Because the Milk Run logistics relates closely to the automobile’s production
plan, a close cooperative relationship between TMT, TTKL, and the suppliers is
established. The Samrong factory operates two shifts, and parts are ordered
through e-kanban by regularly dividing the daily amount into 36 orders per day.
The production and the operational plans determined from the working plan, parts
information, and information on goods delivered are transmitted by the TMT to
the TTKL.
TTKL collects basic information on running times and transport distances
necessary in determining the routes and provides them to TMT. TMT then
calculates the transport volume everyday based on parts information, the
production plan, and container sizes, and determines the routing and scheduling Milk Run Logistics by Japanese Automobile Manufacturers in Thailand
plan using an optimization system on operations management. Based on these
results, TTKL prepares the stowage plan, truck diagram, and the schedule of the
host terminal.
At present, this planning is the most time consuming process. There are cases
when the calculated schedule might not be followed due to non-standard container
sizes of parts suppliers and inconvenient unloading time at the host terminal.
Therefore, the operation is re-checked manually to determine if the operation is
actually possible.