Matching Supplywith Demand An Introduction to Operations Management, 5th Edition Cachon
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Chapter 2-19
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Chapter 2 ux
The Process View of the Organization
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Q2.1 Dell ux
The following steps refer directly to Exhibit 2.1. ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
#1:For2001,wefindinDell’s10-k: Inventory=$400(inmillion) ux ux ux ux ux ux ux u x ux ux ux ux
#2: For 2001, we find in Dell’s 10-k: COGS = $26,442 (in million)
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26,442$/year
#3:Inventory turns= =66.105turnsper year 400$
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40% per year
#4: Per unit Inventory cost = =0.605%per year
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66.105 per year u x u x
Q2.2. Airline ux
We use Little’s law to compute the flow time, since we know both the flow rate as well as the
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inventory level: ux ux
FlowTime=Inventory/FlowRate=35passengers/255passengersper hour =0.137hours ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
=8.24minutes ux ux
Q2.3 Inventory Cost
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(a) Sales=$60,000,000per year/$2000per unit =30,000unitssoldper year ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
Inventory = $20,000,000/$1000 per unit = 20,000 units in inventory
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Flow Time = Inventory/Flow Rate = 20,000/30,000 per year = 2/3 year =8 months Turns =
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1/Flow Time=1/(2/3 year) =1.5 turns per year
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Note: we can also get this number directly by writing: ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux u x Inventory turns = COGS/Inventory ux ux ux ux ux
(b) Cost of Inventory: 25%per year/1.5 turns =16.66%. For a $1000 product, this would ux ux u x ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux u x u x ux ux
make an absolute inventory cost of $166.66. ux ux ux ux ux ux u x ux
Q2.4. Apparel Retailing
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(a) Revenue of $100Mimplies COGS of $50M (because of the 100% markup). ux u x ux ux ux u x u x ux ux ux ux
Turns = COGS/ Inventory = $50M/$5M =10 . u x u x ux u x u x ux u x ux ux
(b) The inventory cost, given 10 turns, is 40%/10 = 4%. For a 30$ item, the inventory cost ux ux ux ux ux ux u x ux ux ux ux ux u x u x ux ux ux
is 0.4$30 = $1.20 per unit . ux u x ux ux ux ux ux ux
Q2.5. La Villa ux ux
(a) Flow Rate = Inventory/ Flow Time =1200 skiers/10 days = 120 skiers per day u x u x u x ux ux u x u x ux ux ux ux u x ux u x u x u x
(b) Last year: on any given day, 10% (1 of 10) of skiers are on their first day of skiing ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
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, This year: on any given day, 20% (1 of 5) of skiers are on their first day of skiing
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Average amount spent in local restaurants (per skier) ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
Last year =0.1$50+0.9$30=$32 This ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
year =0.2$50+0.8$30=$34
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%change=($34−$32)/$32=6.25%increase
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Q2.6. Highway
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We look at 1 mile of highwayas our process. Since the speed is 60 miles per hour, it takes a car 1
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minute to travel through the process (flow time).
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There are 24 cars on ¼ of a mile, i.e. there are 96 cars on the 1 mile stretch (inventory). Inventory
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= Flow Rate * Flow Time: 96 cars = Flow Rate * 1 minute
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Thus, the Flow Rate is 96 cars per minute, corresponding to 96*60 = 5760 cars per hour.
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Q2.7. Strohrmann Baking
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The bread needs to be in the oven for 12 minutes (flow time). We want to produce at a flow rate
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of 4000 breads per hour, or 4000/60 = 66.66 breads per minute.
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Inventory= Flow Rate * Flow Time: Inventory = 66.66 breads per minute* 12 minutes Thus, ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
Inventory = 800 breads, which is the required size of the oven.
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Q2.8. Mt Kinley Consulting
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We have the following information available from the question:
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Level Inventory (number of consultants at ux ux ux ux Flow Time (time spent at that ux ux ux ux ux
that level) ux level)
Associate 200 4 years ux
Manager 60 6 years ux
Partner 20 10 years ux
(a) We can use Little’s law to find the flow rate for associate consultants: Inventory = Flow
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Rate * Flow Time; 200 consultants = Flow Rate * 4 years; thus, the flow rate is 50
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consultants per year, which need to be recruited to keep the firm in its current size (note:
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while there are also 50 consultants leaving the associate level, this says nothing about how
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many of them are dismissed vs how many of them are promoted to Manager level).
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(b) We can perform a similar analysis at the manager level, which indicates that the flow rate
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there is 10 consultants. In order to have 10 consultants as a flow rate at the manager level,
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we need to promote 10 associates to manager level (remember, the firm is not recruiting to
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the higher ranks from the outside). Hence, every year, we dismiss 40 associates and
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promote 10 associates to the manager level (the odds at that level are 20%)
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, Now, consider the partner level. The flow rate there is 2 consultants per year (obtained via the
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same calculations as before). Thus, from the 10 manager cases we evaluate every year, 8 are
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dismissed and 2 are promoted to partner (the odds at that level are therebyalso 20%).
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In order to find the odds of a new hire to become partner, we need to multiply the promotion
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probabilities: 0.2*0.2 = 0.04. Thus, a new hire has a 4% chance of makingit to partner.
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Q2.9. Major US Retailers
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a. Product stays on average for 31.9 days in Costco’s inventory ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
b. Costco has for a $5 product an inventory cost of $0.1311 which compares to a ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
$0.2049 atWal-Mart u x ux
Q2.10. McDonald’s ux
a. Inventoryturns for McDonald’s were 92.3. They were 30.05 for Wendy’s. ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
b. McDonald’s has per unit inventory costs of 0.32%, which for a 3$ meal about ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
$0.00975. That compares to 0.998% at Wendy’s where the cost per meal is $0.0299. ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux u x ux
Q2.11. BCH ux
I=400associates,T=2years. R=I/T=400associates/2yrs=200associates/yr.
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Q2.12. Kroger ux
Turns = R / I = 76858/ 6244 =12.3 ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
Matching Supplywith Demand:An Introduction to Operations Management 5e ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
SolutionstoChapterProblems x
u x
u x
u
Chapter 3 ux ux
Understanding the Supply Process: Evaluating Process Capacity ux ux ux ux ux ux
Q3.1 Process Analysis with One Flow Unit
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(a) Capacity of the three resources in units per hour are 602 /10 =12 , 601/ 6 =10; 603 ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux u x ux ux ux u x ux ux ux
/16=11.25. The bottleneck is the resource with the lowest capacity, which is resource 2.
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(b) The process capacity is the capacity of the bottleneck, which is 10units/hr.
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(c) If demand =8 units /hr , then the process is demand constrained and the flow rate is
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8units/hr ux
(d) Utilization=FlowRate/Capacity.Forthethreeresourcestheyare 8/12, 8/10,and ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux u x ux ux ux u x ux ux ux ux
8/11.25. ux ux
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, Q3.2 Process Analysis with Multiple Flow Units
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a) Bottleneck is resource 3 because it has the highest implied utilization of 125%. The demands ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
per hour of the three products are 40/8=5 , 50/8=6.25and 60/8=7.5. The
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total minutes of work demanded per hour at resource 1 is 5 × 5 + 6.25 * 5 + 7.5 * 5 = ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
93.75. Two workers at resource 1 produce 2 * 60 = 120 min of work per hour. So ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
resource 1’s utilization is 93.75 /120 = 0.78. Utilization at the other resources are
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similarly evaluated. ux ux
b) Thecapacity of resource 3 is 60/15 = 4 units per hour. Given the ratio of units produced must ux ux ux ux ux u x
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be 4 to 5 to 6, the process can produce 4 units/ hr of A, 5 units/hrof B and
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6units/hrof C. ux ux ux ux
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Q3.3. Cranberry ux
Cranberries arrive at a rate of 150 barrels per hour. They get processed at a rate of 100 barrels per hour. ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
Thus, inventory accumulates at a rate of 150-100 = 50 barrels per hour. This happens while trucks
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arrive, i.e. from 6am to 2pm. The highest inventory level thereby is 8h*50 barrels per hour = 400
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barrels. From these 400 barrels, 200 barrels are in the bins, the other 200 barrels are in trucks.
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(a) 200 barrels ux
(b) From 2pm onwards, no additional cranberries are received. Inventorygets depleted at a rate of
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100 barrels per hour. Thus, it will take 2h until the inventory level has dropped to 200 barrels, at
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which time all waiting cranberries can be stored in the bins (no more truck waiting)
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(c) It will take another 2 hours until all the bins are empty
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(d) Since the seasonal workers only start at 10:00am, the first 4 hours of the day we accumulate 4hours
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* 50barrels per hour = 200 barrels. For the remaining time that we receive incoming cranberries,
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our processing rate is higher (125 barrels per hour). Thus, inventory only accumulates at a rate of
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25 (150-125 barrels per hour). Given that this happens over 4 hours, we get another 100 barrels in
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inventory. At 2pm, we thereby have 300 barrels in inventory. After 2pm, we receive no further
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cranberries, yet we initially process cranberries at a rate of 125 barrels per hour. Thus, it only takes
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100barrels/125barrels/hour =0.8hours =48minutes
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until all bins are empty. From then, we need another 2h until the bins are empty.
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Q3.4. Western Pennsylvania Milk ux ux ux
We start the daywith 25,000 gallons of milk in inventory. From 8am onwards, we produce 5,000
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gallons, yet we ship 10,000 gallons. Thus inventoryis depleted at a rate of 5000 gallons per hour, which
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leaves us without milk after 5 hours (at 1pm). From then onwards, clients will have to wait. This
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situation gets worse and worse and by 6pm (last client arrives), we are short 25,000 gallons.
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(a) 1pm
(b) Clients will stop waiting when we have worked off our 25,000 gallon backlog that we are facing ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
at 6pm. Since we are doing this at a rate of 5,000 gallon per hour, clients will stop waiting at
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11pm (after 5 more hours).
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(c) At 6pm, we have a backlog of 25,000 gallons, which is equivalent to 20 trucks
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(d) The waiting time is the area in the triangle ux ux ux ux ux ux ux ux
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