Optimisation de l'approvisionnement de Dilibel

Abstract

The company Dilibel, a subsidiary of Hachette-Livre group, is specialized in the sales and distribution of books in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The subject of this thesis is procurement management, with the goal of bringing a solution to the major problems faced by Dilibel so as to optimize the current system. The orders are generated by their computer system. They are, for a vast majority of articles, adapted to their management style. For two article categories, namely feature articles (articles with continuous high sales) and seasonal articles, the order frequency, as well as the order quantity are not appropriate. For feature articles, the order frequency is too high, leading to monitoring and maintenance costs. These articles are placed and handled in the warehouse like other articles, which in turn generates numerous and frequent displacements during picking. Regarding seasonal articles, the ordering system is in reactive mode to the evolution of sales. There is a discrepancy between the clients’ needs and the supplier orders. This creates stock shortages at the beginning of the season, as well as overstock at the end of the season. Based on the work carried out during the internship (notably support of operational activities), on documentary research, and on visits to Dilibel’s main supplier and a client, this thesis aims at proposing a solution to the problems encountered. For feature articles, additionally to their definition and their unequivocal identification, the suggested solution is to group the articles in the warehouse and to review the order quantities by reconciling the order frequency with the available space in stock. The choice of location will also be essential to optimize the movements of warehousemen. Concerning seasonal articles, additionally to their definition and their unequivocal identification, the proposed solution is to switch from a reactive to a proactive mode by anticipating the start of the season with a supplementary order, and the end of the season with an earlier shutdown of orders.