1.

What are some obstacles to

creating a flexible workforce?
What are the benefits?

Benefits
 To manage capacity – to meet demand.
 Existing workforce could work overtime during peck
periods
 Production from the plant closely match the demand
from customer
 If demand fluctuates the workforce can be flexible.
 A firm may schedule workforce use of a part time
workforce during peck periods.

Obstacles
 In time flexibility plants do not operate continually
and left are idle during portions of the day or week.
 The demand fluctuates by day of the week or week of
the month.
3. In what type of industries
would you tend to see dual facility
types? In what industries would
this be relatively rare why?

• Technological industries has the tend to use dual

facilities.
• Personal computer manufacturing firm using the
dedicated and flexible facility.
• Dedicated facilities for specific types of products in
a very efficient manner.
• Flexible facilities for a widely varying volume and
Varity of products at a higher unit cost.
• Dedicated facility using to produce at a relatively
steady rate with fluctuations being absorbed by
the flexible facility.
• But in iron and steel industries does not follow the
dual facility. They use product flexibility into the
production processes.

For example

Hino trucks in Japan have several production lines foe

different products.

Production lines are designed such that changing the

number of workers on a line can vary the production rate.
The firm uses the production facility so that the workforce is
multi skilled and easily adapt to being moved from line to
line. Consultancy and iron and steel industries avoid dual
facilities for higher unit cost. Demand fluctuation is greatly
higher
5. What are some product lines
that use common parts across
many products? What are the
advantages of doing this?
The product lines that use common parts across many
products are
 soda within varieties of soap like Lifebuoy gold,
Lifebuoy neem, Lifebuoy
 Carbohydrate is used in all types of soft drinks

Such as MOJO, Shark energy drinks , Tiger

Coca cola, Pepsi

The advantage of use of common components across

products will result in the demand for the components being
relatively constant. In this approach, a firm designs common
components used in multiple products, with each product
having predictable variable demand that results in relatively
constant overall demand.

Therefore, the part of the supply chain producing

components can easily synchronize supply with demand and
a relatively low inventory of parts will have to be built up.
Similarly in a consulting firm many of the some consultants
produce growth strategies when then are in demand and
produce cost reduction strategies
6. Discuss how a company get
Marketing and operations to work
together with the common goal or
coordinating supply and
Demand to maximize profitability.

Companies must manage there capacity through the use of

workforce flexibility, subcontracting dual facilities and
product flexibility to manage supply with the goal of
maximizing profit.
A company marketing often has increase based on revenue
whereas operation has incentives based bon cost. It is clear
that without together the supply chain will return suboptimal
profits.

 Therefore firms in the supply chain need to

collaborate through the information of joint terms
 Incentives of the members of the supply chain must be
aligned.
 High level support within the organization including
support from the chief executive office , will also be
needed because this coordination often requires grows
to act counter to their trading operation producers.
 A firm must always take this impact into account when
making strategic decisions.
 It is important for marketing and operations to
coordinate their efforts and plan for predictable
variability together well before the peck demand is
observed.