Om w 4 Assignment

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT WEEK 4

Operations Management Week 4 Assignment Trudy Williams BUS / 644 December 15, 2012 Dr. Baldonado

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT WEEK 4 Abstract In the following case study of Harvey Industries, I will discuss the principles of inventory control and supply chain management according to the text. In business operations, companies have to understand the principles of proactively managing their inventory and their supply chain. This is an important factor and if not managed properly a company’s profit will decrease. Understanding your inventory is the single most important factor of a company’s survival. Investment in your human capital versus the product is just as important because you can have the latest in technology and do not manage it correctly and that could be a double edge sword.

Harvey Industries is in the business of pressure washing machine production, assembly, and repair. They also offer commercial services as well. I think that they are spread a bit too thin for the capacity capabilities of their business. My task is to review the reasons for the company having problems and to make recommendations regarding their inventory and supply chain management. I will assess their current operations and make recommendations on the direction I think the company should precede. If they take an optimistic view of what they are currently doing and what they have an opportunity it if they should make a profitable turn around.

Keywords: supply chain, inventory, ABC approach, cycling, lead-time

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT WEEK 4 Operations Management Week 4 Assignment Inventory Control Read the case study below “Harvey Industries”. Provide reasoning for the current financial distress of the company and make recommendations for improvements to the new company president. Include at least one specific recommendation for both Supply Chain Management (chapter 15) and Inventory Management (chapter 13), as well as any other recommendations you deem necessary from your reading. Provide your recommendations in a 2-4 page APA style paper. Harvey Industries Background Harvey Industries, a Wisconsin company, specializes in the assembly of high-pressure washer systems and in the sale of repair parts for these systems. The products range from small portable high-pressure washers to large industrial installations for snow removal from vehicles stored outdoors during the winter months. Typical uses for high-pressure water cleaning include: Automobiles

Airplanes

Building maintenance

Barns

Engines

Ice cream plants

Lift trucks

Machinery

Swimming pools

Industrial customers include General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Delta Airlines, United Parcel Service, and Shell Oil Company. Although the industrial applications are a significant part of its sale, Harvey Industries is primarily an assembler of equipment for coin operated self-service car wash systems. The typical car wash is of concrete block construction with an equipment room in the center, flanked on either side by a number of bays. The cars are driven into the bays where the owner can wash and wax the car, utilizing high-pressure hot water and liquid wax. A dollar bill changer is available to provide change for the use of the equipment and the purchase of various products from dispensers. The products include towels, tire cleaner, and upholstery cleaner. In recent years Harvey Industries has been in financial difficulty. The company has lost money for three of the last four years, with the last year’s loss being $17,174 on sales of $1,238,674. Inventory levels have been steadily increasing to their present levels of $124,324. The company employs 23 people with the management team consisting of the following key employees: president, sales manager, manufacturing manager, controller, and purchasing manager. The abbreviated organization chart reflects the reporting relationship of the key employees and the three individuals who report directly to the manufacturing manager. Current Inventory Control System The current inventory control “system” consists of orders for stock replenishment being made by the stockroom foreman, the purchasing manager, or the manufacturing manager whenever one of them notices that the inventory is low. An order for replenishment of inventory is also placed whenever someone (either a customer or an employee

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT WEEK 4 in the assembly area) wants an item and it is not in stock. Some inventory is needed for the assembly of the high-pressure equipment for the car wash and industrial applications. There are current and accurate bills of material for these assemblies. The material needs to support the assembly schedule are generally known well in advance of the build schedule. The majority of inventory transactions are for repair parts and for supplies used by the car washes, such as paper towels, detergent, and wax concentrate. Because of the constant and rugged use of the car wash equipment, there is a steady demand for the various repair parts. The stockroom is well organized, with parts stored in locations according to each vendor. The number of vendors is relatively limited, with each vendor generally supplying many different parts. For example, the repair parts from Allen Bradley, a manufacturer of electrical motors, are stocked in the same location. These repair parts will be used to provide service for the many electrical motors that are part of the high-pressure pump and motor assembly used by all of the car washes. Because of the heavy sales volume of repair parts, there are generally two employees working in the stockroom- a stockroom foreman who reports to the manufacturing manager and an assistant to the foreman. One of these two employees will handle customer orders. Many customers stop by and order the parts and supplies they need. Telephone orders are also received and are shipped by United Parcel Service the same day. The assembly area has some inventory stored on the shop floor. This inventory consists of low-value items that are used every day, such as nuts, bolts, screws, and washers. These purchased items do not amount to very much dollar volume throughout the year. Unfortunately, oftentimes the assembly area is out of one of these basic items and this causes a significant amount of downtime for the assembly lines. Paperwork is kept to a minimum. A sales slip listing the part numbers and quantities sold to a customer is generally made out for each sale. If the assembly department needs items that are not stocked on the assembly floor, someone from that department will enter the stockroom and withdraw the necessary material. There is no paperwork made out for the items needed on the assembly floor. There were 973 different part numbers purchased for stock last year and those purchases amounted to $314,673. An analysis of inventory records shows that $220,684 was spent on just 179 of the part numbers. Fortunately for Harvey Industries, most of the items they purchase are stocked by either the manufacturer or by a wholesaler. When it is discovered that the company is out of stock on an item, it generally takes only two or three days to replenish the stock. Due to the company’s recent losses, its auditing firm became concerned about the company’s ability to continue in business. Recently the company sold off excess vacant land adjoining its manufacturing facility to generate cash to meet its financial obligations. New President Because of the recent death of the owner, the trust department of a Milwaukee Bank (as trustee for the estate) has taken over the company’s affairs and has appointed a new company president. The new president has identified many problem areas- one of which is improper inventory control. He has retained you as a consultant to make specific recommendations concerning a revised inventory control system. What are your recommendations and rationale?

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT WEEK 4 Inventory Management “Inventory management is a core operations management activity.” (Stevenson, 2012) A company’s management is responsible for the success of all the segments of the supply chain. Nevertheless, your inventory has to be managed efficiently or the company’s profits will suffer. Inventory controls are throughout the entire supply chain. It is pivotal that inventory is tracked in every process. Depending on the type of business, that your organization is in dictates the types of inventory management system that you use. There are several different types of inventory systems. Depending on not only space but also whether your business is a service or manufacturing business. To have an effective inventory is to make sure that is functions to anticipate demand, prevents price increases, smooth production and take advantage of quantity discounts. (p. 558) There are five major inventory control systems. Whether you choose and inventory systems that counts at the beginning or end or continually; it needs to be taken seriously because it is directly related to the profits or the loss of profit at the end. Cost management has many factors that determine success of a company. “Lead-time is the time between submitting an order and receiving it.” (p. 562) “Four basic costs are associated with inventories: purchase, holding, transaction (ordering), and shortage costs.” (Stevenson, 2012) The ABC inventory approach “classifies inventory items according to some measure of importance, usually annual dollar value (i.e., dollar value per unit multiplied by annual usage rate), and then allocates control efforts accordingly.” (Stevenson, 2012) This approach success is measured by period counting whether perform by an internal or external source. Adequate inventory management will help aid in the uninterrupted progressions of the supply chain and eventual delivery to the customer.

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT WEEK 4 Supply Chain Management The simplest definition of supply chain management encompasses a sequence of steps from warehouse to the customer. Being that the supply chain is a cycle; logistics is the order in which the supply chain should flow. At every level in the supply chain there are suppliers, equipment needs, fuel and repairs that are called value chains. These value chains are different depending on whether the organization is primarily a manufacturing or service industry. A manufacturing industry typically has a longer value chain than a service industry. Many difficulties can affect the delivery of the product or service to the customer. ROI, outsourcing, green suppliers, and IT integration are major considerations that managers need to take into consideration in the design, implementation, and direct management of the segment of the supply chain.

My recommendations for “Harvey Industries” The goal of the whole consult with the company was to research, review, and evaluate the current system design. It is apparent that they have some inventory management issues. Inventory control needs immediate attention. Unaccounted for quantities of smaller or seemingly insignificant amounts which are still part of the inventory. They should select an individual to be responsible for the cycle counting. They probably should incorporate the ABC approach to inventory control. They should also revisit if they are capable enough to handle corporate accounts. Many industries want to grow but many times, they are not ready to take on additional account or projects when they cannot successfully handle the business they currently have. My suggestion would be at this point to limit or not solicit any new corporate accounts. Evaluate and make the necessary changes to their current system. Aside from hiring a controller for cycling, changing the inventory approach, no longer let any parts be used without accounting for them and

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT WEEK 4 meet with all employees, after management has decided on a strategy, and gain a buy in. Your human capital will appreciate being considered in the overall process of change management.

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT WEEK 4 Conclusion In conclusion, many times businesses are not aware of the mistakes they are making because they have done it so long and continued to profit. Nevertheless, when the profits start decreasing you have a problem. What used to work just does not anymore. Egos can get in the way but one thing that needs to be understood is that this is business not personal. And it is all in the name of the company.

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT WEEK 4 References Stevenson, William (2012). Operations Management. McGraw-Hill Publishing.