General Policies:
You may work on assignments in a group consisting of two students (NO more than two). Both group members will receive an identical mark for each assignment. No late assignments will be accepted. Please submit your assignment via Blackboard assignment function. Use MS Word document for
Q1 and Q2 (1.5-line spacing) & Excel spreadsheet for Q3. Name your submitted file as follows: o If a solo work, and your name is Julia Roberts: Roberts1.docx & Roberts1.xlsx o If a group work, and names are Julia Roberts & Sidney Crosby: RobertsCrosby1.docx & RobertsCrosby1.xlsx Q1. (4 marks) Demand Management and PPS Settings (maximum 200 words) CATEC is a major printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer supplying a wide variety of high-tech PCBs under a job shop process. Global PCB demands are known to display high variety and customization. The company is now experiencing major supply chain issues such as (i) frequent stock-out situations and (ii) delayed deliveries to time-sensitive market. To resolve these issues, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Danny Locker, recently stated that CATEC would shift its production and operating focus to achieving economies of scale in PCB production as it will minimize stock-out situations. Do you agree with Danny’s approach? Agree Disagree Explain and support your response. Be specific and clear. Avoid any wild speculations.
Q2. (6 marks) Forecasting Related Discuss three differences between the manufacturing and service organizations in terms of demand forecasting. For any arguments/statements quoted from external resources, you are required to make proper citations according to the APA standard. To learn more about APA style, you can go to: http://libguides.macewan.ca/WLS/APA (MacEwan library resources) http://www.apastyle.org/?_ga=2.58174058.1340823225.1505973585-1098211791.1505973585 (APA website) Or other online resources such as http://www.bibme.org/citation-guide/apa/
Q3. (30 marks) General: Please use the Excel file “SCMT320 Assignment 1 Q3 Template W2018.xlsx” to answer Part I and Part II of this question. Do NOT use the word document to answer. I. See “I. Level” worksheet in the Excel template. Read the scenario descriptions and complete the following tasks: (a) (2 marks) Use the 2016 and 2017 demand data to develop a forecast for 2018 annual demand (month by month) (fill in cells G5 to S5). What method did you use and why? (Be brief) Use the Excel template to answer. (b) (14 marks) Use your 2018 forecast data to develop a “best” aggregate plan (SOP) using the Level Capacity strategy. Start the planning from calculating the parameters highlighted in yellow cells C18 to C22. Note that no mark is allocated to cell C18, but calculating this may help with your calculation in C19 and C21. Assuming the inventory at the end of the planning period (i.e. end of Dec.) should be as low as possible, complete your plan by filling in the pink cells in “I. Level” worksheet. (c) Bonus Question (2 marks) Create a duplicate copy of your “I. Level” worksheet, and name the new worksheet as “I. Level Solver”. Assuming there is no constraint on the ending inventory, use Solver (an Excel add-in) to find the optimal plan using the Level Capacity strategy. II. Copy the parameters in cells C18 to C22 in “I. Level” worksheet and paste them to cells C18 to C22 in “II. Hybrid” worksheet. (a) (10 marks) Use your 2018 forecast data to develop an aggregate plan using a Hybrid strategy (buffering with overtime and subcontracting). As a company policy, backorder is NOT allowed. Ending inventory each month should be kept at the minimum level. Complete your plan by filling in the pink cells in “II. Hybrid” worksheet. (b) (4 marks) Compare the plans you developed in I. (b) & II. (a) and discuss the pros and cons of using the two different approaches. Use the Excel template to answer.