A simulation based continuous improvement approach for manufacturing based field repair service contracting

This paper develops and tests a novel extension to traditional supplier selection practice, with a particular focus on the concluding stages of a manufacturing-based field service. Action-based research was used to design and develop a discrete event simulation decision support for a large multinational manufacturing organisation with a significant after-sales service supply chain. The framework has been designed to identify and validate the value attributable to collaborative supplier contracting with built-in costed performance improvement targets. Use of the framework in the case organisation was found to produce greater cost savings over traditional practice, facilitating extended supply chain contracts. The results provide evidence of the high level of savings achievable while also improving customer delivery through targeted service improvements over the contracts life cycle. This framework advances beyond the prevalent practice of cost-focused short-term adversarial supply contracting and is innovative in terms of its continuous improvement simulation based framework design.