Supply Chain Audit

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Background

Since 1994 QDC Business Engineering Oy has completed more than 100 supply chain audits in various industries ranging from pulp and paper, steel and fine metal, food and beverages to electronics and high-tech industries. These audits have been based on quantitative methods of controllability engineering by tracing all material flows from vendors to the company, and from there on through various refining and forwarding units to the end-customers. These analyses reveal how managerial actions concerning the operations control affect the overall capital flow between the units and inside the company. The general outcome and major result of these analyses has been a quantitative understanding on how the factories are performing in operational terms and what are the dynamics between various parties in the overall supply-chain.

By analyzing throughput times, production cycles and batching, inventories, and customer behaviour throughout the supply chain, a synthesis is drawn stating the key problems and immediate actions to improve performance. The "Management by facts"-idea of controllability engineering means using as much quantitative data as possible. This provides a reliable basis for improving operations instead of the usual gut-feelings or wild guesses. The approach has proven to be very successful in companies and industries, which possess first class computer systems controlling production and distribution of every single delivery. By using information from past production rates at each value adding step of the supply chain, it is possible to calculate product specific operational performance at each echelon of the logistic network right from the initial suppliers up to the end-customer.

Our competitive edge

Our working methodology is based on the concept of controllability engineering developed by professor Eero Eloranta of the Helsinki University of Technology during the 1980's. We have developed our own toolset, working methods and views into the possibilities over the whole value adding logistic chain. This enhancement of the controllability analysis is now called "Supply Chain Audit", as such an effort provides a quantitative audit of the operating principles applied in the supply chain.