...4208 REV: JANUARY 4, 2011 STEVEN C. WHEELWRIGHT WILLIAM SCHMIDT Scientific Glass, Inc.: Inventory Management In January 2010, Ava Beane, the newly hired Manager of Inventory Planning for Scientific Glass (SG), contemplated the critical nature of her first big project with the company. During her interviews for the job, several executives had told her very directly that the company’s need for a more effective way to manage its inventory was urgent. At the time, Beane had felt confident she could address the problem quickly and meaningfully. Now on the job for several weeks, Beane was gaining a fuller appreciation of the difficulties of the task. Until recently, SG had treated inventory management as largely an afterthought. As a fastgrowing organization with annual sales of $86 million, the company historically emphasized the twin goals of continued sales growth and high customer satisfaction. During the past year, however, executives at the company had identified a disturbing trend: Inventory balances were increasing substantially, which tied up extra capital the company needed to fund its growing operations. In recent years the company exceeded its target debt to total capital ratio of 40%. If this trend persisted, it could jeopardize SG’s ability to fund a planned expansion into new international markets. Beane was given four weeks to come up with recommendations on how to make the inventory plan support the company’s sales and customer-service objectives without...
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...Scientific Glass, Inc.: Inventory Management Executive Summary Scientific Glass (SG) provides specialized glassware for a variety of organizations such as pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, research labs, quality-control sites and testing facilities. As of January 2010, there was a substantial increase in their inventory balances that tied up the capital necessary for further investment needed for expansion. The debt-to-capital ratio surpassed the target of 40% preventing the company to use their capital in other areas. In addition, the shipping costs were rising, competitive pressures were accelerating, and certain markets in North America and Europe were becoming saturated which underscored the necessity for capital investment for expanding market opportunities in Latin America and Asia. Moreover, expanding warehousing network increased the inventory levels along with costs, documentation complexities and errors. The company hired a new Manager of Inventory Planning, Ava Beane, to come up with an effective plan to manage SG’s inventory without requiring a large capital investment. In order to finance operations in year 2010, SG requires an external funding of $53.8 million (Exhibit 1). These expenses would further limit the company to use their existing capital in other areas such as research and development and expanding to international markets. To improve customer service levels, SG had increased the target customer fill rate to 99% and added six more leased warehouses...
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...Scientific Glass, Inc; Inventory Management Company Background Scientific Glass established in 1992. It manufactures specialized glassware for laboratory usage and research facilities. Especially, middle size target is very high competition, which focusing on providing durable product, innovative design, and superior customer service. This forces the company focus on niche market by using information system to enable specific market focus in order to serve target better than competitors. In this industry continues growth over the past decade, which ranged from 3% to 5%. For Scientific Glass focused of its sales effort in North America for 70% of total sales. Moreover, after SG developed relationship with distributor in Germany in 2002, it makes SG has 20% of total sales come from Europe. Another 10% is come from Asia market, which has distributor in Singapore server that market. The main customers of this industry, like the other providers, SG selling its products to many organizations such as; 1) Pharmaceutical companies 2) Biotechnology firms 3) Hospitals 4) Academic and government research labs 5) Environmental testing facilities 6) Industrial research and development facilities 7) Quality control sites The price range of its product is from less than $3 to more than $200, with the average range is falling in $4 to $20. SG has more than 3,000 different standardized products. Also, company offers custom glassblowing services to customer who required specialized...
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...some of the causes and problems within Scientific Glass, Inc was their unstable inventory management. SG only considered their inventory management as an afterthought. Ava Beane was newly hired to fix these problems. Part of the problem with SG’s growing capital was that inventory balances were increasing and the company needed to fund its growing operations. The company is losing on money and customers due to its unstable system for inventory management. Another problem was that each warehouse responded to the demand in its region independent of all the other warehouses. I believe that the sales cycle was too long to meet the orders of the customers. The cycle ranged from 3 to 6 months, in my opinion I believe that this is too long. Another issue was that the company decided to only maintain its distribution partners in Europe and Asia Pacific region, this lead to a difficulty associated with managing an overseas sales and distribution function. I believe that the causes to these problems were that SG incurred costs of 10% of the gross margin for any product a customer ordered t0hat was not available in the inventory of that region’s warehouse. Part of the inventory problems involved sales people taking inventory home and keeping some in their cars. No employee should participate in this as it could lead to other ethical and moral problems. To help manage the flow of inventory SG used two computer systems to manage the flow of inventory. Although this is a good idea I believe...
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...content 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Google Inc. 1 1.2. Google Glass 1 2. Operations management & strategic planning 2 2.1. Operations management 2 2.2. Strategic planning 3 2.3. Link between operations management and strategic planning 3 3. Systems Diagram 4 3.1. Systems theory 4 4. Cost Minimization and quality maximization 5 4.1. Cost minimization 5 4.2. Quality maximization 6 4.3. Cost minimization and quality maximization at Google 6 5. The five performance objectives of operations management 7 5.1. The five performance objectives 7 5.2. Significance of the five performance objectives 8 6. Network planning and critical path analysis 9 6.1. Network planning 9 6.2. Critical path analysis 10 6.3. Evaluation of network planning and critical path analysis for Glass 10 7. Operational planning and control 11 7.1. Nature of operational planning and control 11 7.2. Need for Operational Planning and Control 13 8. Operational outcomes 14 9. Quality 15 9.1. Quality Defined 15 9.2. Quality Maintained 15 9.3. Quality for Google Inc. 17 Bibliography 19 1. Introduction 1.1. Google Inc. “Organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” is Google’s mission statement (http://www.google.com). Google Inc. is a United States based international technology corporation which specialises in Internet oriented services and products. Google Inc. was founded in 1998 by Larry Paige and...
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...YAKULT: A Probiotic Drink The onset of lifestyle-related diseases because of dietary habits, poor exercise, alcohol intake, stress and the like, is an issue Yakult is trying to prevent. The research and development team of Yakult put its efforts in the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases by promoting foods with beneficial materials and based on scientific evidence. Yakult is a probiotic drink which improves digestion and helps build immunity. Yakult is derived from the word "Jahurto", meaning "yoghurt" in Esperanto, a constructed international auxiliary language. Yakult contains 6.5 billion beneficial bacteria which is Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota. The bacteria in Yakult are resistant to gastric juices and bile. These bacteria reach our intestines alive to balance the amount of good bacteria in the gut. Yakult is advised for daily consumption to improve intestinal health and immunity. Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota in Yakult was discovered by Dr. Minoru Shirota in 1930. More than 80 years of research backed Yakult to ensure safety and efficacy of this product. Scientific benefits of Yakult proved to: * Improve bowel movement and aid digestion * Maintain balance of good and bad bacteria * Reduce toxins in our body * Help build the immune system (reduce risk of infections) The term Probiotics is derived from probiosis— a symbiotic relationship between two organisms. It is a live microbial culture that beneficially affects the host animal (humans)...
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...APPLE INC.: MANAGING A GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN 1 Ken Mark wrote this case under the supervision of Professor P. Fraser Johnson solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. op yo This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized or otherwise reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1; (t) 519.661.3208; (e) cases@ivey.ca; www.iveycases.com. Copyright © 2014, Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation INTRODUCTION Version: 2014-06-12 tC Jessica Grant was an analyst with BXE Capital (BXE), a money management firm based in Toronto. 2 It was February 28, 2014, and Grant was discussing her U.S. equity mandate with BXE’s vice president, Phillip Duchene. Both Grant and Duchene were trying to identify what changes, if any, they should make to BXE’s portfolio. “Apple is investing in its next generation of products, potentially the first new major product lines since Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs,” she said. Apple Inc., the...
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...decision to go national. Although Contemporary Interiors has opened stores throughout the Midwest in recent years, the company has remained a regional business with the bulk of its sales in the greater Chicago area. Yesterday, however, a company spokesman announced that Contemporary Interiors’ Board of Directors had decided the time was right to make the next move. Marc Janson, spokesman for the firm’s president and CEO, pointed to the strong economy and consumer confidence as being key to the decision. “Disposable income is up, and we’re seeing that in our business,” said Janson. “Even more important, though, is our company’s strong financial position. The analysts tell us that our financial statements look good. Our working capital, inventory turnover, return on assets, and so forth are all strong. This will be important, because in order to expand, the company’s going to have to raise capital. And the bankers and potential investors are going to need to see those strong financial indicators. The board hasn’t decided yet how much of our new capital needs should be debt and how much should be in stock. I’m sure they’ll keep a close eye on the debt-equity ratio.” When asked where Contemporary...
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...____ This thesis comprises 30 ECTS credits and is a compulsory part in the Master of Science with a Major in Industrial Engineering – Logistics, 120 ECTS credits Nr. 5/2009 _______________________________________________________________________ Warehousing in theory and practice A case study at ÖoB, Clas Ohlson, Stadium, Åhlens Mahesh Kumar Rajuldevi Ranjit Veeramachaneni Sridhar Kare Master Thesis Subject Category: Series and Number: Technology Industrial Engineering: Logistics, 17/2008 University College of Borås School of Engineering SE 501 90 BORÅS Telephone: +46 033 435 4640 Examiner: Supervisor: Date: Keywords: Göran Stjernman Göran Stjernman November, 2008 Warehousing, Warehouse management systems, Retail stores, Inventory, Labour management. ii Acknowledgements The present master’s thesis work represents the essence of our achievements during the two years of study in Industrial Engineering and Logistics programme at University College of Borås, Borås. During this period there have been many people who have inspired us throughout the study period. The thesis work is concluding part of our university degree in MSc. in Industrial Engineering and Logistics. This master’s thesis was written during autumn 2008. This period was very exciting and it was very valuable as it has given us very knowledgeable and practical experience for the theoretical subjects we have been studying. We wish to acknowledge the assistance of Göran Stjernman, our thesis...
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...Purchasing and Supply Management focuses on decision making throughout the supply chain. Based on the conviction that supply managers, in concert with suppliers and distributors, have to contribute to organizational goals and strategies, this edition continues to focus on how to make that mission a reality. Fourteenth Edition Highlights of the Fourteenth Edition: More than 40 real-life supply chain cases afford the opportunity to apply of the acquisition process. Criteria for supply decisions have been organized into three categories: (1) strategic, (2) operational, and (3) additional. In this third category, new factors such as balance sheet and income statement considerations, dimensions of risk, and environmental and social considerations are considered. Visit the text’s Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/Johnson14e Michiel R. Leenders, D.B.A., PMAC Fellow Professor of Purchasing Management Emeritus Richard Ivey School of Business The University of Western Ontario Anna E. Flynn, Ph.D., C.P.M. Formerly Clinical Associate Professor Supply Chain Management Thunderbird School of Global Management Formerly Associate Professor Institute for Supply Management TM Johnson Leenders Flynn Purchasing and Supply Management Johnson Leenders Flynn MD DALIM #1093963 06/05/10 BLUE GREEN P. Fraser Johnson, Ph.D. Leenders Purchasing Management Association of Canada Chair Associate Professor, Operations Management Richard Ivey School...
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...Purchasing and Supply Management focuses on decision making throughout the supply chain. Based on the conviction that supply managers, in concert with suppliers and distributors, have to contribute to organizational goals and strategies, this edition continues to focus on how to make that mission a reality. Fourteenth Edition Highlights of the Fourteenth Edition: More than 40 real-life supply chain cases afford the opportunity to apply of the acquisition process. Criteria for supply decisions have been organized into three categories: (1) strategic, (2) operational, and (3) additional. In this third category, new factors such as balance sheet and income statement considerations, dimensions of risk, and environmental and social considerations are considered. Visit the text’s Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/Johnson14e Michiel R. Leenders, D.B.A., PMAC Fellow Professor of Purchasing Management Emeritus Richard Ivey School of Business The University of Western Ontario Anna E. Flynn, Ph.D., C.P.M. Formerly Clinical Associate Professor Supply Chain Management Thunderbird School of Global Management Formerly Associate Professor Institute for Supply Management TM Johnson Leenders Flynn Purchasing and Supply Management Johnson Leenders Flynn MD DALIM #1093963 06/05/10 BLUE GREEN P. Fraser Johnson, Ph.D. Leenders Purchasing Management Association of Canada Chair Associate Professor, Operations Management Richard Ivey School...
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...International Research Journal of Finance and Economics ISSN 1450-2887 Issue 47 (2010) © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2010 http://www.eurojournals.com/finance.htm Working Capital Management and Corporate Performance of Manufacturing Sector in Pakistan Abdul Raheman PhD Scholar, Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Islamabad & Asst. Professor, University Institute of Management Sciences PMAS-Arid Agri. University Rawalpindi E-mail: abdulrehman@uaar.edu.pk Talat Afza Professor & Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences, COMSATS Lahore, Pakistan E-mail: talatafza@ciitlahore.edu.pk Abdul Qayyum Professor / Registrar, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad E-mail: abdulqayyum@pide.org.pk Mahmood Ahmed Bodla Professor & Director, COMSATS Sahiwal, Pakistan E-mail: director@ciitsahiwal.edu.pk Abstract Working capital management plays a significant role in better performance of manufacturing firms. This paper analyzes the impact of working capital management on firm’s performance in Pakistan for the period 1998 to 2007. For this purpose, balanced panel data of 204 manufacturing firms is used which are listed on Karachi Stock Exchange. The results indicate that the cash conversion cycle, net trade cycle and inventory turnover in days are significantly affecting the performance of the firms. The manufacturing firms are in general facing problems with their collection and payment policies. Moreover, the financial leverage, sales growth and...
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...history of auditing The evolution of auditing is a complicated history that has always been changing through historical events. Auditing always changed to meet the needs of the business environment of that day. Auditing has been around since the beginning of human civilization, focusing mainly, at first, on finding fraud. As the United States grew, the business world grew, and auditing began to play more important roles. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, people began to invest money into large corporations. The Stock Market crash of 1929 and various scandals made auditors realize that their roles in society were very important. Scandals and stock market crashes made auditors aware of deficiencies in auditing, and the auditing community was always quick to fix those deficiencies. The auditors’ job became more difficult as the accounting principles changed, and became easier with the use of internal controls. These controls introduced the need for testing; not an in-depth detailed audit. Auditing jobs would have to change to meet the changing business world. The invention of computers impacted the auditors’ world by making their job at times easier and at times making their job more difficult. Finally, the auditors’ job of certifying and testing companies’ financial statements is the backbone of the business world. Introduction Auditing has been the backbone of the complicated business world and has always changed with the times. As the business world grew strong, auditors’...
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...Environmental Pollution at Hindustan Lever’s Kodaikanal Plant In mid-2004, Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) executives looked back at the events of the past three years at their mercury thermometer factory in Kodaikanal in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. After mercury leakage from the plant had been reported in March 2001, heavy expenditure had been incurred in environmental risk assessment, waste disposal and health monitoring. The expenditure had exceeded the total profits generated by the plant since its inception. But the pressure from NGOs, led by Greenpeace[1], who had been protesting since March 2001 had not subsided. The NGOs had indulged in novel ways of keeping the issue alive. These included chaining themselves to the HLL branch office in Chennai on 15th November 2002, disrupting the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) of HLL held on 13th June 2003 and 29th June 2004, shouting slogans and brandishing placards and enlisting sympathy from ex-workers and the general public. Greenspace also maintained the pressure on HLL through its website, photoalbums, posters, persistent media briefing and seminars. The NGOs had most recently attacked HLL in April 2004 in a seminar in Chennai. Even as they waited anxiously for the regulator, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s (TNPCB) nod to start decontamination of equipment and remediation of soil, HLL’s senior managers believed they had discharged their duties conscientiously. They wondered what more was needed to be done to...
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...NIKON REPORT. In addition to details regarding business performance and strategy, operational overviews, and other financial data previously published in the ANNUAL REPORT, this report comprises a broader range of non-financial data, including information on CSR activities and corporate governance. As a corporate group that continues to pursue steady growth and create new value prefaced on harmony with society, we hope that NIKON REPORT will promote further understanding of the Nikon Group among our shareholders, investors, and all other stakeholders. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 02 Nikon’s Growth Trajectory 04 Financial Performance 06 Non-Financial Performance BUSINESS STRATEGY 08 Management Message 09 To Our Stakeholders 14 Medium-Term Management Plan Next 100 - Transform to Grow Interviews with Key People on 18 the Strategy Going Forward 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 31 Corporate Strategy Division Semiconductor Lithography Business...
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