Reference no: EM132283553

Please read this assessment brief in its entirety before attempting your assignment.

Assessment Breakdown

Company A:

A manufacturing organisation which supplies the construction industry is currently reviewing its manufacturing processes in order to improve production, reduce lead-times and increase customer response. This is an attempt to keep up with demand and increased customer requirements.

The organisation manufactures Door Hinges from different raw materials as the main product, as well as other ironmongery products which are fitted to doors.

The product specification and order sizes can vary from batch to batch depending on customer requirement. On average 50% of the product output is made up of standard sizes which can be stocked and the other 50% are specific sizes and specific raw materials which are specified at the point of the customer placing the order. Raw materials have long lead-times but can be obtained from several different suppliers.

Customers expect the manufacturing company to deliver products within a short lead-time and this is due to the fact that doors are fitted at the end of the construction process. An additional issue is that the purchasing of these products can be overlooked until a few weeks of the building completion hence late orders come in all the time.

Company B:

Company B is also looking to improve its manufacturing process in order to increase competition in the market as well as reduce inventory costs and have a better managed cash flow (capital management).

The organisation is currently holding high levels of inventory and in contrast to organisation A, organisation B has a small number of variation on the manufactured products as well as a more consistent order size.

Despite the fact of having a good forecast from its customers, organisation B still has lead-time issues and parts are accumulating all around the shop floor due to the high number of works in progress (WIP).

Your task

Give a brief description of lean versus agile supply chains identifying which strategy would apply to which organisation and why

Identify the benefits and pitfalls of each strategy giving examples from the real world

How could these strategies be implemented by either company A or B and what considerations need to be made in each case

Give a real world example of an organisation that has successfully implemented one (or both) of these strategies and evaluate the success it has achieved since implementation of the strategy

Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes that are being assessed in this assignment are:

a. Apply and reflect critically on the Supply Chain Management Models as a basis for effective resource management.

b. Distinguish between key supply chain concepts and techniques and apply appropriate ones for controlling and planning cross functional operations.

c. Evaluate and synthesise the various definitions of quality in an operational context and identify opportunities for quality improvement.

d. Demonstrate an ability for problem-solving in complex scenarios.

Word Limit

The maximum word limit for this assignment is 2,400words