Supply chain network design and inventory management for spare parts with application in the aerospace industry

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The goal of this research project is to develop models, solution methodology, and decision support tools for spare parts supply chain network design. Recently, with an increasing interest in streamlining their supply chains, companies that operate a significant spare parts business are focusing on coordinating the operations involved in sparse parts distribution. This includes locating service facilities such as warehouses and service stations, deciding on where and how many to store of each part, and assigning customer demand to service facilities. The objectives are mainly to minimize the overall cost of the location, inventory and distribution operations, and to meet customer service requirements. The research project is motivated by an industry project which calls for the redesign of the spare parts supply chain for Bombardier Aerospace. Bombardier is a Canadian company and a major provider of spare parts for aircraft. Efficient design of their spare parts supply chain will help Bombardier maintain its competitive position in the industry. Bombardier and the Canadian Aerospace industry will benefit significantly from this research. Expected benefits include more responsive and cost-effective supply chains, increased customer service levels, and ultimately increased market share and revenues. Supply chain network design for spare parts is significantly different from other products in several ways: customer service requirements are more stringent because stock-outs can have substantial financial implications, demand is generally low and irregular, and prices of parts can be very high. Our approach will be to build and solve mathematical models that capture as much of the complicating aspects and realism of spare parts management as computationally possible.