a virtual but realistic case called Virtu@l-Lumber.

Impact of paper birch (Betula papyrifera) tree characteristics on lumber color, grade recovery, and lumber value.

The aim of this research is to assess the impact of paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) tree characteristics on wood color variability, grade recovery, and lumber value. Current results are based on 2,284 paper birch boards coming from 168 trees harvested in two different stands in Quebec, Canada. Results showed that tree diameter was the most important variable affecting board quality and value. Larger trees were associated with higher board quality and higher lumber value per tree. Lumber value per tree was influenced by tree vigor as well but not by tree age. The most vigorous trees produced higher board value with an average of USD 316.62 per m3, middle vigor classes showed averages of USD 218.28 per m3 and USD 251.84 per m3, while the less vigorous trees had the lowest average with USD 165.94 per m3. Board quality was only partly influenced by tree age and tree vigor. When selected for color, the majority of the board surface area fell under the sap category (50%), while 28 percent was classified ...

Using life cycle thinking to analyze environmental labeling: the case of appearance wood products

PurposeGrowing public concern about the current state of our planet led to the creation of numerous regulations, standards, and certifications for the protection of humans and the environment. Ecolabels were defined for products such as cleaning products, paints, and many others. Wood building products are no exception. The objective of this study is to analyze the existing ecolabelling programs for appearance wood products in nonresidential applications and to evaluate them relatively to their effective role in environment protection or reduction of environment footprint.MethodsThe research was conducted on the most common International Organization for Standardization (ISO) type I ecolabels in North America, the European Union, and Japan. Certification schemes applicable to appearance wood products for nonresidential applications were considered. In a life cycle assessment perspective, certification criteria were compared regarding their ability to consider and integrate environment impacts.Results and discussionA wide range of ecolabels can apply to appearance wood products, from indoor air quality to wood from sustainable forest management. Moreover, it has been found that among all certification schemes studied, those integrating the whole life cycle were the most relevant.ConclusionsThe remaining limitation of ISO type I ecolabels is the lack of environmental information enabling the differentiation between products bearing the same ecolabel. This can be overcome by ISO type III environmental product declarations. Thus, allowing a better understanding of the implications related with the use of wood products compared to other materials in the nonresidential building sector.

Exploratory case studies on manufacturing agility in the furniture industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the agility of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) in furniture enterprises, and explores the appropriateness of a typology framework that correlates the technology infrastructure of the enterprise with its manufacturing strategy.Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a clear and rigorous case study design and protocol. Empirical data are collected using structured surveys of two strategically selected furniture enterprises. The collected data are used to analyze the fit between the technology infrastructure of the enterprise and its strategic goals, and how this fit correlates with the theoretical categories stated by the typology.Findings – The case studies suggest that enterprise performance could be maximized if the competitive priorities and the customization strategy put in practice are in conformity with the available technology.Research limitations/implications – The findings of the case studies corroborate the all inclusive hypot...