Hewlett-Packard CO.: Network Printer Design for Universality Case Study Sherara thomasita sOverview When Hewlett Packard was founded in 1939, they were organized to develop electronic tests and measurement equipment. With steady growth and strategic business operations Hewlett Packard became a strong competitor in computer sales. In what way is universal power supply a postponement strategy? Global supply chain production and postponement decisions are important issues in contemporary global operations management (Choi et al., 2012). Adopting a universal power supply is a postponement strategy for HP because it would allow them to delay the allocation for 2 months to stockpile their inventory for transshipment if the need arose. This in turn gives HP a competitive advantage in the market while maintaining costs associated with uncertainty. It is also found that in globalization, manufacturing companies can pursue global production- distribution networks to gain competitive advantage (Choi et al., 2012). Therefore, postponement is a strategy that delays the execution of a task intentionally instead of starting out with unreliable information (Hoi Yan Yeung, 2007). What are the costs and benefits of a universal power supply (feel free to make assumptions)? The costs and benefits of a universal power supply are having the flexibility to increase inventories and cut costs associated with manufacturing JIT's. Although, the universal power supply postponement will yield a profit in terms of logistics, there would be costs associated with holding at about 30% a year. However, they could benefit from stockpiling printers with the DC's to overcome shrinkage at warehouses and in transit (Simchi et al., 2021, p. 457). wwwww How would such costs and benefits be different over the product life cycle? Over the product life cycle the costs and benefits can change due to the demand as well as changes in the product over. For example, technology is a rapidly changing field and requires constant technological research and development. This can be tasking as well as costly as the customer would demand to stay up to date with the latest cutting-edge technology. The supplies will become more expensive, and HP would have to determine how to keep costs down and offer products that are not expensive when compared to their competitors. However, the universal power supply yields a reconfiguration cost of zero, but this could increase over the product lifecycle as the product will change. Besides deciding on a universal power supply, what other operational improvements can you suggest to HP Boise? Another operational improvement suggested for HP Boise is the shipment of the HP printers across the Atlantic. In response to utilizing transshipment, HP would have to determine whether to move the product by air or sea. It was found that the costs associated with shipping by sea was cheaper than by transporting by air. However, the printers would be out to sea a month which puts the responsiveness at stake by increasing lead-times. HP would have to determine the tradeoff in this supply chain involving the universal power supply to improve shipping. What would be your recommendations about the adoption of a universal power supply? In reference to recommendations about the adoption of a universal power supply, HP should consider the postponement strategy as well. The universal power supply will allow the company to stockpile products in case of an increase in demand. This would in turn allow HP to consider shipping by sea if they stockpiled enough product to account for the month that the incoming shipment is in transit. This gives HP control of their supply and decreases the costs associated with yearly configurations and missed sales. Furthermore, HP Boise must consider the customer's demand and the implications of potential stock outs. Consequently, underestimating the customer's demand will lead to inventory stockouts and loss of potential customers (Simchi et al., 2021, p. 39). Losing customers can put a strain on the company's reputation and cause loss of footing among its competitors. References Choi, K., Narasimhan, R., & Kim, S. W. (2012). Postponement strategy for international transfer of products in a global supply chain: A system dynamics examination. Journal of Operations Management, 30(3), 167-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2012.01.003 Hoi Yan Yeung, J., Selen, W., Deming, Z., & Min, Z. (2007). Postponement strategy from a supply chain perspective: Cases from china. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 37(4), 331-356. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030710752532 Simchi-Levi, D., Kaminsky, P., & Simchi-Levi, E. (2021). Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies and Case Studies (4th ed.). Richard D. Irwin, Inc.