Question

The purpose of this assignment is to identify and apply OSCM concepts/tools to solve problems in managing operations and supply chains. Students are expected to find an interesting OSCM problem from the real business world, think about how you can apply the OSCM concepts/tools that you learn in this course to solve the problem, and write up a report based on your analysis. More specifically, each student should: • Find a problem in managing operations and supply chains from the real business world (from work or from any business articles/cases) • Identify specific OSCM concepts/tools that can be applied to the problem • Apply an appropriate OSCM concept/tool or a set of appropriate OSCM concepts/tools to propose a solution to the problem • Analyze the expected results that may be obtained when the solution is implemented. The report should be 8-10 pages in length including the cover and appendices, with 1” margins on all sides, double-spacing, and 12 point font. The cover of the report should include title, class code and name, section number, student name, and date of completion.

1. Abstract (150 words maximum) - Summarize the entire report, including problem statement, OSCM concepts/tools that have been applied to the problem, and expected results of the proposed solution.

2. Background information - Clearly state whether the problem is from work or from business articles/cases. If it is from business articles/cases, provide its source (title, author, name of the journal, date published). Briefly introduce the company background (e.g., name, products, business size, location, internal/external interesting facts, and etc.).

3. Problem Description - Describe the problem clearly and specifically. - You should focus on a single problem, although you can introduce several other issues for informational purposes. - This section must include a problem statement starting with, e.g., “This paper considers the problem of determining …”, “The main problem of the firm is how to ...”, and etc., either in the beginning or at the end of the section.

4. OSCM concepts/tools that can be applied - Describe what specific OSCM concepts/tools can be applied to the problem and why they are appropriate to the problem. This section should make it clear that you understand the concepts/tools you are about to use.

5. Application of OSCM concepts/tools - Choose an OSCM concept/tool or a set of OSCM concepts/tools among the ones provided in section 4 and apply it to propose a solution to the problem. - This section should include your work/calculations in detail to show how you have applied the OSCM concept/tool(s) to develop the solution.

6. Analysis of expected results - Analyze the expected results of the proposed solution. - The expected results may include cost/revenue impact and/or improvement of supply chain performance. You must be specific to receive full credit. - Discuss the pros and cons of the suggested solution.

7. Conclusion The meaning of an OSCM problem will become clearer as you study this course (see the textbook contents). An OSCM problem may involve process design and improvement, supply chain management, capacity planning, inventory management, quality management, project management, production planning and control, forecasting, facility location and layout, supplier management, etc. You are encouraged to find a problem from work if you have relevant work experience, so that you may apply the concepts/tools learned from this course at work. However, if you want to find a problem from business articles/cases, you can find one from any journals/newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and so on. Or you can surf the Internet to find an interesting article/case.

Answer 1

Worldwide EXCHANGERS TEAM CASE ANALYSIS:

Enormous SUPPLY CHAIN BOTTLENECK OF THE NORTH AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY

Term, Year

Culmination date, year

1.           Abstract

The North American car industry is debilitated with confronting gigantic inventory network bottlenecking in their capacity to make vehicles inside the following 5 years. The instruments and ideas we picked that can be connected to this problem are the weighted-factor rating model, make back the initial investment model, and efficiency estimation device for yields versus inputs. The prime decision areas in connection to assembling plants, profitability cost counterbalances of work, and the vicinity of tooling areas to assembling areas would have a superior likelihood of and chance to construct connections, trust, information sharing, and better mechanical development. The truth is, makers can't deliver a vehicle without these toolmakers, their part is as though not, more essential than numerous other part in the assembling procedure and it is basic that their esteem be considered and incorporated into figuring weight in their production network forms.

2.           Background Information

The choice to comprehensively center around the North American car industry all in all rather than singular vehicle producers is on the grounds that they are for the most part confronting similar troubles inside their supply chains.

With the vehicle initially being presented in the late seventeenth century as a toy for a Chinese Emperor, it soon advanced to more utilitarian uses for work and not long after for the transportation of gatherings of individuals. With the impact of a $10, 000.00 honor, the main carriage-sized car reasonable to substitute the utilization of steeds and different creatures in transportation was conceived in the United States, Dr. J.W. Carhart of Racine, Wisconsin imagined it in 1871. From that point on, the change and usefulness of the vehicle ceaselessly advanced with

commitments of numerous American pioneers, for example, John William Lambert of Ohio City, Ohio and Henry Nadig of Allentown, Pennsylvania, to give some examples. In spite of the fact that the Duryea Motor Wagon Company was presented in 1893, turning into the principal American car fabricating organization by Charles and Frank Duryea, it was not until Ransom E. Olds went ahead the scene, overwhelming the starting time of the vehicle business of North America in Lansing, Michigan in 1902. With his Olds Motor Vehicle Company, the high-volume fuel controlled car producing industry genuinely started in North America, with the Thomas B. Jeffery Company, Henry Ford Company, and Cadillac sticking to this same pattern. Amid this time, most North American car makers were situated in the province of Michigan, except for Duryea Motor Wagon Company, which was situated in Springfield, Massachusetts.

North America was fifteen years sub-par in car creation, which really started in Europe with the primary current car being made in 1886 by German designer Carl Benz. Passage acquainted and contributed with the creation and generation of more effective generation techniques with an end goal to make the vehicle more moderate for the white collar class, by presenting the main moving mechanical production system in 1913.

While the requirement for mechanized wagons lessened as cars turned into the favored technique for transportation and Oldsmobile (Olds Motor Vehicle Company) went ancient in the spring of 2004, Ford Motor Company has kept assembling cars throughout the previous 110 years. Alongside General Motors and other significant North American vehicle producers, they encountered one of the biggest money related emergencies in American history with the subsidence. From that point forward, endeavors to bounce back and rebuild proceed. With the enormous monetary effect that injured the vehicle business amid the retreat, numerous production network issues were ignored, for example, the tooling organizations that are a vast effect on the assembling of autos in North

America, on the grounds that the essential concentration was to abstain from closing down and proceed with the assembling of North American cars. The historical backdrop of the North American vehicle industry and their assembling challenges goes back to the start of their framework, to incorporate unwavering quality, common sense, absence of street framework, street dependability, get together speed and time, the execution of wellbeing direction, rivalry with imports, mechanical restrictions or deficiency in that department, monetary subsidences, and lessening deals. In spite of the fact that the car business considered to be a need for the movement of America and its financial development potential, the North American car industry has attempted to keep up their request with such huge numbers of different worries that impact their essentialness in the American economy.

3.           Problem Description

The North American car industry is debilitated with confronting enormous production network bottlenecking in their capacity to make vehicles inside the following 5 years. The underlying driver of the issue is apparently the failure or absence of being proactive. The assembling procedure has been hindered and is enduring a direct result of unexpected postpones, for example, blasts of tooling industrial facilities, constrain majeure, deficiency of talented work, and different plan and customer require changes.

The focal point of this paper inside the domains of the inventory network in the North American car industry is the issues emerging because of late subsidences, tooling organizations are presently 33% of what they used to be in Canada and the United States. The North American car industry is currently confronting 40percent bottlenecking issues because of the absence of tooling organizations to help the automobile business, the industry now faces a noteworthy lack.

As per an article gave by Plastic News, the device and bite the dust business supporting the automobile business is comprised of around 750 shops, generally in the United States and Canada. These tooling organizations created a joined worth of $9.25 billion worth of devices a year ago. Since the request of the car business has changed with requests and extra alternatives offered to clients, the expansion of generation conjectures about multiplying, and European and Asian creation in North America likewise sourcing the greater part of their devices from the North American supply base, a bottlenecking influence has started to happen inside their supply chains. This has made a formula for limit deficiencies for tooling producers in North America, constraining the expansion in obtaining apparatuses from ease nations. It is basic that the tooling producers and the North American vehicle industry center their endeavors in making an arrangement to help the assessed $15.2 billion worth of tooling requests of the exact not so distant future, which is a long way from their present capacity of just providing around $8 billion worth of tooling at their present 80 percent limit. They should about twofold their tooling creation to achieve the requests of the North American car industry alone. The worries of tooling limit inside the car business in America has provoked automakers and providers to investigate the business and its genuine prerequisites to proceed with the achievement and dodge the bottlenecking pattern that is estimate for the business in the following couple of years. So, it is important to discover techniques that are both gainful and helpful for all sides and those influenced of the production network.

The tooling umbrella is comprised of passes on, molds, steel, stamping, shaping, hardware, to give some examples. An ordinary auto utilizes around 3,000 devices for creation, which can require single apparatuses to cost somewhere in the range of $5,000 to more than $1 million relying on the multifaceted nature of the part. These apparatuses are utilized to adjust segments of the car that impact things, for example, trim level,

fuel effectiveness, included advantages, and numerous different complexities presented in view of the necessities and wants of the client, subsequently bringing about various trim levels for one car to fit these requirements.

With the absence of adequate assets to manage the North American automobile industry light-vehicle deals development, it is hard to create go down hotspots for crises to make a more proactive climate to maintain a strategic distance from different fiascos and circumstances that would have coordinate negative

impact on the business. Tooling alone has turned out to be and totally unique issue for the North American vehicle industry in itself, and with the subsidence, it has caused a significantly bigger issue as they have been pushed considerably additionally down the natural way of life of the car business completely. The spotlight now should be on the most proficient method to enhance the conditions encompassing the

whole inventory network, essentially the asset of devices to suit North American and outside businesses that work locally and depend on the openness of the apparatuses accessible to them in North America.

4. SCM Concepts/Tools that can be connected

There are various sorts of SCM ideas and apparatuses to apply to our concern of where to put new offices for tooling makers. Some of these incorporate the weighted-factor rating model, the earn back the original investment show and the efficiency estimation device for yields versus inputs. Each model envelops a few factors that would be germane to choosing perfect areas to open tooling offices. In the event that used accurately, they would be a priceless asset for productively planning plans of action for new offices.

The weighted-factor rating model, which would look at the appeal of a few areas along various quantitative and subjective measurements, would be an awesome device to start our examination with. We would initially start by distinguishing a few key potential area focuses. We would then distinguish the elements to assess the areas against. These could incorporate closeness to rail autos or trucking lines, office costs, work cost and vicinity to the market. Next, we would need to relate a weight for each factor and decide a score for each factor. For example, we could dole out a weight of .20 for closeness to trucking lines, a .15 weight for office costs, a weight of .20 for work cost, a weight of .25 for nearness to the market, and a .10 weight for personal satisfaction. When this is aggregated and processed, we would then whole the greater part of the scores by area. The area with the score nearest to 1 would be the most evident and gainful decision. This specific rating model would work particularly well for us in light of the fact that the answer for our concern is open all the more tooling producing areas to help mitigate the inventory network weights on the North American car industry.

Another apparatus that we could use to decide whether an area would be useful for automakers and tooling organizations would be the earn back the original investment demonstrate. This is a helpful method when settled and variable expenses caused at every area can be resolved. This model starts by recognizing areas to be considered. We would then decide the settled cost for every office. Settled expenses would incorporate expenses of land, property charges, protection, and gear and building support. Next, we would decide the unit variable cost for every office. Variable expenses would incorporate the expenses of work, materials, utilities and transportation. We would then need to build the aggregate cost lines for every area on a chart. The chart would then demonstrate to us the earn back the original investment focuses. We could then utilize this data to recognize the range over which every area has the lower cost, basically by taking a gander at the chart that we have recently developed.

In conclusion, we could take a gander at dissecting profitability. Efficiency could be utilized to gauge how well a nation, industry or specialty unit is utilizing its assets. Efficiency takes a gander at the connection amongst yields and data sources. Yields can be anything from clients served, the quantity of administrations performed or simply deals dollars. Sources of info incorporate work costs, material costs, vitality expenses and capital expenses. Efficiency can be estimated in either single-factor or multi-factor. Single factor includes a period investigation. For example, a solitary factor efficiency examination would take a gander at to what extent it took to finish an administration. A multi-factor profitability examination would gauge the time it takes to finish an administration and incorporate different components like the work and item costs included.

5.           Application of SCM Concepts/Tools

Taking a gander at the three noteworthy North American car makers, GM, Ford and Chrysler, one begins to see that their assembling plants are found everywhere throughout the United States. Notwithstanding, there is to a greater extent a fixation in the Midwest, for example, in Kansas, Ohio, and Michigan. That being noted, tooling produces would be savvy to extend in these business groups with the goal that they have simple access to their clients. The closeness of close tasks would help assemble coordination and trust for future business wanders.

With the end goal of this report, we will use the Weighted-Factor model and take a gander at potential profitability levels in our speculation. All esteems will be fictionalized with the end goal of this report. The three areas that we will scout for a future tooling office will be Kansas City, KS, Cleveland, OH, and Detroit, MI. The graph is as per the following:

Important Location Factors	Factor Weight Sums (Sums to 1)	Kansas City, KS (1 - 100)	Cleveland, OH (1 - 100)	Detroit, MI (1 - 100)
Proximity to trucking lines	0.20	80	90	90
Facility Costs	0.15	85	90	95
Labor Costs	0.20	80	90	90
Proximity to the market	0.25	85	95	95
Quality of life	0.10	95	90	70

	Kansas City, KS	Cleveland, OH	Detroit, MI
Proximity to trucking lines	16	18	18
Facility Costs	12.75	13.5	14.25
Labor Costs	16	18	18
Proximity to the market	21.25	23.75	23.75
Quality of life	9.5	9	7
Total	75.5	82.25	81

The breakdowns of the counts are as per the following:
Kansas City, KS = .20 (80) + .15 (85) + .20 (80) + .25 (85) + .10 (95) = 75.5
Cleveland, OH = .20 (90) + .15 (90) + .20 (90) + .25 (95) + .10 (90) = 82.25
Detroit, MI = .20 (90) + .15 (95) + .20 (90) + .25 (95) + .10 (70) = 81
The following counts we will take a gander at will be the Service Productivity factor as an approach to measure the speculations that would need to be made to start tooling producer's extensions. For this illustration we will use the numerous factor profitability estimating recipe. Assume financial specialists need to separate how every area would passage in their administration profitability. These qualities at these figurings have been cost balanced by city.
We will separate every area as takes after:
Location Time (In hours) Customers per hour Labor Cost (per hour) Parts Costs Productivity Service

We will break down each location as follows:

Location	Time (In hours)	Customers per hour	Labor Cost (per hour)	Parts Costs	Productivity Service
Kansas City, KS	1	2	$16	$52	0.029
Cleveland, OH	1	2	$14	$50	0.031
Detroit, MI	1	2	$13	$48	0.033

The calculations for this break down are shown below: Kansas City, KS = 2/($16+52) = .029

Cleveland, OH = 2/($14+50) = .031 Detroit, MI = 2/($13+48) = .033

The estimations for this separate are demonstrated as follows: Kansas City, KS = 2/($16+52) = .029
Cleveland, OH = 2/($14+50) = .031 Detroit, MI = 2/($13+48) = .033
6. Analysis of Expected Results
The investigation of the weighted-factor demonstrate plainly demonstrates an area inclination for Cleveland, OH, with an aggregate score of 82.25. Thinking about all of relative weights, Cleveland appears like the perfect area for a future tooling producing plant. Cleveland, OH, where the normal middle family pay is $27,470, is by all accounts the most in a perfect world found. The city is inside 200 miles of real assembling plants for Ford, GM and
Chrysler. Detroit, MI, coming in second place with a weight normal of 81, would likewise not have
been a prime decision area for a tooling office. Detroit, with a medium family unit pay of
$27,862, would appear like the perfect area in light of its low work cost, wealth of offices and area. Notwithstanding, the personal satisfaction would not have been that extraordinary, particularly with the neighborhood economy presently in ruins.
Finally, Kanas City, KS, came in with a weight normal of 75.5, basically in light of its area and work costs. Kansas City, with a middle family salary of $51,587, however a perfect area for a personal satisfaction, would have had higher work costs. Also, it isn't a prime area for major car producers. Despite the fact that GM is found adjacent, the other two noteworthy car firms are most certainly not.
The efficiency benefit has a superior rating in Cleveland, where the score was .031 sections for every dollar. This is specifically attached to the counterbalanced of work costs versus parts costs. The circumstance was marginally better in Detroit, which scored .033 sections for each dollar. This score is additionally specifically fixing to the less expensive work and materials costs accessible in Detroit. Kansas City, nonetheless, scored the most reduced, with a score of .029 sections for each dollar. This is again specifically fixing to work and parts costs, which would hypothetically be more costly around there.
Having tooling offices in the Cleveland, OH territory would have an awesome change of store network execution for the North American car industry. Tooling offices would be deliberately situated to offer the best asset for car parts and outline. Being so near major car makes would likewise give the tooling organizations better access to their clients and enable them to assemble better connections in view of the nearness. With better cooperative connections, emerge trust, learning sharing, and better mechanical advancement. Moreover, the production network would enhance basically by adding extra tooling offices to mitigate the present deficiencies the business is encountering. Having added assets generally near the maker would not just mitigate the bottlenecking that the business is as of now encountering, it would enhance the value focuses by lightening the request. Cleveland, be that as it may, isn't without its hindrances too. Due to its economy, its land and office expenses will be somewhat higher than that of Detroit. Likewise, rivalry between other tooling fabricates that are additionally in the zone would be extremely focused. This could possibly cause issues with quality as contending fabricates could conceivably forfeit their item quality so as to supply items at a speedier rate.
7. Conclusion
Taking everything into account, the situation of the North American vehicle industry is by and by at another incredible danger of not having the capacity to give the quality, level of administration, and need of its customers due to the wasteful aspects of its third level providers, the tooling producers. In the event that this circumstance isn't dealt with legitimately, we chance the loss of the rest of the loyalties of our present customer base. The North American car industry has figured out how to proceed with its over 100 year history, with the majority of its habits and misfortunes it has encountered over the long history.
Numerous inventory network instruments and developments can be utilized to enhance this once neglected essential circumstance. Instruments that can help enhance the procedure and abstain from bottlenecking include: estimating potential efficiency levels, checking the speculations that would need to be made to start the development of tooling maker's over the U.S. to suit new assembling areas that are wanted to be developed, the likelihood of expanding complex instrument fabricating from minimal effort locales, and the joint effort of endeavors between the business constrain, vehicle makers, and device makers.
The hole between apparatuses created and the genuine need of automakers is presently vast, if not changes are made, we can hope to see the issue move from monetary to generation convenience and the capacity to meet the customers require, in this manner potentially forcing a surprising expansion in vehicle costs. This would additionally demoralize American shoppers from obtaining American made vehicles and we could then unavoidably lose the North American automobile industry and the 100-year in addition to history will wind up futile. Possibly that was somewhat sensational; notwithstanding, this case of the domino impact isn't too implausible, considering what the business has just persevered. At that point when the opposition perspective is included into the condition and
the imported product of autos can address the issues of the American purchaser outperforming their requirements, what different ways would we need to genuinely contend in such an aggressive market?
More proficient store network designs are important to enhance the circumstance of hardware accessibility and access, limit levels need to increment by in excess of 50 percent, preparing of new youthful ability, and the development of new instrument producing plants outside of the Midwest need to happen with a specific end goal to handle the predicted issues of the vehicle tooling fabricating conditions. The vehicle business in North America all in all is on a fast development bend after the subsidence and liquidation. Generation that once plunged path beneath the commonplace creation level, has now restored itself and is relied upon to about twofold this year, and increment an extra 60 or more percent. Indeed, even at 100 percent limit, the present number of toolmakers couldn't achieve the humble objectives of $15.2 billion quickly drawing nearer, the structure/foodchain of the providers and their value would need to radically change to address the issues of the automakers and buyer request. All that really matters, you can't deliver a vehicle without these toolmakers, their part is as, if not, more vital than numerous other part in the assembling procedure.