Meditech case Q1. What are Meditech’s Problems in introducing new products? In manufacturing ALL products? New products face forecasting problems. So in the beginning, as they can see in the data (graph of Weekly Net Order for New Products) of previous years, the demand in the first few weeks is booming. They should adjust their production numbers to the higher demand, until it will ease after week 4-6. In the weeks after the introduction peak the business should keep production on a constant level without having too much inventory but still enough to keep a 1 2/3 weeks of demand. There is a lot of data available but it is scattered over different systems in different areas of the organization. Therefore the data is practically useless. No routine way to see incoming demand for a new product.
Configuring one universal data sheet was difficult because of the use of different time spans in different systems. A week’s notice before production change is too long. Q2. What is driving these problems, both systemically and organizationally? The business is decentralized, which means that there different areas work with different standards and system. Therefore they cannot quickly respond to each other.

Problems are recognized too late. Problems are known, but because of the different systems that are used, this information is not properly communicated throughout the different departments of the business which results in slow response to problems (i.e. changes in product demand).

Q3. Why is the customer service manager the first person to recognize the major issues? The customer service manager is the first person who receives the complaints from customers. He is like the 'gate' to the company and with the information he receives, the manager can categorize them and recognize the main issues.

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