Current Situation Facing U.S. Stroller
Although the baby stroller market might not seem very aggressive in terms of competition and customers’ demands, the U.S. Stroller organization has been applying great efforts to retain its top position in the designated area (the U.S. baby care market, 2016). The manufacturing process is currently the source of the firm’s primary concerns. U.S. Stroller has been using the MRP approach for years, which could be deemed as rather reasonable in the context of the global economy. However, the approach seems to have worn out its welcome over the past few years (Schroeder, Goldstein, & Rungtusanatham, 2013).
With its innovative decisions, the U.S. stroller has the potential to be one of the leading organizations in the area. However, the choice that the entrepreneurship has to make will define its further position in the market, making it comply with the related strategy. Each of the systems suggested has its advantages and disadvantages, which makes the decision even more complicated. More importantly, the systems suggested seem very similar to each other. As a result, the decision-making process may become quite convoluted. Although each of the options that the firm has to choose from seems adequate, the combination of both needs to be viewed as the tool that will lead it to sustainability.
Options Available: Pros and Cons
Analyzing the existing options, one should pay special attention to the Just-in-Time (JIT) approach and the cellular management strategy. Although seemingly helping incur a smaller amount of costs, they still trigger vast expenses. For instance, JIT allows for a significant reduction in the waiting time during the communication between the company and its suppliers (Schroeder et al., 2013). However, it also presupposes numerous costs spent on the equipment and the transfer process, in general. Moreover, the training that the staff will have to undergo will demand sufficient financial support, thus, devastating the organization financially.
Seeing that cell manufacturing (CM) is an isolated case of the JIT approach, it is reasonable to assume that it invites the same opportunities and problems as the above strategy. While admittedly promoting the adoption of the lean manufacturing approach (Schroeder et al., 2013) and, therefore, encouraging the firm to accept a sustainable approach to the use of resources, it also requires more expensive equipment and consistent staff training, as well as takes its toll on the company’s flexibility. Although the incorporation of lean manufacturing is a positive change to the entrepreneurship’s production design at present, the following expenditures will nullify the positive effect made.
Possible Impacts on the MRP System
The incorporation of the above strategies into the company’s design will make the MRP system virtually unnecessary. Particularly, the pull system will replace the MRP in its current position (Schroeder et al., 2013). Instead, the MRP strategy will be applied to address major issues such as the redesign of the brand image, etc. (Akdeniz, 2015). It would be quite a stretch to claim that the adoption of the two strategies mentioned above will outs the MRP tool from the firm’s operational design. Instead, the promotion of JIT and CM will help take some pressure off of the MRP system (Schroeder et al., 2013).
Recommended Options
In the context of the current situation that the entrepreneurship is facing, recommending a single option would mean restricting the opportunities that the firm is facing currently. Instead, one should consider both options closer. Since CM is the extension of the JIT strategy, one should apply the JIT system first so that the entrepreneurship could adjust to the changing environment of its operations. As soon as the company develops the approach that will help it responsibly allocate the available resources, the integration of the CM tool should be carried out. Thus, sustainability can be promoted in the company (Schroeder et al., 2013).
Reference List
Akdeniz, C. (2015). Lean project management explained. Bad Bodendorf: First Publishing.
Schroeder, R., Goldstein, J. R., & Rungtusanatham, S. (2013). Lean thinking and lean systems. In Operations management in the supply chain: decisions and cases. (6th ed.) (pp. 134-161). New York, NY: Richard D. Irwin.
U.S. baby care market. (2016). Web.