Manufacturing Run Strategy

Introduction

A run strategy is a predetermined plan for producing products which addresses sequence, frequency and volume, based on production capability to satisfy customer demand
There is a balance between:
· getting stocks down, but changing over too frequently
· changing over rarely, but with high levels of stock.

We need to understand both sides of the equation to decide how often to manufacture each product.

Objectives

The objective of a run strategy is to dependably produce product to meet customer service and cost objectives, whilst making better use of inventories and capacities. The benefits are as follows:

· Reduced inventory
· Decreased material costs
· Improved process reliability
· Decreased distribution costs
· A responsive Supply Chain

Tools

The tools required to build and successfully execute a run strategy are:
· A Supply Chain Dynamics Simulator
· Demand Planning
· Distribution Planning
· Inventory Planning
· Constrained Production Planning
· Finite Capacity Scheduling

The Supply Chain Dynamics Simulator should be able to take such inputs as:

· Production Frequency
· Minimum, Incremental & Maximum Production Quantities
· Production Reliability
· Production Lines & Production Rates
· Labour Requirements, Availability & Costs
· Changeover Time and Cost
· Demand / Sales & Forecasts / Errors
· Transport, Handling & Stockholding Costs
· Material Costs & Availability
· Supplier Lead-times & Reliability
· Minimum Order Quantities

And give outputs such as:
· Utilisation of Production Lines and Labour
· Safety Stocks & Other Stock Levels
· Achieved Customer Service
· Details of Costs Achieved
· Smoothing Stock Build Requirements