Process Design for Riordan Manufacturing

Dear CEO:
At Riordan, the electric fan division has revised the process for supplying the electric fans. Part of Riordan’s operations planning, Riordan would implement aggregate operations. From Operations Management for Competitive Advantage (2006), “Aggregate operations planning involves translating annual and quarterly business plans into broad labor and output plans for the intermediate term of 6 to 18 months. Its objective is to minimize the cost of resources required to meet demand over that period.” Riordan would start to collect data starting from the beginning of the fiscal year.

The data would be collected throughout the months to help determine implementation plans.

Part of the total quality management for the electric fans would be to implement the eight steps to be successful. From The Eight elements of TQM (2012), Riordan would apply, “ethics, integrity, trust, training, teamwork, leadership, recognition, and communication,” within its training and everyday workday routines. The process uses a viewpoint that strengthens the power of performance within planning, management, leadership, and design department.

These departments have initiated improvements. By implementing the process to the management and staff, Riordan would have an easy workflow. Riordion Manufacturing looks forward to hearing any opinions and concerns regarding the new development for processing of distributing the electric fans. Thank you for your time in advance,

Best Regard, Learning Team A

Team A will present a proposal package for Riordan Manufacturing Company’s electric fans. This proposition analyzes the importance of the MRP in regard to the fans. In addition, a newly created process design for the production of the electric fans, and a discussion regarding the supply chain that takes advantage of the global prospects that lower labor costs.

Last, the team will cover the production forecast for the electric fans along with the implementation plan that will include a design process included within a Gantt chart.

MRP for the manufacturing of the Riordan electric fans

Many organizations strive to be competitive. Riordan Manufacturing is one of those companies located in Hangzhou, China. This company creates fan blades, fan housings, and supplier for the electric fan motors. Riordan Manufacturing located in China currently uses raw materials to make the fan blades, housings, and other miscellaneous parts. The departments focus on the cost it takes to create the plastic fans to stay ahead of the competition. A new process design can improve Riordan Manufacturing’s output of its process analysis.

New Process Design For Production

The process developer calls for the entire workforce within the operation to be fully involved. Strategically, Riordian can operate most desirably in the terms of cost, competences within the vendors, and inventory, (Whitney, 1988). Creating a new process design for the manufacturing of Riordan electric fans will adjust the cost for the local vendors. When addressing operating costs and inventory it is paramount to reduce the relationship with their Chinese partners. This is true with any business; it is never a smart move to have more employees than required. Riordan Manufacturing experts have the knowledge and capabilities to order the fan motors and blades needed for assembly. Using local outsourcing manufacturing companies for purchasing the fan motors will lower costs with the new process in place. A way to cut developing time is to begin the process of the phase two at the same time phase one is completed. An implicated cycle can make the transition from phase to phase. Riordan’s process currently in use causes concern because of the slow results from its third party.

Therefore, creating additional inventory on-site would rectify this situation. The fan motors in inventory will create an efficient development process that does not overlap phases. “To improve the effectiveness of overlapping, the upstream activity should make solutions ‘downstream-friendly’, reducing meaningless changes, and quickening engineering cycles. The downstream should try to forecast upstream results. Knowing how to make time-risk trade-offs and quicken adjustment to unexpected changes”, (Clark & Fujimoto, 1991). With the use of outside manufacturing companies to assemble the electric fan motors, support the economical cost needed for the new process.

Subsequently Riordan Manufacturing proposes to have higher levels of inventory that allows them in effectively forecasting models for inventory control, production, planning, improving supply chain, and guaranteeing deliveries of Riordan products. Creating a new process design essentially caters for the new supply and demand of Riordan products. Using lean production can help Riordan Manufacturing minimize waste from raw material toward the finished product. Because of the elevated demand for the product, production needs increase (Chase, Jacobs, & Aquilano 2006).

Global Advantages and Opportunities

Riordan Manufacturing operates their electric fans unit out of Hangzhou, China but sells them across the world, Apollo (2012). The company has been successful in using a method call make-to-stock operations. The flowchart will illustrate an innovative system that ensues extremely efficient. This method has been successful because the product is available when our customer places his or her order. The customer has the option to have his or her product delivered or picking-up his or her product from the local warehouse. In addition, our company offers a responsive supply chain. Riordan is responsive and flexible to the customer’s needs. Moreover, if a customer wanted a special order, the company offers the build-to-order process to meet the specialized requirements for the order. Chase, Jacobs, & Aquilano (2006), describes this as the Responsive Supply Chain Method. Our flexibility can accommodate any customer requirements.

In this global market, the available opportunities are competitive. According to the European Business Review article, the opportunities of global advantages will depend on the nation’s determinants. In applying the determinants to Riordan in China, the market has a large availability of skilled labor. Furthermore, a high-demand for the product within the supply network has driven the success for Riordan. Last, this company has diverse suppliers working with the manufacture to produce the electric fans. These factors alone stimulates the competition, in return increases the total supply capacity. These determinants of advantages make this company competitive in the global market.

Supply Chain Flowchart

Production Forecast

Riordan forecast proposes the yearly needs of electric motors to the local companies based on three years of sales and production figures. The current year’s estimation for production of electric fans produces a need to outsource to several local vendors. One of the outsourcing components in producing the fan is the plastic polymers. The outsourcing company produces these individual parts by specification to fit inside the fans. The fan blade and the fan housing components are assembled onsite to the motor. Then the minor parts are added to the fan for its completion. Once production of the fan finalizes, the product become part of the inventory placed into the storeroom as available saleable product.

From the storeroom, the customers can pick up their fans from the manufacture. Alternatively, Riordan’s transportation department can have the product delivered using local Chinese shipping company. Riordan maintains extra stock of polymer’s but not the electric motors. Nevertheless, the outsourcing motor supplier and Riordan have an agreement to store extra stock at their facility reducing the overhead and lowering the cost for the product.

Ganatt Chart and Design Process

As part of the implementation plan, five different tasks assist in developing the electric fans. The first task would be the preliminary design. The second task would be the detail design. The third design would be the prototype. During which the fourth and fifth task provide the testing and assembly of the electric fans.

The white shaded bars

implements the period used for each tasks. The parts colored purple within the bars are goals into which Riordan would use as a set goal to achieve production.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Riordian has submitted the development of a new process for its distribution of electric fans, the process focus on what strengthens the company with countless leaders, designers, planners, and improvement within this proposal. Riordan has been a very successful company and emphases through this proposal the positive aspects of initiating a joint venture.

References
Apollo Group, Inc. (2005, 2006, 2012) Copyright Riordan Manufacturing Virtual Organizations Portalhttps://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/Ops/SupplyChain.asp?hangzhou Chase, R.B., Jacobs, F. R., & Aquilano, N.J. (2006) Operations management for competitive advantage (11th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin European Business Review © Heinz Weihrich retrieved June 17, 2012 from http://www.usfca.edu/fac_staff/weihrichh/docs/germany.pdf The Eight Elements of TQM (2012). Retrieved June 18, 2012 from http://www.isixsigma.com/methodology/total-quality-management-tqm/eight-elements-tqm/