Recently, Wallace and his staff reviewed the business strategy in the manufacturing division. After revision, it became obvious that the marketing, engineering, and manufacturing strategies should be updated. The shipper Company has diversified into three separate divisions now, being the Electrical Products Division, the Materials Division and the Advanced Products Division. EPD produced a variety of circuit boards and other electrical products for mass markets. The MD produced laminated plastic materials that were sold to EPD, APD and outside customers. the APD manufactured specialty products to customer order. Sales and profits for the Advanced Products Division have been somewhat erratic. They produce their main product, the aerostat, only twelve times a year, which accounts for about fifty percent of APD’s sales.
There will be a heavy emphasis on marketing strategies that will require extensive market research, market development and sales distribution systems. The company will need to concentrate heavily on planning and they must have the patience to focus on their strategies to see them through for future success. APD plans to gradually add higher volume products for multiple customers. By doing this, changes will be needed in manufacturing to be able to compete in the new setting. The purpose of this case is to see the changes in manufacturing that are associated with the change in the company’s long-‐term strategy. Also, it makes it known that it is important to integrate all of the aspects of operations for success.
The Term Paper on New Product Development Strategy for Google
Google is a world known company founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1997 based on the new name of their search engine that was BackRub that operated in Standford more than a year. The word Google itself comes from a pun of word “googol” a mathematical term for the number represented number 1 followed by 100 zeros that reflect their mission to organize infinite information in the ...
Discussion Questions
1. What objectives should be adopted in manufacturing with respect to cost, delivery, and flexibility?
One objective that should be taken into account when dealing with quality is the reducing of flaws and maintaining high product standards. Physical inspections should be conducted consistently to insure high product standards. Customers could lose faith if the quality of the product is sacrificed for price. One key objective to keep the costs low, is to be efficient as possible throughout the manufacturing process. Flexibility is also something that may be reduced with regards to the higher volume being produced. The company must decide on how much inventory is needed from raw materials to finished goods. This will allow the best delivery timeframes, better flexibility to customer demand and the minimizing of costs.
2. How should the objectives in manufacturing be achieved through process, organization, equipment, workforce, capacity, scheduling, quality management, and production and inventory control systems?
In order for the objectives to be completed, eliminating flaws is necessary while still keeping the products at a high quality standard. Focusing on delays in the workplace is another step that can be taken to complete the said objectives throughout the process. Creating strong communication channels throughout the entire workforce is also essential in building a strong manufacturing team. Standardized procedures for management and organization should be spread across the Advanced Products Division. Overall efficiency is something that should be accomplished with fixing flaws in manufacturing and ultimately lowering cost. Capacity is also something that has to be taken into great account, due to the larger volumes that will be produced in the future for this company.
