role of supply chain management in context of total...

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© 2009, Global Institute ofFlexible Systems Management

Role of Supply Chain Management in Context of Total QualityManagement in Flexible Systems : A State-of the-Art Literature Review

Fauzia SiddiquiLecturer

Department of Manufacturing Technology, J.S.S. Academy of Technical Education, NoidaE-mail: [email protected]

Abid HaleemProfessor

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New DelhiE-mail: [email protected]

S.Wadhwa (Late)Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Delhi, New Delhi

Abstract

In the global market conditions, the integrated Flexible Systems (FS) with Total Quality Management (TQM) and Supply ChainManagement (SCM) is a growing field of interest for many a researchers and practitioners from the last decades. In the presentpaper, the ongoing integration process of aforesaid philosophies in flexible system, total quality management and supply chainhas been highlighted through literature review. Many specific empirical studies have been carried out, and categories such astypes of Flexibility and Total Quality Management have been studied to a great depth in the past. This paper focuses more onrelatively unexplored categories, as they offer potential for further exploration and research. Classification developed to showsupply chains and Flexible System in TQM context from a wider perspective. Based on problem context as classification andscope for future practice and research, an evolutionary timeline has been prepared taking into account all the relevant andseminal papers published in the area of Flexible system, TQM and SCM. The definition and scope of FS in the literature fromTotal Quality Management to Supply Chain context classification has been undertaken. The focus on TQM, Flexible Systemsand Supply Chains aspects has been done in order to facilitate further study and research.

Keywords: flexibility, flexible systems, supply chain management (SCM), total quality management (TQM),supply chain flexibility, quality, agility, flexible manufacturing system.

Introduction

Supply Chain Management (SCM) can be defined as “themanagement of materials and information both in andbetween facilities, such as vendors, manufacturers andassembly plants and distribution centres” (Thomas & Griffin1996). Supply chain is a continuous process from totalmarket supply and demand for products to customerpayment, Generally speaking, SCM is a network of facilitiesthat procure raw materials, transform them into intermediategoods and then final products, and deliver the products tocustomers through a distribution system. SCM encompassesall the information, financial, and physical flows from thesupplier’s supplier to the customer’s customer. The idea ofSCM is to view the chain as an integrated system, and tofine-tune the decisions about how to operate the variouscomponents (firms, functions, and activities) in ways that canproduce the most desirable overall system performance inthe long run. Supply chains have come to be understood asrelatively stable groups of firms engaged in the sequenceof production and distribution activities required to serve

the end customer. SCM has received ever-growing interestboth in the literature as well as from industrial practice(Oliver & Weber 1992). In a supply chain, flexibility playsa critical role, which is considered as crucial weapon toincrease competitiveness in a turbulent market place (Upton1994).

The aim of our paper is to review and analyse thosesurveys studies that have been reported on the relation shipbetween SC, TQM & FS integration, and to highlight anumber of concerns with regard to this type of research.

Flexibility reflects the ability of a system to respondrapidly to changes inside and outside the system (Garavelli2003). According to Charles H. Fine, (1998) a company’sreal core compatibility lies in its ability to design andmanage supply chain in order to gain maximum advantagein a market where competitive forces are changing.Flexibility is critical to the success of supply chain and itmust be achieved without excessive cost, time, andorganizational disruption or performance losses.

giftjourn@lGlobal Journal ofFlexible Systems Management2009, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp 1-14

Review

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Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach forcontinuously improving the quality of goods and servicesdelivered through the participation of individuals at alllevels and functions of an organization (Pfau 1989). TQMaffirms a managementphilosophy based onprocess improvement usingdata, and builds uponinvolvement andparticipation from topmanagement to the shopfloor. TQM focus oncustomer, comprehensivequality monitoring, and supportive management systems(Smith et al. 1989). Thus, TQM requires fundamentalchanges in every aspect of an organization: its workforce,its management, its structure and its culture. TQM principlesand practices have served also as basis for other processimprovement initiatives such as six sigma (Caulcutt 2001;Wiklund & Wiklund 2002).

Perusal of the literature shows that a broad frame ofreference for “Supply chain and flexible system in TQMcontext” is not adequately developed even though theimportance of flexibility is agreed upon, its measurement andevaluation has remained elusive, partly because no generallyaccepted definition of flexibility exists. In some cases,attempts to measure flexibility have been undertakenwithout defining what is being measured.

Flexible Management Systems

A Flexible System is a system in which there is some amountof flexibility that allows the system to react in the case ofchanges, whether predicted or unpredicted. First of all,Flexible System is a manufacturing technology. Secondly,FMS is a philosophy. “System” is the key word.Philosophically, FS incorporates a system view ofmanufacturing. The buzzword for today’s manufacturer is“agility”. An agile manufacturer is one who is the fastest tothe market, operates with the lowest total cost and has thegreatest ability to “delight” its customers. FMS is simplyone way that manufacturers are able to achieve thisagility (Figure 2).

In early environmental management frameworks,operating managers were involved only at arm’s length.

Separate organizational units had responsibility for ensuringenvironmental excellence in product development, processdesign, operations, logistics, marketing, regulatorycompliance and waste management. Today, this has changed.As in the quality revolution of the 1980s and the supply-chain revolution of the 1990s, it has become clear that thebest practices call for integration of environmentalmanagement with ongoing operations.

Flexible systems (FS) is gaining increasing interestamong researchers and practitioners of operations, TotalQuality Management (TQM) and Supply Chain Management(SCM). To meet this objective, we define a few relevantterms in this section. Either these have been taken from theexisting literature, or we define them appropriately. Thesecond section portrays the research methodology applied.Qualitative analysis was applied to classify the existingliterature on the basis of problem context and the

methodology/approachadopted. We also map thetools/techniques vis-à-visthe problem contextclassification. A timelineindicating relevant papersfor the benefit ofacademicians, researchersand practitioners has been

provided. At the end of the paper, we draw certainconclusions and identify potential issues and opportunitiesin the realm of Flexible System. Adding the ‘Quality’component to supply-chain management involvesaddressing the influence and relationships between supply-chain management and the natural environment. Similar tothe concept of supply-chain management, the boundary ofTQM is dependent on the goal of the investigator. Thedefinition and scope of FS in the literature has ranged fromtotal quality management to supply chains flowing fromsupplier to manufacturer to customer. For the purpose of thispaper, Flexible System is defined as ‘integratingenvironmental thinking into supply-chain management,including product design, material sourcing and selection,

Fauzia Siddiqui, Abid Haleem and S.Wadhwa (Late)

Figure 2: Foundation of Flexible Systems Management (Sushil1997), “Flexible Systems Management: An Evolving Paradigm”

Figure 1: Integration of Flexible System, Supply ChainManagement & Total Quality Management

Perusal of the literature shows that a broad frame ofreference for “Supply chain and flexible system in TQMcontext” is not adequately developed even though theimportance of flexibility is agreed upon, its measurementand evaluation has remained elusive, partly because nogenerally accepted definition of flexibility exists.

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manufacturing processes, delivery of the final product to theconsumers as well as end-of-life management of the productafter its useful life’. We specifically focus on Supply chainsaspects, flexible system and total quality management inorder to facilitate further study and research.

Research Methodology

The objective of this paper is to identify major works onSupply chain, Flexible Systems (FS) research integratingenvironmental thinking into TQM, and thereafter, to classifythem so as to identify gaps, issues and opportunities forfurther study and research. A literature review seems to be avalid approach, as it is a necessary step in structuring aresearch field and forms an integral part of any researchconducted (Easter by-Smith et al. 2002). This helps toidentify the conceptual content of the field (Meredith 1993)and guides towards theory development. Our research isdriven by theoretical reconsiderations and follows a clearprocess, as this allows conclusions to be drawn on thereviewed literature. It may be classified as an archivalresearch method in the framework for conducting andevaluating research suggested by Searcy and Mentzer (2003).Our process of analysis comprises the following steps:

• Defining unit of analysis: The unit of analysis has beendefined as a single research paper/book. We furtherdelimit the material (research paper/book) to becollected as per our scope.

• Classification context: We select and define theclassification context to be applied in the literaturereview to structure and classify the material. There aretwo contexts: the problem context and methodology/approach context.

• Material evaluation:The material isanalysed and sortedaccording to theclassification context.This allows identification of relevant issues andinterpretation of the results. Problem context and relatedmethodology/approaches allow classification of thereviewed literature, which can be derived deductivelyor inductively.

• Collecting publications and delimiting the field: Ourliterature review focuses upon books, edited volumesand journal articles only. To establish a time span, astarting point was set at 1990. This seems justified, asthe beginning of the debate on FS can be traced to thisperiod. Library databases were used where a keywordsearch using some important keywords such as ‘SupplyChain’, Total Quality Management’, ‘Flexible Routing’,‘Flexibility’, ‘Quality Management’, ‘Supply ChainFlexibility’, ‘Manufacturing Flexibility’ were conducted.To delimit the number of publications, empirical papersmainly addressing firm level or specific operationalissues were excluded from the review.

We use the published literature from 1988 onwards to

go back to other papers by cross-referencing. As thepublished literature is interlinked to a considerable degree,one paper (stem) leads to others (branches). So, when wepick up one thread, we are able to find others. As referencesaccumulated, we found that some of them were more centraland useful than others. We consider such references asseminal papers. These were also found to be generallyreferenced a number of times in subsequent literature. Thus,within our defined objective, this work integrates and takesforward the literature on FS, TQM, SCM & types ofFlexibility, since its conceptualis ation. About 50 books,articles from journals and edited volumes have been covered.The list of 120 cited references is given at the end.

Classification of Available Literature

Classification Based on Problem Context

We classify the existing Flexible System literature into threebroad categories based on the problem context in supplychain design: literature highlighting the importance of FS;literature on TQM. Both of these have received less attentionin the FS literature so far. The classification is for thepurpose of easier understanding of different problem contextsof FS – their interactions and relationships – in order topresent a well-defined and clear picture for further study andresearch.

Supply Chain Management

Integration

The challenge for firms today is not just to take up a supplychain management (SCM) initiative but also to implementit successfully as the future shall see a competition amongsupply chains. Ellaram and cooper (1990) defined that SCMis an integrative philosophy to manage the total flow of

distribution channel fromsupplier to ultimate user.Mohanty and Deshmukh(2005) stated that SCM isa loop it starts with

customers and ends with customer; through the loop flowall materials, finished goods, information, and transcations.It require looking at business as one continuous, seamlessprocess this process absorbs distinct functions such asforecasting, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, sales,and marketing into a continuous business transaction.

Today’s businesses have become extremely complex.The interplay of the three Cs, namely, consumers,competition and convergence, has thrown open newchallenges for organizations all over the world. Customersare demanding more variety, better quality and service,including both reliability and faster delivery.Technological developments are occurring at a fasterpace, resulting in new product innovations andimprovement in manufacturing processes.

The three main strategic imperatives that emerged in thiscentury are low cost, high quality and improvedresponsiveness (both delivery time and flexibility of productdelivery) (Aquila no et al. 1995). By the 1990s, firms

Role of Supply Chain Management in Context of Total Quality Management in Flexible Systems: A State-of the-Art Literature Review

The research is driven by theoretical reconsiderations andfollows a clear process, as this allows conclusions to bedrawn on the reviewed literature.

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recognized the necessity of looking beyond the borders oftheir own firm to their suppliers, supplier’s suppliers, andcustomers to improve overall customer and consumer value.This movement, titled supply chain management or demandchain management; changed companies focus from internalmanagement ofbusiness processesto managingacross enterprises.Several authorshave definedsupply chain management. The supply-chain council (1997)uses the definition: The supply chain- a term now commonlyused internationally-encompasses every effort involved inproducing and delivering a final product or service, fromthe supplier’s supplier to the customer’s customer. Supplychain management includes managing supply and demand,sourcing raw materials and parts, manufacturing andassembly, warehousing and inventory tracking, order entryand order management, distribution across all channels, anddelivery to customers.

The changes in the environment could be in the form ofdemand fluctuations, machine breakdowns absenteeism ofthe skilled labour (Wadhwa and Rao, 2002). Flexibility isimportant for achieving agility in the supply chain.Flexibility in supply chain execution means that theapplications must change and adapt as quickly as businessesaround them (Gupta and Nehra, 2002). Supply chainmanagement has emerged as the term defining theintegration of all these activities into a seamless process. Itlinks all partners in the chain including departments withinorganization and the external partners including suppliers,carriers, third party companies and information system

providers. It encompasses theprocesses necessary to create,source, make to, and to deliverto demand. It includes thetechnology to gather informationon market demands andexchange information betweenorganizations. A key point insupply chain management is thatthe entire process must be viewedas one system. The performance ofeach member of the supply chain(suppliers, manufacturing plants,ware houses, customers, etc.)affects the overall performance ofthe supply chain.

As the concept of supply chainmanagement has gainedacceptance in the businesscommunity, the strategies requiredto be successful in thisenvironment must be identified.Hamel (2000) notes:

...Business concepts or businessmodels are becoming obsolete at an accelerating pace. It’snot only product life cycles that are shrinking. Companiesare going to have to reinvent themselves more frequentlythan before. Part of identifying a supply chain strategy isfacing today’s issues on customer demand. Chase et al.

(2000) summarizedthe environmentsuccinctly: Recenttrends such asoutsourcing andmass customization

are forcing companies to find flexible ways to meetcustomer demand. The focus is on optimising core activitiesto maximize the speed of response to changes in customerexpectations.

Today’s manufacturing enterprise face enormouscompetitive pressures stemming from the current dynamicand open business contexts. Global competition and marketdemand for customized products, delivered “Just in time”,exert real stress on manufacturers. Recently, new productionparadigms, such as the extended enterprise, as well as agile,virtual and networked manufacturing, have appeared inresponse to the increasing dynamic conditions of themarketplace (Goldman, Nagel & Preiss 1995; Jagdev &Browne 1998). These new concepts prompt geographicallydispersed manufacturers to build alliances with theirsuppliers and customers in order to work more closely withthem. They need to work to build manufacturing networks,which bridge large sections of the supply chain.

Importance of Flexible System

Automation helped manufacturing systems to increase theirflexibility through the use of flexible machines. With this


Today’s businesses have become extremely complex. The interplay ofthe three Cs, namely, consumers, competition and convergence, hasthrown open new challenges for organizations all over the world.

Figure 3: House of SCM (Stadtle 2002 a, p.10)

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increased flexibility, manufacturing systems are able toaccommodate different routing and have the choice tochoose the best, are suggested (M.A AL-Fawzan 2005).Flexibility has become one of the key concepts incontemporary manufacturing-an important attribute ofmanufacturing systems that enable companies to becomecompetitive in a very dynamic environment. Four flexibleconditions are associated with the manufacturing of a part,namely sequencing flexibility, machine flexibility, routingflexibility, and processing flexibility (Sethi & Sethi 1990).Sequencing flexibility refers to the possibility of altering thesequence of manufacturing operations for a given part,taking into account the restrictions of the designspecification. Machine flexibility relates to the possibilityof an operation being performed in more than one machine.Routing flexibility refers to the ability of a manufacturingsystem to permit sequencing and machine flexibilitysimultaneously. Process flexibility provides alternative pathsfor completing a manufacturing process, whichincludes different manufacturing or process sequence.

Technological flexibility requires very high initialinvestments and therefore a decision to acquire it is bothrisky and strategic innature (Suresh garg etal 2000). Flexibility ina manufacturing systemensures that theproduction rate can bematched with demand,leading to savings ininventory related costs,reduced lead times and increased quality. Felix et.al. (2004)suggested that Flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is anintegrated computer controlled system that consists of butnot restricted to, computer numerical controlled (CNC)machine tools, and automated material and tool handlingdevices. There are machine flexibility, process flexibility,product flexibility, routing flexibility, volume flexibility,expansion flexibility, operation flexibility and productionflexibility. Seda ozmutlu et. al. (2004) justify a flexiblemanufacturing systems relatively high investment, it is ofutmost important to make full use of the flexibilities thatthe FMS offer is routing flexibility, which is the capabilityof processing a part type using alternate routing throughmachines (Ghosh & Gaimon 1992).

Pankaj et. al. (1991) reflects the view that theflexibility of a system is a function of the technologyas well as how well the system is managed with theglobalization of manufacturing sector. A great amount ofattention has been focussed on the competitiveadvantages provided by technologies such as CIM,Robotics, FMSs (Thomas et al 1990)

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total Quality Management (TQM) is both a philosophy anda set of principles that represents the foundation of acontinuously improving organization (Calingo 1995). It

involves everyone in the organization and extends tosuppliers as well as customers. In a TQM environment thecustomer is the focal point and customer satisfaction is thedriving force (Stevenson 1993)

In today’s climate of renewed interest in Total QualityManagement (TQM) there exists the question “so what isnew?” Quality in the past has often been an after the factinspection process where today quality effort is to eliminatequality problems through a work culture that preventsproblems through design, planning, and good managementpractices. Many organizations have to implement some sortof change management approach in order to survive incompetitive business environment. Examples of suchapproaches include Total quality management (TQM), Justin Time (JIT), Business Process Reengineering (BPR),Process Innovation (PI) and Knowledge Management (KM).Any change brings substantial risk, as it is usually difficultto predict the outcome of changes before they are put intopractice, For example, it is estimated that the failure rate ofBPR Projects is over 50% (Hammer and Champy 1993).

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a managementstrategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all

organizational processes.Customer focus, processimprovement and totalinvolvement are thethree fundamentalprinciples of TQM(Tenner and de Toro1992). Leadership,education and training,

structure, communi-cations, reward and recognition andmeasurement support these three principles. According toSutcliffe et al. (2000), the literature distinguishes two typesof research trends regarding change and efficiency inorganizations. On one hand, there are those approaches thatfollow reliability, continuous improvement and efficiency,as in the case of the methods of Quality Management.And on the other hand, there are those who supportflexibility, processes oriented towards learning.

TQM is composed of three paradigms:

Total: Involving the entire organization, supply chain,and/or product life cycle

Quality: With its usual definitions

Management: The system of managing with steps likePlan, Organize, Control and the likes

Quality assurance through statistical methods is a keycomponent in a manufacturing organization, where TQMgenerally starts by sampling a random selection of theproduct. The sample can then be tested for things that mattermost to the end users. The causes of any failures are isolated,secondary measures of the production process are designed,and then the causes of the failure are corrected. Thestatistical distributions of important measurements aretracked. When parts’ measures drift into a defined “error

In today’s climate of renewed interest in Total QualityManagement (TQM) there exists the question “so what is new?”Quality in the past has often been an after the fact inspectionprocess where today quality effort is to eliminate qualityproblems through a work culture that prevents problems throughdesign, planning, and good management practices.


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band”, the process is fixed. The error band has usually atighter distribution than the “failure band”, so that theproduction process is fixed before failing parts can beproduced.

It is important to recordnot just the measurementranges, but what failurescaused them to be chosen. Inthat way, cheaper fixes can besubstituted later (say, whenthe product is redesigned)with no loss of quality. After TQM has been in use, it’s verycommon for parts to be redesigned so that criticalmeasurements either cease to exist, or become much wider.The last decade has witnessed the increased acceptance anduse of TQM in the service sector (Milakovich 1995), withservice quality being an important factor for growth, survivaland success (Quinn and Humble 1993; Anderson et al. 1994;Donaldson 1995 and Rust et al. 1995).

Importance of Flexibility

Flexibility: Different Approaches

The world Book Dictionary defines the adjective flexibleas being “easily adapted to fit various conditions”.Flexibility has been variously defined in the managementliteratures (Sushil 1997). In general terms it denotes theability to respond and successively adapt to change as wellas to inflict in others. Flexibility is important for achievingagility in the supply chain. Flexibility can occur at differentlevels (Strategic, tactical, and operational) of theorganization (Wadhwa and Rao 2000). Flexibility can beused both as an adaptive response to environmentaluncertainty and to proactively create market uncertaintiesfor competition (Gerwin 1993). Roller and Tombak (1990)have shown the market conditions under which this type offlexibility is desirable. However, other definitions extendthis simplistic version and often introduce new terms thatrequire definition themselves (Table 1).

Today flexibility means to produce reasonably priced

customized products of high quality that can be quicklydelivered to customers. Flexibility is a multi– dimensionalconcept- demanding agility and versatility: associated withchange, innovation, and novelty: coupled with robustnessand resilience, implying stability, sustainable advantage, and

capabilities that may evolveover time. The need forflexibility arises from severalsources including the desireto reduce inventories(particularly work- in-progress, the need to

customize the product to meet individual customerrequirements, and the decreased lifetime for a product designresulting from increased international competition and theemergence of new engineering technologies. Upton (1994)has outlined multiple types of flexibility as productflexibility, process flexibility, operation flexibility, volumeflexibility, machine flexibility, routing flexibility, actionflexibility, state flexibility, expansion flexibility, design-change flexibility, labour flexibility, and so on. The conceptof “flexibility management” has been outlined byArmstrong (1993) as a flexible approach to organizationmanagement to ensure that the organization will be ableto adapt to change, respond quickly to new threats andopportunities, and manage diverse and decentralizedoperations. Research in flexibility has indicated that itis an essential characteristic of a successful company ina highly competitive and rapidly changing businessenvironment (Kanter 1982; Peters 1991; Johnson 1992and Volberda 1998). Some authors define flexibility as“Ability of the manufacturing system to cope with thechanges effectively” (Gupta and Buzacott 1989). Due tothe great number of different kinds of environmentalchanges (machine breakdowns, volume changes,introduction of new products), it is very difficult to finda single index characterizing the flexibility ofautomation (Azzone & Bertele 1991).

According to Gupta and Goyal (1989),” Manufacturingsystems that are flexible can utilize the flexibility as an

adaptive response to unpredictablesituations”. Mandelbaum and Buzacott(1990) deemed flexibility as required in a“system or process so that it is able torespond change in the system’s environmentor a change in the decision maker’sperception of reality”. Sethi and Sethi (1990)surveyed economics, organizational andmanufacturing literatures for flexibilityconcepts.

Classification Based on ResearchMethodology/ Approach

The literature on FS & TQM may also beclassified on the basis of methodology andapproach used into: Thought papers andperspectives; frame works and approaches;empirical studies; mathematical modelling


Quality assurance through statistical methods is akey component in a manufacturing organization,where TQM generally starts by sampling a randomselection of the product.

Figure 4 : Different types of Flexibilities in a Flexibility System; (S. Wadhwa, 2000)

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sufficiently covered in “Importance of Flexible systems”.Similarly, review papers have been covered in theintroduction, and are not covered further. Therefore,empirical studies and mathematical modelling approaches arecovered here.

Empirical Studies

Empirical researchincludes case research,field surveys andinterviews, fieldexperiments, mailsurveys, laboratoryexperiments and gamesimulation. Several empirical studies in the area of Flexiblesystems have been published. They consist mainly of casestudies and surveys. Most case studies deal with Totalquality management (TQM), Types of flexibility (Routing,Scheduling, Dispatching, Machining, Sequencing etc.),Supply chain management (SCM). The process managementin R & D and propose a tool for assessing the degree ofTQM implementation in R&D using EFQM (EuropeanFoundation for quality Management) model criteria as thebase by sertac (1995). A step-by-step management approachis developed in order to help SME (Small ManufacturingEnterprise) to reach basic, system, and aggregateflexibility and agility, despite their lack of resources.This research is justified by the fact that some largefactories are lowering their fixed cost by movingprocessing machine towards specialized SME, andcreating intelligent network of factories based oninnovation, agility and JIT philosophy by George’s et.al.(1999). A Framework for study of Modelling Techniquesin Agile Methods by Kieran (2002).

However, rapid deregulation, globalization of markets andgradual acceptance of competition are making it increasinglydifficult to continue to protect local markets (Madu 1997).

In response to liberalization and globalization, businessorganizations in India are striving hard to introduce newapproaches such as total quality management (TQM), justin time (JIT), business process reengineering (BPR) andsupply chain management (SCM) to enhance theirperformance and competitive advantage the research focuseson supply chain practices in the Indian automobile industryby Saad et al. (2006). Mark (2007) provides a more completedefinition of flexibility in the context of supply chains.

Many industries are responding to the need for majordesign changes in their manufacturing systems to includeflexible and controllable systems that produce superiorquality products on time and at a lower cost. This paperdescribes a systematic implementation of total qualitymanagement (TQM) along with continuous improvementconcepts to design and build a test stand in-house by Josephet al. (1998), Shoji Hikada (1998) concludes systemDynamics is a quite useful tool for quality control and willgreatly contribute to TQM. Robert et al., (1990) discussesthe need for an enterprise to begin the understanding itsstructures, functions, and performance in the context of atotal/integrated operation. IDEAL (integrated design,Engineering, and Analysis Languages) is a comprehensivemethodology for describing, developing, and analyzing.Leslie et al. (2003) Identifies the cross-enterprise nature ofsupply chain flexibility and the need to improve flexibility

measures across firms.

Barbara (1994)presents a case study atprocess management,employee involvementin decisions, andEmployee Morale in amedium sized business

before and after implementation of a formal Total QualityManagement (TQM) programme. Hosein Fallah (1993)reviews quality system models, introduces AT&T’s TotalQuality Approach (TQA), and describes the TQA implemen-tation strategy. Gordon et al., applied Total QualityManagement concepts to a consulting engineering firm, a1,500-person engineering and architectural firm with 32offices throughout the U.S. Chowdary et al. (2003) made anattempt through a decision support system by developingand combining models such as integrated manufacturingperformance measurement, multi-criteria evaluation andranking, and a knowledge based expert systemapproaches. Joseph et al. (1998) describes a systematicimplementation of TQM along with continuousimprovement concepts to design and build a test standin-house. Rodney et al., (2006) develop strategic TQMmodels, which are representative of the dynamic andcomplex elements of organizations and theirenvironments. Hau et al., (2004) describes how theprinciples of TQM can actually be used to design andoperate processes to assure supply chain security. Scottet al. (1992) develop a complete model for theapplication of Total Quality Management to R&D.


Figure 5: Emperical Studies in Areas of Supply ChainManagement, Flexible System & Total Quality Management

The literature on FS & TQM may also be classified on thebasis of methodology and approach used into: Thought papersand perspectives; frame works and approaches; empiricalstudies; mathematical modelling approaches; empiricalstudies; Mathematical modelling approaches; and reviews.

approaches; empirical studies; Mathematical modellingapproaches; and reviews. This help us to understand FlexibleSystems from a different perspective from the problemcontext described earlier thought papers and perspectives aswell as frameworks-and approaches-related articles have been

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Yeong (2006) aims to discuss the DMAIC (define,measure, analyse, improve, control) phases of integrating anMES with six-sigma methodology. Vlatka (1993) investigatesa potential of simulation modelling to be used for modellingbusiness processes and argues the case for a wider use ofsimulation techniques by business community. Samuel et al.(2002) classifies manufacturing chains into three types;namely, lean, agile, and hybrid. Marielle den Hengst etal. (2004) identify the need for integrating simulation andcollaboration for four different change managementprograms: TQM, JIT, and BPR & PI. Deepak (2005)establishes that TQM with TPM support can be an effectivestrategy to improve competitiveness of Indian manufacturingcompanies. Richard et al. (1992) gives an overview of theapplication of TQM, which advocates continuous processimprovement through worker involvement in manpower,methods, machine and material improvements. Hesan (1993)highlighted the use of TQM. AT&T’s ‘customer-supplier’model of quality is introduced to highlight the interactiveroles of the partiesinvolved.

A large number ofarticles using surveys-based empirical methodshave also been publishedin the area of FlexibleSystem. We mention a few important ones here. Wadhwa etal. (2006) suggested a broad framework for implementingsupply chain management (SCM) in a firm. Nigel (2005)assesses how managers in 10 companies view manufacturingin terms of how they see the contribution of manufacturingflexibility to overall company performance; what types offlexibility they regard as important; and what their desireddegree of flexibility is. S.Wadhwa et al. (2005) presentsKnowledge Management (KM) can be used as an effectivetool to achieve decision knowledge sharing (DKS), leadingto improved SCM competence. William (1989) established“universal truths” which address use of TQM and cost ofquality in any environment you choose to attack. Patrick etal., (1989) examines the elements comprising the TQM system.

Hairulliza et al., (2004) identify quality, cost, time,flexibility has become an important competitive weapon formanufacturing companies. Todd et al. (2002) suggested aconceptual framework of manufacturing flexibility should beimplemented using a three-stage approach. Ranjan etal.,(1998) led through a case study of an Indian retailer, isintended to simulate research activity to develop newknowledge on marketing and flexibility. B.S. Sahay et al.(2003) paper is based on a joint survey, covering 156organizations, carried out by Management DevelopmentInstitute, Gurgaon and KPMG India. Luis et al. (1999)examines the literature on manufacturing flexibility andpotential contributions of the industrial networks. Shams &Plilip (2004) did analysis of 261 Australian manufacturingcompanies’ revealed significant positive relationshipsbetween soft TQM & hard TQM elements. Sushil (1997)carried a survey that the main aim of Flexible Systems

Management is to facilitate the actor in liberation fromignorance by understanding the dynamic interplay of forces.S.Wadhwa et al. (2006) discusses the major issues related toSCM implementations are in the areas of logistics,outsourcing/ partnerships, and environment. Steven & Marius(1997) critically examine organizational performance,size, dependency as well as structure and culture.

Mathematical Modelling

A number of tools and techniques have been used forproblem formulation. Linear Programming (Flex et al 2004)& Simulation study aimed at evaluating the performance ofa FMS in terms of make span, average flow, average delaytime at local buffers and average machine utilization. Robyet al, (2007) used models included large mixed integerprogramming problems and quadratic programming problemswith continuous and binary variables present. Nhu&Joc(1998) solved the Flexible Job-Shop Problem (FJSP) byusing dispatching rules discovered through Genetic

Programming (GP).

Markov chains(Henri et al., 2001) anew approach fordesigning manufacturingcells when the processplans can be changed

because of machine breakdown and (Sifallah andSuryanarayanan, 2001) considered queuing systems withmultiple classes of arrivals. Dimitris et al. (1997) proposesa framework for developing business metrics and discussesthe suitability of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) to modeland analyse the business performance indicators. Chuda andJoe (1992) followed the methodology based onMathematical programming approach, Multi-criteria makingapproach, Heuristics oriented, Control theoretic approach,Simulation based approach and Artificial Intelligence (AI)based approach. Jose et al (2005) suggested that there is aparallelism between TQM companies and those who arecommitted to flexibility by Correlation Matrix. Sangeeta etal. (2004) develops a SERVQUAL methodology was appliedto identify the gap between customer expectations andperceptions of the actual service received. Corinne et al.


Many industries are responding to the need for majordesign changes in their manufacturing systems to includeflexible and controllable systems that produce superiorquality products on time and at a lower cost.

Figure 6: Techniques of Mathematical Modelling in FlexibleSystem, Total Quality Management & Supply Chain Management

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(2004) interactive effects of machine and labour flexibilityon mix flexibility. Alvaro et al. (2003) examines TQMprogram in a public sector interact with the workenvironment. Yash et al. (1996) indicates that businessstrategy contributes both directly and indirectly toorganizational performance. Monish et al. (2004) developsimulation models that conform to these O-O models areconstructed. Dragan et al. (1995) found evidence that TQMmade a difference in improving patient satisfaction in agovernment clinic by CQI/TQM.

Simulation models (Pankaj et al. 1991; Ram et al. 1992;Wayne et al. 1993; Felix T. S.Chan 1995) are used inincreased throughput reduced in-process inventories,increased utilization of machines and workers. Gert et al.(2007) study parallel machine shops assuming theimplementation of Virtual Cellular Manufacturing (VCM).Suresh et al. (2000) finds out the technological flexibilityrequirements in just in time manufacturing under differentenvironmental situations. Yi-Hung et al. (2005). Develops aFMS model using vector scheduler combined with the kernelof Radial Basis Function (RBF).

Mapping of tools / Techniques used vis-à-vis Contextof Flexible systems

Very few models have been used for integrated Flexiblesystems AHP/ANP, Regression, DEA model and descriptivestatistics (based on surveys/interviews) have been tried.Flexible system has seen very little application in terms ofmathematical tools, techniques and methodologies. Lately,LP, Formulation and software packages and spreadsheets forsolution have been used.

Flexible systems, Supply chain Management and TotalQuality Management have used mathematical models, toolsand techniques to a much greater extent. Simulation,computer programming, software packages, spreadsheets anddynamic programming have been used extensively. Othertraditional tools and techniques such as simulation, ANOVA,Markov chains and regressions have also been used. CQT/TQM efforts define an approach to perpetual improvementof all work unit activities of an organization. Qualityimprovement effort creates a foundation to remaineconomically competitive.

In simulation models to on-line planning, scheduling,and control problem is presented in a modified Arena/SIMAN simulation. Dynamic programming algorithm is usedto integrate the operation sequencing and machine routingdecisions and work of inventory control. Quantities metricis proposed for sequencing flexibility. The capacityexpansion model that takes flexibility and adaptability intoconsideration. The TNP models of production systems withdifferent levels of routing and operation flexibility are usedto study system parameters under different conditions. TARmethodology is used for minimising mean flow time of partsin a FMS with routing flexibility. The transportationoptimization problems are used in two-stage hierarchicalproduction planning method. The routing flexibility modelembedded into an analytical and/or simulation model willbe able to predict the dynamic behaviour of different FMSconfigurations under different operational conditions anddifferent logic control. A non-linear programming model thatincorporated binary variables to optimize inventory costsand mixed integer programs to optimize the production.

Research Gap

Of all five areas, one of the biggest challenges facing thefield of supply chain & flexible system is extending theTotal quality management about managing operations. Muchresearch, management education and many practicalapplications have focussed on the impact of dimensions offlexibility on Quality and productivity. Although manyempirical studies (case studies, survey-based empiricalmethods, etc.) have been carried out, they have not dealtwith each and every aspect of Flexible systems. Detailedempirical case studies need to be carried out in such areasas organizational commitment to Flexible system at theindustry, selection of returns and rework facilities inalignment with competitive priorities, the influence offlexible system on the supply chain focuses on individualcomponents of flexibility and their impact on creatingflexible supply chains. It also fails to capture the role ofservices in creating supply chain flexibility. It givesinsufficient attention to small and medium sized enterprises.An integrated model needs to be developed for a properformulation of SCM strategy. There is need to develop amathematical algorithm which can make strategy formulationa simpler tasks. Develop guidelines to support planners indesigning manufacturing routes under different operationalconditions and different logic control. Consider more policiesand dispatching rules in order to evaluate their interactiveeffects and consider stochastic processing time and machinefailure time. It is because there is a possibility for anyuncertainty to happen during the production process.

Much conceptual framework study whose emphasis is onmanufacturing strategy should be developed and frameworkhas not been empirically tested and does not provideguidelines on how managers should implement theorganizational and technological tools (e.g. flexiblemanufacturing systems, multi-skilled employees). Researchis needed in extending the work on machine flexibility bysimultaneously determine both the part sequence and the


Figure 7: Mapping of Tools and Techniques in Flexible System,Total Quality Management & Supply Chain Management

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sequence of tools. Focus on an increase in decision levelsfor a given level of flexibility and integration. Formanufacturing flexibility a conceptual framework whichprovides guidelines on how managers should implement theorganizational and technological tools (e.g. FMS, multiskilled employees) must be done. To check the extent towhich the findings is made can be generalized. There areseveral questions that deserve special attention, other factorsare also moderated such as whether or not the organizationis public, private, or governmental, the degree to which TQMis institutionalised and the pre-existing type oforganizational culture. There is not only a direct impact ofsoft and hard TQM on performance but the indirect impactof soft TQM on performance via hard TQM elements, certainother factors are considered to check the effect onperformance.

Although the current development in Flexible systemresearch is encouraging, it is conducted in clusters. It istherefore, necessary that interactions between these researchefforts be studied in order to develop interrelationships.Literature on flexibility (comprising sequencing, dispatching,scheduling) in the context of Flexible systems and TQM isat the level of thought papers and frameworks only. Moreresearch is needed in determine the relationship betweenbusiness strategy, manufacturing flexibility andorganizational performance.

A future study may focus on a single manufacturingindustry so that the above issue may be resolved. Inaddition the single manufacturing industry would allowresearchers to control confounding market variables that mayvary from industry to industry. More research is needed to

Table 1: Mapping of Mathematical Tools/ Techniques Used vis-à-vis the Contents of TQM, FS & SCM*

TQM Flexibility

Types of Flexibility Supply

Mathematical Tools/ Importance of Schedul- Sequen- Dispat- Routing Mix Chain Techniques FS ing cing ching

Quantative/Qualitative Benjaafar - (1995), Moore-(1994), S. Ghosh EllaramMethods, Diallo - (2001), Benjaafar-(1995), (1998) -(1990),TAR Routing/AT&T Todd - (2002), Hau - (2004), Deshmukh-Model, AHP/ANP, Eugene - (1999) Hosein-(1993), (2005),SPC,QFD,IT, Patrick - (1989), Oliver-

FIFOMODEL/ Robert - (1990), (1992),

IDEAFMODEL William-(1989), Lee Hau-

Dragan-(1995) (2004),

S.Wadhwa

(1999)

ANOVA / DEA, Chase-(2000), Alavaro-(2003), Sethi CorinneRegression/ Bailik -(1999), Meredith-(1993), (1990) (2004)Coleration Matrix Mandelbaum-(1990), Maria-(2005), Diallo

Alfawzan-(2005), Adam-(2006), (2001)Wadhwa-(2000), Sertac-(1995)Sanjeev(1998)

Mathematical Madan-(2005), Milakovich-(1995), Basnet - Henry Sahay-Programming, Ranjan-(1998), Deepak - (2005) (1990), (2001) (2003),Fuzzy / Neuro-fuzzy, Sanjeev-(1998), Davis - MarkOptimazition Model, Suresh (2001) (1993), Sharma StevesonsonMarkov chain / Hung- (2002) (2007),Queuing, Linear (2005) WadhwaProgramming Model, (2005),

Capacity Expansion Saad-

Model / FIT Model (2006)

Software Program, Bopanna-(2003), Culp Gordon-(1992), Abdul Thomas Mohammadou Wadhwa-Simulation Study Madan-(2005), Hosein-(1993), -(1999), (1992) (2001), (2005),Model,Performance Flex-(2004), Sutcliffe-(2000), Glenn Pankaj-(1991), Stadtler-Modelling, Roller-(1990), Rahman-(2004), -(1995), Gert-(2007), (2002),Tabu Search / Sanjeev-(1998), Hidaka-(1998), Ram- Rosaleonardo Stephanie-SIMAN / ARENA Seda-(2004), Sangeeta-(2004), (1990), (2005), (2004)

Sethi-(1990), Scott-(1994) Thomas- SinarakisSmith-(1994), (1992) (2002)Upton-(1994)

TQM Model/EFQM, Slack-(2005), Hesan-(1993), Nhu Sharma Slack Gravelli-TPN Model/ Sangeeta-(2004), Peter-(1991), (1998) (2002) (2005) (2003),GP/ Petrinet, Volberda-(1998) Richard-(1992), Thomas-Six Sigma / JIT Madhu-(1997) (1996),

Patrick-(1989), Saad-Rust-(1995) (2006)

11


deal with multi-product situations, which in practise arelikely to be accompanied by uncertainties in both conditionsand capabilities that will enter into different states to beconsidered in selection of a combination of flexibility andadaptability. Further research is needed in four primarydimensions of flexibility: Volume, variety, process andmaterial handling. For conceptual framework for proposedmachine flexibility a practical result on several aspects tobe incorporated like properties of raw material, dimensionalrange that the machine can produce, characteristics of partsin shape, weight and material properties.

Conclusion

We present a state-of-the-art literature review of flexiblesystem integrating the whole gamut of activities in the area.Our literature review highlights the ongoing integrationprocess in flexible system. We find that the depth of researchin various categories has been different. Many specificempirical studies have been carried out, and categories suchas types of flexibility & total quality management have beenstudied to a great depth. We focus more on relativelyunexplored categories, as they offer potential for furtherexploration and research.

We map various mathematical tools and techniques vis-à-vis the context of Flexible system. This depends on themethodology used and also helps us to gauge theirapplicability/suitability. This is shown in Table 1. The citedreference numbers correspond to the serial numbers in thereference list. It is worth noting that the particular tool/technique used depends on a host of factors, such as thenature of the problem, the nature and availability of data,familiarity with the technique, compatibility between theanalysis and solution tools/techniques envisaged, previousrelated works and the wish to use new emergent tools/techniques in operations research. The Table 1 is broadlyclassified into five different categories of Mathematical tools/techniques may Qualitative tools & application, empiricaltools, mathematical and optimization tools, software andsimulation and total quality management.

Our classifications may help academicians, practitionersand researches to understand flexible system in TQM contextfrom a wider perspective. Based on our problem contextclassification and scope for future practice and research, anevolutionary timeline has been prepared taking into accountall the relevant and seminal papers published in the area ofFlexible system and TQM. The same is depicted inFigure 8a & 8b. Our classifications along with timeline andcited references to develop concepts and models.Practitioners can also gain good insight into real-lifeproblems and how some companies have tried to addressthem by referring to the empirical studies.

Research in Flexible system to date may be consideredcompartmentalized into concept areas drawn from operationsmanagement. The primary areas of emphasis have beenTQM, supply chain management, types of flexibility, whichare collectively beginning to contribute to a moresystematic knowledge base. It is reasonable to expect that

these research areas will continue to hold the greatestpromise for advance in the short term. However; moreintegrative contributions are needed in the long term.

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Fauzia Siddiqui is a lecturer at J.S.S. leading of Technical Education Media. She has over six years of experience in the fieldof Industrial in production Engineering and is currently working towards her Ph.D. in Flexible Systems, TQM and SCM.

Abid Haleem, a Professor and Head of Mechanical Engineering and Coordinator of MBA (Evening) programme at Faculty ofEngineering and Technology, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University by an Act of Parliament), New Delhi, India. Obtained Ph Dfrom I I T Delhi in the area of ‘Policy Planning’. Has more than eighty research papers to his credit, published in international andnational journals. Has edited a book titled “Innovation, Flexibility and Technology Transfer”, published by Tata McGraw Hill, India.His research interest are E-governance, Technology Management, Supply Chain Management, Flexible Systems and Systems Modelingetc. He is Regional Editor – Asia Pacific of Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management.

Late Prof. Subhash Wadhwa (Eur. Ing., C.Eng., Ph.D (Ireland)) worked in Europe for several years on prestigious European projectsand a US Multinational before joining IIT Delhi. He extensively contributed to the development of generic simulators and expertsystems for flexible systems. He is currently a permanent Professor in Industrial Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology,Delhi. He is an active contributor to Global projects in the IT domain and has coordinated several workshops. He has been consultant/Contributor/National-Expert to many prestigious International bodies. He has over 200 publications and has reviewed papers forrenowned journals. He has also been chief consultant on several Industrial projects. His interest include Flexible Systems, SCM, TQM,BPR, Knowledge Management, Simulation, Intelligent Systems, e-Biz/ e-Governance /e-education/e-health care etc. He is dedicated tothe goal of bringing synergy between Academics, Industry and Research.

Fauzia Siddiqui, Abid Haleem and S.Wadhwa (Late)Sutcliffe K.M., Sitkin S.B. and Browning L.D. (2000) Tailoring ProcessManagement to Situational Requirements: Beyond the Control andExploration Dichotomy, The Quality Movement and Organization Theory(Thousand Oaks: Sage Publication).

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Key Questions

1. How are TQM, SCM are flexible system and related to each others ?

2. What are the benefits of using empirical studying on mathematical model in the area of TQM, SCM are F.S.?

3. How can the findings in this paper help in bringing the TQM, SCM ie FS in your organisation ?

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