Concept explainers
M&L MANUFACTURING
M&L Manufacturing makes various components for printers and copiers. In addition to supplying these items to a major manufacturer, the company distributes these and similar items to office supply stores and computer stores as replacement parts for printers and desktop copiers in all the company makes about 20 different items. The two markets (the major manufacturer and the replacement market) require somewhat different handling. For example replacement products must be packaged individually whereas products are shipped in bulk to the major manufacturer.
The company does not use forecasts for production planning. Instead, the operations manager decides which items to produce and the batch size based on orders and the amounts in inventory. The products that have the fewest amounts in inventory get the highest priority. Demand is uneven, and the company has experienced being overstocked on some items and out of others. Being understocked has occasionally created tensions with the managers of retail outlets. Another problem is that prices of raw materials have been creeping up, although the operations manager thinks that this might be a temporary condition.
Because of competitive pressures and falling profits the manager has decide to undertake a number of changes. One change is to introduce more formal
With that m mind the manager wants to begin forecasting for two products. These products are important for several reasons. First, they account for a disproportionately large share of the company’s profits. Second, the manager believes that one of these products will become increasingly important to future growth plans and third, the other product has experienced periodic out-of-stock instances.
The manager has compiled data on product demand for the two products from order records for the previous 14 weeks. These are shown in the following table.
*Unusual order due to flooding of customer’s warehouse.
1. What are some of the potential benefits of a more formalitzed approach to forecasting?
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OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
- In the context of the material in Chapter 9, provide a critical analysis of the decisions that Henry has made in assigning Martin to this role.arrow_forwardpanies (pp. 80-118). New York, NY: Times Books, specifically Chap. 4, "Robert Eaton and Robert Lutz; The Copilots." CASE STUDY 9-2 Performance Management Leadership at Henry's Commercial Sales and Leasing H enry is the owner of a small real estate agency that handles the sale and leasing of commercial property. He has two real estate agents working in the office, along with himself. He also has two customer service representatives (CSRs), each of whom has a real estate license, and one receptionist who has worked for the company for about three months. Henry has recently decided that he needs another customer service representative. He hasarrow_forwardDiscuss possible solutions to help Tara become an effective CSR. What should martin be doing to help her?arrow_forward
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- Purchasing and Supply Chain ManagementOperations ManagementISBN:9781285869681Author:Robert M. Monczka, Robert B. Handfield, Larry C. Giunipero, James L. PattersonPublisher:Cengage Learning