Sponsor:

Lusitania Bakery

Research Team:

Gregory Tonkay, Thawee Nakrachata-Amon, Jennifer Bodenstab, Charalambos A. Marangos, Emory Zimmers

Universities Involved:

Lehigh University

Start Date:

04/01/06

End Date:

04/01/07

Summary:

The objective of this project is to improve Lusitania’s operations by introducing an integrated production and distribution model which efficiently determines production lot sizes and generates delivery routes based on daily customer orders and inventory levels
The purpose of this project is to develop a software tool to enhance the company’s agile capabilities with respect to the ability to respond to ever increasing sales and hence to new route additions. In order to keep track of the logistics involved with client locations, times of deliveries, shortest and fastest route possible, and other problem parameters, a framework will be developed that is company-specific. The framework will be developed to use simulation constructs for defining and solving optimization problems. Specialized heuristics will be easily incorporated into the model, based on company input. The user will be able to schedule the modeled problem with little adjustment of parameters. The results will be close to optimum, but optimum will not be guaranteed, in order to balance speed of obtaining a solution with problem solution accuracy. For non-polynomial time solvable problems like this one (NP-Complete), this is believed to be an acceptable industry practice.
Enabled the company to improve operations by providing analysis of process variance, identification and quantification of other process quality issues throughout the production cycle, and the development of a system designed to control the process cycle and minimize time between production and delivery to customers. The data findings helped define the organization’s major challenges, and allowed them to develop specific and measurable goals that will improve product quality and improve supply chain reliability.