Rocker Industries (B)

The BOM, current inventory, and lead time (in months) for the in-line skates in Rocker Industries (A) case is shown in Exhibit 14.37. Using the chase demand strategy, you developed in Rocker Industries (A), develop a complete MRP week-by-week schedule using lot-for-lot (LFL) to meet production requirements for the first quarter of the year (January to March). Assume for simplicity that there are four weeks per month.

Case Questions for Discussion:

Use the MRP schedule to address the following questions.

1. When must the process of ordering and producing in-line-skates to meet demand for these three months begin?
2. What are the cost and capacity implications from the planned schedule of order releases?
3. What would be the effect on part planned order releases if a level aggregate plan was used instead of a chase strategy? (You do not have to redo the MRP explosion; simply explain the impact.)
4. What would be the pros and cons of reducing part lead times by one-half?
5. Do you see any opportunities to use lot sizing to batch order quantities? Select one part and explain/justify.
6. What other insights do you see? Is this a good planned order release schedule?