A good quality factory schedule is one of the most important factors in minimising costs and creating a firm foundation for continuous improvement. Yet many factory schedules are driven by the knowledge of just one scheduler, without much oversight by senior production management.
Supply Network Design & Optimisation
Production levelling in the process industry – why bother?
Production levelling (or smoothing) is an important part of the Toyota production system. Here we show why production levelling is so important and how it is achieved in the process industry.
Read moreProduction levelling in the process industry – why bother?
Which of the 5 Production Technologies do you have?
In 1984, Robert Hayes from Harvard University and Steven Wheelwright from Stanford University, joined forces to write a book called Restoring our Competitive Edge¹. In it they identified 5 different production technologies.
Read moreWhich of the 5 Production Technologies do you have?
3 Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence
We challenged ourselves to explain the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence in one infographic and here it is.
10 types of business transformation – which one should you focus on?
At Bullant we make sure we know our place in the world of business transformation. This is an article that helps us to focus our attention and we reckon it is a good resource for our clients as well.
We’ve distilled business transformation into 10 types and we’d love to know if you have any others.
Read more10 types of business transformation – which one should you focus on?
10 high-powered building blocks that change the way you look at your complex supply chain
Ever wish that there were simple, fundamental building blocks that could be used to represent your supply chain, no matter its complexity?
Hidden in the industrial engineering literature are 10 building blocks that can be used to clearly establish the performance of an entire supply chain.
Read more10 high-powered building blocks that change the way you look at your complex supply chain
How to design a complex supply network for maximum flow and minimum cost
Supply chains that have evolved using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems should not be the only point of reference when designing a new supply network. Good supply network design is an iterative process focusing on both maximum flow and minimum cost. This iterative process starts at the organisation’s business strategy … Read more
The 9 most important operational leverage points in a complex supply chain
What does your customer value? The harsh reality is that customers often don’t care if your plant is state-of-the-art. They generally don’t care if your warehousing and transportation network is cutting edge. Usually, what they care about is how quickly products move to and through their supermarket or factory, whether the product is to specification … Read more
What is the Demand Driven approach to inventory buffer sizing?
The demand driven approach to inventory buffer sizing is very similar to the Lean approach with two clear differences. The Demand Driven approach flexes inventory buffers according to dynamic demand and it is a multi-echolon approach that takes account of factors such as inventory positioning. In 2011 Carol Ptak and Chad Smith, both long time … Read more
What is the Lean approach to inventory buffer sizing?
The Lean ethos is that all inventory is evil. “Inventory is one of the 7 wastes so it must be bad!” Yes it is bad if it is hiding waste such as over-production or under-production. If, on the other hand, an inventory buffer is cost effectively protecting the customer from surges in external demand as … Read more