Using process analysis and simulation to evaluate the process capability of an order processing and fulfillment system

Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2015. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pydynkowski, Kara (Kara J.)
Other Authors: Bruce Cameron and Donald Rosenfield.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99016
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author Pydynkowski, Kara (Kara J.)
author2 Bruce Cameron and Donald Rosenfield.
author_facet Bruce Cameron and Donald Rosenfield.
Pydynkowski, Kara (Kara J.)
author_sort Pydynkowski, Kara (Kara J.)
collection MIT
description Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2015. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT.
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spelling mit-1721.1/990162022-01-27T21:07:58Z Using process analysis and simulation to evaluate the process capability of an order processing and fulfillment system Pydynkowski, Kara (Kara J.) Bruce Cameron and Donald Rosenfield. Leaders for Global Operations Program. Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division Sloan School of Management Sloan School of Management. Engineering Systems Division. Leaders for Global Operations Program. Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2015. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2015. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 63-64). In order to compete with online retailers that offer same-day shipping', Dell is looking to implement a Same Day Ship (SDS) program for their SmartSelection products (in-stock, build-to-stock products) in the US. Currently, Dell offers Next Business Day shipping (NBDS) for these products and wants to assess the capability of the existing processes to reliably execute the faster cycle times required for sameday shipping. Ship date commitments to customers are made based on specific order characteristics (such as payment type and in-stock availability) and on-time performance is evaluated based on whether these commitments were met. Historically, "on-time" was considered orders that were shipped on their estimated ship date or earlier and consequently processes and systems evolved around these goals. Current metrics indicate a significant opportunity to offer an earlier ship date to customers but a detailed process assessment was necessary to enable fact-based decision-making. This thesis examines the process capability of Dell's payment processing and order fulfillment processes in order to assess the risks and make informed decisions related to expanding a Same Day Ship (SDS) program. Research was conducted by observing current processes, analyzing historical data and participating on a Same Day Ship pilot launch. Simulation modeling was then used to evaluate and understand how changes to the individual processes would affect overall performance. Analysis of historical data shows high volatility in Dell's current processes, indicating that a full-scale Same Day Ship program would not be successful without process improvements. Results and observations from the Same Day Ship pilot, however reveal that under certain conditions, a same-day ship commitment can be met with over 95% reliability. The differences in these results can be attributed to process improvements that reduced variation as well as focused commitment on behalf of the pilot team. Finally, simulation and scenario modelling show that on the full volume of product offerings, improvements greater than 75% to the mean and standard deviation in both payment and fulfillment will be necessary in order to ensure a consistent same-day ship performance of over 95% without substantial prioritization. This framework can be extended to other areas of business in which cycle time is a key metric for process performance. Using a multi-dimensional approach to evaluate process capability can offer insights into highly variable systems that traditional process capability analysis will not allow. by Kara Pydynkowski. M.B.A. S.M. 2015-09-29T18:58:26Z 2015-09-29T18:58:26Z 2015 2015 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99016 921192068 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 64 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Sloan School of Management.
Engineering Systems Division.
Leaders for Global Operations Program.
Pydynkowski, Kara (Kara J.)
Using process analysis and simulation to evaluate the process capability of an order processing and fulfillment system
title Using process analysis and simulation to evaluate the process capability of an order processing and fulfillment system
title_full Using process analysis and simulation to evaluate the process capability of an order processing and fulfillment system
title_fullStr Using process analysis and simulation to evaluate the process capability of an order processing and fulfillment system
title_full_unstemmed Using process analysis and simulation to evaluate the process capability of an order processing and fulfillment system
title_short Using process analysis and simulation to evaluate the process capability of an order processing and fulfillment system
title_sort using process analysis and simulation to evaluate the process capability of an order processing and fulfillment system
topic Sloan School of Management.
Engineering Systems Division.
Leaders for Global Operations Program.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99016
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