New Framework to Optimize Leagile Supply Chain Design

Abstract

The literature of Leagile supply chain (LASC) is lacking of the concurrence between supply chain (SC) design and product design, and missing the placement of decoupling point (DP) in the SC design. Therefore, the paper aims at presenting a novel framework to optimise LASC design while fulfilling the aforementioned gaps. The first step utilises Lean tools to identify the optimal architecture of product families through the so-called Leagile bill-of-material in product design. This phrase intends to reduce the storage keeping unit of components (leaner) while increasing their combining ability in a wider range of new products (more agile). Meanwhile, the second stage outlines the preliminary configuration of the future supply chain and transforms it into the Lean system. Next, the supplier network of this chain is matched with the product structure. The last step formulates the issue in one mathematical model to define the optimal LASC’s configuration, which includes positioning the best DP in various delivery lead time. In discussing the obtained solutions, the article complements to the theoretical basis by examining the locations of DP corresponding to the product’s complexity. The whole framework is illustrated by one specific example and solved by Priority Generic Algorithm Meta-Heuristic, programed with MATLAB.