Warehouse management systems (WMS) is described as the advanced technology and operating processes which optimize all warehousing functionalities. These functions begin from receipts from suppliers and ending with shipments to the customers, also including all inventory movements as well as information flows in between. Warehouse management systems are mainly associated with large and complex distribution operations. However even smaller and middle size companies are identifying the importance of WMS in today’s scenario of integrated logistics, just-in-time delivery and e- commerce fulfillment. In practical situation, Warehouse Management System is used mainly in integrating computer hardware, software and peripheral equipment along with good operating practices so as to manage inventory, space, labour, and capital equipment in ware houses and distribution centres. Implementing of WMS serves the company by increasing its competitive advantage in matters of labour cost, improval of customer service, increasing inventory accuracy, and improving of flexibility and responsiveness. A WMS Continue reading
Operations Management Concepts
Recent Trends and Developments in Purchase Management
Many companies are now confronted with diminishing growth opportunities, which results in a situation where an increase in turnover can only be realized at the expense of the competition and only with a great deal of effort. This leads to increased pressure on sales prices and consequently on cost prices and margins, which causes two developments. On the one hand it has resulted in shifts of power between purchasing and selling parties in many markets. Due to the fact that in many cases the market has changed from seller’s market to buyer’s market, the role of the buyer is now more dominant than a number of years ago. On the other hand the increasing pressure on sales prices and margins has resulted in an increased pressure on direct materials-related costs. Because the purchasing prices determine the sales prices in the industrial sector to a large extent, the company will be Continue reading
Assuring Quality in the Product Development Process
A venture isn’t fruitful in light of the fact that it has been finished on schedule and inside a spending plan. There is one other factor that is basic to progress: quality. Regardless of how rapidly and inexpensively a task is finished, partners won’t be upbeat if the nature of the item or administration doesn’t live up to their desires. Along these lines, one significant technique to follow and examine the nature of the task and ensure it meets the necessities of the clients is Quality affirmation. QA according to ISO 9000 is characterized as “a component of value the executives concentrated on giving certainty that quality prerequisites will be satisfied”. This deformity counteractive action in quality confirmation contrasts unpretentiously from imperfection recognition and dismissal in quality control and has been alluded to as a move left since it centers around quality prior all the while. The expressions “quality affirmation” Continue reading
Production Planning and Control
Planning and control are interrelated and interdependent. Planning is meaningless unless control action is taken to ensure the success of the plan. Control also provides information feedback which is helpful in modifying the existing plans and in making new plans. Similarly, control is dependent on planning as the standards of performance are laid down under planning. Therefore, production and control should be considered an integrated function of planning to ensure the most efficient production and regulation of operations to execute the plans successfully. Production planning and control may be defined as the direction and coordination of the firm’s material and physical facilities towards the attainment of pre-specified production goals in the most efficient available way. It is the process of planning production in advance of operations, establishing the exact route of each individual item, part or assembly, setting starting and finishing dates for each important item Continue reading
Strategic Comparison Between Honda and Toyota
In the global automobile industry, the vehicle has become an important part of every economy in terms of increased demand. Two of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world are Toyota and Honda. The Honda Motor Company was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer which began with the construction of a motorized bicycle. Then, Honda started to develop and expand new lines of vehicle before it became successful in terms of the world market. Furthermore, it has been unceasing in its exploration of the idea of what role the motorcycle and automobile should play in society. Especially with management, the company realized the importance not only of the conventional approach of upgrading product performance, but also active efforts towards customer safety. Another successful Japanese automobile manufacturer is the Toyota Motor Corporation. The manufacturer of automobiles were sought conduce by prosperous society, operating its business with a focus on vehicle production and Continue reading
Manufacturing Resource Planning Models
Evolution of Manufacturing Environment The field of production planning and control has undergone tremendous change in the last 50 years. Prior to the 1960s, inventory was controlled by a manual system, utilizing various techniques: stock replenishment, reorder points, EOQ (economic order quantity), and ABC classifications, to name a few. By the mid-1970s, enough experience of material requirements planning (MRP) had been gained and the importance of the master production schedule (MPS) was realized. In the 1950s, MRP was the first off-the-shelf business application to support the creation and maintenance of material master data and bill-of-materials across all products and parts in one or more plants. These early packages were able to process mass data but only with limited processing depth. From the 1940s to the early 1960s, material control consisted of basic ‘order point’ formulae used to maintain a level average inventory balance. In 1965, Joseph Orlicky of the J. Continue reading