Strategy Case Studies. Questions like, 'how to gain competitive edge over rivals?' , 'what is the distinctive competency and the unique strategic positioning that contributes to competitive advantage?' , 'should a strategy be deliberately planned or should it be allowed to be emerging?' , 'how attractive is this industry and how to sustain competitive advantage in this industry', etc., can be. Case: Donner Company EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Donner Company is a manufacturer of printed circuit boards. They need to address several issues in their supply chain operations to improve their service level because net income in the month of September has drastically decreased.
Central Issues
When looking at the Donner Company in 1987, there are some initial concerns. The company as a whole does not have a true sense of how long it takes them to do what they do, and their process flow table is made up of 'guesstimates', as throughput time at individual processes have not been formally taken. The company appears to be operating below capacity based on their need to rework their products often, find things for people to do, and meet deadlines that are based on fuzzy estimates, which only adds to the chaos. In short, there are three main issues facing the Donner Co.:
iming and delivery discrepancies
Lack of quality control
Need for labor utilization improvements
The addition of a new building in…show more content…
Quality Control Errors & Missed Processes
The highest of standards demanded should be set, and an additional inspection area should be added behind the most sensitive portion of the process, the Dry Film Photoresist(DFPR). This would allow items to be caught before the entire process has been completed. Additionally, upgrades in the air filtration systems of the company, and the amount of time spent cleaning the machines would likely aid in the reduction of production errors, such as the reported nicks and scratches found on reworked and returned items. Processes that run the potential of contaminating each other could also be further separated through the addition of barriers. For example, the tin striping process, which utilizes special corrosive chemicals, has the potential to contaminate the boards and should be performed in a separate room (see Exhibit XX) so that the air within that area is kept localized and filtered, and the corrosive materials in the air are removed.
Labor Utilization Improvements
The labor utilization rate is currently at 15.78%Q7 and could be improved dramatically by reassigning people to the various tasks mentioned in the examples above. Additionally, the lower cycle times would improve utilization, but a closer look at the overall process might indicate that not as many people are needed to work at any particular time. We question the need for 22 employees and feel that with a better understanding
Download file to see previous pages Owing to its efficient operational approaches the company has established itself to be one of the most renowned units in the United States (Harvard Business School, “Donner Company”).When looking at the Donner Company in 1987, there are some initial concerns. The company as a whole does not have a true sense of how long it takes them to do what they do, and their process flow table is made up of 'guesstimates', as throughput time at individual processes have not been formally taken. The company appears to be operating below capacity based on their need to rework their products often, find things for people to do, and meet deadlines that are based on fuzzy estimates, which only adds to the chaos. In short, there are three main issues facing the Donner Co.:
iming and delivery discrepancies
Lack of quality control
Need for labor utilization improvements
The addition of a new building in…show more content…
Quality Control Errors & Missed Processes
The highest of standards demanded should be set, and an additional inspection area should be added behind the most sensitive portion of the process, the Dry Film Photoresist(DFPR). This would allow items to be caught before the entire process has been completed. Additionally, upgrades in the air filtration systems of the company, and the amount of time spent cleaning the machines would likely aid in the reduction of production errors, such as the reported nicks and scratches found on reworked and returned items. Processes that run the potential of contaminating each other could also be further separated through the addition of barriers. For example, the tin striping process, which utilizes special corrosive chemicals, has the potential to contaminate the boards and should be performed in a separate room (see Exhibit XX) so that the air within that area is kept localized and filtered, and the corrosive materials in the air are removed.
Labor Utilization Improvements
The labor utilization rate is currently at 15.78%Q7 and could be improved dramatically by reassigning people to the various tasks mentioned in the examples above. Additionally, the lower cycle times would improve utilization, but a closer look at the overall process might indicate that not as many people are needed to work at any particular time. We question the need for 22 employees and feel that with a better understanding
As per the perceived value from the above analysis, it can be said that when the size of the order made is more than 184 units, the company can implement the approach of CNC drilling. On the other hand, if the size of the order is less than 184 units, CNC routers will be most appropriate to be used. However, when the order size is equal to 184 either CNC drilling or CNC routers can be used (Harvard Business School, “Donner Company”).
Notably, as per the process diagram presented in figure 1, the use of film Photoresist is an integral part for the production process of the company. As per the result presented in exhibit 2 of the case provided, the capacity of the dry film photoresist area is 960 boards based on the order size of 60. However, it is believed that with the change in the order size the capacity of the dry film photoresist area also changes. To have a better comprehension in this context, the capacity can be calculated as per assumption with 8 as the size of the orders (Harvard Business School, “Donner Company”).
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