The Hog Problem Case Study: Integrated Logistics
The Hog Problem:
Integrated Logistics
Executive Summary
The hog slaughtering plant located in Brendon, Manitoba has the capacity to slaughter 2.5 million hogs per year, around 50,000 per week and 10,000 per day. Hogs arrive at the slaughter plant from all over Manitoba and certain parts of Saskatchewan via truck. Every farm is located within a different distance from the slaughter facility and delivery lead times vary from as low as half an hour to as high as three and a half hours.
Farms vary in size, which impacts the lot sizes for each respective farm. This variation in size subsequently affects the loading/unloading time span, which vary from one and half hour to four and half hours. The number of farms does not necessary pose a logistics problem for the plant’s Logistics Manager.
Through careful analysis, the main issues for the slaughtering plant have been identified as fleet routing and scheduling. Due to a variation of lead times over the year, the plant struggles with the task of determining optimum fleet size and composition.
The problem basically consists of finding the optimum set of routes that represent the lowest possible total cost and/or total travel time. The plant is dealing with the repositioning of trucks to serve its supply demand and determining a number of transportation units that optimally balance supply requirements against the cost of maintaining the transportation units. In order to increase truck utilization and achieve better performance, the plant has to adequately and efficiently ensure the scheduling of a steady supply of hogs.
My decision is to recommend that the slaughter plant outsource its logistics to a qualified third party logistics supplier.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 2
PART 1 - ISSUE IDENTIFICATION 4
Time Constraints 4
Truck Utilization 4
Dependency on Farmers Delivery 5
Lead Time Fluctuation 5
PART 2- ENVIRONMENTAL AND ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS 5
PART 3 -
Integrated Logistics
Executive Summary
The hog slaughtering plant located in Brendon, Manitoba has the capacity to slaughter 2.5 million hogs per year, around 50,000 per week and 10,000 per day. Hogs arrive at the slaughter plant from all over Manitoba and certain parts of Saskatchewan via truck. Every farm is located within a different distance from the slaughter facility and delivery lead times vary from as low as half an hour to as high as three and a half hours.
Farms vary in size, which impacts the lot sizes for each respective farm. This variation in size subsequently affects the loading/unloading time span, which vary from one and half hour to four and half hours. The number of farms does not necessary pose a logistics problem for the plant’s Logistics Manager.
Through careful analysis, the main issues for the slaughtering plant have been identified as fleet routing and scheduling. Due to a variation of lead times over the year, the plant struggles with the task of determining optimum fleet size and composition.
The problem basically consists of finding the optimum set of routes that represent the lowest possible total cost and/or total travel time. The plant is dealing with the repositioning of trucks to serve its supply demand and determining a number of transportation units that optimally balance supply requirements against the cost of maintaining the transportation units. In order to increase truck utilization and achieve better performance, the plant has to adequately and efficiently ensure the scheduling of a steady supply of hogs.
My decision is to recommend that the slaughter plant outsource its logistics to a qualified third party logistics supplier.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 2
PART 1 - ISSUE IDENTIFICATION 4
Time Constraints 4
Truck Utilization 4
Dependency on Farmers Delivery 5
Lead Time Fluctuation 5
PART 2- ENVIRONMENTAL AND ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS 5
PART 3 -