EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Valkyrie Lighting is facing a new challenge within its current operations. This challenge comes in the form of expanding and improving its current supply chain management system. In this new implementation, the Valkyrie management team will need to incorporate three vital concepts to achieve success in the highly competitive market of technical lighting.
With this new supply chain management focus, Valkyrie will experience many issues that will need to be addressed to minimize the time it takes to get its expanded supply chain up and flowing smoothly. A number of the issues that Valkyrie experiences can be summarized into three main issues that are currently holding up Valkyrie’s success in this new endeavor.
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The type of operations performed at the Denver plant is completed in two stages. The first stage represents a repetitive operation because the core pieces of the product are assembled by workers to complete only the technical assembly. There are eight different basic assemblies that are created and then the product is moved to the second stage. The second stage is considered more intermittent because the basic assembled products are then finished to customer style preferences and is the source of the variety among customers. Once the product has been completed, the product is stored into stock located in the Denver plant and shipped based on customer orders. This operation represents a make-to-stock strategy where the product is produced based from forecasts; which are held as inventory until the customer demands a product.
Valkyrie Lighting is in an industry that was highly competitive until a few major companies dominated the majority of the market. The technical lighting industry is a slow-growing market where the order winners are based on superior technology, product variety, and timely delivery. Pricing and customer service are important factors in maintaining the competitive edge along with having advanced technology. The main trend in this market is the moving away from standard designs and being flexible to create a number of products that serve different needs based from the customer.
Local procurement of materials provides an ease in production at the plant in Hangzhou. Costs are one area that attention is paid so that they can be kept within reason ensuring an affordable product. Throughout the process careful negotiations must be done to ensure there are adequate materials as well as manpower to fulfill the orders that have been placed by customers. The plant has the ability to produce a large amount of stock fans as well as special order merchandise. With specialty orders the process for procurement shift slightly because of the unique nature of the order and the variety of materials that may be used as well. With the procurement of the polymer done locally this also expedites the production process simply because logistics will not be an issue. The necessary machinery for manufacturing is onsite for quick manufacturing times that can quickly move into the production lines for assembly. Assembly leads way into storage for sales. Orders can be filled at the plant as well as shipped directly to the buyer both within China and internationally. Depending on the final destination of the merchandise there are multiple companies that are used to ensure the fastest shipping time to the buyer.
CanGo is considering making investments in the technology in order to improve process flow. In order to better understand the investments they are considering, it is important to fully understand the process choices and the differences between them. The process choices can be viewed on a spectrum with one end being intermittent processes and continuous processes are at the other end. Intermittent processes, or job shops, are generalized and flexible. The workers are skilled and they are able to make a wide range
Specialisation. Inventory allows each of a company’s plant to specialise in the products that it produce. Instead of manufacturing a variety of products, each plant can manufacture a product. Then the finished products can be ship directly to customers or to a warehouse for storage. By specialising, each plant can gain economies of scale through long production and cost savings in transportation. The specialized facilities known as focused
The inventory of Kudler’s distribution plan will be entered into manufacturing requirements for estimating input flows and production schedules. As a retailer, Kudler will also link producers to other distributors, buyers, or wholesalers; creating great business relations. These relationships are all crucial with the flow of how their consumers will
The Process is that when received, all items are counted manually and taken to the warehouse - loaded on to special shelves. Information is recorded on the computer. Each department identifies goods needed. A list is made and items taken for display and sale in the shop. Department staff replenish the shelves when needed under close supervision and management in order to supply a high class service to customers.
The purpose of this paper is to describe and critique the supply chain management of the Sherwin-Williams Company. We will focus on areas such as supply chain risks, productivity measurements, the flow of information between suppliers and customers, supply chain alignment with company strategy etc. We will analyze and critique the existing supply chain and make suggestions for future improvements. Finally, we will relate the topics discussed in Lee’s “The Triple-A Supply Chain” back to the Sherwin-Williams Company and its Team 150 goals.
9. (TCO 3) The Franc Zeppo Venture manufactures a product that goes through two processing departments. Information relating to the activity in the first department during April is given below : * Work in process, April 1: 50,000 units (80% completed for materials and 60% completed for conversion. * Work in process, April 30: 45,000 units (70% completed for materials and 60% completed for conversion. The department started 380,000 units into production during the month and transferred 385,000 completed units to the next department.
Store operation process is integrated with system providing work structure, production schedule and marketing strategy recommendation.
This large “make to order” manufacturer, offers numerous custom solutions that required myriad parts. With an outdated operations solution and no existing Bill of Materials (BOM) to efficiently plan for parts, many of which were exclusive to each manufacturing
As higher demands continued to be placed on GMM’s production and distribution operations, its transportation network lacked collaboration. In effect, each operation was making individual logistics decisions, creating costly redundancies and inefficiencies throughout the supply chain. However, On-time delivery is critical in their business, and they consistently meet their customers' requirements. With cost, service and punctuality always at the forefront, consolidates shipments, manages carriers, and optimizes air, sea and ground routes. (Penske, 2010)
As director of Supply Chain Systems, Teri Takai recommends implementing virtual integration strategies from companies like Dell to portions of Ford’s supply chain strategy. Although there are several key differences between the companies, the restructuring plans of Ford 2000 have set a viable foundation to implement Dell’s virtual integration strategy in inventory management, customer service and support and suppliers’ management. The redesign of the process must include design not only of the supply chain but also of fulfillment, forecasting, purchasing, and a variety of other functions that historically been considered independently within the Ford hierarchy. Teri
Boeing made use of lean techniques in their production system and increased its production by 50% and also reduced its floor space by 40%. Assembling a Boeing 737 is a typical job. Workers should take 367,000 parts, an same number of bolts, rivets, other equipment and 36 miles (58 kilometres) of electrical wire and then keep them all combined to make an airplane [2]. Engineers to machinists were involved in lean (reducing waste) in the factory. By creating an assembly line, aircraft will pass through the workers were they going to concentrate on assembling. Allocating all employees in the factory building and organising special teams helped a lot to solve the errors in the assembly line [2]. In the assembly line, there are eight beacon lights which reflect the production status. If everything is good it shows green colour. If an error occurs, the worker will press a button and the green light will changes to yellow and the panel board will shows the category of the problem(which category it is related to). The worker will pass on to a computer and writes about the problem in a brief manner and the problem should be assigned to special team to solve it within 30 minutes if not, the light turns to purple and the assembly line will shuts down. This moving assembly is the icon of factory’s lean strategies.
The Spanish retail chain Zara has unique supply chain management practices that enable it to gain a competitive advantage over other fashion retailers in the industry. Zara’s rapid response time enables the firm to quickly respond to changing fashions while deliberately under producing products. This strategy, which is supported by competencies in logistic management, design and information systems, allows the company to maintain less inventory and higher profit margins and is a key factor to Zara’s success. The firm should continue to add value by seeking new opportunities to expand in the retail market and maintain their sustainable growth.
M&L Manufacturing makes various components for printers and copiers. The company supplies these items to a major manufacturer. The company also distributes these and similar items to office supply stores and computer stores as replacement parts for printers and desktop copiers. In all, the company manufactures about 20 different items to distribute. The two markets (the major manufacturer and the replacement market) require somewhat different handling. Product for the major manufacturer can be shipped in bulk. However, the products for the retail segment must be packaged individually which requires additional handling and expense. Instead of using forecasting for production planning the operations manager decides which
Logistics is one of the main functions within a company, and the supply chain is a complex and sometime fragile global endeavor dependent on a network of independent, yet interconnected, moving parts. It requires professional management. Supply chain professionals order the product, build it, move it, ship it, distribute it, and drive the coordination processes with marketing, sales, engineering, manufacturing, finance, and information technology. In short, they make any business effort seem effortless.