Simulation of electronics manufacturing systems with two-card kanban

Abstract

In this paper, two simulation models of an electronics manufacturing system are developed in order to evaluate the performance of kanban-based production with make-to-stock and make-to-order strategies. The first simulation model is based on the concept of make-to-stock, an approach in which a company assumes that the finished products in stock can be immediately delivered to the market. The second simulation model considers the same type of electronics manufacturing system, but the products are assumed to be make-to-order based on weekly demand. To meet the fluctuated demand, release time of raw materials and the number of kanbans can be varied to produce the desired number of finished goods. The effects of several system design parameters are studied and the difference between the make-to-stock and make-to-order strategies on the system performance is also examined.