TOTAL AGILE DESIGN SYSTEM FOR SUPPLY CHAIN

EVALUATION
M.BALAJI1, DR. V.VEL MURUGAN2, N.R.ARUN KUMAR3
1

Senior grade Assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kumaraguru College of

Technology, Coimbatore 641049, India
2
Principal, Sree Sakthi Engineering College, Coimbatore 641104, India
3
PG Industrial engineering scholar, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore 641049, India
E-mail: balpurush@rediffmail.com

Abstract: Global markets are now becoming volatile in most industries and the importance of their abilities
to adapt to rapid and unexpected changes have surfaced. Modern organizations have to respond quickly to
their customers dynamic demands without compromising on quality, productivity and cost. Achieving agility
lies in designing agile-friendly processes and thus firms need to concentrate on their supply chains and its
enablers in the attempt of redressing themselves as responsive supply chains. To evaluate the levels of supply
chain agility, a scoring model called Total Agile Design System (TADS) is proposed. TADS as a
methodology identifies supply chain enablers and prioritizes them in lines of achieving supply chain agility.
In this scoring model, agility index before implementation of TADS is measured and discussed. The results
validate the proposed model and lend evidence to the current thinking of impinging agile concepts in
traditional supply chains for competitive advantage and survival.
Keywords: Responsive supply chains, TADS, Agility index, competitive advantage.

elimination to the maximum possibility of turning

the industrys supply chain in to an agile entity.

I. INTRODUCTION
Modern organizations are facing enormous
challenges and competition in the market due to
rapid changes in customers taste and diversity.
Organizations are in adverse need of reconstructing
the process of the relationships between supply and
demand. Organizations are forced to respond
quickly in time with customer requirements to
become agile. Agility is used to highlight the rapid
reaction potential of a supply chain on market
changes and customer demands. Agility is the
successful blend of speed, flexibility, innovation,
proactiveness, quality and profitability through the
integration of resources and best practices in an
organization to provide customer-driven products
and services in a fast changing market environment.
In the present trend, the determination of supply
chain agility would indicate a firms organizational
superiority. This paper proposes a model called
TADS which as a tool quantifies the agility based on
the various agile criteria framed within an
organization's boundaries.

II. PAST LITERATURE

According to Ashish Agarwal et al. [2], flexibility is
needed in any supply chain to encounter the
uncertainty in manufacturing. In their paper a
conceptual framework has been developed
encapsulating
market
sensitiveness,
process
integration, information driver and flexibility
measures of supply chain performance. Exploration
has been done on lead time, cost, quality, leanness
and service levels in fast moving consumer goods
business.
Angappa gunasekaran et al. [11] in their paper orient
that Agile manufacturing(AM) and Supply chain
management(SCM)
complement each other in
objectives
for
improving
organizational
competitiveness. An attempt to integrate AM and
SCM in creating a responsive supply chain has been
done which can be employed as a competitive
strategy in a networked economy of virtual
organizations.

TADS is an agile measurement tool incorporated

with questionnaires to measure agility from the
confined list of 14 agile criteria. A parameter named
agility index has been coined to tabulate the agility
level of supply chains and the need for
implementing TADS. Prioritization of agile criteria
with least scores has been dwelled upon and
corresponding drag factors have been considered for

Eleonora Bottani [10] links competitive basis, agile

attributes and agile enablers for achieving
competitive characteristics. His approach is based
on quality function deployment (QFD) methodology
were he has built a House of quality on a new
product development field. Fuzzy logics are later

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.Total Agile Design System for Supply Chain Evaluation

used to translate linguistic judgments to correlate

relationships into numerical values.

Yahaya Y.Yusuf et al. [20] in his paper evaluates

the dimensions of agile supply chain competitive
objectives and business performance in the UK
North Sea upstream oil and gas industry. 880 supply
chain managers were given questionnaires and KS
statistical test was done on the data received from
their responses. Non response bias analysis was
conducted through one way ANOVA analysis to
identify the important attributes of supply chain
agility.

According to Gunasekaran [12], as product life

shortens higher product quality becomes mandatory
for survival. Markets become highly diversified and
continuous and unexpected changes become the key
factors for success. He has identified seven key
enablers for agile manufacturing and developed a
conceptual framework for the development of agile
manufacturing system and shown directions for
future research.

III. AGILE SUPPLY CHAIN (ASC) CRITERIA

Yusuf et al. [19] reviews emerging patterns in

supply chain integration and explores the
relationship between emerging patterns and
attainment of competitive objectives. In his work, a
survey has been done involving 600 companies in
the UK and a conceptual model has been developed
followed by a multiple regression model to study the
relationships among the selected variables.

ASC criteria are wagons of agility which have the

potential to drive supply chains towards agility.
Based on the rich literature and research findings of
past, the research paper identifies 14 criteria shown in
Table I. The proposed criteria will nevertheless prove
vital in assessing and improving agility levels of the
supply chain on screen.

Table I. Agile supply chain Criteria

S.NO

CRITERION

REFERENCE

1 Culture of Change
2 Organizational Structure
3 Customer Relationship Management

Bohdana Sherehiy et al. [4]

Ali N. Mashayekhi et al. [1]

4
5
6
7

Production Planning
Process Integration
Materials Management

Mohd. Asif Hasan et al. [13]

Ching-Torng Lin et al. [5]
Rick Dove et al. [15]

Distribution Management/Networks

Vinodh .S et al. [16]

David Z. Zhang et al. [7]

8 Employee Involvement
9 Information Integration
10
Supplier Relationship management

Vinodh .S et al. [17]

Ching-Torng Lin et al. [5]

11 Marketing Sensitiveness
12 Customer order fulfillment process

Yi-Hong Tseng, Ching tong lin. [21]

Mohammad D. AL-Tahat and Khaled M. Bataineh [14]

Douglas M. Lambert et al. [8]

13 Customer Reaction and Proactive Anticipations Vinodh S et al. [18]

Assessment
14 Customer Service Management
Douglas M. Lambert et al. [8]
IV. TOTAL AGILE DESIGN SYSTEM (TADS)
METHODOLOGY

the apportionment of scores among the defined list of

ASC criteria [3] [6] [9].

The results of the literature review on Supply Chain

Agility reveal that there have been limited attempts
for evaluating agility levels of supply chains. TADS
has been considered [17] for agile customization
when the production process needs to be customized
according to the dynamic requirements of the
customers. TADS quantify the supply chain agility of
the organization by adopting new technological
advancements. This agile quantification tool uses a
questionnaire based approach method and facilitates

Agility index can be used to assess the agility levels

of a supply chain on a 2000 score scale. A TADS
team of 10 members were identified and explained
about the features of agile quantification tool and
ASC criteria. Later the questionnaires pertaining to
all criteria were given to them and with their
responses, the agility index is computed based on
agility scores using the formula for Agility index.
Agility index = Total score / 2000 [17] The agility
scores open the possibilities of identifying the drag

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.Total Agile Design System for Supply Chain Evaluation

factors and suggest remedial measures for their

elimination in order to strengthen the weaker ASC as

depicted in Figure I.

Identification of
Agile supply chain criteria

Development of Total Agile Design System

quantification tool and Agility index measurement

Agility index measurement before Total

Agile Design System implementation
Identification of Drag factors and
suggesting remedial measures for their
elimination
Agility index measurement after Total
Agile Design System implementation
Figure I. TADS Methodology

V. ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

and thus fear the loss of customer goodwill in longer

run.

AND

The firm located in Tamil Nadu, India is a specialist

in the design, development and production of
automated material handling equipments. In addition,
the company provides a comprehensive service
ranging from consultancy to total project
management and a 24 hour service logistic support.
Inspite, the firm is challenged in trading off between
demand and supply with its traditional supply chain

VI. MEASUREMENT OF AGILITY INDEX

In order to measure agility index an agile
quantification tool developed in a previous researches
was adopted [17]. Agile quantification tool has its
root on the 14 criterion that determines the agility
level of an organization and is disseminated across a
total score of 2000 as shown in Table II.

Table II. Distribution of Scores for Agile Criteria

Criterion
number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Criterion

Marks

Culture of Change
Organizational Structure
Customer Relationship Management
Production Planning
Process Integration
Materials Management
Distribution Management
Employee Involvement
Information Integration
Supplier Relationship Management
Marketing Sensitiveness
Customer order fulfillment process
Customer Reaction and Proactive Anticipations Assessment
Customer Service Management

150
200
100
150
150
150
150
100
150
100
100
200
200
100
2000

TOTAL SCORE
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.Total Agile Design System for Supply Chain Evaluation

This questionnaire enables the responders to indicate

the agility level from the point of view of agile
criterion. One such sample questionnaire pertaining

to the criterion Production Planning is shown in Table

III.

Table III. Questionnaire Pertaining To Production Planning Criteria

Criterion 4: Production Planning Questionnaire
Production planning is a pre-production activity which coordinates the organizations resources towards
the attainment of pre-specified goals in the most efficient manner. Production planning is concerned
with determination, acquisition and arrangement of facilities necessary to manufacture a product in
sufficient quantities in lines with market demand.
1) Are the route sheets properly communicated to the shop floor?
(a) Yes
(b) No
2) Are the labours aware of method study procedures in production?
(a) Yes
(b) No
3) Does the production plan follow the sales forecasting results?
(a) Yes
(b) No
4) What is the approximate rate of customer acceptance of the product?
(a) More than 90%
(b) Less than 90 %
5) Comment on the level of industrial safety.
(a) Good
(b) Satisfactory
(c) Poor
6) Are ergonomics considered during the design of material handling equipments?
(a) Yes
(b) In some cases
(c) No
7) Does the organization follow EOQ concepts in purchasing?
(a) Yes
(b) No
8) Is the machine loading balanced?
(a) Yes
(b) No
9) Does the work manager allocate work based on specialization?
(a) Yes
(b) No
10) Are the finished goods checked for quality?
(a) Yes
(b) No
After the responder completes the questionnaire, a
score allotment table

(Table IV) has to be refereed in order to convert the

responses into scores and for computing the agility
index.

Table IV. Score Allotment Table Pertaining To Production Planning Criterion

score pertaining to ASC criteria production planning

is shown in Table V. Likewise, the mean scores were
calculated by referring to the responses of the TADS
team members against the corresponding ASC as
shown in Table VII. The total score was estimated as
1247 out of 2000 and thus the agility index before
TADS implementation was 0.6235.

VII. ASSESSMENT OF AGILITY LEVEL

BEFORE TADS IMPLEMENTATION
The implementation study began by measuring agility
index before TADS implementation in the
organization. The responses of TADS team members
were recorded and the scores were tabulated. The

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.Total Agile Design System for Supply Chain Evaluation

Table V. Score for Production Planning Criterion before Implementation of TADS

Score for Production Planning before implementation of TADS
Total score out of 150

Questions
Experts
Expert 1
Expert 2
Expert 3
Expert 4
Expert 5
Expert 6
Expert 7
Expert 8
Expert 9
Expert 10

10

20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
0

15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15

15
0
0
15
15
0
0
15
0
0

10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
15
15

05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
10
05

15
10
15
10
10
15
15
0
0
10

0
15
0
0
0
0
0
15
0
15

15
15
0
0
0
15
15
0
15
15

0
0
20
20
20
0
0
20
0
0

10
0
0
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

105
90
85
105
90
90
90
110
85
85

Total Score for Production Planning criterion

935

Average Score for Production Planning before implementation of TADS

The TADS implementation study carried out i n t h e

f i r m integrates functional sections of the firm such
as design, materials supply, production, distribution
and sales. The objective was to provide the right
number of products and service to the right places at
the right time in order to meet the desired level of
customer service requirements and enable overall
supply chain profitability.
TADS methodology aims in achieving agility through
strategic partnerships, integrating resources, forming
seamless
business
environments,
continuous
innovations, leveraging human skills and integration
of information technology. If the company has the

=935/10=93.5

potential to overcome the series of hurdles by

implementing TADS, its supply chain is expected to
progress on agile forefronts.
VIII. DRAG FACTORS AND REMEDIAL
MEASURES
Various drag factors that detonated the achievement
of ASC were identified and addressed. Some of the
notable drag factors and remedial measures for
Production Planning criteria are exhibited in Table
VI.

Table VI. Drag Factors and Remedial Measures for Production planning criterion
Sl.No.

Drag factors

Remedial measures for elimination

Imbalanced inventory
management systems

Ensuring continuous supply of materials through Aggregate

planning, Master production scheduling, Materials requirements
Planning and capacity planning, training staff on JIT concepts.

Improper Production
Control which leads to
inefficient production
systems

Frequent Line balancing, adopting KANBAN pull production,

expediting the process flow.

An important consideration is that, when an

organization implements all these remedial
measures, the organization can become an ASC with
significant improvement in agility levels. These

remedial policies could be used to remove the

undesired effects on the implementation of TADS
and in creating a responsive and ASC.

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.Total Agile Design System for Supply Chain Evaluation

TABLE VII. TADS Score summary

Criterio
n
number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

ASC Criterion

Total
Score

Culture of Change
150
Organizational Structure
200
Customer Relationship
150
Management
Production Planning
150
Process Integration
100
Materials Management
150
Distribution
150
Management/Networks
Employee Involvement
100
Information Integration
150
Supplier Relationship
100
Management
Marketing Sensitiveness
100
Customer order
200
fulfillment process
Customer Reaction
200
Customer Service
100
Management
Total Scores
2000
AGILITY INDEX

Score Obtained Before

TADS Implementation

Percentage of Agility
before TADS

101.5
121.5

67.67
60.75

98

65.33

93.5
61
93

62.33
61.00
62.00

94

62.67

60.5
89.5

60.50
59.67

64

64.00

61

61.00

122.5

61.25

115

57.50

71.5

71.50

1247
=1247/2000 =0.6235
(before TADS)

IX. CONCLUSIONS & FUTURE WORK

62.35

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.Total Agile Design System for Supply Chain Evaluation

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