An integration of assembly planning by design into supply chain planning

Abstract

A supply chain needs to consider the quality of a product as well as the quality of manufacturing process to satisfy customer requirements at efficient resources planning in terms of safety stock allocation and vendor–buyer coordination. The objective of this article is to use an axiomatic approach to make assembly planning by designing and integrating assembly into supply chain planning, particularly during supply chain reconfiguration. The effect of fixture layout planning, the accuracy of demand forecast, and the supplier capability of providing the required material quality are studied. An optimum supply chain network is configured by combining the product, assembly, and supply chain planning. Heuristic-based optimization is used to validate the proposed solution. The performance of the system is measured in terms of lead time variability, the number of backorders, and the level of safety stock. The results and analysis indicate that the axiomatic approach is capable of reducing the assembly variation and employing necessary fixture layout planning to deliver product intents. In addition, the reduction of assembly variation also reduces the safety stock, lead time variability, and backorders. Finally, management decision making is discussed among other concluding remarks.