Network Dynamics, Inc. (NDI) was established in 1983 to support manufacturing companies with applied mathematics technology in manufacturing systems engineering.  This technology, developed by NDI founders, Dr. Rajan Suri of the University of Wisconsin and Dr. Larry Ho of Harvard University, and their colleagues and students, is the fruit of years of research and consulting experience.

NDI offers advisory services and software products to assist manufacturing companies in their quest for a competitive advantage through lead time reduction using Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) technology. QRM strategy enables companies to rapidly design and manufacture discrete products.  It facilitates reducing lead times for many activities in a company.  The traditional organization is designed to manage scale and cost, not response time. QRM requires rethinking many traditional policies.  It is in this process that NDI can play a critical role.

NDI also works with clients to integrate lead time reduction software into existing company software environments by complementing existing ERP, MRP and supply chain systems.  A factory’s lead times are the result of complex dynamics.  Lead time is the sum of processing time and queuing time.  The former may be known from equipment/operations data, but the latter is not and depends on complex  “manufacturing system dynamics.”  Typically products spend over 95% of time waiting, and less than 5% being processed.  To predict whether a decision will improve lead times it is necessary to analyze these waiting times.  NDI offers its clients training and implementation assistance that address their decision support and capacity planning opportunities.

NDI's Core Technology

NDI has developed MPX software that is used for manufacturing cycle time analysis and capacity planning.  MPX enables companies to evaluate the impact of management decisions on their shop floor operations.  Using this technology managers and analysts can build computer-based models of their manufacturing operations with unprecedented speed (hours) and subsequently pose “what-if” questions with answers provided in seconds.  This is in sharp contrast to simulation alternatives employed by manufacturing organizations which require weeks/months of model development and computer execution times that vary from minutes to hours.  Users include managers and engineers with a focus on lead time reduction, resource allocation and manufacturing process improvement.  MPX is particularly useful in manufacturing operations where numerous configuration options negatively impact inventory and work-in-process costs.

The rapid modeling technology (RMT) used by MPX is based on recent advances in network queuing theory and reliability modeling, branches of engineering applied mathematics that are especially suited to the modeling and evaluation of the factory floor.  Embedded within MPX is a rapid modeling "engine" containing complex mathematical equations that capture the manufacturing system dynamics of the factory floor.  This sophisticated application reflects the knowledge and experience of the manufacturing experts who developed MPX.