You have just been hired at ABC Widgets Inc. as a Supply Chain Manager. ABC Widgets Inc. operates in a competitive environment characterized by high volumes and low margins. Bob, the production manager, is your boss. Bob is in charge of overseeing day$-$to$-$day operations.

Bob tells you that he is $$laser focused$$ on product quality. He spends most of his time inspecting finished products to make sure that all completed widgets meet specifications. When he finds a defective widget, Bob brings it to the attention of the line workers in charge of assembly, and stresses to them the importance of producing a high quality product.

Bob also works with his purchasing manager, Jane, to help ensure suppliers are doing their part. When Bob identifies a defective widget, he looks to see if it was a part provided by a supplier that caused the defect. If he is able to clearly see that a supplier's part caused the defect, he reports this to Jane. Jane then fills out a Supplier Corrective Action Request, detailing the problem. She faxes that request to the supplier. The supplier is then expected to make the necessary changes and ensure that future shipments of the part conform to ABC Widget standards. In addition, Bob and Jane meet with all suppliers every six months to review contracts and discuss any outstanding issues.

Despite these efforts, Bob finds that up to $8\%$ of finished widgets are defective. Moreover, Bob continues to get an earful from Susan, the VP of Marketing and Sales. Bob meets with Susan once a quarter. Bob dreads these meetings because Susan is always focused on customer value. Bob feels her complaints are unjustified. Bob feels that as long as his team produces widgets that conform to specifications, then he$$s doing his part.

Bob knows that you$$ve recently graduated from GVSU and is looking for you to apply your learning to help him boost performance.

$1.$ State the central problem that ABC Widgets has in this case.

$2.$ In which of the $4$ costs of quality is ABC Widgets spending most of their time and resources?

$3.$ Does Purchasing $($Jane$)$ have a sense of urgency regarding supplier quality? What more could Jane do to increase the supply base quality?

$4.$ Give three suggestions that ABC Widgets could implement to lower its overall cost of quality.

$5.$ Identify three concrete barriers that might make it difficult to implement your suggestions.