Evaluating operations flexibility in industrial supply chains to support build-to-order initiatives

Purpose – This paper seeks to evaluate the implications of operations flexibility in industrial supply chains and the effect it has on supporting initiatives designed for build‐to‐order (BTO) manufacturing.Design/methodology/approach – An industrial case study is used to investigate operations flexibility and its impact on industrial supply chains. Tools used in the analysis include value stream mapping (VSM) and a scorecard for performance measurement. The scorecard tool comprises daily utilisation figures, product demand and responsiveness measures such as supply chain cycle times and pipeline inventory.Findings – The results of the analysis confirm that supply chain VSM and scorecarding are effective tools that can be used to measure the performance of supply chains through the identification of inefficiencies associated with supply chain integration/design. The analysis shows the duration of value‐adding and non‐value adding activities in the entire chain. Also, the analysis has revealed the close rel...

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