Optimizing the Preparation Stage at Kvadrat Shade : A Simulation Study

Kvadrat Shade, originally founded as Verosol, is the inventor and founder of metallized textiles and pleated blinds. Kvadrat Shade specializes in utilizing these metallized textiles to produce roller and pleated blinds that provide glare elimination and effective insulation. To store all parts required during the preparation stage, Kvadrat Shade utilizes a Kanban two-bin system. This allows one bin to meet current demand, while the other serves as backup. As the primary bin is depleted, the second bin is deployed to ensure a continuous supply. Despite the utilization of this inventory management method, Kvadrat Shade still perceives inefficiencies during the preparation stage of the roller blind production, which contains over 700 unique parts. This results in service levels below the desired goals and order-picking lead times that are not low enough. This research focuses on optimizing the Kanban two-bin system to maintain the continuous availability of parts.