1. Read Textbook: Sanders, N. R. (2014). The Definitive Guide to Manufacturing and Service Operations: Master the Strategies and Tactics for Planning, Organizing, and Managing How Products and Services are Produced. Pearson Education.

Read from Chapter

1. Chapter 2 - Key Elements and Processes

2. Complete: (DB 3) Discussion #3: Chapter 3 - Discussion Questions

Due: September 15, 2023Instructions:Crea a new thread with your name when you post. Answer all discussion questions at the end of chapter 3 in complete sentences.

Discussion Questions 1. How have operations strategies differentiated companies such as Southwest Airlines and FedEx from their competitors? Are operations strategies derived from the corporate business strategy or vice versa? 2. Explain the relationship between competitive priorities and successful operations strategies. 3. Discuss how an organization designs its operations strategies with regard to each of the four most important competitive priorities (cost, quality, time, and flexibility) 4. Differentiate between operations structure and operations infrastructure. How do they work together? 5. Do order winners and order qualifiers remain consistent through time? Why or why not? 6. Detail the differences between intermittent processes and repetitive processes. How can each be divided to provide greater detail? 7. Explain the impact product variety has on the two types of processes. 8. What are the difficulties associated with each type of facility layout strategy? 9. Detail the steps in line balancing. 10. There are three inventory positioning strategies. With which strategy does an organization hold partially completed inventory? What is the purpose of such a tactic? 11. Is it better to adopt a single inventory positioning strategy or occupy a position of middle ground? Why? 12. What role does product life cycle play in operations strategy? 13. Define the strategic advantages outsourcing provides to an organization. 14. In what scenarios is vertical integration a good strategic decision?

\f9112121. 10:49 AM VitalSource Bonkahal The Denitive Guide to Manufacturing and Sentiee Operations: Master the Strategies and Tactics for ( Outsourcing Strategy Outsourcing means that a companyheslnred a thirdpartyor a vendortn perform certaintasks or activities fora fee. This could range oor the mundane. such as amounting proong of legal documls or I. e mi; so the oucwnrcing ofthe entire manufacmriog process or even the entire management oftlre supply chain. Outsourcing is part of an overall earn-clog strategy related to which tasks a company plans to do internallyi purchasing these materials or sin-vices externally. The prucesn ofrnnkiog this decision typically begins with a company analyzing its existing skills and expertise. identifying what it is really good at and what areas of especially those that have the potential to become snategic differentiation. These activities have to be kept ill-house under strict control and made even better. 011 the outer hand, activities with low strategic important options for outsourcing. Everydting else that does not fall into these extreme categories needs carom] consideration. Thereore. the initial decision must be strategic in nature. Outsourcing provides a signicant strategic advantage in that it enables companies to quickly respond to changes in demand. letting them quickly build new products or gain a competitive position. The reason is that company's capacity and its expertise This provides a W arommt ofi'lexihllity, which is necessary in today's marketplace. The reason is that today's marketplace requires companies so be. highly specialised; Outsmucing snows ammpanytofocua on ltsoete competencies and outsource allothertsskstovcodots thatcendo diembednr and citesper. We need to point out that outsourcing is rst a strategic decision. It used to be considered by managers as a simple make or buy decision, where they simply considered the cheapest alternative. Today. however. mans It may be more expensive to purchase the expertise ofan oulside vendor. but it my prove to he strategically more lucrative in the long run. Before making Lire this] decision. however. companies need to Hilly oonsidr control over a task is placed in the hands of another party. such as a vendor, there is a risk ofloss of control. The more important the outsourced task. or the more strategic in nature it is. the pester the risk. There are many strategic advantages to cumming. First, a major advantage ofoutsourciug is cost. as a third party may be able to offer products or services at a cheaper price. The reason is that a vendor has reached prrxlncing atype ofproduct or service. Second. outsourcing enables eeornpsny to expand its offering intonew markets ornaographlc areas through wuoutcingparu-ms thathtve reach in those areas. For many emu: were not for outsourcing, Third. ouatwreiog may help companies achieve stateof-rlle art technological capability virtually overnight. which would not be possible otherwise. In fact. for many companies it requires a capabilities internally. and they simply my not have the resources to keep up. Outsourcing allows a company to take advantage of this expertise from another rm. Wing, however, has consist risks that. need to be considered. In general. more sophisticated sourcing engagements bring greater benets. but also involve signicantly higher rilkl. A number ofrisk Breton nee responsibility to external vendor's. One risk to consider is the loss ofeontrol. As the scope of the task passed to the vendor increases, the ability to retain control ofllte task or Mellon decreases. For small rms this c [as insulated from disruption. Another risk to consider is dependency. As a rm engages in more sophisticated sourcing engagements it often tailors and adapts its operations to match rnse ofita vendor. By doing I( vendor's economies of scale This is pardeularly true in cases that require apecialind technology and equipment. and specialised tralnlog ofsla. However. these arrangements oresteariak thetthe rm will become As you can see, outsomcittg isn't always the right decision. Before running to outside vendors a company should always be clear on its source of competitive advantage and not outsource that aspect ofits operation. Il manufacun-ing is not seen as a strategic function. and they choose to outsource it. Outsourcing Versus Vertical Integration Wrnccr! integration refer: to the numberofproccsses performed by a company in the chain frmn raw materials no product delivery. The larger this number performed by one company the higher the vertical integrals should supportthe future growth direction ofthe company. This requires ownership ofentilioe in the supply chain and making the decision to manage these multiple and chess diverse processes. Vertical integration is agnod strategic option in cemncases. One is When there are high volumes ofosmnll variety of input materials. as is tllecuewlth rnske-tusmck operations. The reason is that the high volume specialization and costjusticarion. A maketosroclt environment typically has cost as a competitive priority As such it is much easier to manage enabling the company tr.- focus and manage costs. An example ml owns and contmls moat ofils canning prodlmtion processes. om tomato farms to the processing plant to retail distribution. The company has chosen to he vertically integrated so as to have greater control of costs or has many benefits. Vertical integration. however. is typically not a good strategic decision for specialized processes that provide inputs into small volumes. This would be the case forjoh shop operations for example. Cousidd a chocol: chocolates, cakes. mufns. and pics to order. Many iii'etent htgredientscuch as cocoa. milk. caramel, our. sugar, oil, nuts, jelly. and other potential llingscome from different sources. It is likely that ownershi; provide the company with a competitive advantngeas there mommy othersourees ofsupply as well. Owningjust one would note-rem shenet. and it would be :xlrutntrly difcult to own oIL In this care. ouuottrcit shied production to making only a narrow product rangesayJ'lls't mills chocolatethen the vertical integration might he a good choice. The decision to outsource versus being vertically integrated is a strategic choice. In general vertical integration is typically a hem strategic decision [or repetitive operations. Out-someing is typically a better choice f customization is a more dominant competitive priority. Discussion Questions \f9.1'12121. 10:48 AM VitalBourcs Bookshelf: The Denitive Guide to Manufacturing and Sundae Operations: Master the Strategies and Tactics for ( Q A' Fa, ... Decision intermittent Processes Repetitive Processes Product variety Large Small ' Product standardization Low High Product life cycle Early stage later stage Resources Grouped by function Line ow Crliical resources lobar-inlensive capital-intensive Typo ofcquipmcnt Gmcml-purpme Specialized Throughput time Longer Shorter Work-inp recess inventory High Low Table 3-1 Comparing Intermittent Ind Repetitive Protease! Product variety is large for intermittent processes with low product standardization This aumatieally means that the openiions function needs general purpose and flexible resumes, from machines to labor. The up variety is small, but product standardization is high. This inn-rut that the equipment and resource- we select have to be capable nfpmdming a large volume of utaniardized products. You can also imagine how bums: operations tmd to hire higher lled labor with a largerply grade than repetitive processes. This is because more flexibility and knowledge are required in this environment. Also, workers here have more discretion i customizations. By contrast repetitive operations usually hit: tradional assembly line workers that are oilower sldlL have less wartime discretion over their jobs. and are at a comparatively lower pay grade Notice that other operations decision: vary between the two processes as well. The throughout time and the amount ofinventcry held are different bemoan the operations. This mains that the comma due dates srel most notably because the customization aspect ofthis operation takes more time. Also, more inventory is in stock here resulting in a higher inventory holding cost. This may require more storage and warehouse span: This also moms that these two operations will likely compete on different competitive priorities, and as a result their entire structure and infrastructme will be different. Repetitive operations typically compete on cos standardized form. Intermittent operations, by contrast. typically compete on quality or customer service, as they are equipped to customize and create many different products for a large number of customers. They 1 rule. However. intermittmt operations are typically less able to compete on cost They simply cannot match the cost advantages achieved through large volume production and. standardization. Anodier factor affected is the types ofpmducts that a companyr can moducc. Notice that intermittent processes produce products in the early stage afthe life cycle, whereas repetitive operations produce products in products in the early stage ofthe life cycle are notwell established. and there is less certainty regarding the marker, Intermittent operations are beet at this stage as they enable a company to cumin-line and rene the 1: facilities and produce highly standardized products in high volume more typical ofproducts at the marine stage ofllie life cycle, However, as a product merino: through its life cycle and the market becomes more car repetitive operations. Facility Layout Strategies Product and process decisions directly impact the organization ofresources needed to produce the product. One aspect ofthe operation that is especially impacted is facility layout. which is the physical arrangmnentt neility resource planting discussed in 115,192,, The resumes we need to include in the layout are everything that is part ofthe operation: a work center, a machine, an attire ctce. orjust the location ofa desk. Fo change in the arrangement ofrcuources. This eouldbe aredeaignofthe operationiopmduoe a new'pmduct. It could alsohe aohangeioreomncesheinguaed, sunha; anew worluerbeiogadrled, amoebic: beingntov when a new facility is bring designed and built. Facility layout has a signicant impact on performance, especially production cost, time, and flexibility. Most people are surprised to learn that poor facility layoub are one ofthe most signicant contributors In inefl reason managers spend a gent deal of effort ensuring that facility layouts are eminent and enhance work flow. The type of process design selecwd inuences the physical layout ofthc operation, including ngernail ofthe equipment, employees, inventory, and aisles formovement. Different layouts lend themselves to prcdi to march product designs with appropriate layouts. There are four distinct layout strategies: redposiirnu, prone", mi, and parallax, discussed in the following stadiums.