John Longley, Nakia Judd, Arin Angell, Stanley Nelson
OPS/571 University of Phoenix
April 8, 2015
Dr. Peter Wilms
Riordan Fan Manufacturing Supply Chain: Team A
Riordan Manufacturing is the industry leader in the field of plastic injection molding. They are a massive organization that currently operates out of three plants. One plant is in Albany, GA, this is where the plastic bottles are produced. Then they do their custom plastic fabrication in Pontiac, MI. Then in Hangzhou, China they currently operate a decentralized unit of the organization, this is where they produce electric fans. While forming a process design for Riordan’s fan production operation, it is imperative to construct a complete production system that includes many different phases of production, including process design, material requirements planning (MRP), accurate forecasting methods, supply chain considerations such as just-in-time manufacturing, total quality management, and a means of implementing the changes.
Aggregate Production Plan
Riordan’s current operation process is not sufficient for the organization to achieve a competitive advantage. Over the past years the organization has faced delivery delays, purchases from local Chinese manufacturers have not provided the required stock material based on production forecasts, and as a consequence only 93% of stock is delivered on time (University of Phoenix, 2013).
Before designing a new production process, Riordan has to eliminate all the bottlenecks in the production (inventory and manufacturers). Selecting alternative suppliers of motor fans will improve production schedules and help to balance the company’s global forecast and improve customer satisfaction. In addition the company should apply Just in Time strategies focusing on reducing raw material costs, eliminating waste and continuous production improvement. Figure 1 represents a flowchart the new process design
References: Chase, R.B., Jacobs, F.R., & Aquilano, N.J. (2011). Operations & Supply Chain Management (13th ed). USA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin University of Phoenix. (2013). Riordan Manufacturing Portal Simulation [Multimedia]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, OPS571 website.