Reference no: EM13226500
Hill's Automotive, Inc., is an aftermarket producer and distributor of automotive replacement parts. Art Hill has slowly expanded the business, which began as a supplier of hard-to-get auto air-conditioning units for classic cars and hot rods. The firm has limited manufacturing capability, but a state-of-the-art MRP system and extensive inventory and assembly facilities. Components are purchased, assembled, and repackaged. Among its products are private-label airconditioning, carburetors, and ignition kits. The downturn in the economy, particularly the company's discretionary segment, has put downward pressure on volume and margins. Profits have fallen considerably. In addition, customer service levels have declined, with late deliveries now exceeding 25% of orders. And to make matters worse, customer returns have been rising at a rate of 3% per month.
Wally Hopp, vice president of sales, claims that most of the problem lies with the assembly department. He says that although the firm has accurate bills of materials, indicating what goes into each product, it is not producing the proper mix of the product. He also believes the firm has poor quality control and low productivity, and as a result its costs are too high.
Melanie Thompson, treasurer, believes that problems are due to investing in the wrong inventories. She thinks that marketing has too many options and products.
Melanie also thinks that purchasing department buyers have been hedging their inventories and requirements with excess purchasing commitments.
The assembly manager, Kalinga Jagoda, says, "The symptom is that we have a lot of parts in inventory, but no place to assemble them in the production schedule. When we have the right part, it is not very good, but we use it anyway to meet the schedule."
Marshall Fisher, manager of purchasing, has taken the stance that purchasing has not let Hill's Automotive down. He has stuck by his old suppliers, used historical data to determine requirements, maintained what he views as excellent prices from suppliers, and evaluated new sources of supply with a view toward lowering cost. Where possible, Marshall reacted to the increased pressure for profitability by emphasizing low cost and early delivery.
Discussion Questions
1. Prepare a plan for Art Hill that gets the firm back on a course toward improved profitability. Be sure to identify the symptoms, the problems, and the specific changes you would implement.
2. Explain how MRP plays a role in this plan.
Explain the acid-catalyzed transesterification reaction
: Write a mechanism for the acid-catalyzed transesterification reaction of ethyl acetate with 1-butanol, which gives butyl acetate.
|
How much reactive power is flowing from bus 1 to 2
: The voltage on bus 1 is 1.0 per unit (pu) at 30 degrees; the voltage on bus 2 is 0.95 per unit at 5 degrees. The reactance connecting bus 1 to bus 2 is 0.5 per unit Ohms, and the resistance is negligible. a)How much real power (pu) is flowing from ..
|
State the concentration of the weak acid in the buffer
: The student then titrated 25ml of the same buffer with 0.1115M NaOH. The observed titration curve is shown before. what is the concentration of the weak acid in the buffer?
|
Write a paragraph on at least two methods
: Research possible strategies to reduce OSHA violations in a particular industry or your organization and write a paragraph on at least two methods.
|
Explain how mrp plays a role in this plan
: Prepare a plan for Art Hill that gets the firm back on a course toward improved profitability. Be sure to identify the symptoms, the problems, and the specific changes you would implement.
|
State the most important resonance structure
: Select the most important resonance structure for this species based on the formal charges on the atoms of the three resonance structures you have drawn. Now select the statement from the multiple choices which is true about this most important re..
|
Find the characteristics equation for the odes
: Find the characteristics equation and the corresponding roots for the following ODEs and identify its case a) y" + 6Y' + 9y=0 b) 10y" + 18y' +5.6y=0 c) 10y" + 50y' + 65y =0 Slove the intial value problem a) problem 2a) with y(0)=2 and y'(0)=-5
|
Explain the central atom in o3 is octet deficient
: Determine whether each of these species follows the octet rule, is octet deficient (central atom works with less than eight electrons in its valence shell), or has an expanded octet (central atom works with more than eight electrons in its valence..
|
What is an open collector input why is it used on sensors
: Draw a strain gauge circuit and its external components to attach to a conveyor mounted only at the ends to measure the load at the center of the conveyor. What type of testing would you need to do to establish a baseline and calibration curve for..
|