Riordan Manufacturing Production Plan
Riordan Manufacturing Production Plan
Riordan Manufacturing Production Plan Riordan Manufacturing, Incorporated has become a leader within the industry of plastic molding. An eclectic array of state-of-the art design products (plastic beverage containers, custom plastic parts, and plastic fan parts), and attention to detail pertaining to quality control, are some of the main factors contributing to the company’s success (Riordan, 2008). Each specialized plastic is in a different location: plastic fan parts in Hangzhou, China; custom plastic parts in Pontiac, Michigan; and plastic containers in Albany, Georgia. Difficulties in forecasting and managing the supply chain at Riordan’s China facilities have become a concern. The following will depict the issues with the current process and provide suggestions to improve the process management through lean principles. Riordan’s manufacturing plant in China has developed relationships with local businesses, customers and the Chinese government to supply labor, purchase materials, and communicate on regulations. The local company, from which Riordan purchases its electrical motors used in the fans, is on schedule only 93% of the time. Plastic polymers are other components bought locally, and an essential portion of the fan. After all the components are together, the fans are assembled and individually packaged. Riordan currently uses make-to-stock for the fans; Riordan forecast for future demand by using average sales of the past three years (Riordan, 2006). The company also takes orders for custom fans under individual consumer contracts. The company’s plan to grow and become more efficient, requires a review of the capacity constraints (bottlenecks, or road-blocks) at its current manufacturing sites. Strategic capacity planning allows an approach to determine the capacity level of capital-intensive resources (such as machinery, facilities, and labor force) that best supports the
Riordan Manufacturing Production Plan Riordan Manufacturing, Incorporated has become a leader within the industry of plastic molding. An eclectic array of state-of-the art design products (plastic beverage containers, custom plastic parts, and plastic fan parts), and attention to detail pertaining to quality control, are some of the main factors contributing to the company’s success (Riordan, 2008). Each specialized plastic is in a different location: plastic fan parts in Hangzhou, China; custom plastic parts in Pontiac, Michigan; and plastic containers in Albany, Georgia. Difficulties in forecasting and managing the supply chain at Riordan’s China facilities have become a concern. The following will depict the issues with the current process and provide suggestions to improve the process management through lean principles. Riordan’s manufacturing plant in China has developed relationships with local businesses, customers and the Chinese government to supply labor, purchase materials, and communicate on regulations. The local company, from which Riordan purchases its electrical motors used in the fans, is on schedule only 93% of the time. Plastic polymers are other components bought locally, and an essential portion of the fan. After all the components are together, the fans are assembled and individually packaged. Riordan currently uses make-to-stock for the fans; Riordan forecast for future demand by using average sales of the past three years (Riordan, 2006). The company also takes orders for custom fans under individual consumer contracts. The company’s plan to grow and become more efficient, requires a review of the capacity constraints (bottlenecks, or road-blocks) at its current manufacturing sites. Strategic capacity planning allows an approach to determine the capacity level of capital-intensive resources (such as machinery, facilities, and labor force) that best supports the
References: Chase, R.B., Jacobs, F.R., & Aquilano, N.J. (2006). Operations management for competitive advantage (11th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. University of Phoenix. (2006). Riordan virtual organization. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, OPS571-Management website.