Normalizing and Procurement optimization with Supermarket and Asset monitoring

Abstract

Automobile part suppliers have struggled hard in the past to meet the requirements of the manufacturing companies. The Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) are constantly facing demand changes from the customer end. The connected world has raised the expectation of customers to provide cost efficient yet quality automobiles. Part suppliers are stressed to deliver the products in Just-In-Time (JIT) sequence to reduce the bulk stock in the warehouses. The thesis revolves around the review of JIT models in the automobile assembly process. It specially focuses on the importance of supermarket and their uses in providing the parts through tow train scheduling and routing. The models which are already existing are revised by changing certain criteria and combining all the models published into one system to make it easy for the readers to understand. The purpose of the model normalization is to have visibility on quantity of parts needed in supermarket. This is achieved by the normalized routing and scheduling models which exactly tells when, where and the number of parts transported to the desired work floor at specific time just before assembling. This gives the number of parts being used from the supermarket. From this the number of parts needed on the supermarket and subsequently to the warehouse are calculated.

The second half of the thesis focuses on procurement optimization after the revised demand of inventory in the warehouse. Procurement optimization paves way for choosing the right supplier according to the volatility in demand. The second half of the thesis discusses about the advantages of super market installation on supplier selection by doing procurement optimization using Mixed Integer Linear Programing. To end the re-search work on the automobile assembly process, the current problems faced by the industry and especially by the suppliers are discussed. A new way to mitigate the supplier loss is discussed with the introduction of Internet of Things (IoT) based solutions by tracking the assets. Asset monitoring devices have been gaining attention worldwide to safely transport the goods without damage. Transparency and visibility is provided in the form of bidirectional gateway process by the wireless asset monitoring devices. Not only the suppliers but also the OEMs are benefitted as it supports the JIT process and faster assembly of the automobiles with less number of damages.