Assignment
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Assignment
Question 1: Stage-Gate Process
The stage-gate process is imperative within the context of an organization that wants to commit resources to a project using a stage-by-stage methodology. The project needs to be reviewed by senior managers near the completion of every step. They must take the time to review all aspects of the project because they determine the decision to continue or stop the venture. If they decide that they want to continue with the investment, it becomes critical to assign necessary resources to the project to help it reach the next gate (Swink et al., 2017). The process continues at every stage of the project to ensure that it can achieve the objectives that have been set. They may also decide not to continue with the project by repeating the stage or terminating it and ensuring that resources used have been assigned to other critical projects that may be of relevance to the organization. The approach helps in the reduction of risks through a novel method of identification of problems early in the development phase.
Process and product design and development use concurrent engineering. Some of the stages may flow naturally in the entirety of the project by following other levels. However, it does not imply that they need to be completed sequentially. An example is the development of laundry detergent using a sequential approach where a formula is developed, and the team can design the production process (Ross, 2015). Packaging the product is also considered, and the company needs to plan how to sell advertising. Functional groups in the context of the organization can be used in every step to ensure that they achieve the expected of directives of the entire project. It means that many stages can overlap using correlations called concurrent engineering. It entails a simultaneous design and development of information, and the process is imperative in producing and selling as well as distributing and servicing a specific product.
The Stage-Gate process remains the best method that can be used within the context of a project to ensure that resource allocation has been appropriated. It begins with developing the concept through the identification of the core product (Simangunsong, Hendry, & Stevenson, 2016). The company should conduct financial and technical assessments to identify the target value of the product. It then becomes imperative to determine the primary product architecture and investigate concepts in the production process (Heizer, Render, & Munson, 2016). These are critical in ensuring that the company can understand various product components and variants as well as the expected sharing plan. The product can be priced in the market depending on the needs of the company and its core essence from the perspective of customers.
The next stage is product and process planning, where a company decides the components to be designed and those that can be bought from suppliers. It needs to know the individuals who will design and produce as well as assemble their components and processes imperative in the production of the product in the supply chain (Barbosa et al., 2018). It is also essential to have a detailed design of the specific product that the company wants to sell before it can be marketed and testing (Akalin, Huang, & Willems, 2016). The company then needs to undergo commercialization and the introduction of the product to the market to find people who can buy it. Using individuals with experience in every field is essential to ensure that the product can shorten its time-to-market.
Question 2: Best’s Bicycles
Best’s Bicycles is a manufacturer of three types of bicycles. It is imperative to calculate the required capacity for production for the current year. Time has been given for the assembly lines, which means that the calculations for the capacity should consider the number of assembly lines present. The bicycles operate in three shifts, and each one is about 2000 hours every year.
a) Total Setup Time
The first step will be determining the total setup time. The total process time is calculated through a multiplication of the demand forecast with the processing time of every type of bike, as shown below:
MM has a processing time of 12 hours, and the demand forecast is 19000. It means that the processing time required is the multiplication between the processing time and the demand forecast. The figure that is achieved is 228,000 (Akalin, Huang, & Willems, 2016).
Total setup time = processing time × demand forecast
Total setup time = 12 × 19,000
Total setup time = 228,000
AA has a processing time of 10 hours, and the demand forecast is 16000. It means that the processing time required is the multiplication between the processing time and the demand forecast. The figure that is achieved is 160,000 (Ross, 2015).
Total setup time = processing time × demand forecast
Total setup time = 10 × 16,000
Total setup time = 160,000
TT has a processing time of 8 hours, and the demand forecast is 14000. It means that the processing time required is the multiplication between the processing time and the demand forecast. The figure that is achieved is 112,000.
Total setup time = processing time × demand forecast
Total setup time = 8 × 14,000
Total setup time = 112,000
It is imperative to add the processing time required for every type of bike. The figure will be the total process time needed for the entirety of the project, and it is 500000 minutes (Akalin, Huang, & Willems, 2016).
112,000 + 160,000 + 228,000 = 500,000
Determining the complete setup time implies dividing the demand forecast by the size of the lot. It is then imperative to multiply the setup time with the number of setups to get the setup time per type of pie. The little setup time is the required time of the setup time for every bike, as shown below:
MM has a demand forecast of 19000 and a lot size of 25. The number of setups is 760, and the setup time is 40. It means that the setup time per bike is 30400 (Ross, 2015).
Setup time = 760 × 40
Setup time = 30,400
AA has a demand forecast of 16000 and a lot size of 10. The number of setups is 1600, and the setup time is 80. It means that the setup time per bike is 128000.
Setup time = 1,600 × 80
Setup time = 128,000
AA has a demand forecast of 14000 and a lot size of 10. The number of setups is 1400, and the setup time is 50. It means that the setup time per bike is 70000.
Setup time = 1,400 × 50
Setup time = 70,000
The total setup time is 228,400 (128,000 + 70,000 + 30,400).
b) Total Operating Time
The next step is to determine the total operating time available. It is calculated by multiplying the hours present with two shifts and 60 minutes. The total operating time possible is to 40000 minutes every year (2,000 * 2 * 60).
c) Number of Assembly Lines
The final calculation is the of the number of assembly lines. They are calculated by adding the total setup time to the total processing time and dividing by the total operating time available. The total setup time is 228,400, while the total processing time is 500000 (Ross, 2015). The sum of the two is 728,400. The total operating time is 240,000. Taking 728,400 by to 40,000 gives 3.035. It means that the production line has a capacity of 3 production lines.
Number of assembly lines =
Number of assembly lines =
Number of assembly lines =
Question 3: Product and Service Matrixes
The product-process matrix relates to various aspects of product development. It depicts the correlation between the characteristics of the product with manufacturing processes (Guisado-González, Wright, & Guisado-Tato, 2017). The service-process matrix is a model of classification for service organizations based on aspects of operations (Heaslip, 2015). It is different from the product-process Matrix, but it is a version of the service industry.
Service-Process Matrix Product-Process Matrix
The synchronization between service or product offered and the related process No Yes
Process characteristics Yes Yes
Customer engagement Yes No
Volume No Yes
Customization of service or product Yes Yes
References
Akalin, G. I., Huang, Z., & Willems, J. R. (2016). Is Supply Chain Management Replacing Operations Management in the Business Core Curriculum. Operations and Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 9(2), 119-130.
Barbosa, M. W., Vicente, A. D. L. C., Ladeira, M. B., & Oliveira, M. P. V. D. (2018). Managing supply chain resources with Big Data Analytics: a systematic review. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 21(3), 177-200.
Guisado-González, M., Wright, L. T., & Guisado-Tato, M. (2017). Product–process matrix and complementarity approach. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 42(3), 441-459.
Heaslip, G. (2015). Guest editorial: humanitarian logistics-an opportunity for service research. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 5(1), 2-11.
Heizer, J., Render, B., & Munson, C. (2016). Operations management. Pearson Australia Pty Limited.
Ross, D. F. (2015). Distribution Planning and control: managing in the era of supply chain management. Springer.
Simangunsong, E., Hendry, L. C., & Stevenson, M. (2016). Managing supply chain uncertainty with emerging ethical issues. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 36(10), 1272-1307.
Swink, M., Melnyk, S. A., Hartley, J. L., & Cooper, M. B. (2017). Managing operations across the supply chain. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
