Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program

Transcription

1 Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program Project Specification Project Outline Host Company: Ellex Medical Lasers Limited 82 Gilbert Street Adelaide SA 5000 Contact: Richard Stone VP Operations Tel: Fax: Background Ellex designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of laser and ultrasound systems used by ophthalmologists to fight blindness. Founded in 1985, the company has evolved from an OEM supplier to directly marketing their own branded products through U.S. and Japanese subsidiaries and a network of distribution partners in more than 100 countries. Ellex Medical Lasers Limited was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in July Products are highly complex, incorporating a large number of purchased components, many of which are imported. Manufacture involves mechanical, electronic and optical assembly to a high level of precision. The company has an outstanding reputation for technical excellence and product innovation around the world. Management sees the opportunity to achieve commensurate excellence and innovation in managing the supply chain. There is significant scope to improve production fill rate, inventory turns and reduce component shortages and expediting. This will involve more effective integration of the planning process in accordance with Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) best practice. In particular there is scope to improve the Sales and Operations Planning process and to use S&OP more effectively to drive the planning process so that day-to-day scheduling of production is consistent with the Sales and Operations Plan. Maintaining the currency of plans at each level is also an issue. It is important that key personnel involved at each level of the planning process share a common understanding of what constitutes supply chain excellence and how that can best be achieved at Ellex. The Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program is seen as an effective means to achieve this. Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program - Projects Page 1

2 Project objectives Review the planning process from market forecast down through each level of the ERP planning, procurement and control hierarchy. Recommend appropriate strategies, tools and approaches to effectively integrate the planning process and achieve supply chain excellence, as measured by significant improvements in order fill rate and inventory turns and significant reductions in component shortages, expediting and customer returns. Program Arrangements The program will run one day per week for five weeks. The program will commence on (to be advised). Sessions will run from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. There will be a preliminary meeting at Ellex at 4pm on the evening prior to commencement of the project for senior management to brief the team. The team members for the project will be: (to be advised) Ellex will provide a meeting room with white board and data projector for use by the team. Ellex will allow video taping and photographs of team activities, for the purpose of producing a video case study of the project, similar to that produced for the Thermal Ceramics project. Ellex will be consulted on the final content to ensure that no confidential material is included. Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program - Projects Page 2

3 Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program Project Specification Project Outline Host Company: B.-d. Farm Paris Creek Pty Ltd Paris Creek Road Meadows 5201, South Australia Contact: Ulli Spranz Tel: Fax: Background B.-d.Farm Paris Creek was founded by Helmut and Ulli Spranz in The company specializes in producing, processing and distributing milk and milk products. These products include whole milk, cream, yogurt and quark. The Company is about to commence cheese production from a new cheese facility. The Company has plans for further new products in the new year. Products are sold nationally through health foods shops, and by major supermarket chains and independents in several states. The Company also exports to overseas countries including Singapore and Hong Kong. The Company has its own state-of-the-art factory and its own farm, located close by. The Company s products are produced bio-dynamically. This means that no chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides or fungicides are used to boost growth or milk production. The fertilizers used are biodynamic preparations produced on the farm out of homegrown plants and minerals collected on the farm. The Company is certified Grade A by the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA). Two other similarly certified farms in the region also supply milk to the factory. Critical requirements for the B.-d. Farms Paris Creek supply chain include: Ensuring quality and safety of the product Maintaining biodynamic integrity of the product Balancing demand and supply to ensure that the available milk is used as profitably as possible Managing short shelf-life product with minimal returns and waste Maintaining temperature requirements through the supply chain Meeting the demands of a diverse mix of retailer customers from small health food stores to major supermarket chains and export Ensuring delivery in-full, on-time to all of these customers Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program - Projects Page 3

4 The Company prides itself on being more flexible than larger competitors in the dairy industry. They endeavor to deliver to any location in quantities that suit the customer, from full truckload to less than pallet quantity. Project objective The principal objective of the project is to improve performance in achieving in-full on-time deliveries to customers, while ensuring that all of the other critical requirements listed above are met. The focus will be on all aspects of dispatch of finished goods from receipt of the retailer s order through to delivery to the retailer. Program Arrangements The program will run one day per week for five weeks. The program will commence on (to be advised). Sessions will run from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. There will be a preliminary meeting at B.-d. Farm Paris Creek at 4pm on the evening prior to commencement of the project for senior management to brief the team. B.-d. Farm Paris Creek will provide a meeting room with white board and data projector for use by the team. B.-d. Farm Paris Creek will allow video taping and photographs of team activities, for the purpose of producing a video case study of the project, similar to that produced for the Thermal Ceramics project B.-d. Farm Paris Creek will be consulted on the final content to ensure that no confidential material is included. Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program - Projects Page 4

5 Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program Project Specification Project Outline Host Company: B&R Enclosures Pty Ltd 505 Grand Junction Road Wingfield SA 5013 Contact: Doug Searle Ph Fax Background B&R is Australia s largest manufacturer of enclosures, racks and cabinets, supplying the domestic Australian market, New Zealand, Asia and the World. The B&R product range includes electrical enclosures for industrial, domestic and commercial applications, cabinets for rack mounted computer equipment, telecommunications racks, switchboard building systems and climate control equipment. The company has manufacturing plants in Brisbane and Adelaide using state of the art technology to produce high quality enclosures at cost effective prices. The proposed project will be focused on the Adelaide Plant. Over recent years, the range of products produced at the Adelaide Plant has increased. One consequence has been an increase in work-in-process. Management believe it is possible to significantly reduce work-in-process by applying lean principles to reduce the overall lead time from receipt of steel to final dispatch of the product. A lead time reduction strategy plan is sought which will identify the key stages of the process to focus on for improvement and the approaches to be used to achieve improvement. It is expected that this lead-time reduction strategy plan will then give rise to a number of in-house improvement projects. Project objective The project objective is to examine the value stream from the point of receipt of steel to the point of dispatch of finished products and by applying lean principles to develop strategies to significantly reduce lead-time and work in process. Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program - Projects Page 5

6 The expected outcome is a lead time reduction strategy plan which identifies the stages in the process to focus upon and the initiatives to be implemented at each stage, supported by indicative cost/benefit analyses and implementation plan. It is suggested that two products be chosen to focus upon in the project; one a commercial product and the other a domestic product. These will be products with a high level of work-in-process at the time of the project. Program Arrangements The program will run one day per week for five weeks. The program will commence in mid-july Sessions will run from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Team members from B&R Enclosures will be Steve Murphy, Davin Natt and Andrew Dayman. Up to two external team member will be sought from non-competing companies. There will be a preliminary meeting at B&R Enclosures at Wingfield at 4pm on the evening prior to commencement of the project for senior management to brief the team. B&R Enclosures will provide a meeting room with white board and data projector for use by the team. B&R Enclosures will allow video taping and photographs of team activities, for the purpose of producing a video case study of the project, similar to that produced for the Thermal Ceramics project. B&R Enclosures will be consulted on the final content to ensure that no confidential material is included. Lean Supply Chain Action Learning Program - Projects Page 6