Sustainability in the Supply Chain through Synchronization of Demand and Supply in ETO-Companies

In the Engineer-to-Order (ETO) industry every product is unique and therefore, engineering design, production and installation is made to the specific customer order (batch-of-one production). Traditionally, Engineering, Fabrication and Installation work as separate departments connected in series. This means that customer orders are pushed from Engineering to the Installation on-site which causes long lead times, inefficient material transport and high and uncontrolled levels of Work-in-Progress (WIP). As a result, resource inefficiencies occur (costly labour delays) when the required quantity or quality of drawings or materials is not on hand in fabrication and on-site. This work presents a concept for aligning demand with supply using the Constant Work in Progress (CONWIP) control circuit and thus enabling a sustainable supply chain for ETO-companies. An industrial case study shows the current implementation in an ETO company acting as a first tier construction supplier.