Question
Based on the success of your WSOM Rocks experiment, you launch the new WSOM Spirit Shop and are responsible for sourcing and selling a line
Based on the success of your "WSOM Rocks" experiment, you launch the new WSOM Spirit Shop and are responsible for sourcing and selling a line of 6 spirit items (see exhibit A). Most of your sales will likely occur during September, so you have plenty of time to line up your supply plans given that it is currently late April. Having done a particularly spectacular job on the Sport Obermeyer case, you have quite insightfully created a supply chain with dual sourcing capabilities. One vendor is located in Vietnam and provides very low costs, but with longer lead times. The second vendor is located in Cleveland and offers higher costs with super short lead times. The Vietnamese vendor has a minimum order of 50 units (per item). The Cleveland vendor does not have a minimum order. Detailed lead times and vendor costs can be found in the WSOM Spirit Shop spreadsheet, Exhibit B (this spreadsheet can be found on Canvas in the Final Exam module). Note, the Vietnamese vendor's pricing includes the cost of delivery to Cleveland. You have six undergraduate marketing majors on your team who have provided sales forecasts (see Spirit Shop spreadsheet, Exhibit A). There is a July early-order opportunity for students to place orders at a discount (to be fulfilled in September). Historically, these early orders have been very accurate indicators of total demand. Assume that any units not sold will be shipped to a surplus clothing store at a cost of $2.50 per unsold item. Note that your sourcing options are different than in QQ-1 (you cannot source from Toronto, nor do you have the nearly instantaneous back-room capabilities). Questions:
- Using the data provided, make a recommendation for how many units of each style you should order from the Vietnamese vendor and from the Cleveland vendor. Explain the rationale behind your recommendations (and show your calculations). [3 points]
- Assume the Cleveland vendor goes out of business. How would your answer above change? What additional/alternate analytic techniques would you employ (hint, this now becomes a single period "newsvendor" problem)? [1.5 points]
- What is your total expected profit under each of the two scenarios above? [1.5 points]
- In light of your analysis, which model (one supplier or two suppliers) would you choose, and why? [1 point]
Exhibit A: WSOM Spirit Gear | ||||||||||
Individual Forecasts | Average Forecast | Standard Deviation | 2 x Std. Deviation | |||||||
Item | Selling Price | Fred | Felix | Fanny | Faith | Fatima | Frank | |||
Baseball cap | $25 | 90 | 100 | 95 | 125 | 85 | 115 | 102 | 15.38 | 30.77 |
Men's T-shirt | $30 | 75 | 85 | 110 | 160 | 95 | 120 | 108 | 30.45 | 60.91 |
Women's T-shirt | $23 | 135 | 160 | 165 | 95 | 105 | 125 | 131 | 28.36 | 56.72 |
Men's Sweatshirt | $55 | 250 | 200 | 285 | 245 | 270 | 280 | 255 | 31.30 | 62.61 |
Women's Sweatshirt | $65 | 90 | 100 | 110 | 125 | 80 | 205 | 118 | 45.24 | 90.48 |
Delux backpack | $75 | 255 | 225 | 190 | 305 | 175 | 200 | 225 | 48.27 | 96.54 |
Totals | 895 | 870 | 955 | 1,055 | 810 | 1,045 | 938 | 98.27 | 196.54 | |
Hint: recall that Excel can calculate standard deviation using the "=stdev" function |
Exhibit B: Vendors | ||||
Vietnam | Cleveland | |||
Item | Mfg Cost | Lead Time (Wks) | Mfg Cost | Lead Time (Wks) |
Baseball cap | $15.00 | 12 | $27.50 | 1 |
Men's T-shirt | $7.50 | 12 | $15.00 | 1 |
Women's T-shirt | $9.50 | 12 | $15.00 | 1 |
Men's Sweatshirt | $20.00 | 12 | $45.00 | 1 |
Women's Sweatshirt | $17.50 | 12 | $32.50 | 1 |
Delux backpack | $25.00 | 12 | $67.50 | 1 |
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