Printronix – ProModel Simulation Software Case Study

Summary

Printronix was suffering lost business due to an inability to fully meet customers shipping needs. The solution to shipping more quickly was, with the aid of an in-depth analysis exercise using a ProModel simulation software model, to construct an inventory of high level generic "printer plains". This inventory of generic "printer plains" allowed Printronix to configure and dispatch printers within three days of order receipt.

Case Study

Printronix standard manufacturing process was initially, to construct a printer from the ground up upon receipt of a customer order. The product lead time on a printer from order confirmation to time of shipment was, on average, 18 working days. The customer’s normal expectations were for their order to be shipped within 7 days. In an effort to meet these customers expectations, completed printers were built and inventoried based on a master scheduling forecast. It was discovered that the selection and quantity were not always sufficient to immediately meet the demand. In order to achieve complete customer satisfaction Printronix would need to accumulate three times the existing completed printer inventory.

Printronix then made the decision to construct a printer to it's highest generic level and then hold it in a kanban. Upon receipt of a customer order, the printer plain could then be very quickly, individually configured and made ready for shipment. This was achieved by dividing the printer manufacturing process into two separate stages: printer plain assembly and final printer configuration. A computer generated simulation was designed to model this process and to determine what quantity of the five printer plain assemblies would be needed to support the 110 different configurations of top level printer.

The outcome of the simulation software model exercise lead Printronix to a printer plain kanban size that cost 60% less than creating a completed printer inventory. They then carried out the changes and the outcome was almost exactly that which the computer simulation model had predicted.

Lead time was dramatically reduced from 18 days, down to 3 days. Completed goods inventory was completely eliminated and a floor controlled just-in-time delivery process was implemented.Read more…