The business unit AFR Tech Smart Wearables produces smart watches aimed at outside activities such as running, watersports, golf and cycling with sensors such as heart rate and GPS. Some recent models add Bluetooth music playback and pulse-oximetry.

1. AFR Tech marketing teams plan on a 3 % yearly growth rate for this business unit. Knowing that they sold 47,000 smart watches worldwide in 2020, how many units will they sell in 2030?

2. Identify a potential source of cyclical variability in sales, affecting AFR Tech Smart Wearables Supply Chain.

Smart watches are produced in a factory divided into several zones, sketched as follow:

Depending on the model, machines and cycle times are adapted to match the exact technical specifications. A typical weekly manufacturing schedule looks like:

The factory is open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday. Before and after most production timeframes, machines need to be setup and cleaned up.

3. According to you, where does this factory fit in the product-process matrix? Why?

4. Briefly discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this organisation. What could AFR Tech do to minimise non-productive times?

5. Records show that on Monday, 50 Model A smart watches are produced per hour. If at any given time, 100 watches are being processed in the factory (work-in-progress), what is the average time a Model A watch stays in the manufacturing line (in hours)?