Supply Chain Simulation Modeling for the Manufactured Housing Industry

Abstract

Communication, visibility, and control of materials across the supply chain are necessary components for an efficient supply chain management system. However, the current supply chain management system in the manufactured housing industry is not able to control the flow of materials efficiently across the extended supply chain. This need has led to the development of an ARENA based supply chain simulation model to identify key bottlenecks in the entire supply chain flow and various experimental design alternatives have been tested. As a result, an optimized new supply chain management system with an online ordering capability is proposed for the manufactured housing industry. However, this optimized relationship among the relevant parties throughout the supply chain is not limited to the manufactured housing industry but it is expected to have the potential contribution to improve overall efficiency of housing practitioners in urban planning and community development.