Optimizing the Fabric Flows during the Warehouse Receiving Process_A Simulation Study in Sri Lankan Fabric Industry.pdf
Creators: name: Tennakoon, Vishwanath
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 350711
subject: Organisational planning and management
classificationCode: 350712
subject: Production and operations management
classificationCode: 490199
subject: Applied mathematics not elsewhere classified

description: This study was undertaken with the aim of <b>reducing work in progress and optimizing the warehouse receiving process of a highly reputable fabric manufacturing company in Sri Lanka</b>. It was identified that 93 lot of greiges work in progress and lengthy waiting queues were the major issues. Recommendations were defined under three possible improvements. They were increasing the resources at the data entry counter, eliminating temporary storing areas and disaggregating the existing team into more empowered teams while providing more resources.When considering the objective of reducing WIP proposed model 01 and 03 are slightly similar in terms of reduced WIP (59 – 61) and both options are better options for implementation. However, a financial analysis from the company management which is not included in this research has determined that allocating another computer with an ERP system login would not be financially beneficial for the company. Taking the financial feasibility into consideration proposed model 03 that has recommended to enhance the efficiency of the data entry process and disaggregating the existing team into separate teams with additional facilities and empowered employees without adding new data entry counter is the best alternative. This optimized model resulted in reducing work in progress up to 59 lots of greiges. Thus, eliminating temporary waiting areas and optimal use of the staff was the final conclusion for reducing the work in progress. Since most of the fabric manufacturing companies are encountering with a similar warehouse receiving process and storing procedures, the findings in this research are applicable to fabric industry context in Sri Lanka.The simulation with the limited edition has driven limited solutions such as limited simulation time periods, limited number of input entries to the system, limited programming and animation restrictions. The study can further expanded toward improving the warehouse performance further minimizing the WIP and waiting times using five why analysis. Thus, the respective root causes can be identified and accordingly, the cause and effect analysis can be continued to find potential suggestionsMoreover, it is recommended that more observation of the activities occurring in this system is needed in future research. Therefore, it would be possible to determine the real situations with greater accuracy if it were possible to predict or calculate the likelihood of occurring and, at the same time, identify the best course of action for completely resolving any issues that may arise within the system. Future studies could optimize the rate of staff utilization and take into account not only waiting time but also the utilization rate for each counter. This research can be further investigated using options such as warehouse layout design towards storage facilities and business process reengineering. Additionally, it recommends conducting further longitudinal analysis and exploring further on <b>warehouse optimization</b> techniques and feasibility analysis to obtain optimal results and refine the proposed strategies.