Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2018. / Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 73-74). / each of the past two years. In order to scale with expected continued sales growth, Amazon has been investing heavily in its inbound supply chain, where product is received and allocated to various nodes, with cross-dock facilities, Amazon Robotics fulfillment centers and traditional fulfillment centers constituting a multi-echelon distribution network. In an Amazon Robotics fulfillment center, robotic drives retrieve and deliver portable inventory pods, where product is stowed and picked at fixed stations. Currently, approximately 65% of associate hours within the inbound department are utilized in the direct process of stow, while the other 35% of associate hours in the inbound department are utilized in support of the stow process in tasks such as corrugate removal and product container management. As a result, there is a continued emphasis on improving the efficiency of the nonvalue added tasks utilized in support of the stow process in order to utilize as many hours as possible in the value-added stow process. This thesis proposes a linear optimization-based analysis framework and capital allocation model that can be utilized to determine the investment viability for different automation systems and process improvements, which could improve efficiency and reduce overall cost in the Amazon Robotics fulfillment centers. This is especially the case within those fulfillment centers that are labor constrained. Labor constraints within a fulfillment center result in artificial limits set within Amazon's inventory placement algorithm, changing the origin of the shipment of product(s) to customers, which results in additional outbound transportation cost. This study will uncover unrealized cost-improvement areas by suggesting an inbound conveyance solution that can improve upon the current human-powered inbound system, and provides further areas of investigation for additional improvement. Implementation of the selected automation solution reduces inbound department hours by -3% with a payback period of -0.93 years for the fulfillment center in question, while improving labor-constrained fulfillment center capacity by as much as 1 %, and suggests further areas of investigation that can improve overall cost within the inbound supply chain by over 10%. / by Jeffrey Birenbaum. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81). / Call centers are important for developing and maintaining healthy relationships with customers. At Dell, call centers are also at the core of the company's renowned direct model. For sales call centers in particular, the impact of proper operations is reflected not only in long-term relationships with customers, but directly on sales and revenue. Adequate staffing and proper scheduling are key factors for providing an acceptable service level to customers. In order to staff call centers appropriately to satisfy demand while minimizing operating expenses, an accurate forecast of this demand (sales calls) is required. During fiscal year 2009, inaccuracies in consumer sales call volume forecasts translated into approximately $1.1M in unnecessary overtime expenses and $34.5M in lost revenue for Dell. This work evaluates different forecasting techniques and proposes a comprehensive model to predict sales call volume based on the combination of ARIMA models and judgmental forecasting. The proposed methodology improves the accuracy of weekly forecasted call volume from 23% to 46% and of daily volume from 27% to 41%. Further improvements are easily achievable through the adjustment and projection processes introduced herein that rely on contextual information and the expertise of the forecasting team. / by Juan Manuel Boulin. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-83). / In July 2007, the Supply Planning Organization (SPO) decided to begin its Lean journey. Through some analysis the decision was made to take a culture first approach and then follow with the use of Lean tools. The time had come to use Lean tools to help facilitate in the process of both driving business results and Lean culture acceptance. This thesis and research study set to prove the hypothesis that "Lean tools can be as effective in a non-traditional globally dispersed information environment as they are in the traditional plant floor environment". In addition, this research study set out to show that Lean training and implementation can be successfully completed virtually through simple tools such as a PowerPoint presentation, Microsoft Live Meeting, and a telephone. The research study also shows how two mutually exclusive enterprise tools, X-matrix analysis and Value Stream Mapping, point to the same conclusion around effectiveness of metrics within an organization. The core project within this research study is focused on designing the 2010 organizational improvement strategy and structure of Initech's supply planning division through rigorous analysis of existing configurations and opportunities for process improvement and waste elimination. Initech's Supply Planning division is an 800-person group that is globally dispersed across 23 sites. The supply planning organization is responsible for planning the quantity, timing, and location for product build. The current state analysis was completed through the use of direct observation, 1:1 interviews, and value stream mapping tools. This analysis is focused on identifying non-value added activity and identifying opportunities for improvement through simplified connections and streamlined processes. In addition, this process will also drive improvement and help eliminate the current silo's that exist within the divisions. The enterprise focus around process improvement, waste elimination, Lean cultural adoption, and metric effectiveness will help create a more robust and high performing organization. / by Abhishek Katyal. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-65). / The research conducted for this thesis was performed at "Company X", a U.S.-based engineered goods manufacturer. This project focused on the company's Advanced Manufacturing group and its process technology development methodology. The newly founded Advanced Manufacturing group started multiple innovation projects, but did not successfully implement any of them so far. Lack of organizational integration, an overall R&D strategy, as well as a defined innovation methodology negatively affected the difficult situation of that small group of engineers. This project seeks to compare the innovation methodology and process technology development of Advanced Manufacturing with best practices from similar industries as well as literature. An analysis of how to choose the right R&D projects, as well as how to execute these projects, demonstrates the differences between Company X and other organizations that are considered innovative. Case studies of a specific R&D project, in addition to an interdisciplinary workgroup of Advanced Manufacturing, highlight the positive and negative characteristics of the current innovation process. The results of this analysis provide Company X with additional insights how to use the existing innovation resources more successfully. Recommendations provided in this thesis can be used by Company X to support future technology development projects but also to help the newly founded task force that started to develop a company-wide innovation strategy (process and product innovation). Keywords: Product Development, Process Development, Advanced Manufacturing, Innovation. / by Daniel Schweizer. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 57). / Technology transfer is a significant challenge within the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry. While much focus is put on the logistics and strategy of the process, less attention has been paid to how to change the soft, non-technical aspects of technology transfer program management, even though these cultural, communication, and perception aspects may be just as important for project success. The goal of this study was to provide recommendations on how to change these factors to improve the likelihood of project success for pharmaceutical technology transfers. The work was conducted at Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, a large pharmaceutical manufacturer, so the cases studied here were all transfers of complex vaccine processes and products. While the results were intended to be generalizable to intra-firm technology transfers within pharmaceutical companies, some types of possible transfers were not included in this study. The focus of this thesis was on examining different aspects of how companies manage technology transfer projects and correlating these with how successful those projects have been to look for statistically significant relationships. The approach was two-fold: high level surveys and interviews to qualitatively identify commonly seen issues and subsequent effects, followed by a more detailed quantitative survey of individual projects. The results of detailed surveys of individual project found no significant correlations between the studied project management factors and success. Since similar quantitative studies have succeeded in the past, the differences between this study and these previous studies were explored to determine why this particular study did not produce the desired results. Based on the qualitative interview and survey results, the following recommendations were made on how pharmaceutical companies can improve the likelihood of successful technology transfers: 1) increase face-to-face interaction between team members, 2) better align priorities between different functions, sites, and projects, 3) coordinate with corporate senior management to foster collaboration between Research and Technology Development, and 4) fully engage all necessary functions at the start of each project. / Paul Witinski. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-61). / Over the last several decades, manufacturing companies around the world have embraced new and powerful business tools made possible with Information Technology. Major investments are frequently made in enterprise-wide systems, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to take advantage of cost saving opportunities. While promising in concept, system implementations can grow to be expensive and complicated during execution, commonly resulting in project de-scoping and sacrifices in functionality and integration. If not carefully managed, this can ultimately lead to an environment of costly custom workaround solutions for years to follow, subverting the central goal of the original investment. This thesis presents a case study examining Raytheon's initiative to launch an enterprise ERP system (SAP PRISM) in an effort to standardize and modernize supply chain operations. Within the SAP implementation, the repair and retrofit, or depot, business had major integration components de-scoped due to cost constraints. As a result numerous systems have been developed to manage the business, leading to difficulties in process alignment across manufacturing programs. This work introduces a pilot project with the objective of re-aligning business processes by delivering a portal of common metrics and decision tools to the manufacturing and operations community. With the common portal, the user community gains access to existing centralized data, reducing the need for isolated application development and enabling richer capability. / by Benjamin Wheeler. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 80). / Hamilton Sundstrand has made several changes to their supply chain in recent years, including increased offshore and outsourced production, new service offerings and relocation of facilities, to meet shifting business needs to remain a top competitor in the aerospace systems industry. This thesis reviews the distribution network of their aftermarket parts and service business to ensure that Hamilton Sundstrand meets customer needs through efficient supply chain design and aligning business strategy with inventory planning. A review of the current state is employed to locate gaps in strategic design, operating efficiencies and customer service levels. Improvement opportunities identified in the current state analysis are addressed with proposed alternatives to adjust the distribution network to meet current and future needs while minimizing cost and maintaining or raising service levels. The combined proposals of relocating distribution center volumes, reducing on hand inventory at co-located sites and closing a forward stocking location are estimated to result in over one million dollars in annual cost savings. / by Steven Allan Wessels, Jr. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-76). / Amazon.com is experiencing dramatic growth in customer demand through increasingly diversified product offerings and from introduction of Amazon Prime Shipping. As the volume of customer orders increases and a higher number of orders placed are single unit orders, labor and work management at the fulfillment centers must be improved to increase the throughput while fulfilling orders on time. Managing outbound work flow and labor at Amazon fulfillment centers is a complicated process that is controlled manually through limited tools, but has large implications on operational performance and customer experience. The six month LGO project focused on improving the outbound flow management process at the RNOI Fulfillment Center located in Fernley, Nevada. This thesis analyzes the current workflow management process, identifies major concerns with this process, and outlines the solutions implemented to improve flow 'management. The project was approached using lean principles and methodologies, especially when identifying and implementing solutions. Specifically, the concepts of Genchi Gembutsu, PDCA (Plan/Do/Check/Action) and effective change management were used heavily. The major changes implemented were flow management structure change, standardized training and tools to make flow decisions, optimal local settings for work in progress, inclusion of charge forecast into labor planning and hourly tracking of shift performance. The results demonstrated an annual cost savings of $353,000 at RNOI. The concepts described in this thesis extend beyond a fulfillment center setting to planning labor in manufacturing, service operations like customer service centers and healthcare facilities. / by Kuldip Sandhu. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, June 2011. / "June 2011." Page 42 blank. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 41). / One of the most challenging problems in Amgen's biological manufacturing facility is adhering to the daily schedule of production tasks. Delays in non-time critical tasks have been traced to temporary workload surges that exceed the production staff's capability to handle them. To quantify this effect, a method for creating an M/M/c queueing model that is specific for bulk biologic manufacturing processes was developed. The model was successfully validated by comparing the predicted results to the historical data for each of the five production shifts. A discussion of how to model different improvement programs is presented, and Amgen-specific data are presented. It was found that across-the-board task duration reductions will reduce the schedule deviation rate by up to 50%. Additionally, it is shown that implementing staff-cross training with other production areas will reduce the schedule deviation rate between 14% and 75%. Implementation aspects of these improvement initiatives in a regulated production environment are discussed. / by Michael Donohue. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2011. / Vita. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60). / This thesis develops an optimal inventory model for repairable and long leadtime spare parts for an Engine overhaul business. In addition, it presents a business case for centralization of inventory. Pratt & Whitney purchased the Norway Engine Center (NEC) in 2000. Two new engine centers, the Shanghai Engine Center (SEC) and the Turkey Engine Center (TEC) opened as joint ventures in 2009. While all three engine centers overhaul the same engine, they each make independent decisions regarding material strategy. Operations are expected to grow substantially at the two newest centers. Current inventory practices are not sustainable as operations expand. In addition, the overhaul business is a competitive market and there is growing pressure to decrease engine turn-around-time (TAT). An optimal material strategy is needed to reduce the material sourcing time and therefore reduce overall TAT. This project develops an inventory strategy that will significantly reduce TAT with minimal additional inventory investment. To accomplish this, an inventory model was developed to determine the optimal inventory level and then using this model, the business case for using centralization to reduce both holding cost and material sourcing time was investigated. All inventory in the engine centers were considered in this project, however rotable material became the focus of this research as it has the largest impact on the engine center through its high value and long lead-times. Rotable material is inventory used to buffer against the lead-time of parts out for repair. In the engine overhaul business material sourcing time is built into the process. This means that material is not needed immediately but rather after some specified amount of time. This feature is central to the rotable inventory model. The model determines the mean and variance of the excess lead-time - the portion of the lead-time that occurs after the specified time allotted. The excess lead-time is used to determine the optimal reorder point. Using this model, we show that centralization of rotable material will reduce inventory value by more than 30% over the current decentralized system both using the current TAT as well as the proposed TAT. / by Tyeliah Elaine Duncan. / S.M. / M.B.A.