Deliverable Length: 500–750 words plus a chart/time line (1 document)
The forecasting department, traditionally reporting to the sale manager, has historically seen a forecast accuracy of about 60%, and this in turn causes problems for the following departments:
•Purchasing: What should we buy and how much?
•Production: What should we really build?
•Inventory management: We keep building the wrong thing.
The sales manager asked you to write her a memo, specifically addressing the following:
•How could you suggest that your new system would achieve any better levels of forecast accuracy?
•Why is forecast accuracy itself not as important under traditional methods?
•Create a chart or timeline that includes all of the following: ◦Which purchase orders have to be placed, and when?
◦When manufacturing needs to begin, to have products delivered to a customer
◦Approximate dates for all of the following:-
◾When the product must be shipped to meet the customer’s due date
◾When the application of the cover and packaging must take place to meet the customer’s due date
◾When the manufacturing of the widget must begin and end
◾When the raw material for the widget must be ordered
◾When the plastic cover must be ordered
◾When the cardboard box must be ordered
◦Includes notes explain your timing calculation
◦Assumes all of the following conditions:-
◾The factory has two departments: manufacturing and packaging
◾Product X consists of 3 components
◾a widget manufactured in the factory with a total manufacturing lead time of 1 week
◾a plastic cover purchased from vendor A with a procurement lead time of 3 weeks
◾a cardboard shipping box purchased from vendor B with a procurement lead time of 4 weeks
◾The widget itself is made from steel (whose lead time from vendor C is 4 weeks).
◾It takes 1 day for the cover to be applied to the product and for the product to be inserted in the box in the packaging department.
◾The shipping time to this customer is in 3 weeks, and you do not want it to be late or early.
◾Assume you received the customer order on 1/1/20XX.
◾Ignore any holidays
◾Assume a 5-day work week
◾The customer requires the product to arrive at his location on 12/31/2014
