ABC Furniture is a St$.$ Louis$-$based furniture design and manufacturing studio. Founded in $2014,$ the company has experienced rapid expansion due to its innovative designs and sustainable production practices. The company carries three main furniture categories: Tables, Chairs, and Desks. The desk division has seen increased growth due to the recent shift to remote work prompted by the COVID$-19$ pandemic. Over the past two years, ABC manufacturing has struggled to keep up with the increase in sales. The higher demand and the disruptions to their raw materials supply translate into long fulfillment times for their customers. As the VP of Supply Chain Management, you have secured procurement contracts with new suppliers expected to stabilize the need for raw materials inputs. In discussions with the CEO and strategic teams, the company has decided to expand manufacturing operations to meet the demand. The VP of Commercial Management has been analyzing the sales data and has identified the Northeast as the area with more significant growth potential. Based on this direction, you are tasked with a plan to create the Supply Chain strategy for the new Northeast Desk Manufacturing facility and present it to the company Board for approval.

Problem $1$: Forecast Demand:

Based on historical sales data, the first task for the SCM team is to generate accurate forecasts for the demand for desks in the targeted region.

P$1-$A: Recommend the most appropriate adaptive forecasting method and best decision parameter values for the selected method. Briefly discuss why you made this selection.

P$1-$B: Use the recommended method to forecast the demand for the year $2024.$ Discuss the accuracy of the forecast generated.

Problem $2$: Facility Location:

The SCM team has identified candidate manufacturing facility locations in the target region. With these inputs and the calibrated demand forecast for $2024,$ determine the optimal location for the new manufacturing plant. The data regarding each candidate facility is provided below.

P$2-$A: Formulate a Facility Location Model to determine the optimal location of the new manufacturing plant. Provide the optimal solution and briefly explain what your optimal solution recommends.Page

$1$

of $5$

Year Month State Sales Candidate Sites

$20201$ MA $908$ Demand State

Fixed Cost

$ Capacity

$20202$ MA $1016$ Production and Transportation Cost per Unit

$20203$ MA $914$ Supply City MA NJ NY PA

$20204$ MA $848$ Rhinebeck, NY $1\mathrm{.}751\mathrm{.}591\mathrm{.}042\mathrm{.}31360020000$

$20205$ MA $818$ Monticello, NY $2\mathrm{.}31\mathrm{.}530\mathrm{.}971\mathrm{.}69324020000$

$20206$ MA $748$ Pittsfield, MA $1\mathrm{.}252\mathrm{.}151\mathrm{.}53\mathrm{.}7288020000$

$20207$ MA $920$ Hazleton, PA $3\mathrm{.}161\mathrm{.}41\mathrm{.}40\mathrm{.}85234020000$

$20208$ MA $858$ Bethlehem, PA $2\mathrm{.}90\mathrm{.}981\mathrm{.}20\mathrm{.}88216020000$

$20209$ MA $822$

$202010$ MA $1002$

$202011$ MA $748$

$202012$ MA $789$

$20211$ MA $1014$

$20212$ MA $958$

$20213$ MA $947$

$20214$ MA $899$

$20215$ MA $759$

$20216$ MA $868$

$20217$ MA $924$

$20218$ MA $928$

$20219$ MA $940$

$202110$ MA $906$

$202111$ MA $865$

$202112$ MA $893$

$20221$ MA $794$

$20222$ MA $1020$

$20223$ MA $961$

$20224$ MA $832$

$20225$ MA $891$

$20226$ MA $1034$

$20227$ MA $923$

$20228$ MA $914$

$20229$ MA $845$

$202210$ MA $870$

$202211$ MA $1075$

$202212$ MA $875$

$20231$ MA $1005$

$20232$ MA $1010$

$20233$ MA $933$

$20234$ MA $1097$

$20235$ MA $888$

$20236$ MA $867$

$20237$ MA $1100$

$20238$ MA $994$

$20239$ MA $1155$

$202310$ MA $783$

$202311$ MA $1178$

$202312$ MA $1031$

$20201$ NJ $847$

$20202$ NJ $876$

$20203$ NJ $1071$

$20204$ NJ $906$

$20205$ NJ $846$

$20206$ NJ $829$

$20207$ NJ $960$

$20208$ NJ $856$

$20209$ NJ $886$

$202010$ NJ $909$

$202011$ NJ $855$

$202012$ NJ $760$

$20211$ NJ $1015$

$20212$ NJ $977$

$20213$ NJ $929$

$20214$ NJ $995$

$20215$ NJ $849$

$20216$ NJ $775$

$20217$ NJ $1003$

$20218$ NJ $791$

$20219$ NJ $1051$

$202110$ NJ $914$

$202111$ NJ $996$

$202112$ NJ $864$

$20221$ NJ $1024$

$20222$ NJ $919$

$20223$ NJ $956$

$20224$ NJ $804$

$20225$ NJ $838$

$20226$ NJ $1143$

$20227$ NJ $790$

$20228$ NJ $1046$

$20229$ NJ $1112$

$202210$ NJ $1007$

$202211$ NJ $815$

$202212$ NJ $1038$

$20231$ NJ $1018$

$20232$ NJ $901$

$20233$ NJ $1161$

$20234$ NJ $1086$

$20235$ NJ $1135$

$20236$ NJ $1027$

$20237$ NJ $1046$

$20238$ NJ $1131$

$20239$ NJ $964$

$202310$ NJ $766$

$202311$ NJ $961$

$202312$ NJ $1116$

$20201$ NY $819$

$20202$ NY $824$

$20203$ NY $934$

$20204$ NY $962$

$20205$ NY $972$

$20206$ NY $1056$

$20207$ NY $977$

$20208$ NY $981$

$20209$ NY $1066$

$202010$ NY $830$

$202011$ NY $825$

$202012$ NY $931$

$20211$ NY $900$

$20212$ NY $828$

$20213$ NY $901$

$20214$ NY $815$

$20215$ NY $1092$

$20216$ NY $1187$