How to Connect Supplier and Customer Processes within the Manufacturing Environment

Abstract

Within the manufacturing industry, the inventory represents an area of continuous improvement. This asset allows the supplier to react to the variability in the requirements of its clients and / or the inefficiencies in its performance, either in the operational or administrative area. By studying the activities that occur within each workflow, we can identify opportunities for improvement between the processes of the supplier and client and establish a connection between them. Taking into account the complexity of the manufacturing process infrastructure within the medical device industry, the study focuses on the processes of distribution of finished material between the supplier and the customer's first point of consumption. Through the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) research method the problem of inventory destroy the manufacturing areas are evaluated and the processes of the supplier or client are connected through the implementation of an Kanban system to reduce the inventory available and shorten the time it takes to distribute the material from its manufacture until it is consumed. Key Terms - Flow and Pull, Inventory Reduction, Kanban, Lead Time Reduction.