Question
Based on the case study and assignment please give an executive summary, an introduction 2 pages, a body report, and a conclusion please thank you
Based on the case study and assignment please give an executive summary, an introduction 2 pages, a body report, and a conclusion please thank you no need to answer questions
Business Case The Company: BPW Corporation BPW Corporation (BPW) is a Canadian based firm that supplies electronic controls to the wind-power/turbine industry. The firm is twenty years old and is a subsidiary of a fiftyyear-old electronics supply firm that specializes in supplying electric power generating components to the military, atomic energy and space industry. It is a publicly traded firm that employs 25 full time staff. This includes three teams of four installers that work all over the world on new-build wind turbine projects. The company prides itself on its commitment to clean, ethical sourcing and ethical labour practices. Your Role: You are the newly hired Director of Operations (You have been there for 2 months). You have been in the transportation industry for ten years and have your CCLP designation. Your responsibilities include warehousing, selecting and coordinating work with 3PLs, transportation, and the scheduling and coordination of service crews for the installation and service of products worldwide. The Location: BPW is based in Waterdown Ontario. That Waterdown facility contains offices, and a small product testing centre for new designs. Other than the centre that holds a few components to help build and support new product evaluation, BPW uses no other company owned space. The Product: BPW revolutionized the wind turbine industry by creating an ultra- light, and ultra- efficient generator for the transmission of electrical power from the top of the wind powered blade-style turbine to the electrical system that carries the power to market. Utility firms that maintain the wind turbines prefer BPWs product because of its compact size, efficiency and uniquely simplistic replacement during servicing, and repair. This generator module can be changed out in minutes, drastically reducing down-time for the wind turbine. It was designed to fit most of the wind generated turbines built and operated around the globe. The module is patented and remains so unique that there are no other products of its type in the industry. The module/unit weighs 60 kilograms and can be split in two for ease of transfer and assembly at the top of the wind turbine. Each complete generator module is valued at $10,000 USD. Its crated dimensions are: 120 cm x 90 cm x 90 cm high. We stated that the module can be split for ease of installation. The dimensions represent the entire module, un-split. Lead time to build, crate and ship one module is ten days. With the present production set up at the 3PL, they have the capacity to build three modules per month. That production process is expandable with 30 days notice to the 3PL. The Market: BPW sells its product worldwide. They service two distinct markets: One market serves new-build wind turbines. BPW works with designers of new-builds to ensure compatibility. The lead times for this market are long, as wind turbine projects can take many months to develop and to build. BPW maintains zero inventory for these units, building them and staging them at the 3PL until all units for one project are complete. The other market is for the repair/service sector of the wind turbine industry. BPW works with the owners of the turbines, and with the firms that service them to both ensure compatibility and ease of changeover from competitors products to theirs. Lead times for this market are typically short, as maintenance firms servicing the turbines rarely stock BPWs modules due to cost and potential obsolescence in the ever-changing green energy world. The modules may be needed at a site within hours to replace a defective unit that is costing the electrical utility thousands of dollars per day. BPW maintains a safety stock inventory of six units at the 3PL. The 3PL that BPW uses: All storage and distribution of BPW generator modules and related parts are performed by a 3PL (Third party provider) located in Stoney Creek Ontario. That 3PL has been in existence since 1994, operating out of a 200,000 square foot building also located in Stoney Creek. It has a mixed customer base of approximately 30 customers, all of them related to non-consumer products that include electronics, engineered specialty metal products, high tech assemblies/fabrications and highly specialized unfinished materials such as specialty metals, specialty plastics/composites and specialized fasteners; those fasteners used for assembling parts for customers that operate in highly specialized, limited markets. The 3PL not only stores and ships on behalf of their clients, they also do assembly of electronics and other components for some of them. One of those clients is BPW . The 3PL takes electronic sub- assemblies and creates the primary component that they then ship to customers of BPW. These assemblies are built by technicians that the 3PL hire, with training performed by BPW. The Logistics: Components for the BPW module are purchased from three primary suppliers: Electronic circuitry: Ulsan, South Korea Specialty fabricated metal frames and component parts: Houston, Texas Specialty Fasteners: Montreal, QC BPW is constantly expanding its customer base, but at this moment, customers are located in: Western Europe: 10% of total sales Scandinavia: 25 % of total sales North America, including Mexico: 65 % of total sales The DAT INCOTERM is used in these export transactions As part of its commitment to service, BPW takes full responsibility for shipment and installation of its primary components to new installations and retrofits. For the repair/ service market, BPW only takes responsibility for the transportation of the shipment. Installation is the responsibility of the wind turbine owner and/or its service crews. Currently BPW uses an international courier to ship all its units worldwide.
Assignment
Its your one-year anniversary at BPW! The supply chains that you have developed and maintained appear to be functioning well but a meeting with the sales team leaves the impression that quality control at the 3PL has slipped. Quality control (QC) is currently done at the end of the production line at the 3PL in Stoney Creek Ontario. The QC staff hired to work with BPW products look for 12 key components. If any of these components are missing or not up to a specific level, the unit is considered defective and it is not shipped. Units that can be repaired are not always returned to the customer that sent them back. Where possible, repaired units are reused for customers. Repairs to defective units average two weeks. BPW has had some issues with the product it is shipping to Europe, and the units are arriving at the building site defective. There have also been complaints of damages that are visible only after the crate is opened. The issues are invisible to the carrier, and are only noted when the BP installation team, or Licensed/Authorized repair team arrives on site to do the installation. Installation is delayed due to the damaged and/or defective product, costing down time and ill will with the clients. Because cranes are rented for the installation and the crews are paid hourly, BPW is concerned about defective product arriving at a building site in Europe, so far from the Canadian manufacturer, with no back up. The timing for the BPW module installation is crucial and costly if time is lost due to delivery or unit failure. Initial marketing surveys indicate that more countries in the European market are eager to invest in this green technology, and that sales will be increasing for at least the next three years.
1. You suspect that the 12 key components are not measuring the right aspects of the units for this QC issues to arise. What recommendations would you make to the metrics to drive the right behavior and improve the quality of the finished units?
2. As a service feature, BPW does not stock the many parts used to create a generator module. If a unit is in need of repair or overhaul, BPW sends the contractor an entire new or rebuilt unit (depending on the sales agreement with the owners of the wind turbine). The old units are brought back to BPWs 3PL for refurbishment. How does this process impact: a) Inventory control in relation to forecasting b) Service to the customer c) The 3PL from a distribution operations perspectiv
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