�PAGE � �PAGE �1� MCLEOD MOTORS
McLeod Motors Ltd
Case Study
Introduction
McLeod Motors Ltd factory in Chilliwack, British Columbia makes over 40 models of electric motors ranging from one quarter to 10 horsepower. The company has a number of customers in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) market, which used the motors as components in larger products, and also in the replacement market. Naturally, McLeod's product mix changed over time as its OEM customers phased products in and out and made annual supply decisions. Recently the company has started facing problems in inventory management since it standardized end shields considering that it would cut both the manufacturing costs and inventories. But the results have been
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Although current interest in supply-chain management overlooks certain transportation/distribution issues, substantial savings are realizable by carefully incorporating a shipment strategy with the stock replenishment decisions for VMI systems. This impact is particularly tangible when the shipment strategy calls for a consolidation program where several smaller deliveries are dispatched as a single load, realizing scale economies inherent in transportation. Formally, shipment consolidation refers to the active intervention by management to combine many small shipments/ orders so that a larger, hence more economical, load can be dispatched on the same vehicle (Brennan 1981, Hall 1987, Higginson and Bookbinder 1995). The main motivation behind a consolidation program is to take advantage of the decreased per unit freight costs due to economies of scale associated with transportation.
Application
In the production and distribution of goods, inventory is the currency of service. An increase in service can virtually always be achieved through an increase in safety stocks, so a supplier inevitably faces a trade-off between service levels and inventory costs. This and related tradeoffs are discussed at least qualitatively in most operations management textbooks in some of the managerial literature, and in the research literature. It raises the question of just how much service inventory can buy; i.e., what is the marginal cost of a service improvement,
So now the issue left that if the company cannot avoid small shipments then how to minimize the cost associated to the shipment of such small shipments. As of now the company is using a freight forwarder which consolidates small shipments to fill 20-feet or 40-feet containers.
Supply chains must be managed to coordinate the inputs with the outputs in a firm to achieve the appropriate competitive priorities of the firm’s enterprise processes. The Internet offers firms an alternative to traditional methods for managing supply chains. A supply chain strategy is essential
In this final paper for Managerial Finance I will attempt to show how the supply chain inventory management method can be affected depending on the situation of the retailer. Studying the control method for problems in inventory, which would include both, excesses in inventory as well as shortages, and hoping to minimize loss.
The company has been implementing the dual market strategy since the early 1970’s. O’Reilly currently has 4,571 stores in 44 states (Financials , 2016). O’Reilly, AutoZone, Advanced Auto Parts and Genuine Parts Company (NAPA) are the dominant competitors (O 'Reilly Automotive, Inc. , 2015). The company did not have any distinct competitive advantages during the1970’s-1990’s (O 'Reilly Automotive, Inc. , 2015). The company’s operational execution was far superior relative to their primary mom and pop shop competitors. O’Reilly has a competitive advantage in the area of operational expertise. The company has grown its store base most aggressively out of the competitors (O 'Reilly Automotive, Inc. , 2015). O’Reilly’s acquisition of CSK in 2008 doubled the corporations store count. The company has experienced margin expansion by improving the operation of CSK stores. In January 2014, Advanced Auto Parts acquired General Parts International, Inc., the parent company of CARQUEST, which gave Advance 1,248 stores company operated CARQUEST stores across the US and Canada, 1,400 independently owned CARQUEST stores, and
Schenck, J., McInerney, J. 1998. Applying vendor-managed inventory to the apparel industry. Automat. I.D. News 14(6) 36-38
Chase, R., & Jacobs, F. R. (2011). Operations and Supply Chain Management (13th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Russell, R. S., & Taylor,B. Operations and Supply Chain Management,8th Edition. Wiley, 2013-12-02. VitalBook file.
Freight cost was also a problem when the shipping distance expended. Both stoves and ovens were bulky and weighed well over 300 pounds each. Thus,they were very expensive to ship.Bridgewater owned a fleet of trucks which had been expanded from 5 to 10 since the addition of wood ovens to the business. Even though the fleet represented about a $2 million investment. Shipping full – load orders in compnay owned trucks was not uneconomic. But more than hald of all shipments went out in partial loads using common carriers and contract haulers. Considering traffic management.dispathing fleet costs. freignt bills. packing cost and rental charges for public warehouse space. Total shipping costs were running about 17 % of sales in 1985.
W.C. Benton, J. (2010). Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
When offers of reduced pricing are accepted for equipment, meeting delivery expectations becomes an important part of enhancing the customer experience to maintain satisfied loyal customers. An inventory specialist in the current distribution center would be given the additional task of segregating and maintaining inventory levels to meet the needs of the customer loyalty department.
Russell, R. S., & Taylor III, B. W. (2014). Operations and Supply Chain Management, 8th edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ReferencesJoansson,J2008,http://bsminfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=625&Itemid=147, accessed 15/05/2009Li, Y, Yu, J & Xu, L 2006, 3PLs in supply chain management, http://www.globrand.com/2006/18441.shtml, accessed 12/05/2009Rudnick, M 2008, Best Buy, Super-Regional See Major Gains in White Good, http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/sales-selling-sales/9341175-1.html, accessed 14/05/2009Weng, D 2006, 3PLs-The Breakthrough of Supply Chain Innovation, http://ww
(Bowersox, D.J., Closs, D.J., and Cooper, M.B. (2010). Supply Chain Logistics Management. (3rd Edition) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
The class text states that Supply chain management is frequently divided into supply chain planning applications, supply chain execution applications, logistics management, and warehouse management. Often when companies fail at implementing an efficient supply chain because of the planning section, or inaccurate demand forecasts. The text states electronic data interchange is one of the earliest uses of information technology for supply chain management, Electronic data interchange is the use of the Internet for everyday business transactions. “In this era of information a firm’s supply chain should operate at speed of thought and this is possible only by enhanced e-speed communications and information sharing with their critical partners.” (4)
With growth of international shipping also increased domestic movements of freight. Companies has to find an optimal solution for moving their goods from factory to warehouse and from warehouse to distribution centers. Organizations has to look at many factors (objective and subjective) before they will make a rational decision and pick a suitable technique.