Operations Management
13th Edition
ISBN: 9781259667473
Author: William J Stevenson
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
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Chapter 3, Problem 1.1CQ
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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Students have asked these similar questions
For the purpose of process analysis, which of the following measures would be considered an appropriate flow unit for analyzing the main operation of a local accounting firm? Instructions: You may select more than one answer.
a. Number of accountants working each week
b. Number of tax returns completed each week
c. Number of customers with past-due invoices
d. Number of reams of paper received from suppliers
4. Based on the data provided in Table 2.5, what is the flow rate of callers from 8:00 a.m. to 8:20 a.m.?
TABLE 2.5 Time Stamps of the Eight Callers Who Called from 8:00 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. to the Reservation Desk of a Ferry Service
Caller
Time In
Time Out
1
8:01
8:05
2
3
4
5
6
8:02
8:07
8:06
8:08
8:09
8:12
8:10
8:15
8:12
8:20
7
8:16
8:19
8
8:17
8:19
5. Based on the data provided in Table 2.5, what is the flow time of callers from 8:00 a.m. to 8:20 a.m.?
6. Based on the data provided in Table 2.6, what is the flow rate of customers from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.?
TABLE 2.6 Time Stamps of 10 Customers Who Visited a Local Bank Branch from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Customer
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Time In
Time Out
9:01
9:07
9:06
9:21
9:08
9:20
9:14
9:19
9:20
9:28
9:26
9:33
9:31
9:39
9:40
9:46
9:44
9:59
9:53
9:57
7. Based on the data provided in Table 2.6, what is the flow time of customers from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.?
How is Little’s Law currently used in today’s supply chains?
Provide an example of where it is used.
Chapter 3 Solutions
Operations Management
Ch. 3.15 - Prob. 1.1RQCh. 3.15 - Prob. 1.2RQCh. 3.15 - Prob. 1.3RQCh. 3 - What are the main advantage that quantitative...Ch. 3 - What are some of the consequences of poor...Ch. 3 - List the specific weaknesses of each of these...Ch. 3 - Forecasts are generally wrong a. Why are forecasts...Ch. 3 - What is the purpose of establishing control limits...Ch. 3 - What factors would you consider in deciding...Ch. 3 - Contrast the use of MAD and MSE in evaluating...
Ch. 3 - What advantages as a forecasting tool does...Ch. 3 - How does the number of periods in a moving average...Ch. 3 - What factors enter into the choice of a value for...Ch. 3 - Prob. 11DRQCh. 3 - Explain how using a centered moving average with a...Ch. 3 - Contrast the terms sales and demand.Ch. 3 - Contrast the reactive and proactive approaches to...Ch. 3 - Explain how flexibility in production systems...Ch. 3 - How is forecasting in the context of a supply...Ch. 3 - Which type of forecasting approach, qualitative or...Ch. 3 - Prob. 18DRQCh. 3 - Choose the type of forecasting technique (survey,...Ch. 3 - Explain the trade-off between responsiveness and...Ch. 3 - Who needs to be involved in preparing forecasts?Ch. 3 - How has technology had an impact on forecasting?Ch. 3 - It has been said that forecasting using...Ch. 3 - What capability would an organization have to have...Ch. 3 - When a new business is started, or a patent idea...Ch. 3 - Discuss how you would manage a poor forecast.Ch. 3 - Omar has beard from some of his customers that...Ch. 3 - Give three examples of unethical conduct involving...Ch. 3 - A commercial baker, has recorded sales (in dozens)...Ch. 3 - National Scan, Inc., sells radio frequency...Ch. 3 - A dry cleaner uses exponential smoothing to...Ch. 3 - An electrical contractors records during the last...Ch. 3 - A cosmetics manufacturer s marketing department...Ch. 3 - Prob. 6PCh. 3 - Freight car loadings ova a 12-year period at a...Ch. 3 - Air travel on Mountain Airline for the past 18...Ch. 3 - a. Obtain the linear trend equation for the...Ch. 3 - After plotting demand for four periods, an...Ch. 3 - A manager of a store that sells and installs spas...Ch. 3 - The following equation summarizes the trend...Ch. 3 - Compute seasonal relatives for this data the SA...Ch. 3 - A tourist center is open on weekends (Friday,...Ch. 3 - The manager of a fashionable restaurant open...Ch. 3 - Obtain estimates of daily relatives for the number...Ch. 3 - A pharmacist has been monitoring sales of 2...Ch. 3 - New car sales for a dealer in Cook County,...Ch. 3 - The following table shows a tool and die companys...Ch. 3 - An analyst must decide between two different...Ch. 3 - Two different forecasting techniques (F1 and F2)...Ch. 3 - Two independent methods of forecasting based on...Ch. 3 - Long-Life Insurance has developed a linear model...Ch. 3 - Timely Transport provides local delivery service...Ch. 3 - The manager of a seafood restaurant was asked to...Ch. 3 - The following data were collected during a study...Ch. 3 - Lovely Lawns Inc., intends to use sales of lawn...Ch. 3 - The manager of a travel agency has been using a...Ch. 3 - Refer to the data in problem 22 a. Compute a...Ch. 3 - The classified department of a monthly magazine...Ch. 3 - A textbook publishing company has compiled data on...Ch. 3 - A manager has just receded an valuation from an...Ch. 3 - A manager uses this equation to predict demand for...Ch. 3 - A manager uses a trend equation plus quarterly...Ch. 3 - ML MANUFACTURING ML Manufacturing makes various...Ch. 3 - ML MANUFACTURING ML Manufacturing makes various...Ch. 3 - HIGHLINE FINANCIAL SERVICES, LTD. Highline...
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