Methodology and tools for improving competence of a chemical plant characterized by a complex Supply Chain network

Supply chain performance is strongly influenced by its design, chosen architecture, logistic network and types of finished product that made their marketplace. Sometimes environmental reasons like site location due to deals between government administration and companies may cause changes in logical design and hence increase logistic network complexity and become in a strategic Supply Chain constraint. Our case study addresses a geographic place of a chemical manufacturing plant inside its supply chain which the 86% of the domestic raw material suppliers, its unique distribution center and 100% of the plastic and metallic packaging suppliers are placed over 800 kilometers of distance. Starting from this restriction the research work consists in how redesign and rethink the architecture of the existing supply chain and optimize the processes inside the chemical plant trying to minimize the cost disadvantages related directly to the physical location of the factory. This research treats the selection of coordination and collaborative mechanisms between supply chain members, other company departments and outsourcing partners in order to create a collaborative coordinated model for optimization of this complex supply chain network. Besides this environment limitation, the most salient threats were internal at the company and consisted successfully implement coordinated actions to improve the management of processes and to take practical level. Fighting against the cultural change of the sectors involved and achieves the proposed expected results. The thesis consists of five practical cases studies of coordinated process for performance improvement. Each one being part of an integrated system that converges in a Plant performance common goal, which is increase supply chain competence. RQ1 tries to identify the processes which will be possible to apply the SC new model and management system emerged from the theoretical study and practical benchmarking cases. The research design is then presented by the implementation at Plant’s field level of the proposed develop scheme using the coordinated collaborative improvement model. RQ2 asks whether the chosen cases are adequate. Selecting the best alternative proposed for each thread. After that, the obtained results are presented and discussed for each field case. The focus of the research study is on supply chain practice and supply chain theoretical framework also. To conclude with the author experience that remarks supply chain practice has been heavily influenced by supply chain research and vice versa.