PROBLEMIDENTIFICATION
Companybackground
Wasf o u n d e d i n 2 0 0 3 bye n t r e p r e n e u r G e o f f Hawkes,R o c h d a l e Spearsisa verysuccessfulg r o u p o f c o m p a n i e s whichd e s i g n , manufacture,a n d d i s t r i b u t e d e s i g n e r homef u r n i s h i n g s a n d d e c o r a t i v e a c c e s s o r i e s t h r o u g h h i g h - e n d d i s t r i b u t o r s an d r e t a i l e r s inUSAandournewinternetplatformforinternationaldi stribution,
ResourceDecor.TheGroupcontinuestogrowrapidlywithalmost4,000employeesinVietna ma c r o s s 5manufacturingplants,headquartersinHongKongandofficesintheUS.Thesuc cessofthe businesshasledtoes tab li she d, long- termrelationshipswithCen tu ry Furniture,LillianAugust,andRestorationHardware ,MordenHistory,Anthropology,a n d otherscustomerwhichbringsahugeofordersfortheco mpany.
Withareputationforexceptionalqualityandexquisitecraftsmanship,RochdaleSpearsCo mpanyhasbecomeaproud leaderinexceptionaldesign,innovativeproductd e v e l o p m e n t andworld- classmanufacturingintheluxuryfurnituremarket.
RochdaleS p e a r s C o m p a n y i s a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y f o c u s e d , b u s i n e s s - t o - b u s i n e s s enterprise,s e r v i n g s o m e o f t h e b i g g e s t n a m e s i n t h e luxuryf u r n i t u r e market.Thec o m p a n y isproudleaderinexceptionaldesign,innovativeproduct developmentandworld-classmanufacturing.
RSCisproudtoupholdapositivecultureand safeworkingenvironmentforourteam,allowingthemtoperformattheirhighestability,a ndprovideoutstandingservicetoo u r customers.
Ascustodiansoftheplanet,thecompanyremaincommittedtoreducingourimpactont h e envir onment,supportinglocalcommunities, sourcingthe highestquality naturalmate rialsandadoptingsustainableprincipleswherepossible.
Problemsymptoms
Tofindoutwhatarethecurrentproblemsthatourcompanyisfacing,thewriterhadcarr iedoutin- depthinterviewwithsomeofmanagersaswellasstaffsinthecompany.Mostofpeoplerealizedth atalthoughthebusinessofthecompanyis increasedintotalamountaswearewideningthenewfactoryattheotherPlan,however, wehavelostmuchofordersfromsomeofinitialimportantcustomersduetoourservi cewasnotreallyg o o d , especiallythattheshippingperformanceshowinghighrateoflat eshipmentwhilethepercentageforon- timeshipmentisoccupiedasmallnumber,it‘sap o o r performance.
(Source:saleteam- RSC)AccordingtotheShippingperformance report fromSaledepartmentin201
7,g en e r a ll y , itisshowingclearlythatthecompanyhaveapoordeliveryperform ance.Majora c c o u n t oc c u p i e d t h e h i g h es t r a t e o f l a t e shipmentwitha p p r o x i m a t e l y 51%, f o l l o w i n g i s R H witharound4 6 % a n d t h e lasto n e i s K e y a c c o u n t s with4 2 % However,Keya c c o u n t h a d t h e l o w e s t r a t e o f shipmentshippedo n - t i m e withonly1 6 % fortheon- timePOsand42%wasfortheearlyshipment.MajoraccountsandRH
10 weref o l l o w i n g with1 6 7 % a n d 2 9 6 % o f o n - t i m e shipment,3 2 6 % a n d 2 4 7 % o f e a r l y shipmentrespectively.Thisresultsi gnificantlyimpactedtothecompanyperformancetocustomersaswellascausingahu geofincreasingcostforthecompany.
RH,thebiggestcustomerofthecompanyhasintendedtomovetheirbusinesstotheo t h e r factoryasourperformanceisgoingdownrecently.Mostoftheshipmentsaren o t metwhatcustomerrequestedaswellaswhatweconfirmed.Productionleadtimeis 118 daysinaverageformassproductionwhileourcommittedleadtimeis90daysf o r therepe atedordersand120daysforthenewnessones.Thebelowtableistakenfr o m ourwee klyreportbyRHsaleteam:
(Source:RSC) InthesamesituationwithRH,LA,MHwhichareourkeyaccountsbuttheirordersaref allingdownrecentlyaswedidnotservetheywell,generalproductionleadtimei s moreth an120days,it ismuchmore thanour committedlead time.The customerisnotwillingtowaitfornearlyahaftofyear(147days)foraproduct.
Problemidentification
Iti s i m p o r t a n t t o f i g u r e o u t t h e reasonsf o r h i g h r a t e o f l a t e s h i p m e n t a t R o c h d a l e Spearsanditsconsequences.Afterexaminingmanyrelevantliteraturesons hippinglate inmanufacturingthepotentialantecedentsthatarebelievedtoprov idethemostu nder stand ing are:productioncapacity,productioncontrol,productivity,procu rement,p r o c e s s r o b u s t n e s s , productdeliveryr e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , materialinventory,sub- contractingjob,accidenthappens,sourcingofrawmaterial,inferiorqualityinsourcedg o o d s , productdevelopmentandsampling…
Inaddition,thein- depthinterviewsessionsareconducted from3maingroups:saleteam,productionte amandpurchasingteamwhoareworkingandinvolvingdirectlytot h e p r o d u c t i o n p r o c e s s Frome a c h d e p a r t m e n t wewillf i n d o u t themainr e a s o n s c a u si n g forthisdelayi ng.
Atthebeginningwecaneasilyseeingthe3mainoutstandingreasonscausingforlateo f deli veryonthecompanyare:Latelydeliveryofmaterial,delayfromsubcontractorsa n d p r o d u c t i o n c o n t r o l l i n g T h o s e a r e t h e r e a s o n t h a t wei n i t i a l l y g e t t i n g f r o m t h e i n t e r v i e w i n g , mostofpeoplerealizedthatthecompanyhavinghighproportionoflatedel
11 ivery,andtheoutstandingreasonsthateveryonecanseethatare:Latelydeliveryofmaterial,dela yfromsubcontractorsandproductioncontrolling.
Normally,materialcontrollerwilldiscussdirectlywithsuppliersafterreceivingnewsa leordersf ro m saleteamthenin fo rm in g leadtimefor factory planner.Afterthat , p r o d u c t i o n leadtimewillbeaddedwithmaterialleadtimetohave theconfirmedshipd a t e , t h a t i s whatsalet e a m willb a s e o n t o c o n f i r m withc l i e n t a n d settingu p t h e agreed shipdate.
―ABCmanufacturing,oneofoursuppliers,deliveredlate,andthat‘swhyourproductsisshippinglate‖ Theproblemwiththescenariooutlinedaboveisthatiftheorderisshippinglatethatmosto fthemanufacturesrespondtotheir customers.RochdaleSpearsalsogotthat c a s e andwehavetodosoliketheothershavebeendoing.
Materiali s whataffectedtoo u r productionplanningmostly,a s finishingi s thelaststepbeforepacki ng,withouthardwaresucha s shelfp i n s , levellers,handles… wecannotcompletetheproductandpackit.Whenany PObeingstuck due tomaterial,wehavetopullu p the otheronest okeepproductioncontinuing.Materialis whatout of our control,thatwhytherearetheearliershipmentsandlateshipments.
Accordingtothereportfromsaleteam,numberofordersshippedlateduetomateriali s occu pied31%,whilethenumberfordelayedordersfromsubcontractorsis19.7%,t h e rest4 9.3%ofordersshippedlatewascausedbyothersreasons.
Nowadays,therearemanyoffurnituremakershaveremained competitivebykeepingth e t a sk s theyd o b e s t in-houseand leavingthe resttooutsideresources.Morespecifically,theindustryremainslargelydependentonsubcont ractors,manyofwhichp r o d u c e whitewoodpartsandcomponents.Thiscutsdownontheam ountofworkthatneedstobedonein- house,allowingthemanufacturerstofocusonareassuchasfinala s s e m b l y andfinishingt opackagingandqualitycontrol.
OurRochdaleSpearsisalsodoingso,theyare lettingtheothersmall manufacturesassubcontractorsdoingothertaskssu ch aswhitewood,resin… thenth e finaltasksasa s s e m b l y andfinishingtopackingwillbefocusseddoinginh
13 ouse.Thatmeans,ourscheduleisaffectedifthesubcontractorslosingtheirmanagem entandsupplyingthe componentsl a t e r t h a n c o m m i t t e d s c h e d u l e T h i s situationi s o f t e n h a p p e n a n d t h e man u fa ctu r er s havetofindoutsolutionstoavoidanydelayedshipmentandsat isfiedt h e i r customers.
Mucho f subcontractorsareshowingverygoodperformancei n makingsample,however,untilgetti ngt h e actualproductionorder,theycannotmakei t a s whattheyd i d causingquantityforsampleisj ustonlyone,theypayalltheirattentiontocompletethesampleass o o n aspossiblebutdon‘tcarea boutthedifficultiesinmassproduction.Thatisthereasonwhymucho f subcontractorshavedelayedt heirorders,evensomeo f factoriesrefusedt o receiveorders.Int hat case,our techteamhavet ostud yandfindthewaysas wellastheothersuitablesubcontractors.
Subcontractors often neglect timely order completion, requiring constant reminders before they begin production For instance, with the current order AT176F01, purchasing confirmed delivery of whitewood for week 48, allowing the sales team to plan for production completion by week 51 However, production only commenced by week 45, leading to delays due to humidity issues, pushing the order back to week 50 This left our RSC finishing team with just one week for finishing and packaging, which is unfeasible Although we charged subcontractors for their late delivery, we are still facing performance issues with our end client, despite this not being our fault.
Int h i s c a s e , wec a n seet h a t l a t e d e l i v e r y c a n b e c a u s e d bys u b c o n t r a c t o r s d u e t o absenceofplanningatsubcontractorfactories
Productioncontrolisthe disciplinethatdetermineswhat needstobebuiltandwhenitn eed s t o b e b u i l t ino r d e r t o s h i p p r o d u c t o n time.Doingso r e q u i r e s r ea l p l a n n i n g skills,theabilitytoworkbackwardfromafuturepointintimetod eterminewhathast o happenandwhenithastohappen(JosephH.Berk).
InRSC, central pl an ni ng department i s con tr ol li ng forwhole pr od uc ti on fro mveryb e g i n n i n g untilshipment.Theyarethepersonswhoconfirmeddeliverysch eduleforcustomerservicestaffstoconfirmwithclient.Theirresponsibilityisreallyimpo rtant andaffecttoomuchtotheshippingperformanceofthecompany.Butitseemslike theyarenotcontrollingitwell.
Therequirementforcentralplanningdepartmentisthattheyshouldcontrolandplanwelltheirship pingschedule.However,therearelotsofordershavebee n beingoutofcontrol,untilthecustomers ervicestaffchasingforshipping,theycomebackforcheckingmateriala s wella s otherrelateddep artmentst o knowh o w i s itgoingnow.M r Binhh e i s t h e supervisorinplanningdepartment,b uthisdutyisjustcheckingandconfirmingschedulef o r saleteam,thenhowareproductiongoin gisnotrelatedtohim.WhileMs.Luong,theplanneri n Plant1 , shejustcheckingschedulea n d stat uso f materialt o seewhethertheyarrivedontimeornotwheneverCSaskingher‖
Fromt h e a b o v e p r o v i d e d r e a s o n s c a u s i n g f o r h i g h r a t e o f l a t e d e l i v e r y , e v e r y o n e agreed thatweshouldfindoutthesolutionforsolvingaswellasimprovethesh ippingperformance.However,afterhavingthedeeperinterviewingwithotherrela tedp e r s o n s whoworkingd i r e c t l y andi n v o l v i n g t o t h e p r o c e s s o f p r o d u c t i o n , weh a v e f o u n d that those above outstanding reasonsjust thesymptomsoftheimportantcentralproblems,thisisLackofcollaborationbetweendepartmen ts.
CENTRALPROBLEMS:LackofcollaborationbetweendepartmentsC o l l a b o r a t i n gi n t h e workplacee n a b l e s b u s i n e s s e s tof i n i s h i m p o r t a n t p r o j e c t s a n d meetcru cialdeadlinesefficiently.Withmultipleindividualsworkingonaproject,theworkcanbediv idedupequallyandefficientlybetweenthosewiththetimeandthee x p e r t i s e toha ndlespecifictasks.Thisalsosignificantlyreducestheprojectdeliveryt i m e O f t e n r e f e r r e d toa s t h e d i v i d e a n d c o n q u e r s t r a t e g y , i t e n t a i l s t e a m i n g u p o f several individualstogether,dividingupthetasksamongthem,andaccomplishingthep r o j e c t inr elativelylesstime(NutCache).
Intypicalmanufacturingorganisations,functionalunitshavetheirowngoals.Astherei s nosingl efunctionalunitresponsibleforon-timedelivery,intraditionalo r g an is a t i o n s on- timedeliveryhasreceivedminimalattention.
Theo r d e r i s sentbycustomert o salet e a m t h e n i t willb e c h e c k e d a l l t h e d e t a i l carefully suchsalei t e m c o d e , p r i c e , q u a n t i t y andr e q u e s t e d shipd a t e I f alli n f o r m a t i o n isgoodenoughitwillbeissuedtoproductionteamandpurchasingteamf o r arrangement.I f n o t , salet e a m s h o u l d r e s e n d i t t o customerf o r t h e c o r r e c t l y r e v i s i o n
Later,oncetheSOisissued,thepurchasingteamwillcheckmaterialschedulewithsuppl iera n d c o n f i r m backt o c e n t r a l planningt e a m f o r t h e i r schedulinga n d p ro d u ct io n arrangement.
Thes c h e d u l e iss e t t i n g u p byb a l a n c i n g b e t w e e n f a c t o r y c a p a c i t y a n d c u s t o m e r ‘ s r e q u e s t e d shipdate.AftergettingtheconfirmedshipdatefromCP,s aleteamshouldch eck ittoseewhetheritismetwhatcustomerrequestedornotandworking withCPto havetheappropriatedshipdateaswellaswellarrangingshippingplan.
Afterconfirmingwithcustomer,th e shipda te tha t cu s t o m e r is re co rd in g shouldbe m atchedw i t h w h a t wea r e r e c o r d i n g a s t h i s i s t h e unifyi n f o r m a t i o n web a s o n t o calcu l at e productionleadtimeandevaluateshippingperformance.
Centralplanningteamandpurchasing team,salet e a m shouldfollow upproduc tionc l o s e l y tomakes u r e t h a t t h e o r d e r i s s h i p p i n g o n t i m e I f t h e r e i s anychan ge,t h e customers h o u l d b e i n f o r m e d S a l e t e a m h a v e t o workw i t h c u s t o m e r t o g e t t h e a p p r o v a l forthechangingandunifysolutionthatbothofpartycanaccept it.
Thepackingteamiscoordinatedwithsaleteaminbuildingupandarrangingloadingp la n Itisarrangedtobematchedwiththeconfirmedshipdate,thensaleteamwillsen dthebookingrequesttoimport-exportteamforbookingtheshipment.
Thisisanoverviewofthe orderprocess, itisrequiredthatalldepartmentshave tocompletetheirtaskswell.Ifthereisanystepbeingstuckornotgoodcompleted,thewh oleprocessingwillbeaffected.
CUSTOMER SENDING PO THROUGH ITS SYSTEM OR VIA EMAIL
RECHECKING WITH CLIENT TO REVISE THE PO CORRECTLY
SALE TEAM: RECEIVE THE PO AND CHECK IT CARE FULLY
ISSUE SALE ORDER FOR MATERIAL
TEAM & CENTRAL PLANNING TEAM FOR ARRANGEMENT
CENTRAL PLANNING CONFIRM SHIPPING SCHEDULE FOR SALE TEAM
SALE TEAM RECHECKING IF THE CONFIRMEED SHIP DATE IS MATCHED WITH CUSTOMER REQUESTED DATE
RECHECKING WITH CLIENT AND CENTRAL PLANNING TO HAVE THE AGREED SHIP DATE NO
CONFIRM THE FINAL SHIP DATE TO
FOLLOW UP WITH PRODUCTION TO ARRANGE SHIPMENT
INFOM TO CLIENT IF THERE IS ANY CHANGE & GETTING THEIR APPROVAL
CHECKING WITH PRODUCTION TO FIND
The following providedinformation willprovide us anoverviewofwhatarethemaintasks eachdepartmenthavetocompleteaswellasshowingwhattheyaremissinganda f f e c t e d tot hewholeprocessingwhichcausedforthelatedelivery.
Productiont eam orce nt ra l planningteam (CP)is thedepartmentinvolving di rec tl y a n d effecttoomuchtoproductionprocessaswellascontrollingproductionschedule.Th eyreceivingproductionorder fromsaleteam,thenconfirmingshippingscheduletosaleteambyconsideringcustomer‘s requestedshipdateaswellasac c o r d i n g tothematerialschedule,f a c t o r y c a p a c i t y a n d c o m p a n y ‘ s m o n t h l y t a r g e t Notonlyh a v e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n s e t t i n g u p s c h e d u l e b u t a l s o t a k i n g r e s p o n s e i n f o l l o w i n g u p a n d controllingpr oductiontobecompletedtimely.
But,accordingtotheresults ofinterviewing, therearesomeineffectually proc essesthattheteamhavemadecausingforthelatedeliveryofproducts.
Confirmingschedule:T h er e q u e s t i s t h a t t h e f a c t o r i e s h a v e t o p r o c e s s p r o d u c t i o n a c c o r d i n g t o c u s t o m e r ‘ s r e q u e s t H o w e v e r , R S C c e n t r a l p l a n n i n g t e a m j u s t p a y i n g attentiont o t h e f a c t o r y t a r g e t a n d i t s o w n capacity.D e s p i t e w h a t e v e r customeri s r e q u e s t i n g , theybaseonthematerialleadtime,thenad dingsomeweeksforp r o d u c t i o n tofillupandcatchingthefactoryoutputtargetforeachmont h.
ManytimesIhaveto askCP topullup orpushouttheshipdateastheirconfirmedshipdatei s notwhatcustomerwants.However,thefeedba ckfromMr.Binh- planningsupervisoristhat:thefactoryi s neededmoreo u t p u t , outputforthatmonth,thismonthi s n otenough,b o a r d ofdirectorswillcomplainus…Canyoujustconfirmthisshipdatetocustomer,if theyhavenofeedbackwewillprocessaccordingtothisshipdate.Ofcoursewecannegotiatewithclie ntt o havet h e appropriateshipdate,buttopo f concerningwehavet o p a y o n customerrequireme nt.
Followingupproduction:TherequirementisthatCPshouldfollowupcloselywithp r o d u c t i o n inordertokeepproduction runningonscheduledandshippingontime.Ho wever,itseemslike thatafterconfirmingscheduletosaleteam,theyletproductionr u n n i n g withoutfollowingup.Ms.LanAnh–customerserviceleaderhassharedthat:
Whenevercustomerservicestaffaskingaboutstatusofanyordertoseewhetheritcanbeshippedon timeor t o checkaloadinglistoftheupcomingshipment,latefactoryplanneralwayscomebacktoch eckagainwithpurchasingteamaboutitsmaterialstatusaswellasotherrelatedproductionstagesto seewhereareproductionnow.Actually,theyshouldnowa n d havethisstatusonhandastheyarethec ontrollerforit.
CPwillnotchaseformaterialuntilCSchasingfortheshipmentastheythinkifCSteamkeepsilenta nddon‘tchaseproductionteam,meaningthisorderisnoturgent,wecanshipitlate.
Withoutf o l l o w i n g u p a n d c o n t r o l l i n g p r o d u c t i o n closely,t h e f a c t o r y i s alwa ysn o t i n i t i a t i v e todealwith troubles.Untiltheproblems beinghappening,theystarttosolvei t whilethisiswhatusuallyhappensindailyproduction.
Productionplanning: Th efactoryhastoarrangeproductionaccordingto sche dulewhichhasbeensettingupcanconfirmingwithclient.
However,inproductionteam,inordertomeetfactoryoutput targettheyhavearrangep r o d u c i n g theeasytimefirsttogettheirweekly andmonthlytargetdespitewhatshipdatethisPOshavebeenscheduled.So,theproduct salreadyproducedareunabletoshipasearlierthanschedulewhiletheneededitemsstill havenotfinished.Itcausingf o r thenotontimeofdelivery.
Ofcourse,packingteamwillarrangepackingforthephysical itemsdespitewhatisitsshipdate. Astheresults,theloadingplanhasbeenbuiltinappropriately,someitemsaresoonerand o t h e r s a r e l a t e r s c h e d u l e T h e stickc u s t o m e r willn o t a l l o w u s f o r t h e e a r l i e r shipmentasitisaffectedtotheirwarehousemanagement.Itwilltakemuchofbac ka n d forthemailstofinalizethefinalshippingloadplan,andtheresultisthatweshipo r d e r late.
Confirmingschedule:Inordertoconfirmscheduletoclient,customerservicestaffswh oshouldknowwhatcustomer wantandwhatourcompanycanaffordthem.Beforeinformingwithclientthefactoryconfirm edshipdate,CSshouldrecheckingwithCPt o knowwhywecannotmeettheirrequesteds hipdate,whyitissoonerorlaterthen negotiatetohavethebestshipdateandinformingbacktoCPfortheunifiedrecordingand followi ngup.
Ihavetoremindtheteammanytimesthatbecarefulbeforeconfirmingtheshipdatewithc l i e n t , weneed tocheck whereitisreasonableandworkableornot.Itshould meetcustomerrequestedfirstandtheloadingabilityisacceptable.Also,therecordbetweenoursyste mandcustomersystemshouldbe thesame,laterifthereisanythingshappen,theevaluationisclear a n d equally.Butseemliket h e y alwaysforgett o d o that,justsendingwhateverCPconfirmedtothe m,orevendon‘tsendit.So,customer‘srecordisonthisdatebutweareprocessingonanotherdate. Finally,theresultisthatwehavetoairshipforthelatePOsorkeepingstockfortheearlyone.
Buildingupshippingplan:Inordertobuildtheappropriateloadingplan,CSteamsho uldb e takec a r e oncetheyr e c e i v i n g o r d e r a n d c o n f i r m i n g theshipd a t e f o r customeraswell.Whentheyconfirmship date,havetomakesurethatthecontainerisb e i n g fullandmeetingcustomer‘srequestshipdate. IfcustomerseparatethePOsintom a n y differentshipdatebutit cannotmakeafullcontainer,wecanexplainwiththemt o havethecombination.Itwillhel pusmuchtoavoidtheLCLshipmentaswellasearly orlateshipment.
Samewithwhatweh a v e g o t fromMs.Anh,shes a i d t h a t h e r s t a f f s j u s t someonec h e c k i n g anddoinglikethat.NormallytheyjustconfirmwithclientwhatevertheygotfromCP,don
Followingupproductionstatus:Theloadingplanshouldbebuiltaccordingnotonlyt o theshi pdatebutalsoaccordingtoproductionstatus.Itisrequiredthatthecustomerservice havetocheckandfollow up with productionteambeforetheymakeitcausingi n production,not100%POsarerunningontime ,sothatwehavetochecktoarrangeit reasonably.
However,mostofCSdoesnotcheckingitcarefullybeforetheybuilduptheirloadplanandsendingt h e bookingf o r IM-EXteam.Finally,once thecontainercomein,theactualproductionisnotmatchedwithwhattheyhavebooked,theyhavetoc hangetoloadinglista n d gettingapprovalfromcustomeragainfort h e changing,sometimesi t tak estimefor
20 gettingconfirmationfromcustomer,t he containercannotcatchupthec ut offtimeof thevessel,thati sthereasonwhywehavetoshiplate-MsAnfrompackingteamhasshared.
Confirmingmaterialschedule:whats h o u l d m a t e r i a l teamd o i s t h a t theyhave t o n e g o t i a t e withsupplierstohavethebestshipdatewhichcanmeetcustomer‘sr eq u e s t ed shipdate.Thisisrequiredthatpurchasingteamandproductionteam,salet eam sho uldbecoordinatedcloselytoknowwhatandhowshouldtodo.
However,wheneverreceivingorderrequestfromsaleteam,theyautomatically sendingtosupplierfororderinga n d confirmingb a c k t o CPt h e schedulethattheygotf r o m supplierwithou tconcerningwhetherthisschedulecanaffordcustomer‘srequestedshipdateornot-
Followingupm a t e r i a l status:M a t e r i a ls c h e d u l e i s a f f e c t e d d i r e c t l y top r o d u c t i o n schedule,i f t h e r e i s anyc h a n g e i n materiala r r i v a l date,productionshipdatea l s o bei n g changed accordingly.So,materialteam haveto following up their ordercloselya n d informingproductionteamaswellassaleteamintimeifthereisan ychangingwithitsschedule.
However,materialteamjustcheckingwiththeirsupplierswheneverproductionteamandsaleteamchasingf o r a n y materialwhichdoesn o t arriveo n timea s scheduled-MsAnhf r o m CSteamhassharedlikethat.
Departments Criteria Requirement Failure Problemvalidation
Lackoffollowingupinprod uction= > Cannotcontrolproduction t o b e o n timewithoriginalschedule, Cannotcontrolmaterials/ componentstobearrivedontime=> Materials/ componentsarrivedlate,Productionl ate
Accordingwithconfirmedschedule Priorityd o i n g foreasyitemst o getoutp uttarget Shippingarrangeme nt
Lackoffollowingupinprod uction= > Arranget o shipinappropr iateitems
PURCHASING/ Confirming Accordingt o customerrequestedship Accordingt o supplier‘sconfirmed Poor knowledge of
EAM materialschedule date date planning= > Confirmt h e inappropri atematerialschedule
Closelys chedule to catch up production Notfollowingupclosely
Arrange to ship inappropriate ORGANIZATIONAL
Arrange to produce inappropriate items
Cannot control production to be on time with original
Lack of following up in production
Cannot control materials/components to be arrived on time
Potentialcauseof problemand thejustification
I t m a y i n c l u d e p e o p l e fromf i n a n c e , marketing,o p e r a t i o n s , andhumanres ourcesdepartments.Typically,itincludesemployeesfroma l l levelsofanorganizat ion.Membersmayalsocomefromoutsideanorganization(inparticular,fromsupplier s,keycustomers,orconsultants).
Cross-functionalteamsoftenfunctionasself- directedteamsassignedtoaspecifictaskwhichcallsfortheinputandexpertiseofnumerousdepa rtments.Assigningatasktoat e a m composedofmulti- disciplinaryindividualsincreasesthelevelofcreativityandr e d u c e s groupthink.Ea chmemberoffersanalternativeperspectivetotheproblemandp o t en t i a l solutiontothetask Inbusinesstoday,innovationisaleadingcompetitive a d v a n t a g e a n d c r o s s - f u n c t i o n a l teamsp r o m o t e i n n o v a t i o n t h r o u g h a c r e a t i v e coll abo r atio np r o c e s s Memberso f a c r o s s - f u n c t i o n a l t e a m m u s t bewellv e r s e d i n multi- taskinga s theyare s i m u l t a n e o u s l y responsiblef o r t h e i r c r o s s - f u n c t i o n a l t e a m d u t i e s aswellastheirnormalday-to-dayworktasks.
Inordertobuildacross- functionalteam,eachmembersshouldprepareenoughtheirc r o s s - f u n c t i o n a l knowledge.Sothattheyareabletoadaptwithalltherequirementsoranyspecifi cappointedtasks.Theinnovationideashouldberequiredforraising- upi d e a s whentheorganizationiscollectingaswellasfocusingonresolvinganytroubleo r tryingtoachievinganyspecifictarget.
However,aswehavebeenknownsofar,intypicalmanufacturingorganisationsorinR o c h d a l e S p e a r s L t d , c o m p a n y in generally, functionalunits have their own goals.Ast h e r e i s nosinglefunctional unitr e s p o n s i b l e f o r o n - t i m e delivery,in traditionalo r g a n i s a t i o n s on-
25 timedeliveryhasreceivedminimalattention.Whilethesaleteamistryingtoservecustome rbygoodservicewith100%ofshipmentsbeingshippedont i m e , p r o d u c t i o n t e a m i s tryingt o c o m p l e t e t h e i r weekly,monthlyo u t p u t t a r g e t d e s p i t e oftheshipmentisontimeornot,orwhetheritiswhatcustomerneedor not.Thediscrepancybetweenthedepartmentshasleadedthecompanytotheresultswith l o w shippingperformance.
Therequirementforthecompanyisthatneedtofocusmoreonserviceanddeliveryofg o o d Cur rently,thefactory‘sjustpayingattentionondevelopingnewproductswithn e w andfa shionabledesigns,improvequalityofproductsandtryingalltheirbesttoachievet h e c o m p a n y o u t p u t t a r g e t Withoutc o n c e r n i n g o n q u a l i t y o f s e r v i c e a n d shippingperformance,ithasfrustratedthecustomersbythetoolateshipmentandwea r e a lsolosingsomeofourimportantcustomersduetothepoorservice.
Theemergingimportanceofserviceinnovationformanufacturingcompanycannotbeo v e r l o o k e d Itisclearthatwhenproductsorservicesbecomemorehomogeneousoranor iginalcompetitiveadvantagecannotbes u s t a i n e d , s e r v i c e i n n o v a t i o n becom esaneffectivewayforacompanytoaccelerateitsgrowthrateandprofit- a b i l i t y (Berryetal.2006).
Mostp r i o r i n n o v a t i o n l i t e r a t u r e h a s t r e a t e d ― s e r v i c e i n n o v a t i o n ‖ a s p r o d u c t ( i e , g oo ds)innovation.However,besidethegoodandqualitypr oducts,deliveryserviceplayanim po rt an t role i n developingthe g ro wi ng of a company aswellas i tis t h e c h an ce connectcustomerwithfactorycloselyandclosel y.Withoutthegoodservicef r o m company,howtheproductscanbearrivedoncustomer‘sha nd.
Collaborationsarenotone- person shows,ora theaterfortheambitious Theyaream u t u a l l y beneficialand well-definedrelationshipoftwoormorepeopleorteamstoa c h i e v e commongoals. Moreoftenthesedays, collaborativeeffortsrequirenewteamswithdifferentskillsetst o achieveaspecificgoal.Co mingtogetherforthefirsttime,theywillbeunfamiliarwitht h e i r p e r s o n a l i t i e s a n d l e v e l o f e x p e r t i s e I t m a y t a k e timet o r e s o l v e i n i t i a l t e e t h i n g prob lems.
Allstaffsinthecompany,theyarenotcomefromthesameplace,thesamepreviousc o m p a n y ourexperienceinfurniturespeciality.Anexample,intheCustomerservicedepartme nttherearevarietyofpeoplefromvarietyoflevelandexperience.Someonecomefromgarm entindustry,otherisfromlogisticandotherfromfurniture.Wearet o g e t h e r worki ngf o r t h e samegoala n d t a r g e t t h a t howc a n improvet h e c o m p a n y performance.Buthowtowork,whatshouldtodoandhowaretheydoing,itisdependo n theirper sonalskill.Somepeopleareshowinggoodperformancebutothersarenot.
Ms.LinhLe,sheisfromgarmentindustry,withmorethan8yearsofexperiencebutsheisunabletoha ndletheordersmoothly.Despitehowhardsheistryingbutseemslikeitisnotsuccessfully.Later,her customerhasbeentransfertootherstaff,shehashandleditwellandreceivedgoodcommentsfromcus tomerfortheimprovements-MsLanAnhhasshared.
Thisexampleisjustabout thequalification,skillofworking.Othercasehasmaketheteam ca n n o t comet o g e t h e r d u e tod i f f e r e n c e r e a l i z a t i o n W h e n e v e r wer a i s i n g anyi d e a o r s o l u t i o n s t o s o l v e anyt r o u b l e , t h e mosti m p o r t a n t t h i n g ist h a t h a v i n g t h e agreementfromal lofourcolleagues.Butitisnoteasytohaveunderstandingfromallmembers.Justonepersond onotagreeandfollowwithwhatwesuggest,theresultc a n n o t beachieved.
AccordingtoMs.Hien leaderofcustomerserviceinRDteamshehasshares: Manytimeweproposedthenewsolutiontoimprovetheworkingflowinoursystem,itseemslikeI havet o takemoret h a n o n e montht o convincemyt e a m member.T h e y areafraido f thenewcha nging,sotheydon‘twanttocorporate
Fromabovepointsofview,it canbeseenthat―Lackofcross- functionalknowledge‖h a s thestrongestaffectiononshippingperformanceofthecompa ny,thusRSCneedst o f o c u s moreoni m p r o v i n g ― C r o s s - functionalk n o w l e d g e ‖ t o i mproveshippingperformanceofthecompany.
Cannotcontrolprod uctiontobeontimew ithoriginal Production late
ALTERNERTIVE SOLUTIONSANDACTIONPLANS
Solutions
Building a cross-functional team is essential in manufacturing, which encompasses a comprehensive system from order receipt to product shipment This process involves various activities across multiple functional areas, including planning and design, purchasing, production, inventory, distribution, marketing, and sales To achieve significant and sustainable improvements in on-time delivery performance, it is crucial to address the entire manufacturing planning, control, and execution cycle, along with the associated systems, rather than tackling issues in isolation.
Improvethesystematicprocess:Systemisoneofthemostimportantthingaffecttot h e p r o d u c t i v i t y o f p r o d u c t i o n a s w e l l a s b u s i n e s s o f a n o r g a n i z a t i o n I t l i k e s t h e bridgeconnectalldepartmentandlinkthemtogether.Ifthereisanystepbeingst uck,t h e wholeprocessingwillbeaffected.Sothat,therequirementhasbeengivenistha tweneedtopaymoreattentionintoimprovingit.
However,accordingtothecurrentsituationoftheorganization,werealizethatbuildingup cross-functionalteamismoreimportantthanwhatever.Byhavingthec r o s s - f u n c t i o n a l team,thewholeorganizationhasbeennotedandrealizedtheimp ort an ceoft h e i r ownresponsibilitieswhicha l r e a d y included ITt e a m , t h e departmentco ntrollingthecompany‘ssystematic.Bythisimproving,thewholes y s t e m ofthecompan yalsobeimprovedaswell.
Solutiondetails
Aswearethekindsofmaketoorder(MTO)manufacturer,sothatthereisnostockfor materialbeingkeptatwarehouse.Confirmedscheduleshouldbeaddedbetweenmat erialleadtimefromsupplierandproductionleadtimefromfactory.
Ane s t i m a t e d a c c u r a t e schedulef o r materiala n d p r o d u c t i o n l e a d t i m e f o r e a c h o f speciallyitemsshouldberecordingaccordinglyinsystem.Thensaleteamaswel
29 laso t h e r teamcan have anoverview a b o u t p r o d u c t i o n lea dtimewhend i s c u s s i n g with client.Byusingthatdate,thesaleteamandcustomercanforeseetheperiodofitemt h a t theycanr e c e i v e t h e i r o r d e r s , sot h a t theycana r r a n g e f o r p l a c i n g t h e o r d e r i n time,t h e c a s e o f p l a c i n g o r d e r latelybeingr e q u e s t e d t o s h i p u r g e n t l y w o n ‘ t b e happened,itissuchadifficultycaseforfactoryaswellassupplier.
Also,updating s ys t e m f re qu en tl y andu n i f i e d data b e t w e e n dep ar tm en t canh e l p a l l departmentsareworkingonthesamegoal.Saleteam,materialteam,planningtea ma n d productionteamwilljustfollowingononeunifiedshipdate,thewrongshipmentwi llnotbehappened.
Themethodsf o r a c h i e v i n g shortl e a d timesr e p o r t e d int h e l i t e r a t u r e vary,b u t t h e g e n e r a l methodi s t o i m p r o v e t h e c o o r d i n a t i o n o f , a n d i n t e r a c t i o n a n d c o o p e r a t i o n b et weent h e p e o p l e a n d f u n c t i o n s o f p r o d u c t d e v e l o p m e n t ( M a h m o u d -
J o u i n i e t a l 2 0 0 4 ) Bothformalandinformalcommunicationsareofmajorimportance. Formationo f across- functionalteam(CFT)includingmanagersfromdifferentdepartments(e.g.,m a n u f a c t u r i n g , p r o c u r e m e n t , s a l e s ) i s suggestedi n t h e p r o p o s e d s o l u t i o n s Usinga m u lt i d i sc i p li n ar y teamapproachusuallyresultsinthefacilitationofgoodc o m m u n i c a t i o n t h r o u g h o u t t h e p r o j e c t , e n s u r i n g t h a t a l l r e l e v a n t i n t e r r e l a t i o n s a r e takenc a r e o f T h e fasteri n f o r m a t i o n , d e c i s i o n a n d materialsc a n f l o w , t h e f a s t e r a m a n u f a c t u r e r canrespondtocustomerorders,lesstimeisspent‗f ightingfires‘andmoretimeisavailableforperformanceimprovementactivities.Inshort,iti sastrategyo f teamworktobringpeopletogetherfromdifferentdepartmentstoworkinac oordinatedmannertoreducethewastageoftime.
Int h e t r a d i t i o n a l a p p r o a c h , i f a n o r g a n i s a t i o n a l u n i t f i n i s h e s i t s j o b o n - t i m e a n d accor ding tospecifications,itconsidersthatthedutyof thatunithasbeensuccessfullycompleted.However,inmodern,customer- focused,process- orientedmanufacturing,completionofthewholeprocesshastobetakenintoconsider ationinordertoreducemanufacturingleadtimes.Itisimportanttocontinuouslyconsideral lconstraints.Ifalli m p o r t a n t constraintsarebroughtupatanearlystage,itiseasiertodealwi th
The integration of an updated database with functional applications is crucial for streamlining the combined product development and customer order management processes, ultimately saving time and money When significant unknowns exist, accurately scheduling delivery dates becomes challenging The proposed business process model facilitates real-time data availability for cross-functional teams, enabling effective decision-making This integration supports essential activities such as materials requirements planning, production activity control, purchasing, and distribution requirements planning, involving key functions like sales, logistics, R&D, finance, and service By leveraging real-time information and continuously managing data, organizations can optimize resource allocation and inventory levels to meet planned service levels effectively.
Suppliersaffectdeliverytime,productcost,customerservicelevels,productquality,a n d u l t i m a t e p r o f i t a b i l i t y ( K a y is a n d Kara2 0 0 5 ) T h e r e f o r e , d e v e l o p m e n t o f c l o s e , f r i e n d l y relationswithsuppliersisessential.Effectiverelationshipsandco ordinationb e t w e e n themanufacturerandtheirsuppliersisstronglyemphasisedinth eproposedmodel.Iti s suggestedt h a t t h e m anufacturere s t a b l i s h e s a ‗ s u p p l i e r r a t i n g s y s t e m ‘ u s i n g suppliersp e r f o r m a n c e s o n q u a l i t y , t i m e l y delivery,p r o d u c t flexibility,p r i c e , a n d aftersalesservice.Ithasbeenprovedthatestablishi ngasupplierratingsystemandr e g u l a r l y u p d a t i n g i t h a s s i g n i f i c a n t influen ceo n p r o d u c t q u a l i t y a n d o n timed e l i v e r y performanceimprovement(Karimetal.2 008b).
Employeeinvolvementisthe sourceofmostofthevaluableideasandsuggestionsfori m p r o v e m e n t ineverymanufac turingarea(OkesandWestcott2001).Theproposedmodelsuggeststhatemployeess houldbeinvolvedintheprocessasmuchaspossibleande m p o w e r e d a s p a r t o f t h e p r o c e s s -
Implementationoftheproposedimprovementsolutions
Accordingtothesuggestionsintheproposedmodel,a‗cross- functionalteam‘consistingofpurchasingmanager,productionmanager,customermanagera ndqualitymanagerwasformedtocoordinateallthemanufacturingactivities.Thecustomer wasrequestedtoincludeonememberfromtheirdesignteamsothatadiscussioncan beh e l d r e g a r d i n g t h e d e s i g n d e t a i l s T h i s wasb e c a u s e o n m a n y oc c as i o n s i n t h e p a s t d esign oftheproducthadtobechangedasitdidnotconformtotheman ufacturingcapabilitiesoftheplant.Formationandfunctionofthecross- functionalteamhelpedt h e company overcomingdrawback ‗ l a c k o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t w e e n different d e p a r t m e n t s ‘
Callingt h e m e e t i n g w i t h I T t e a m an d a l l d e p a r t m e n t s f o r r a i s i n g u p whata r e th eyneed thesupportingfromsystem.Buildingupthefunction whereallstaffs canupdatet h e i r d a t e easilyand everydepartment can take it personallyforreviewing.Uploadinga l l personalmanualtrackingfileswhichpeopleareusing intosystems,thiscanhelptoavoidmissingdateaswellascansavemoretimeinmakingrepo rtmanually.Allthemanagersaswellasstaffswhenneedingtoseeanyreportregardingtothe irfunction,theyareabletoexportfromtheRSCsystem.
Supplierratingsystemshouldbebuiltup.Theratingsystemwasformeddependingont h e suppl ier‘sflexibility (intermsofvo lu me andproductvariety), leadtime,component quality,a f t e r saless e r v i c e a n d p r i c e T h i s systemwase x p e c t e d t o h e l p q u i c k l y findasupplierdependingontherequirementandpriority(i.e.,deliverytime,p r i c e e t c ) U n d e r the new approach,onlytargetedsuppliers(according to thesupplierr a t i n g system)wouldbecontacted.
Thelate- ontimereportismakingweeklythroughthesystem.Thiswouldbewhatwet a l k i n g i n w e e k l y meeting.R a i s i n g u p t h e t a r g e t f o r company,n o t o n l y f o c u s o n quality, designsbutalsoonthequalityofservice.Letalldepartmentsrememberthaton- timeshipmentshouldcomealongwithqualityofproducts.
BOMteamreviewalldataregardingtospecificitems,thematerialteamlistoutallthea v a i l a b l e suppliers,makingtheevaluationandcheckingcarefullybeforesendingtheo f f i c i a l ordertothem.
Thel o a d i n g p l a n f o r a n y shipments h o u l d b e c h e c k e d c a r e f u l l y b e t w e e n c u s t o m e r serviceteam,productionteamandmaterialteamamonthperiodtotheship date.Ift h e r e is a n y t h i n g isn o t o n c o n t r o l s h o u l d b e r a is e d u p i m m e d ia t e l y fort o p m a n a g e m e n t supportandcustomer‘sawareness.
Itwasdecidedthatthecommitmentdatetothecustomershouldbebasedonmateriall e a s ti meandproductionleadtime.Afterconfirmingfinalscheduletocustomer,all de partmentsshouldbeawareforthatshipdateandconcentratetocompletetheirownj o b o n ti mea s p r o m i s e s Manufacturingp e o p l e o n t h e p r o d u c t i o n l i n e weremadea w a r e ofthedeliverydateoftheproduct.Anydelayingcausingbyanydepartmentsshoul dbetakenallresponsibilitiesforthewholeproductionandlateshipment.
Difficultiesfaced
Formationandoperationofacross- functionalteamwasnotaneasytaskasitinvolvedfundamentalchangeint h e w o r k i n g pro ceduresa n d attitudetowardst h e productd e v e l o p m e n t andcustomerordermanagem entprocesses.Someoftheconcernsraisedi n theparticularorganisationare:
Onceactive,theresponsibilityofdeliveryfailuregoestothecross- functionalt e a m r a t h e r t h a n i n d i v i d u a l d i v i s i o n s Att h e b e g i n n i n g g e n e r a l f e e l i n g o f t h e t e a m members(managersofdifferentdivisions)was―whyshouldIt aketheextrar e s p o n s i b i l i t y ontopoftheresponsibilityof mydepartment?‖
―disclose‖.I n a d d i t i o n , theyt h o u g h t i f t h e t e a m w a s t o o muchi n v o l v e d int h e i r d e p a r t m e n t ‘ s activities,itwouldbesomekindof―intervention‖.
Ont h e p o s i t i v e s i d e , a l l managerswerec o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e O T D performancea n d werekeentoimprovethis.Themanagersinvolvedwereconvincedthatimplem entationofthemodelmightsignificantlyimproveOTDperformance.Luckilyt h a t wew assuccessfullywiththeproposedsolutionanditsignificantlyimprovetheOTDperf ormanceofthecompany,wehavereceivedthegoodfeedbackfromcustomersforthisp erfectlyinservice.
Resultsof implementationof theabovesolutions
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Betterc o m m u n i c a t i o n a c r o s s d i f f e r e n t g r o u p s ( p a r t i c u l a r l y withsuppliers),i n c r e a s e d employeeinvolv ementandthecross - functionalteamapproach.
CONCLUSIONS
Ano n - t i m e d e l i v e r y i m p r o v e m e n t modelhasb e e n p r o p o s e d t o o v e r c o m e ontime d e l i v e r y relateddifficulties.Themainrecommendationsincludeestimationofdeliveryt i m e f ollowingasystematicprocess,formationofacross- functionalteamconsistingofr e l e v a n t managers,establishmento f a c o m p r e h e n s i v e d a t a b a s e i n t e g r a t e d withr e q u i r e d a p p l i c a t i o n s torecordallnecessarydataandmake this availableto thecross- f u n ct i o na l team,establishmentofasupplierratingsystem,adoptionofaconcurre nta p p r o a c h ratherthanasequentialapproachandestablishmentofeffectivec o m m u n i c a t i o n withcustomersandsuppliers.
Theproposed sol ut io n wassyst ema ti cal ly implementedi na m a k e t oorder( M
This paper highlights the identification of on-time delivery issues and core conflicts within a manufacturing organization It outlines proposed changes and a detailed action plan aimed at addressing these core problems A team of managers from various functional departments effectively utilized the guidelines provided in the model, leading to significant improvements in on-time delivery Over a six-month period, the company's on-time delivery rate surged from approximately 16% to 99% While the model was specifically implemented at Rochdale Spears, its observations are relevant to other manufacturers facing similar delivery challenges Each situation may require modifications to the proposed model; however, it serves as a solid starting point and a useful framework for enhancing delivery performance across the manufacturing sector.
Apartf r o m d e v e l o p m e n t o f a modelc o m p r i s i n g a b u s i n e s s p r o c e s s model a n d a n i n t e g r a t e d d a t a b a s e f o r i m p r o v i n g o n timed e l i v e r y p e r f o r m a n c e , t h i s p a p e r d e m o n s t r a t e s , inqua nt it at iv e terms,th e b e n e f i t s of im plementinga w e l l - t h r o u g h o u t s y s t e m - w i d e m o d e l ini t s a b i l i t y t o m i n i m i s e cycletimea n d i m p r o v e o p e r a t i o n a l efficiency.
1 Overallbackground Tou n d e r s t a n d t h e c u r r e n t p r o b l e m s w hichrelatedt o l a t e d e l i v e r y a t R o c h d a l e SpearsLtd,company.
1 Couldyoupleaseintroduceaboutyourself(yourname,age,workingexperienceandpos itionthatyouareworkingin)?
3 Recently,accordingtoproductionreportaswellastheevaluationfromclient,t h e deli veryperformanceofourcompanyisnotgood,latedeliveryoccupiedahighratewithov er50%inaverage.Howdoyouthinkaboutthis?
5 Accordingtotheotherdepartments,mostoflatedeliveryhasbeencausingbyyourtea m(material,planning,salecontrol)…howdoyouthinkaboutthis?
6 Inyourpointofview,whati s t h e maincausethatleadst o highrateof latedelivery?
PhamT h i AiVan:Hello.C o u l d youi n t r o d u c e s o m e t h i n g a b o u t yourselfa n d t h e p o s i t i o n youareworkingin?
NguyenThiLanAnh:MynameisAnh,Ihavebeenworkingincustomerservicedepart mentofthecompanyfor8years,currentlyI‘maleaderofmajoraccounts.
PhamThiAiVan:8yearsissuchalongtime.Itshouldbeagreatjobsothatitcank e e p youst ayingwithcompany foralongtime.Canyoupleasesharewithmealittleb i t aboutyourdailyjobaswellasyourd uty?Whatdoyouthinkaboutyourcurrentj o b ? Areyouinterestedinthisjob?
NguyenThiLanAnh:Hihi,actually,everyjobshouldbehaveitsfunandd i f f i c u l t i e s It‘sinterestedornotisdependedonthewayyouthink.Inmyopinion,wheneverI d o a n y t h i n g , I s h o u l d b e h a v e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y witht h a t j o b Facingwithd if f icu l ti es everyday,receivingcomplainingfromcustomer andfindoutsolutionsfort h o s e , althoughi tmakes metiredbutI‘mhappywiththatjo b AsI canlearnfrom mistakea s wella s d i s c o v e r t h e n e w t h i n g s f r o m p r o b l e ms
E v e r y day,I shouldb e r e c e i v e d newordersfromcustomer,claimemailfromthemto complainaboutd e f e c t i v e products…
Transferordertoproduction,contactwithallrelateddepartmentst o solvetheproblemsorfind out theanswerforthecustomers.Arrangingshipmenttob e ontimeandreportingtomanagerfora nyrequiredtasks….It‘shardformetosharei n detail,b ut o u r jobissuchasa b r i d g ec o n n e c t i n g between customeran d factory,p r o v i d e alltherequirefromcustomeraswell asmakesuretheirorderbecompletedontime.
PhamThiAiVan:Uhmhuhm,Isee.However,asyourexplain,youshouldbetakent h e orde rofcustomertobecompletedontime,butrecently,accordingtoproductionr e p o r t asw ellastheevaluationfromclient,thedeliveryperformanceofourcompanyi s notgood,latede livery occupiedahighratewithover50%inaverage.Howdoyouth i n kaboutthis?
NguyenThi LanAnh:Yes,Iknow aboutthis, andwearetrying tofind outsolutionsforitseveryday.Involvedinanorderofcustomerisnotonlyourdepartmentbutal soi n c l u d e d thewholecompany frompurchasingtoproductionteam.Th e troubles cancomefromeverywhere.But,asI‘mthepersonwhoinvolvedirectlytotheor derofcustomerfromverybeginninguntilshipment,Icanseeandunderstandthereasonfori t s d e l a y i n g M o s t o f l a t e d e l i v e r y i s c a u s i n g bymaterial,w h i c h p u r c h a s i n g f r o m o u t s i d e supplierandwecannotcontrolitwell.Especiallyduetomateria lteam,they aren o t f o l l o w i n g u p t h e i r p u r c h a s i n g o r d e r closely,a l w a y s b e c h a s e d a t t h e l a s t moment,lateshipmentisunavoidable.
PhamT h i AiV a n : I fso,t h e r e a s o n f o r l a t e shipmentj u s t b e c a u s e o f materialoran ythingelse?Couldyousharethereasoncausingforhighratesoflatedeliveryinourcompany?
NguyenT h i L a n A n h : Materiali s t h e m a i n l y r e a s o n s c a u s e f o r h i g h r a t e o f l a t e delivery,b u t a l o n g w i t h material,i t a l s o c a u s e byt h e c o n t r o l l i n g i n p r o d u c t i o n o f c e n t r a l planningteamwhichwearecallingisCP.
PhamT h i AiV a n : Accordingt o t h e o t h e r departments,m o s t ofl a t e d e l i v e r y h a s b e e n causingbyyourteam(material,planning,salecontrol)…how doyouthinkaboutt h i s ?
NguyenT h i L a n A n h : C u s t o m e rs e r v i c e a l s o t h e d e p a r t m e n t ha v e responsibl ef o r t h i s delaying,aswearethepersonwho‘scontrollingitandmanageitfrombeginning u n t i l completedshipment.
NguyenThiLanAnh:IthinkthatCentralplanningteamshouldhaveresponsibleinf o l l o w i n g upproductionclosely,sothattheycanalsocontrolmaterialwithpurchasingt e a m forth ebettermanagementandlimitthepercentageoflateshipments.
PhamThiAiVan:Whatare solutionsthatthe company hastakentodecrease t h e h i g h rateoflatedelivery?
NguyenT h i L a n A n h : T h ec o m p a n y s h o u l d b e t a k e n c a r e o n shippings e r v i c e Firstly,forthebettersolving,thesystemshouldbeimprovesothatalltherelatedteam willbeus in g the samedate,there isnoconfusinganddifferenceofdata, itwillbe u nifiedandfollowing u p correctly.Customerservicet eam shouldbetraining k n o w l e d g e aboutmanagetheirorder,knowledgeaboutproductionprocedureaswella s p r o d u c t i o n t e a m s h o u l d h a v e t h e a w a r e n e s s a b o u t t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f o n timeshipments.
?Couldyousharea n y a c t i o n s yout h i n k shouldbet a k e n t o solvet h i s problem?
NguyenThiLanAnh:Ithinksitwilltakea longtimefortheimprovementbutit sh ouldbetakenasap.Thesoonerwesolveitisbetter.
NguyenThiLanAnh:Ithinksthebestsolutionistrainingpeopleaboutthei m p o r t a n c e ofontimeshipment,thenpeoplewillworkmorecarefulandhavingallt h e supportfro mallteams.
PhamT h i AiVan:Hello.C o u l d youi n t r o d u c e s o m e t h i n g a b o u t yourselfa n d t h e p o s i t i o n youareworkingin?
TranLeQuynhTram:MynameisTram,Ihavebeenworkingincustomerservicedepart mentofthecompanyfor3years,I‘mhandlingforkeyaccounts.
PhamThiAiVan:3yearsisnotsuchashorttime.Itshouldbeagreatjobsothatitcan keepyo ustayingwithcompanyforalongtime.Canyoupleasesharewithmeal i t t l e b i t a b o u t y ourd a i l y joba s wella s yourduty?Whatd o yout h i n k a b o u t yourcu r r en t job?
TranLeQuynhTram:Yes,itisagreatjob.Everyday,Ishouldbereceivednewo r d e r s fromc u s t o m e r , c l a i m e m a i l fromt h e m t o c o m p l a i n a b o u t d e f e c t i v e products…
Transferordertoproduction,contactwithallrelateddepartmentstosolvet h e proble msorfindouttheanswerforthecustomers.Arrangingshipmenttobeonti m e andrepo rtingtomanagerforanyrequiredtasks
PhamThiAiVan:Uhmhuhm,Isee.However,asyourexplain,youshouldbetakent h e orde rofcustomertobecompletedontime,butrecently,accordingtoproductionr e p o r t asw ellastheevaluationfromclient,thedeliveryperformanceofourcompanyi s notgood,latede livery occupiedahighratewithover50%inaverage.Howdoyouth i n k aboutthis?
TranLeQuynhTram:Yes,correctly.IknowitwellasI‘mthepersondoingthisr ep o rt weekly.Butthissituationhasbeenhappenedforalongtime.
PhamT h i AiV a n : Accordingt o t h e o t h e r departments,m o s t ofl a t e d e l i v e r y h a s b e e n causingbyyour(salecontrol)…howdoyouthinkaboutthis?
TranLeQuynhTram:Customerservicealsothedepartmenthaveresponsible fort h i s delaying,aswearethepersonwho‘scontrollingitandmanageitfrombeginningu n t il completedshipment.
Tran Le Quynh Tram:Ithink that Centralplanningteamshould haveresponsible inf ol lo wing upproductionclosely,sothattheycanalsocontrolmaterialwithpurchasingt e a m forthebettermanagementandlimitthepercentageoflateshipments.
PhamThiAiVan:Whatare solutionsthatthe company hastakento decrease the h i g h rateoflatedelivery?
TranL e Q u y n h T r a m : T h ec o m p a n y s h o u l d b e t a k e n c a r e o n shippings e r v i c e Firstly,forthebettersolving,thesystemshouldbeimprovesothatalltherelatedteamwil lbeus in g the samedate,there isnoconfusinganddifferenceofdata, it willbe u n i f i ed andfollowing u p correctly.Customerservicet eam shouldbetraining k n o w l e d g e aboutmanagetheirorder,knowledgeaboutproductionprocedureaswell asp r o d u c t i o n t e a m s h o u l d h a v e t h e a w a r e n e s s a b o u t t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f o n timeshipments.
?Couldyousharea n y a c t i o n s yout h i n k shouldbet a k e n t o solvet h i s problem?
TranLe Qu yn h Tram:Ithinkit willt ake a l on g timefo rt he improvement b ut its houldbetakenasap.Thesoonerwesolveitisbetter.
TranLeQuynhTram:Ithinkthebestsolutionistrainingpeopleabouttheimportan ceofontimeshipment,thenpeoplewillworkmorecarefulandhavingallt h e supportfro mallteams.
PhamT h i AiVan:Hello.C o u l d youi n t r o d u c e s o m e t h i n g a b o u t yourselfa n d t h e p o s i t i o n youareworkingin?
PhamThiAiVan:Canyoupleasesharewithmealittlebitaboutyourdailyjobaswellasy ourduty?Whatdoyouthinkaboutyourcurrentjob?Areyouinterestedint h i s job?
NguyenThiTuyetMinh:Actuallymydutyisthatcheckingmaterialleadtimefromsupplie rsafterreceivingsaleorderfromcustomerservice.Then,Iwillconfirmbackt o CPforthei rproductionplanning.It‘ssuchastressfuljobaswehavetodealwithsuppliersforthe bestschedule.
PhamThiAiVan:Uhmhuhm,Isee.Currently, Iheardtheinformation fromsal eteam,productionreportaswellastheevaluationfromclient,thedeliveryperformanceo f o u r c o m p a n y i s notg o o d , l a t e d e l i v e r y o c c u p i e d a h i g h r a t e witho v e r 5 0 % i n a verage.Howdoyouthinkaboutthis?
NguyenT h i T u y e t M i n h : Yes,I d o nowa b o u t t h i s Wheneverh a v i n g anyl a t e shipment,production teamalwayschaseusformaterial.Theywillnotfollowing upita t thebeginning,wheneverCSchasethem,theycomingbacktousforpushing.
NguyenThiTuyetMinh:Ithinkitcausedpoorproductionplanningandcontrollinginpr oductionteam.Theyshouldquotewithcustomertheschedulewhichisworkable,sometimesb ecauseofcustomerneedtoshipurgently,theytrytomeettheirrequesta n d agreew it h the ti gh tl y schedule,a n d pus hi ng ust o makematerialbeing ar ri ve d sooner.Buta syouknow,suppliershavetheirowndifficulties, sometimestheycanmakebutsometime sisimpossible.
PhamT h i AiV a n : A c c o r d i n gt o t h e o t h e r departments,m o s t ofl a t e d e l i v e r y h a s b e e n causingbyyourteam.Howdoyouthinkaboutthis?
NguyenThiTuyetMinh:Ofcourseeverydepartmentshouldhaveresponsibility forl a t e shipment.So,Ithinkwhattheteamsneedtopayattentiononconfirmingschedulea n d f ollowingupyourorders.Theplanningteamneedtoknowwhethertheschedulei s worka bleornot,weneedtomakeclearwithclientatbeginning,don‘tletuntilthel a st secondth emcomingbacktothemtosaysorry.
PhamThiAiVan:Inyourpointofview,whatisthemaincausesthatleadstohighr ate ofl atedelivery?
NguyenThiTuyetMinh:IthinkthatCentralplanningteamshouldhaveresponsibleinfoll owingupproductionclosely.Alsosaleteamshavetocooperatewithallrelatedte a m forthe bettermanagement.
PhamThiAiVan:Whatare solutionsthatthe company hastakento decrease the h i g h rateoflatedelivery?
NguyenThiTuyetMinh:Ithinkfirstly,thesystemshouldbeimproved,thenalltheim po r tan t i n f o r m a t i o n c a n b e f o u n d e a s i l y whenwen e e d a n d t h e information i s u n i f i e d betweendepartments.Don‘thavetheoccasionthattheshipdatewhichprodu ctionteamfollowingisonthisweekbutsaleteamischasingforotherweeks.Secondl yisthat,theproduction t eam havetobecareful whenco nf ir mi ng schedulewithcli ent,weshouldhaveaspareoftimefortheunexpectedcasehappened.
?Couldyousharea n y a c t i o n s yout h i n k shouldbetakent o solvet h i s problem?
PhamT h i AiVan:Hello.C o u l d youi n t r o d u c e s o m e t h i n g a b o u t yourselfa n d t h e p o s i t i o n youareworkingin?
DoThiLuong:MynameisLuong,I‘mplannerinplan1.Ihavebeenworkingheref orar ound5years.
PhamThiAiVan:5years,itissuchalongtime.Itshouldbeagreatjobsothatitc a n keepy oustayingwithcompanyforalongtime.Canyoupleasesharewithmeal i t t l e b i t a b o u t yourd a i l y joba s wella s yourduty?Whatd o yout h i n k a b o u t yourcu r r en t job?
DoT h i Luong:Yes,i t i s a g r e a t j o b Asa f a c t o r y p l a n e r , I amt h e p e r s o n who building productionplanforthefactoryandconfirmingshippingscheduleforcu stomersaswell.I‘m wo rk in g directly witha l l theproduction teaminthe factory f r o m whitewoodteam,f i n i s h i n g team,p a c k i n g team.Wehandlet h e o r d e r a n d controllingi t u n t i l s h i p p i n g I t i s q u i t e s t r e s s j o b asyouh a v e t o f a c e w i t h l o t o f situationandtroublesinproduction,butyouhavetohaveimmediateactiontok eepp r o d u c t i o n beingrunningsmoothlyandespeciallythatkeepingtheorderbeingsh ippedonscheduled.
PhamThiAiVan:Uhmhuhm,Isee.However,asyourexplain,youshouldbetakent h e orde rofcustomertobecompletedontime,butrecently,accordingtoproductionr e p o r t asw ellastheevaluationfromclient,thedeliveryperformanceofourcompanyi s notgood,lated elivery occupiedahighratewithover50%inaverage.Howdoyout h in kaboutthis?
DoT h i L u o n g : Yes,correctly.I k n o w i t well,wealwayst r y i n g t o a v o i d t h e l a t e sh ipmentbeinghappened.
DoThiLuong:Mostofthelateshipmenthascausedbymaterial.Becauseifthisist h e i nternalissues,weareabletosolveitbyourownteamandweareabletocontrolit Butmateri alisoutofcontrol,materialteamcannotfollowitclosely,theywillnotf o l l o w andchasef oritifwedon‘tchasethem.
PhamT h i AiV a n : Accordingt o t h e o t h e r departments,m o s t ofl a t e d e l i v e r y h a s b e e n causingbyyourteam.Howdoyouthinkaboutthis?
DoT h i L u o n g : e v e r yp e o p l e alwayst h i n k t h a t l a t e shipmentisd u e t o p r o d u c t i o n team,theyproducedlatethenweshiplate.Butinvolvinginproducingaproductsitisi n c l u d i n g manydepartmentsfromsaleteam,technicalteam,purchasingteams.Everythingsho uldbeperfectly tohavethesmoothlyprocessandontimeshipment.So,howcanwebea rallresponsibilities?
PhamThiAiVan:Whatare solutionsthatthe company hastakento decrease the h i g h rateoflatedelivery?
DoThiLuong:Ithink thatpurchasingteamhavetoworkmorecloselywithsupplier,t h e n wecanhavebetterrelation shipandfollowingupproductionbetter.
Couldyousharea n y a c t i o n s yout h i n k shouldb e t a k e n t o solvet h i s problem?
DoT h i Luong:It h i n k willb e a d i f f i c u l t p r o c e s s b u t i f wec a n improvei t , t h e c o m p a n y cangetmoreorderfromcustomer.AsIseethatlotsofourbigcustomer s,theydon‘thavemuchordersrecently.
DoThiLuong:Ithinkthebestsolutionisbuildinguptheratingforsupplierandhaveb e t t e r c h o i c e i n s e l e c t i n g suppliers.Byh a v i n g g o o d supplier,materialwilln o t b e delayed.
PhamT h i AiVan:Hello.C o u l d youi n t r o d u c e s o m e t h i n g a b o u t yourselfa n d t h e p o s i t i o n youareworkingin?
NguyenThiThuyAn:Mynameis An,I‘mthepackingplannerin P1Ihavebeen workingherefor6years.
NguyenThiThuyAn:Packingteamisthefinalstepinproduction.Wearrangeforp a c k i n g thereadyitem,arrangingtheloadplanforim- exteamarrangebooking.Weh a v e responsibilityforloadingproductontothecontainercanc ompletetheshipment.
PhamThiAiVan:Uhmhuhm,Isee.C ur re nt ly, according toproductionreport a s wellas the ev a l u a t i o n f r o m client, th e d e l i v e r y performanceo f o u r c o m p a n y isn o t g o o d , latedeliveryoccupiedahighratewithover50%inaverage.Howdoyouthink ab o u t this?
NguyenT h i T h u y A n : Y e s ,c o r r e c t l y I k n o w i t w e l l a s I‘mt h e p e r s o n d o i n g shipmenteveryday.Butwhenproductionproducedlate,wecannotimprovei taswea r e t h e f i n a l stepi n p r o d u c t i o n T h e p r o d u c t i o n t e a m s h o u l d h a v e r e s p o n s i b l e t o pr od uce ontime.
PhamT h i AiV a n : Accordingt o t h e o t h e r departments,m o s t ofl a t e d e l i v e r y h a s b e e n causingbyyourteam.Howdoyouthinkaboutthis?
NguyenT h i T h u y An:Wej u s t f o l l o w p r o d u c t i o n t o a r r a n g e s h i p m e n t , sot h a t ifproduction producedlate,wehavetoshiplate.
PhamThiAiVan:Inyourpointofview,whatisthemaincausesthatleadstohighr ate ofl atedelivery?
NguyenThiThuyAn:IthinkthatCentralplanningteamshouldhaveresponsibleinf o l l o w i n g upproductionclosely,sothattheycanalsocontrolmaterialwithpurchasingt e a m forth ebettermanagementandlimitthepercentageoflateshipments.
PhamThiAiVan:Whatare solutionsthatthe company hastakento decrease the h i g h rateoflatedelivery?
?Couldyousharea n y a c t i o n s yout h i n k shouldbet a k e n t o solvet h i s problem?
NguyenThiThuyAn:Ithinksthebestsolutionistrainingpeopleabouttheimportance ofontimeshipment,thenpeoplewillworkmorecarefulandhavingallt h e supportfrom allteams.
1 Couldyoupleaseintroduce abo utyourself(yourname,age,worki ngexperienceandp o s i t i o n thaty ouareworkingin)?
3 Recently,a c c o r d i n g t o produ ctionreportaswellastheevaluatio nfromclient,thedeliveryperfor manceofourcompanyisn o t go od,l a t e
Yes,i t hasb e e n ha ppenedforalon g ti me
Know it well,doingitevery day deliveryoccupiedahighratewith over50%inaverage.Howd o yout hinkaboutthis? bymaterial
4 Couldyoupleasesharethereasonc a u s i n g f or highrateo f l a t e deli veryinourcompany?
Materialisthemai nlyreasonscause It‘salsocausedbyt h e controllinginpro duction
Caused bymaterial,subcont ractorsandproducti onteam
Mosto f t h e l a t e s hipment has caused by material.
,planning,salecontrol)… howd o yout h i n k aboutthis?
Ifproductionprodu cedlate,th ey arra ngelate
6 Inyourp o i n t ofview,whati s t h e main causethat leadsto highrate oflatedelivery?
51 responsible in following upproductionclosel y, so thatthey can responsible in following upproductionclosel y, so thatthey can
Training know lead aboutmanagement production and awarenesst h e imp ortanceofont im e shipment
Improvesystem Purchasingteamh avetoworkmoreclo sely withsupplier
Productionteamsho uld haveclear lyp l a n n i n g andcontro litwell.
Ittakeslongtime It will be adifficultyproce ss
Training Improveawareness abouto n timeshipm ent
Improving the skill in management
Evaluatesupplier Improveawareness abouto n timeshipm ent
1 Agrawal,A.,Minis,I.,andNagi,R.,2000.CycletimereductionbyimprovedMRP - basedp r o d u c t i o n p l a n n i n g I n t e r n a t i o n a l Journalo f P r o d u c t i o n Researc h,3 8 ( 1 8 ) , 4823–4841.
2 Cavaye,A.L.M.,1996.Casestudyresearch:amulti- facetedresearchapproachf o r IS.InformationSystemsJournal,6(3),227–242.
3 Cheng,T.C.E.andGupta,M.C.,1989.Surveyofschedulingresearchinvolvingduedat edeterminationdecisions.EuropeanJournalofOperationalResearch,38(2),156– 166.
3 b u s i n e s s b l u e p r i n t un derst an di ng thebusinessprocessreferencemodel.Eng lewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeH a l l
5 Eisenhardt,K.M.,1989.Buildingtheoriesfromcasestudyresearch.Academyo f Management710Review,14(4),532–550.
7 Hendry,L.C.andKingsman,B.G.,1993.Customerenquirymanagement:parto f ahierarchicalsystemtocontrolleadtimesinmake-to- ordercompanies.JournalofOperationalResearch715Society,44(1),61–70.
8 Hitomi,K.,1991.Strategicintegratedmanufacturingsystems:theconceptandstr uctures.InternationalJournalofProductionEconomics,25(1),5–12.
9 Hwarng,H.B.,etal.,2005.Modellingacomplexsupplychain:understandingt h e effectofsimplifiedassumptions.InternationalJournalofProductionResearch,43( 1 3 ) , 2829–2872.
10 Jamal,A.M.M.andSarker,B.R.,1993.Anoptimalbatchsizeforaproductions y s t e m operatingunderajust-in- timedeliverysystem.InternationalJournalofProductionEconomics,32(2),255–260.
12 Karim,M.A.,Smith,A.J.,andHalgamuge,S.K.,2008a.Acomparativestudyo f manufacturingp r a c t i c e s a n d p e r f o r m a n c e v a r i a b l e s I n t e r n a t i o n a l Journalo f ProductionEconomics,112(2),841–859.
14 Kayis,B.andKara,S.,2005.Thesupplierandcustomercontributiontom a n u f a c t u r i n g flexibility.JournalofManufacturingTechnologyManagement,16(7–8 ) , 733– 752.
15 Koh,S C L a n d Saad,S.M.,2 0 0 6 Managingu n c e r t a i n t y i n E R P - c o n t r o l l e d m a n u f a c t u r i n g environmentsinSMEs.InternationalJournalofProductio nEconomics,1 0 1 (1),109–127.
17 Mahmoud-Jouini,S.B.,Midler,C , a n d G a r e l , G.,2 0 0 4 T i m e - t o - m a r k e t v s t i m e - t o - d e l i v e r y : m ana gi ng speedinengineering, procurementa n d construction pr ojects.InternationalJournalofProjectManagement,22(5),359–367.
18 Maia,L.O.A.andQassim,R.Y.,1999.Minimumcostsafetystocksforfrequentd e l i v e r y manufacturing.InternationalJournalofProductionEconomics,62(3),233–236.
19 Okes,D.andWestcott,T.R.,2001.Certifiedqualitymanagerhandbook.2nd e d Milwaukee,WI:ASQQualitypress.
20 Samaranayake,P.andToncich,D.,2007.Integrationofproductionplanni ng,p r o j e c t managementandlogisticssystemsforsupplychainmanagement.InternationalJ ournalofProductionResearch,45(22),5417–5447.
21 Sandoe,K.,C o r b i t t , G.,a n d Boykin,R , 2 0 0 1 E n t e r p r i s e i n t e g r a t i o n NewYork:JohnWiley&Sons.
22 Selvarajah,E and S t e i n e r, G.,2 0 0 6 Ba t c h schedulingi n a t w o - l e v e l su pp ly chain— afocusonthesupplier.EuropeanJournalofOperationalResearch, 173(1),226–240.