MGMT 651 ASSIGNMENTS

MGMT 651

Conduct a literature review for the following items using the textbook, the Internet, a journal article, or other sources. Write a brief description of each and record the source of the information in the current APA format.

• Issues in facilities locations
• Inputs to production planning
• Level scheduling
• Benefits and challenges of inventory
• MRP structure
• Impact of inventory on company resources

Discussion

In the discussion part of this activity, address the following:

• It is suggested that you post your initial response by mid-week of the module week. Copy and paste the brief descriptions of each of the required items in this activity in your posting. Include the location of the information (website, book, article, etc).
• Review other postings and reply to at least two posts by the end of the module week.

CLASSMATES POSTS:

1) PATRICE

Issues in facilities locations

According to Chase, Jacobs, and Aquilano (2006), facility locations is a dilemma faced by both new and existing businesses. Factors that influence facility location include the proximity to customers, business climate, total costs, availability and quality of infrastructure, quality of labor, suppliers, other available facilities, free trade zones, political risk, government barriers, trading blocs, environmental regulations, the host community, and competitive advantage.

Reference

Chase, R., Jacobs, F., Aquilano, N. (2006). Facility location. Retrieved from http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072983906/student_view0/technical_note11/index.html

Inputs to production planning

Per the SME Toolkit (2015), inputs to production planning include materials and purchasing information, operations and manufacturing information, engineering and process designs, sales, marketing, and distribution information, financial and accounting information, and human resources information.

Reference

SME Toolkit. (2015). Preparing your production plan. Retrieved from http://www.smetoolkit.org/smetoolkit/en/content/en/907/Preparing-Your-Production-Plan

Level Scheduling

According to Demand Solutions (2015), in traditional management, level scheduling is a production schedule that generates material and labor requirements that are evenly spread over time. Finished goods inventory buffer the production system against seasonal demand. In JIT, a level schedule is typically created monthly, where customer demand is scheduled to be built on the day it will be shipped. A level scheduled is the output of the load-leveling process.

Reference

Demand Solutions. (2015). Level production schedule also level schedule. Retrieved from http://www.demandsolutions.com/resource-center/supply-chain-glossary/supply-chain-glossary-l/level-production-schedule-also-level-schedule.html

Benefits and challenges of inventory

According to AccountingTools (2015), there are a number of benefits and challenges regarding inventory in the JIT. The advantages of inventory include minimal amounts of inventory obsolesce, as the high rate of inventory turnover keeps items from remaining in stock and becoming obsolete, ease of halting production because production runs are short, inventory holding costs are minimized, firm is investing less cash in inventory, and production mistakes can be spotted more quickly and corrected, resulting in fewer defective products. The challenges of inventory include the negative impact on the production process if suppliers do not deliver on time or in the quantity needed, a natural disaster could interfere with flow of goods, may not be able to immediately meet requirements of a massive and unexpected order, because of lack of stocks of finished goods.

Reference

AccountingTools. (2015). The advantages and disadvantages of just-in-time inventory. Retrieved from http://www.accountingtools.com/questions-and-answers/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-just-in-time-inventory.html

MRP Structure

According to Chase, Jacobs, and Aquilano (2006), materials requirements planning or MRP is used to determine demand for lower level items. It is a logical approach to determine the number of parts, components, and materials need to produce each end item. It also provides the time schedule, specifying when each material, part, and component should be ordered or produced. Once orders are fixed, MRP creates schedules to identify the parts and materials required to produce end items, the exact numbers needed, and the dates when orders for materials should be released and be received or completed within the production cycle. The overall goals of an MRP system are to improve customer service, minimize inventory investment, and maximize production operating efficiency.

Reference

Chase, R., Jacobs, F., Aquilano, N. (2006). Materials requirements planning. Retrieved from http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072983906/student_view0/chapter16/index.html

Impact of inventory on company resources

According to Handfield (2002), one of the biggest opportunities for creating improved financial performance is by reducing the amount of inventory in a supply chain. The average manufacturer spends 56 cents out of every dollar of revenues on managing inventory located in warehouses, in-transit, or on location with customers. In other industries such as retail or wholesale, this amount can be even higher.

Reference

Handfield, R. (2002). The hidden impact of inventory. Retrieved from http://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/the-hidden-impact-of-inventory

2) RICHARD

 Issues in facilities locations
The problem of facility location is faced by both new and existing businesses, and its solution is critical to a company’s eventual success. An important element in designing a company’s supply chain is the location of its facilities.

1. Proximity to Customers; Such proximity also helps ensure that customer needs are incorporated into products being developed and built.
2. Business Climate: A favorable business climate can include the presence of similar-sized businesses, the presence of companies in the same industry, and, in the case of international locations the presence of other foreign companies.
3. Total Costs; the objective is to select a site with the lowest total cost
4. Infrastructure; Adequate road, rail, air, and sea transportation are vital
5. Quality of Labor; the educational and skill levels of the labor pool must match the company’s needs. Even more important are the willingness and ability to learn.
6. Suppliers; A high-quality and competitive supplier base makes a given location suitable. The proximity of important suppliers’ plants also supports lean production methods.
7. Other Facilities; the location of other plants or distribution centers of the same company may influence a new facility’s location in the network. Issues of product mix and capacity are strongly interconnected to the location decision in this context.
8. Free Trade Zones; A foreign trade zone or a free trade zone is typically a closed facility (under the supervision of the customs department) into which foreign goods can be brought without being subject to the normal customs requirements.
9. Political Risk; The fast-changing geopolitical scenes in numerous nations present exciting, challenging opportunities.
10. Government Barriers; Barriers to enter and locate in many countries are being removed today through legislation. Yet many no legislative and cultural barriers should be considered in location planning.
11. Trading Blocs; The world of trading blocs gained a new member with the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
12. Environmental Regulation; The environmental regulations that impact a certain industry in a given location should be included in the location decision.
13. Host Community; The host community’s interest in having the plant in its midst is a necessary part of the evaluation process. Local educational facilities and the broader issue of quality of life are also important.
14. Competitive Advantage; An important decision for multinational companies is the nation in which to locate the home base for each distinct business.

http://www.ateneonline.it/chase2e/studenti/tn/6184-7_tn10.pdf

Inputs to production planning
Production Scheduling is the Input and Production Planning is the Output
There are essentially three productions planning strategies. These strategies involve trade-offs among the workforce size work hours, inventory, and backlogs.
1. Chase strategy. Match the production rate to the order rate by hiring and laying off employees as the order rate varies.
2. Stable workforce-variable work hours. Vary the output by varying the number of hours worked through flexible work schedules or overtime.
3. Level strategy. Maintain a stable workforce at a constant output rate.
4. Pure strategy. A simple strategy that uses just one option such as hiring and firing workers, for meeting demand
5. Mixed strategy. A more complex strategy that combines options for meeting demand
Production scheduling addresses the central questions of economics - what to produce, how to produce, where to produce, how much to produce - within the context of manufacturing plants.
Jacobs, F. R. & Chase, R. B. (2014). Operations and supply chain management (14th ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Level scheduling (Lean Production Schedules)

1. Level schedule. A schedule that pulls material into final assembly at a constant rate
2. Freeze windows. Refers to that period of time during which the schedule is fixed and no further changes are possible.
3. Underutilization of capacity. Are controversial features of lean production?
Jacobs, F. R. & Chase, R. B. (2014). Operations and supply chain management (14th ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Benefits and challenges of inventory
Top Five Benefits of a Good Inventory Management Strategy
If you are not keeping a watchful eye on your inventory or counting stock regularly, you are setting yourself up for potential inventory errors and challenges. Proper inventory management really can make or break your business! Keep the following benefits in mind as you weigh the cost of not implementing an inventory management strategy:
Benefits:
1. A good inventory management strategy improves the accuracy of inventory orders.
Proper inventory management helps you figure out exactly how much inventory you need to have on-hand. This will help prevent product shortages and allow you to keep just enough inventories without having too much in the warehouse.
2. A good inventory management strategy leads to a more organized warehouse.
A good inventory management strategy supports an organized warehouse. If your warehouse is not organized, you will have a hard time managing your inventory. Many companies choose to optimize their warehouses by putting the highest selling products together and in easily accessible places in the warehouse. This, in turn, helps speed up the order fulfillment process and keeps customers happy.
3. A good inventory management strategy helps save time and money.
Inventory management can have real time and monetary benefits. By keeping track of which products you have on-hand or ordered, you save yourself the effort of having to do an inventory recount to ensure your records are accurate. A good inventory management strategy also helps you save money that could otherwise be wasted on slow-moving products.
4. A good inventory management strategy increases efficiency and productivity.
Inventory management devices, such as bar code scanners and inventory management software, can help drastically improve your efficiency and productivity. These devices will help eliminate manual processes so your employees can focus on other – more important – areas of the business.
5. A good inventory management strategy keeps your customers coming back for more.
It’s a fact that good inventory management leads to what you are constantly striving for – repeat customers. If you want your hard-earned customers to come back for your products and services, you need to be able to meet customer demand quickly. Inventory management helps you meet this demand by allowing you to have the right products on-hand as soon as your customers need them.
Top Five Benefits of a Good Inventory Management Strategy by admin | Aug 30, 2013 | Inventory Management

Challenges:
The top five inventory management challenges for manufacturers:
1. Integrating demand planning and inventory planning
2. Training users of demand planning and inventory management software
3. Change management: Dumping those old spreadsheets and paper
4. Standardizing data
5. Choosing just the demand planning and inventory management modules that suit your business

http://searchmanufacturingerp.techtarget.com/feature/The-top-five-inventory-management- challenges-for-manufacturers-and-how-to-address-them

MRP structure
Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP0 is the logic determining the number of parts, components, and materials needed to produce a product (Is driven by dependent demand).
Primary MRP Reports
1. Planned order to be released at a future time.
2. Order release notices to execute the planned orders.
3. Changes in due dates of open orders due to rescheduling.
4. Cancellations or suspensions of open orders due to cancellation or suspension of orders on the master production schedule.
5. Inventory status data.
Benefits of MRP
1. Better response to customer orders
2. Faster response to market changes
3. Improved utilization of facilities and labor
4. Reduced inventory levels
MRP Management

1. MRP is a dynamic system
2. Facilities replanting when changes
3. System nervousness can result from too many changes
4. Time fences put limits on replanting
5. Pegging links each item to its parent allowing effective analysis of changes

MRP Elements
1. Master Scheduling
2. Inventory Records
3. Bill of Materials (BOM)
4. Capacity Planning
5. Purchasing
6. Shops Floor Control

Jacobs, F. R. & Chase, R. B. (2014). Operations and supply chain management (14th ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Impact of inventory on company resources
Inventory is the stock of any item or resource used in an organization.

One of the biggest opportunities for creating improved financial performance is by reducing the amount of inventory in a supply chain. If you were to look at the financial statements of an average organization, how much would you guess the company spends on goods and services? In manufacturing, the figure is astonishingly high: the average manufacturer spends approximately 56 cents out of every dollar of revenues involves managing purchased goods and services – often in the form of inventory located in warehouses, in-transit, or even on location with customers. For some industries, such as retailing or wholesaling, this figure can be even higher. In high-tech industries, inventory obsolescence is a major problem (scm.ncsu.edu/scm).

http://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/the-hidden-impact-of-inventory

Jacobs, F. R. & Chase, R. B. (2014). Operations and supply chain management (14th ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw Hill

PS: PLEASE RESPOND TO THE QUESTION THEN RESPOND TO BOTH OF MY CLASSMATES POSTS...REMEMBER YOUR REPLY POST TO THEM CAN BE NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE AND PLEASE WRITE AS YOU TALKING DIRECLTY TO THEM.

II) PROBLEM SET AS FIRST ATTACHMENT TO BE SOLVED.

III) Write and submit a three to four page paper on the benefits of translating, and how to translate, business plans into labor and production output plans to minimize the cost of resources.

Refer to the course textbook and at least one additional reference in your paper.

Format for Assignment:

1. Title Page
2. Write Questions and Answers
3. Reference Page (If needed/add citations for every reference)

PS: WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT AGUIDELINES AS SECOND ATTACHMENT.

IV)

FROM PROFESSOR: The purpose of this task is to demonstrate to your instructor that your team is making progress on your project paper. By this stage, your group should have a minimum of 15 pages following the guidelines in the Group Project Overview document.

FROM GROUP LEADER: Hello group! Week 5 felt a little like a nice break, and unfortunately week 6 may be the worst one yet. We have 2 group projects due this week. First is rough draft number 2. There were highlighted areas in the first rough draft where we needed to elaborate more. Now that we have a rough draft 1, number 2 should be much simpler, just building! Please look in our group files for the rough draft that was submitted. Save a copy and make any changes in a different font color/highlighted to keep us on track. We need to get to 5,000 words.

GROUP PROJECT OVERVIEW AS ATTACHMENT 3

DAVID CHARLES: BASED ON THE ROUGH DRAFT AS ATTACHMENT # 4. I HAD SECTION 4, WHICH YOU COVERED SO BASED ON THE DIRECTIONS GIVEN BY MY GROUP LEADER AND PROFESSOR...IT HAS TO BE EXPANDED...AS YOU OPEING THE DOCUMENT SECTION 4 HAS SOME HIGHLIGHTED ARES THAT YOU WILL NEED TO LOOK OVER AS MY GROUP LEADER STATED.