Assignment 5: Johnson & Johnson
1.What factors help to explain why J&J historically had as many as 12 distribution centers in Europe?
By placing so many centers in Europe, Johnson & Johnson were focused on meeting the specific needs and service expectations of their customers. By having multiple centers strategically located throughout the country, the transportation costs remained low and they could meet certain needs of customers, like one day shipping, 2 day shipping, etc.
2.What steps in the logistics/supply chain network design process discussed in this chapter would have been most relevant to the task faced by J&J in Europe?
I think the steps needed to be taken by Johnson & Johnson would start at 3 and finish through to 6. By starting at examining the alternatives, Johnson & Johnson can choose the relevant modeling approach that is relative to the company’s key objectives. By moving on to conduct a facility analysis, they can pinpoint which locations will be the most beneficial. Making a decision and implementing the plan are the last steps needed to be taken before the company closed down 7 of the centers.
3.Are there other factors that the network optimization study should have considered?
I think the most important factors that need to be considered are the proximity to customer base and the transportation costs. Since the buildings are already established, the other steps would have been taken into consideration once before. The company is well aware of the land and utility costs and the supply network, as well as the labor climate. For the company to refine a logistics network that is already in existence, only the most important factors need to be addressed.
4.This case study focuses on the shipments from distribution centers to customer locations. What factors on the supply side, or inbound-to-DC-side, would be relevant to the analysis that was conducted?
Transportation costs would need to be considered on the supply side. The cost and service for moving inbound would need to
By placing so many centers in Europe, Johnson & Johnson were focused on meeting the specific needs and service expectations of their customers. By having multiple centers strategically located throughout the country, the transportation costs remained low and they could meet certain needs of customers, like one day shipping, 2 day shipping, etc.
2.What steps in the logistics/supply chain network design process discussed in this chapter would have been most relevant to the task faced by J&J in Europe?
I think the steps needed to be taken by Johnson & Johnson would start at 3 and finish through to 6. By starting at examining the alternatives, Johnson & Johnson can choose the relevant modeling approach that is relative to the company’s key objectives. By moving on to conduct a facility analysis, they can pinpoint which locations will be the most beneficial. Making a decision and implementing the plan are the last steps needed to be taken before the company closed down 7 of the centers.
3.Are there other factors that the network optimization study should have considered?
I think the most important factors that need to be considered are the proximity to customer base and the transportation costs. Since the buildings are already established, the other steps would have been taken into consideration once before. The company is well aware of the land and utility costs and the supply network, as well as the labor climate. For the company to refine a logistics network that is already in existence, only the most important factors need to be addressed.
4.This case study focuses on the shipments from distribution centers to customer locations. What factors on the supply side, or inbound-to-DC-side, would be relevant to the analysis that was conducted?
Transportation costs would need to be considered on the supply side. The cost and service for moving inbound would need to