You work in procurement for L.A. Foods, a soda and juice bottling plant in the North Etobicoke region of Toronto. One of the company’s major domestic suppliers is Halse Plastics: they supplied L.A. Foods with almost all their plastic bottles. But Halse came under new ownership who decided to shut down the plant. The last shipment will arrive at L.A. Foods in three days; after that, the company will run out of bottles in a week. You have to find a new supplier in a hurry. Your manager Raisa has asked you to research other possible suppliers in the region to replace what Halse Plastics used to bring. She would like you to send her a fairly detailed email listing your research results and giving your thoughts on what factors should be most important in the decision process.

Outline of Your Informal Report

• List three actual plastics manufacturing companies in southern Ontario.

• Describe three advantages that a plastics supplier should have that would make it a good partner for L.A. Foods. Consider what is most important in the logistics of manufacturing.

• IMPORTANT: You don’t have to find out any of these actual facts about the factories you discovered, as that would be too much work for an assignment this small. Simply list the factories, then discuss what factors would make them a good supplier. • Examples of logistically important aspects of parts and component suppliers:

• Does the factory have a history of good performance for other clients?

• Can shipments from the factory easily reach your company?

• How long has the factory existed? How much expertise would longtime workers at the factory have?

• I encourage you to think of other advantages for a potential supplier. Original and insightful thinking here can earn you higher grades.

HINTS

• Your manager Raisa is a superior to you in the workplace, but you have also worked with her every day for nearly two years, so you’ve developed a professional and friendly co-worker’s relationship. The tone of your emailed report should reflect that.

• Remember that, in the scenario, you have worked at this company for two years. When you’re writing your informal report, think about what you both would already know about the company, and don’t include it. For example, if you tell Raisa that L.A. Foods is a bottling and beverage manufacturing company, don’t do that; she would obviously know that because you have both worked there for years.