High Resolution Supply Chain Management aims to counteract the trend towards more and more centralised and rigid enterprises. Today, most companies strive to increase efficiency of business processes applying highly sophisticated, centralised planning approaches. These centralised approaches limit the companies’ ability to react flexibly and act adaptively due to external and internal turbulences. In today’s buyer’s markets companies usually try to bypass these turbulences keeping high levels of inventory resulting in a low overall efficiency. High Resolution Supply Chain Management tries to solve the problem at its root from a holistic perspective. Based on the Viable System Model developed by Stafford Beer a four-dimensional holistic production management system model, embedding an organisational structure view, an cause and action view, a control loop perspective and a decision making level has been elaborated. The basis of this model is the integration of all four perspectives into an interacting framework.
Die Finanzkrise hat viele Unternehmen kalt erwischt. Die Folgen des Konjunktureinbruchs sind drastische Absatzeinbrüche, Produktionsstopps und Liquiditätsengpässe. Die Tendenz zur Wertminderung der Produkte zwingt vor allem Industrieunternehmen, Abschreibungen auf ihre Bestände vorzunehmen. Dies gilt insbesondere für die äusserst dynamischen und hochwertigen Lagerbestände im Automobilbau, Maschinenbau oder der chemischen Industrie.
Viable Production System for adaptable and flexible production planning and control processes
(2009)
High Resolution Supply Chain Management (HRSCM) aims at designing adaptable and flexible production planning and control (PPC) processes according to the needs of the company’s supply chain environment. To reach this goal a model for a Viable Production System (VPS) has been elaborated and is presented in this paper. Based on the Viable System Model (VSM) developed by Stafford Beer current production systems are analyzed in terms of integrity. With the gained knowledge a complete recursive framework of a VPS is developed. The framework allows the design of a decentralized production system that meets all requirements of a dynamic environment. Flexible and adaptable PPC processes can be developed for each identified subsystem of the VPS. Hence, further research focuses on the development of process and control loops in order to assure the application of the framework. Exemplarily the decentralised control loop for inventory management is elaborated in a case study.
Supply Chain Management delivers a considerable amount of ideas and methods to design the value stream. Each of these concepts may lead to significant cost reduction and higher service levels. But the same concept does not work for different customers and their diverse needs. Thus, a “one size fits it all” supply chain cannot lead to success. The key to overcome this obstacle is the hybrid supply chain. This paper outlines the application of hybrid system theory to supply chains. After a comprehensive overview of existing methods for the design of supply chains is given, a methodology for a customer-to-customer oriented supply chain design is presented. This approach adopts the hybrid system theory to supply chains which is in a nutshell that hybrid systems use the advantages of its subsystems to reach a superior result to one system alone. Concluding a case study illustrates the application of the methodology.