Big Changes at the Fabulous Floating Ferries Company

The story you are about to read is true. The names and places have been changed to protect the innocent (and not so innocent).

A ferry company called the Fabulous Floating Ferries currently runs a car ferry between New Winterfell and Narniaville. The ferry crossing time is 8 hours. The ferry leaves New Winterfell at 8am each day and arrives in Narniaville at 4pm, resulting in an eight-hour crossing time. The same ferry then leaves Narniaville at 8pm and arrives back at New Winterfell at 4am the next day. As with all Fabulous Floating Ferries ships, the New Winterfell-Narniaville ferry has a full restaurant, buffet bar, lounge, and various snack machines throughout the ship. The ferry's supplies are all ordered from local suppliers and loaded at the port of New Winterfell. It is loaded with enough supplies to cover both the trip to Narniaville and the subsequent return journey to New Winterfell.

The system for resupplying the New Winterfell-Narniaville ferry has been the same for years. On the return journey from Narniaville, the ferry's onboard officer contacts a purchasing officer at the Fabulous Floating Ferries headquarters onshore and orders what is needed for the next trip from New Winterfell to Narniaville and back. Many of the same supplies are ordered consistently during each trip, but they must be ordered in small quantities because there is very little room for storage on the ship.

The onshore purchasing officer for Fabulous Floating Ferries then contacts the local suppliers (usually around 10-12) and orders the ship's requirements for delivery. This takes place while the ship is loading and unloading the cars and people at New Winterfell, which is between the ship's docking time of 4am and its departure time of 8am. Early every morning, there is a line of suppliers waiting on the dock for the ship to arrive. The ship's storage area is below deck and can be accessed only by a single elevator and a very narrow circular stairway. In the winter months, when fewer people are traveling, this resupplying system works pretty well. In the summertime, however, the volume of cars and people travelling are much higher, which results in a constant state of chaos as all the suppliers try to get their goods unloaded and their documentation signed. For years, this has resulted in far too many late ferry departures and New Winterfell.

The supply officer onboard the New Winterfell-Narniaville ferry is growing weary of this recurring problem and has often complained to the higherups at Fabulous Floating Ferries about the lack of time to properly receive and inspect the goods in New Winterfell. Often, because of the tight resupplying schedule, items ordered were not sent and the quantities were short or goods were damaged. The finance department at Fabulous Floating Ferries is also concerned about the price the company is paying for these goods. The process of ordering goods every day and in such small quantities means that they always pay full price and never receive a bulk discount from any of their vendors.

Assignment 10% total:

If the Fabulous Floating Ferries were to purchase or rent affordable warehouse space within 5 minutes of the ferry's New Winterfell docking site:

• What type of goods might be stored in the warehouse. 10%
• What inventory management benefits might Fabulous Floating Ferries experience? Please explain your answer. 20%
• What type of warehouse design would you draw up for the Fabulous Ferries company and what material handling equipment/systems would you recommend? Please draw your design and list equipment. 40%
• How might the inventory receipt process change from the existing process. Would this change be beneficial or detrimental to Fabulous Floating Ferries? Please explain your answer. 30%