ADVANCED MANUFACTURING NOW Modern Manufacturing Processes, Solutions & Strategies
Dennis Thompson President
Equus Partners
NCM can help OEMs struggling to manage supplier networks
O
EMs are relying on an ever- expanding network of sup- pliers to provide everything
from raw material to major subas- semblies. The adjustment is in part fallout from the ascension of third- party logistics companies like Ama- zon, which have grown exponentially in a large part because they can take an order for just about anything and deliver it immediately. Amazon is enabling consumers’ in-
terest in mass customization. Products can add or lose features to be just right. Some OEMs are embracing the ex-
panded role of integrator—and seeing that they can differentiate themselves from their competitors by going with the flow: They need to be able to de- sign, assemble and manage a supplier network that can support this new concept. Sometimes, shipping direct to consumers is also part of the deal. Managing the larger network of suppliers can be a bear. But there is a clear solution: “network centric manu- facturing” (NCM). Pioneered by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) a few years back, NCM is the rapid assembly and seamless coor- dination of dynamic supply networks to accelerate production, reduce costs and manage the supplier network. NCM has three basic tenets:
đƫ agile networks that can be easily reconfigured from order to order with minimal cost and effort;
đƫ seamless connectivity allowing the networks to share information throughout the network, regard- less of systems or technologies,
đƫ visibility throughout the network that lets trading partners see their
product flow through all process- es at all suppliers.
People involved in the AFRL NCM
research see NCM as the probable and preferred enabler to achieve a domi- nant mode of manufacturing that can give the US a competitive edge over other nations.
test an existing supply chain, allow- ing for multiple “what if” scenarios to assess risk and create mitigation plans to resolve problems before they arise. In a complex product, this could include hundreds of suppliers and thousands of manufacturing opera- tions/processes.
Some experts see network centric manufacturing (NCM) as the probable and preferred enabler to achieve a dominant mode of manufacturing that can give the US a competitive edge over other nations.
Recently, a startup firm called Prime- Supplier (previously ACT) on the Florida Space Coast refined its Visual Supplier Assessment and Analysis Modules (VSAAM) software to support NCM. VSAAM was developed to support NASA’s Space Shuttle program and now has eight modules: supplier visibility, supplier discovery, component visibil- ity, supplier relationship, demographic analysis, anti-counterfeit, disaster as- sessment, and economic resilience. Now supported by the Ohio Super-
computer Center (OSC) AweSim pro- gram, Prime-Supplier is building a new module for supply chain solutions. The first release of this module is expected this fall. (AweSim was formed through a public-private partnership between the State of Ohio, OSC and six high- tech firms and describes itself as the world’s first comprehensive simula- tion-driven design solution for small- to medium-sized enterprises.) Prime-Supplier’s new module will use modeling and high-performance computing to enable the design of a new multi-tier supply chain or stress
The VSAAM-NCM software will help not only OEMs but also third-par- ty logistics firms like Amazon that are always evolving their business models. Using VSAAM-NCM software, such a firm can create and manage a supplier network, creating a virtual firm that can cut delivery costs and time. This could well avoid expensive
problems. A few years back, a distributor of
pharmaceuticals and medical prod- ucts called Cardinal Health had an issue with a supplier of pre-packaged surgical kits. Because of a problem with one component, the supplier couldn’t deliver those kits, and hun- dreds of hospitals using them in the US shut down their surgical units for all but emergencies—for nearly two weeks. The supplier’s vulnerability cost Cardinal millions of dollars and severely damaged its reputation. To win in the environment of ever-
expanding supplier networks, OEMs and third-party logistics firms must build and maintain well-connected, fast and agile supply chains.
41
Fall 2016
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
