Make or Buy Decision

“Make” or to “Buy” will influence the efficiencies of operation in a positive manner. The main reason behind it is that, the make or buy decisions are helpful to sustain business practices, and to improve efficiency in operations in an effective manner.

A supplier can get the raw materials for manufacture of the goods as also the finished product/imports

Suppliers want steady orders and prompt payment, they also want to feel valued by the company that they supply.

Klein, in “The Discarded Factory,” provides many examples to show that corporations are much less concerned about production and much more about their brand name. The statement he uses to help explain the reason behind why they are doing this is, "The difference between products and brands is fundamental. A product is something that is made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by a customer,” (Peter Schweitzer). Many companies believe that while their products and factories are temporary and require upkeep, respectively, their brand will live on for much longer. Because of this, they shift towards outsourcing their production to keep costs as low as possible. The companies then use this extra money to help build their brand using sponsorships and marketing campaigns. In addition to sponsorships and marketing campaigns, companies will also improve their packaging, distribution, and retail channels, and they will expand. A quote once said by Nike’s

We should consider this trade-off from ECCO case, between in-house production and outsourcing when faced with cost uncertainty and competition with a rival manufacturer in a differentiated goods market. When the management decides on selecting organizational forms, technological uncertainty on production activities often ensues. Thus, a manufacturer faces uncertainty when choosing between in-house production and outsourcing. Moreover, because almost all modern firms are in a competitive position, they have to choose organizational forms and take the

Second, always make sure there is an alternative source. As I mentioned before, this is much easier with single source procurement (but not sole source), since other similar suppliers could be able to supply similar products with more or less that same quality as the previous suppliers.

Making the decision to become a supplier for a demanded service or product is one of the initial steps in opening a business unit. Knowing the strength of the competition helps suppliers in developing a strategic business plan. A business plan is a well utilized tool in many economic decisions. Setting goals, such as, becoming the industry leader in five years has further impact on economic decisions. The decision of starting small, with very slow controlled growth verses starting out “big” influences how much initial capital has to be raised for a project.

Since material cost is one of the key cost drivers for the production of the units, it is best to take

Read "Why Manufacturing Matters" (pg. 14) and submit written responses to Questions 1 & 2.

Various important approaches like engineering driven approaches and selection of supplier processes lead to the number of suppliers at premium prices. It reduces cost of

\Sam Johnson is the owner of a medium-size electronics company, Integrated Electronics Manufacturing (IEM), which produces high-grade electronic modules used by several major electronics manufacturers to produce a variety of military and commercial telecommunications devices such as aircraft radios, navigational equipment, land-based satellite receivers, and other items. IEM has 60 employees. Normally, IEM purchases electronic parts such as resistors, capacitors, circuit boards and enclosures from several different suppliers and assembles the modules in its own facility. Some of the parts, like circuit boards and enclosures, are built to IEM engineer’s specifications while others are “off the shelf”.

The other solution of the third problem is why the company needs to decide and find appropriate suppliers in different product? Deer & John planned to make their own facility and start producing their own product. The company wants to take back design and manufacturing of skid steer loader from the company who

Based on the real world functioning of businesses, every organization that deals with the process of manufacturing of certain products operates in accordance with the main principle of maximizing its profits. During the performance of daily activities, many business managers face a series of questions related to planning, control and decision making. In order to give answers to all these questions, an additional analysis needs to be considered. It is very important for managers to plan carefully how they are going to generate sufficient money to pay down costs and, in this way to result with a profit. As managers are interested in having the adequate information about the influence that certain actions might have on the profitability of the business, "Cost Volume and Profit" analysis plays a significant role by being a potential tool in facilitating the process of making the right decisions regarding planning and control in order to add value to the company. (Trifan and Anton, 2011). To further illustrate the essential impact that CVP analysis has on management authorities in making better decisions, I will refer to and analyze the case of the Hampshire Company which follows as below.

If suppliers are limited, they have a greater opportunity to charge higher prices for raw materials, and they may also pose a threat of forward integration to the industry.  Similarly, if an industry has few buyers, or buyers can cheaply and easily change suppliers, they can make demands for less expensive higher quality products, causing impact to profit (Porter, 2008, p. 83).

Chan H (2001) states, “note here that the business drives the specification of the product and the consumer chooses whether or not to buy a prefabricated product. An example of this in the traditional commerce is purchasing suits of the rack”.