Willard Lock Company is losing market share because of horrendous due-date performance and long delivery lead times. The company’s inventory level is high and includes many finished goods that do not match the short-term orders. Material control analysis shows that purchasing has ordered on time, the vendors have delivered on time, and the scrap/rework rates have been as expected. However, the buildable mix of components and subassemblies does not generally match the short-term and past-due requirements at final assembly. End-of-month expediting and overtime are the rule, even though there is idle time early in the month. Overall efficiency figures are around 70 percent for the month. These figures are regarded as too low.

You have just been hired as a consultant and must come up with recommendations. Help the firm understand its problems. State some specific actions it should take. The product flow is shown in the following diagram.WT-202