Hewlett Packard (HP) is a company founded in 1939 by William Hewlett and David Packard. It manufactures a variety of products and operates in over 50 countries worldwide. The products manufactured are grouped partially by function. One such group is the peripherals group which includes products such as printers, plotters, magnetic discs, tape drives and network products.
HP has come up with a new product called the desk jet printer with inkjet technology manufactured at the Vancouver plant. The manufacturing process consists of two stages namely PCAT and FAT. The PCAT (Printed circuit assembly test), involves the assembly and testing of electronic components on a circuit board. FAT (Final assembly and test), involves the assembly of motors
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The demand uncertainty would affect the inventory levels and also the availability to the consumer (lost sales). If the demand is estimated more than the actual, then the inventory levels would go up where as we lose a customer if the demand is estimated way below the actual demand. Along these lines comes the issue of lead time. With increased lead times especially in case of Europe and Asia-Pacific, the responsiveness of the supply chain with respect to changing demand has considerably decreased. As an answer to counter all kinds of uncertainties in its supply chain HP followed a strategy of holding more at its distribution centers. Despite of this we see that in the case, they are falling short of delivering printers in Europe. This implies that the accuracy of the demand forecasts made is not good. Given the demand imbalances especially in Europe, HP has to revisit its inventory model and question the assumptions they have made to come up with the target level of inventory at its European DC. Also they have to find out on what basis did they arrive on their current service level (98%) and thereby safety stock levels. So now the company has to find out the loopholes in their strategy and at the same time come up with a solution to minimize their inventory and handling costs while maintaining a good service level to its …show more content…
Another observation from the model is that, the demand for option AB is very high when compared with the other options. One alternative to prevent losing consumers of this product and at the same time counter the uncertainties of demand of product AB, HP could ship AB products via air. Before committing to air shipment for only product option AB, the company should first check if it is option AB that the DC in Europe is falling short. If yes what are the costs associated with losing that sale. If the costs associated with losing customers in that segment as very high when compared to the costs associated with air shipment then, HP could air ship the product whose demand is very high.
In the current process, the localization is done at the factory and then shipped. The DCs which deal with the printers only follow a standardized process which involves – receiving of products from various suppliers and stock them, pick to fill customer orders, shrink wrap the completed orders and label them and ship the order. These DC’s centers doesn’t have the equipment nor the competency to accommodate “integration” or manufacturing (assembly)
Kuiper Leda lacks an effective Inventory Management to handle properly the increase in demand of stock and production. An inventory management plan would be capable of forecasting errors in production, client-required service levels, total lead time in manufacturing a unit or batch of the product, and demand priorities. Inventory control is a challenge currently because of the size of Midland Motor's order. In order to meet the demand the company needs to increase the inventory which increases the inventory costs. KL have an opportunity of using the Just - In - Time method of inventory control which eliminates waste by making the resources and labor available only in the time and amount required. It will help increase productivity, product quality and work performance while saving inventory costs for the company. (Curtin, 2008). Kuiper Leda also needs to keep in mind that they will still have to fill orders from other clients that have previously placed orders or even new customers.
The prediction that 3-D printers will become a part of one’s daily life is happening faster and quicker than anticipated. These printers can produce objects of any kind. From musical instruments, to desk objects, to furniture, to high tech keys and even clothes, perhaps there isn’t even a range.
In the effort to lock supplies of limited products, the company was seen ordering enormous quantities in advance. Another symptom of the problem was the artificially inflated projections. Other companies had noted the flaws in their projections, but Cisco failed to notice. This was because there existed other Competitors in the market that compromised Cisco’s projections since customers would turn to suppliers who would deliver the products first. In addition, the triple and double ordering of inventory without contemplating on the accuracy of their projections was a great symptom that squeezed on the supply of goods and bloated the demand
Spokane Industries has contracted Franklin Electronics for an 18 month product development contract. Franklin Electronics is new to using project management methodologies and has not been exposed to earned value management methodologies. Even though Franklin and Spokane have worked together in the past, they have mainly used fixed-price contracts with little to no stipulations. For this project, Spokane Industries is requiring Franklin Electronics to use formalized project management methodologies, earned value cost schedules, and schedules for reports and meetings. Since Franklin Electronics had no experience with earned value management, the cost accounting group was trained in the methodology in order to bid for the project.
Capital requirements to set up an assembly line to produce PC's are also relatively low, estimated at roughly a million dollars (Rivkin & Porter,1999 pg. 5) which means that virtually any firm can enter the market easily. Despite sky rocketing demands for PC's, PC producers are unable to capitalize due to increasing number of competitors. The PC industry is also affected by environmental turbulence due to price fluctuations of its components. Constant innovation in PC technology causes older components to be rendered obsolete and prices of older versions to plummet. PC producers who are stuck with inventory of obsolete products incur high costs of dumping these components.
This behavior of first manufacturing and then supplying to market cannot expect the sale effect before consumer purchase. In this “Push System”, the risks of inadequate inventory or excess inventory as well as the poor sales are existing side by side. Thus, the supply chain should adopt the “Pull System” which regards customer as center and market demand as the driving force.
General Electric has produced almost 100,000 fuel nozzles for jet engines, Nike has fabricated football cleats for the 2014 Super Bowl, and Ford has created engine covers for the new 2015 Mustang. What ties these three world-renowned companies together? The fact that a 3-D printer made these products possible. Another Industrial Revolution is on the brink as 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, emerges today. Founded in the 1980’s, the innovative printer has made massive improvements since its birth. Traditional production, also known as subtractive manufacturing, is slowly fading away as consumers and companies partake in the 3-D frenzy. Additive manufacturing is without a doubt the better production method because it ensures quick production, reduced costs, healthier environmental impacts, and major manufacturing advancements in America.
Target Corporation needs to increase product availability based on the customer needs using a forecasting and supply chain
In 1984, Michael Dell invested $1,000 in start-up capital to register his business as Dell Computer Corporation, which was known as PC's Limited. The company becomes the first in the industry to sell directly to end-users by passing the dominant system of using computers resellers to sell mass-produced computers. Dell Computer also pioneers the industry first thirty-day money back guarantee. It became the cornerstone of Dell's commitment to expand its service offerings, superior customer satisfaction, and the industries first on site service program. It also established its first international subsidiary in the United Kingdom, and raised $30 million in its initial public offering.
The furniture company Somerset needs to retain its customer service record and remedy any of its global supply chain issues before it has an adverse effect on the brand and start losing customers. With a frequent change in the product catalog, keeping an excessive inventory will cut its profit and some of the product may become obsolete even before the furniture hits the retail outlet stores. In order to achieve profit and success, business employee many strategies and the supply chain strategy are one of the operational management techniques that use analytical decision making process to achieve the company goals and provide tools to effectively compete in the market (Taylor and Russell, 2014).
My report is on the company Hewlett – Packard (HP) which was founded in 1939. I mainly focused on the Personal Systems Group (PSG): business and consumers PCs mobile computing devices and workstations which is one of the major industries of HP. In order to succeed in the business industry a company needs to understand its customer’s needs and create wants for them. HP found out that the customer needed light weight, useful notebook PCs through its Research & Development (R&D) centre. Hence, it created a want; a New Commercial Notebook PC Compaq Evo Notebook N1015v which packs the power and performance necessary for mobility into a stylish design for only $899(US $). HP also finds out about its customer needs through online feedback forms and survey. Via that, HP was also able to understand that not everyone are able to use their products hence it has created this HP accessibility products which can be accessed by anyone including people with disabilities and age – limitations. Example of such product under the PSG industry is the Mobile Speak Pocket which was specially made for the visually impaired people. ( Refer To Exhibit 1a – 1c )
Every single program will be able to create a virtual diagram and outline of the concept being implemented on the printer. Then the program divides the concept into digital ...
Shah A, 2007, 'HP tops Dell as world's largest PC supplier', Infoworld, October 17, 2007, , accessed 31 Aug 2008.
Imagine printing what ever it is you need from your own office or home. In addition to that, you will have full control customizing the product and the printer will have no difficulties achieving your designs. All you have to buy is the ink and the material additives and the printer will do the rest.
2. SEVEN-ELEVEN'S SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY IN JAPAN CAN BE DESCRIBED AS ATTEMPTING TO MICRO-MATCH SUPPLY AND DEMAND USING RAPID REPLENISHMENT. WHAT ARE SOME RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CHOICE?