October 20, 2017

Scope and Definition of Manufacturing - Production Management



Manufacturing creates man-made goods from various materials. The goods, more specifically called finished  goods are created through manufacturing processes. Modern manufacturing employs machines to produce goods. Manufacturing management plans, organizes, acquires resources required for manufacture, allocates those resources to various departments, directs and controls manufacturing activity.The aims of manufacturing management are producing goods according to the specifications of the customer or of the product design department if it is made to stock product developed by the company, in amounts and by the schedule demanded at minimum cost. Manufacturing is carried out in factories or manufacturing plants. A manufacturing plant and the various activities carried out in it can also be described as a manufacturing system. Modern manufacturing systems have machines, methods, men, material, motive power, money and management essential components of the system. In terms of assets used in accounting terminology, we can say manufacturing system has both long term assets (fixed assets) and current assets (short term assets).

Manufacturing management involves plans and  decisions regarding long term assets and short term assets, manufacturing methods and manpower.

We can say the long term decisions are in the areas of design, installation and improvement of specified products, manufacturing processes to produce those products, equipment for production, transportation, inspection etc., industrial buildings, location of the plant, layout of the plant. recruitment of permanent manpower and training to develop them into skilled operators in the processes employed by the organization etc. Manufacturing management has to be effective and efficient. Effectiveness refers to producing what customers want in quantities according to the delivery time requested. Efficiency refers to the cost dimension and wastes that occur in manufacturing systems if special attention is not paid to eliminate them.  Industrial engineering is a specialized discipline providing efficiency improvement service at design, installation and improvement stages of manufacture.  

The short term decisions of manufacturing are related production quantities in year, quarter, month etc., inventories, temporary increases or reductions in manpower, overtime decisions to take care of sudden increases in demand, or some exigencies, short term cost budgets, and other incidental  day to day activities. Production planning and control, inventory planning and control, cost control, quality control, maintenance planning and control etc. are some of the well known short term manufacturing management areas that are well developed as independent subjects in manufacturing management degree curriculums. Similarly, new product development, process planning, facilities planning, manufacturing strategy, industrial engineering etc. are well developed subjects dealing with long term aspects of manufacturing management. Industrial engineering became a degree level curriculum as number of methods were developed in this area providing a scope for specially educated and trained professionals in this discipline. Value engineering, Methods Efficiency Engineering, Motion Study, Work Measurement, Ergonomics, Operations Research, Engineering Economics, Applied Statistics, Six Sigma, SMED, Poka Yoke Design etc. are full subjects in industrial engineering curriculums apart  from the basic engineering knowledge in various engineering branches, knowledge of business processes and managerial processes.

Manufacturing managers at various levels are responsible for both effectiveness and efficiency. But they can employ industrial engineers in their department either on full time basis or on assignment basis from their organization industrial engineering department or on consultancy basis from outside industrial engineering organizations.

Elwood S. Buffa, well known author of Modern Production Management first published in 1961 included the following topics to introduce the scope of production management. 

Long Term Decision Areas

Production processes
Automation and Use of Computers (Presently CAD-CAM or CIM)
Design of Jobs and Work Methods
Design of The Working Environment
Production Design of Products and Process Planning
Plant Location
Layout of Physical Facilities

Short Term Decision Areas

Inventory and Production Control
Maintenance
Control of Quality
Production Standards and Work Measurement
Wages and Labor Costs
Control and Improvement of Production Costs.


It is important to state that managerial skills are classified as business conceptual skills, people related skills and technical skills. So manufacturing managers need to have the knowledge to conceive a business opportunity to their department assets and people, knowledge to manage people related to the supply chain that starts  from suppliers of materials and ends with the customer, and technical skills in various methods involved in the manufacturing establishment to plan them, organized them, acquire resources, allocate resources, and direct and control the activities.

References

Elwood S. Buffa, Modern Production Management, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1961.

Related Article
Manufacturing Management - Introduction


Planned Revision of Operations Management/Production Management Book Chapters  - March Month



Advances in Production Management Systems. Initiatives for a Sustainable World: IFIP WG 5.7 International Conference, APMS 2016, Iguassu Falls, Brazil, September 3-7, 2016, Revised Selected Papers

Irenilza Nääs, Oduvaldo Vendrametto, João Mendes Reis, Rodrigo Franco Gonçalves, Márcia Terra Silva, Gregor von Cieminski, Dimitris Kiritsis
Springer, 15-Mar-2017 - Computers - 962 pages


This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the International IFIP WG 5.7 Conference on Advances in Production Management Systems, APMS 2016, held in Iguassu Falls, Brazil, in September 2016.

The 117 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 164 submissions. They are organized in the following topical sections: computational intelligence in production management; intelligent manufacturing systems; knowledge-based PLM; modelling of business and operational processes; virtual, digital and smart factory; flexible, sustainable supply chains; large-scale supply chains; sustainable manufacturing; quality in production management; collaborative systems; innovation and collaborative networks; agrifood supply chains; production economics; lean manufacturing; cyber-physical technology deployments in smart manufacturing systems; smart manufacturing system characterization; knowledge management in production systems; service-oriented architecture for smart manufacturing systems; advances in cleaner production; sustainable production management; and operations management in engineer-to-order manufacturing.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=khBhDgAAQBAJ

Updated 22 October 2017, 17 March 2017

October 5, 2017

Business Logistics - An Introduction

Logistics – Introduction

A dictionary definition of logistics is “the branch of military science having to do with procuring, maintaining, and transporting material, personnel, and facilities.”
The definition promulgated by the Council of Logistics Management (CLM), is: “Logistics is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements.”
Ballou explained that in the context of manufacturing it appears from the definition that the logistician is concerned with flow of goods to and from his firm. But the responsibility extends to the flow of components and goods through the production process as well. But the logistician may not deal with detailed production processes, machine scheduling, quality control etc. in the production process. Also the manufacturing logistics definition excludes maintenance which is a part of military logistics.
The mission of logistics in a business firm is to get the right goods or services to the right place, at the right time, and in the desired condition, while making the greatest contribution to the firm. Value in logistics is a combination of time, place and cost.
Logistics is about creating value – value for customers, value for suppliers and value for the firm’s stakeholders.

The Activities of Logistics Function

Council of Logistics Management identified the following:


  • Customer Service
  • Demand Forecasting
  • Distribution Communications
  • Inventory Control
  • Material handling
  • Order Processing
  • Part and Service Support
  • Plant and Warehouse Site Selection
  • Purchasing
  • Packaging
  • Return Goods Handling
  • Salvage and Scarp Disposal
  • Traffic and Transportation
  • Warehousing and Storage


Case for Organizing a Separate Logistics Department

Both marketing and production have recognized the importance of logistical activities. According to Philip Kotler, “Marketing management is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges with target groups that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.”

Therefore distribution of goods is identified as an important activity in marketing. Ballou quotes, McClain and Thomas, who stated that operations management has the responsibility for the production and delivery of physical goods and services. Hence delivery of goods at destinations required by the customer or the sales department is recognized as a part of operations management function.

But Ballou argued that both marketing and production have more important core activities to perform and hence logistic activities may not get adequate attention. According to him marketing may be given the job of creating possession value and production may be given the job of creating form value. A separate logistics department would be concerned with providing time and place value. Ballou recognized the interface problems that arise as more departments are created and hence stresses the need for coordination.

Objectives of Business Logistics Function

The logistics function has to earn the highest possible return on investment over time as far as internal objective is concerned. But to achieve this internal objective it has to first achieve external objectives. It has to earn revenue and minimize costs.

Therefore a logistics system has to be designed and operated considering its impact on revenue contribution that comes through the quality of customer service provided and cost of logistics facilities, system and operation.

Costs of logistics function include capital costs are operating costs. Wages, public warehousing (rented warehouses or warehouse space) expenses, public transport expenses, financial expenses related to inventory investment, other administrative expenses are examples of operating costs. Capital costs are one time costs, own warehouse, own trucks are examples of capital costs.

The financial objective of the logistics function can be expressed as “Maximize over the time the ratio of the annual revenue (due to the customer level provided) less the operating costs of the logistics system to the annualized investment in the logistic system.”

Time value of money may be considered and the objective can be expressed in net present value (NPV) terms or internal rate of return (IRR) terms.


Study of Logistics

Study of logistics can focus on management process and the skills needed to perform the activities involved. Management process can be briefly described as planning, organizing and controlling. The three important domain areas of logistics are facilities location, inventory levels and mix, and transport facilities. Logistics function is concerned with providing service levels to customers and managing costs appropriately for the company. All decision making requires information. Study of logistics includes principles and practices related to the above issues.  Some of the issues are discussed in detail in specialized texts related to those areas and a logistician has to examine them now in the context of logistics.

References


The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management: Understanding the Supply Chain

Alan Rushton, Phil Croucher, Peter Baker
Kogan Page Publishers, 03-Jan-2017 - Business & Economics - 912 pages

The definitive guide to supply chain philosophy, strategy AND the practicalities of logistics and distribution. The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management is a step-by-step guide to setting up and managing supply chains to add maximum value to the organisations they serve. Benefiting from the author team's years of practical field-based experience in some of the most challenging environments across the world from developed economies to third world countries and war zones, this is a book that will enthuse students and be an invaluable desk reference throughout the careers of practitioners.

Packed with worked examples and real-world data The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management offers complete coverage on all the key aspects of distribution, logistics and supply chain planning and management with clear and straightforward explanations. This is not a compilation of work drawn from a disparate collection of research papers and miscellaneous projects but a logical and complete holistic view of how supply chains fit together including the detailed, nitty gritty of the distribution and logistics.

Globalisation, increased competition and new technologies have all changed the landscape in which supply chains operate. This fully revised 6th edition of The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management provides solutions to the key challenges. With new material on international freight forwarding, environmental best practice, cool chain, intermodal shipping and outsourcing and a new, detailed index of contents this is the ultimate study/reference companion.
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=g_vTDQAAQBAJ

Ronald H. Ballou, Business Logistics Management, Fourth Edition,  Prentice Hall Int. Inc., USA,  1999.
Joh O. McClain and L. Joseph Thomas, Operations Management: Production of Goods and Services, Second Edition, Prentice Hall, USA, 1985.

http://www.bms.co.in/elements-of-logistics-management-notes/




http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao/business-logistics-an-introduction/ 2utb2lsm2k7a/ 1384


Updated 6 October 2017, 30 May 2012

October 4, 2017

October - Management Knowledge Revision



October  (Information Technology and Management Information Systems, Logistics - Warehousing and Transport)


October 1 to 5

Principles of Information Systems - Ralph M. Stair and George W. Reynolds
http://nraomtr.blogspot.com/2015/10/principles-of-information-systems-ralph.html

An Introduction to Information Systems

2.
Foundations of Information Sytems
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/introduction.pdf

E-Business
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/E_Business.pdf

3.
Competitive advantage with information systems
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/CA.pdf

IT Infrastructure
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/ITI.pdf

4.

Communication and Networking
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/CN.pdf

Improving decision making and managing knowledge
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/IDM.pdf

5.
Enterprise Applications
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/EAP.pdf

Economics of Information Technology - Hal Varian
people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~hal/Papers/mattioli/mattioli.pdf


October 8 - 12

Logistics - Warehousing and Transport




October 15 - 19



October  22 - 26







October 23  - 29



Industrial Engineers support Engineers and Managers in Efficiency Improvement of Products, Processes and Systems



One Year MBA Knowledge Revision Plan

January  - February  - March  - April  - May   -   June

July  - August     - September  - October  - November  - December


Updated 6 October 2017, 6 June 2014