• Define strategy for plant location and design/layout to minimize cost.
• Determine optimal levels of cellular manufacturing and automation.
• Go lean using Kaizen (continuous improvement), SMED and Kanban ordering systems.
• Materials management.
• Reduce manufacturing lead-time.
• Determine optimal supply-chain management considering capacity constraints and cost trade-offs of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing.

Minimize number of warehouses while meeting the required customer service levels. Determine appropriate automation level. Consider outsourcing warehousing needs. Improve operations-more work for less cost, improved picking accuracy. Examine international strategy considering customs procedures for imports/exports.

Determine the best mode-air, sea or land. Consider outsourcing transportation management and choose the best vendor. Examine domestic and international cost savings of various options-rail, truck/less-than-truckload, small parcel, air service, container/less-than container. Improve shipment’s efficiency through consolidation and increased loadings.

Benchmark against your competition’s service level to determine a competitive advantage. Examine Continuous Replenishment…fulfilling the customer’s needs without a formal order. Analyze Order Management/Order Entry to minimize lead-time and remain customer friendly.

• Determine the decisions and resulting paybacks.
• Simplify decision processes while maintaining accuracy.
• Create expert systems/operations research-based systems that use optimization techniques to reduce cost and lead-time and improve quality.

© 1999 Moore & Associates, Inc.