Practice Operations Simulation & Analysis Part 1

Practice Operations Simulation & Analysis, Part 1

Team

Practice Operations Simulation & Analysis, Part 1

During week three every team member of Learning Team B completed the practice operation simulation. The results from the simulations vary from a positive net worth to a negative net worth. The simulations assessed each team member on net worth, reputation score, timely completion of contracts, goal achieved, and weighted score.

Learning team members’ results

The results for module #1 were as follows; Tamara had a net worth of $9,715, a reputation score of 140, a 50% on-time completion, and was not able to achieve the goal with a weighted score of 0. Adriana had a net worth of $18,516, the reputation score of 220, 75% on time completion, and was not able to achieve the goal with a weighted score of 27. Clark had a net worth of $22,025, the reputation score of 265, 80% on time completion, and was able to achieve the goal with a weighted score of 91. Reyes had a net worth $25,973, a reputation score of 265, 60% on time completion, and was able to complete 5 of 5 contracts. Omar had a net worth of $27,046, the reputation score of 285, 100% on time completion, and was able to achieve the goal with a weighted score of 99.

The results for module #2 were as follow; Tamara had a net worth of $30,930, a reputation score of 275, a 66% on-time completion, and was able to achieve the goal with a weighted score of 97. Adriana had a net worth of $-1,088, a reputation score of 115, 0% on time completion, and was not able to achieve the goal with a weighted score of 0. Clark had a net worth of $32,074, the reputation score of 285, 66% on time completion, and was able to achieve the goal with a weighted score of 99. Omar had a net worth of $35,528, a reputation score of 319, 83% on time completion, and was able to achieve the goal with a weighted score of 100. Reyes was not able to complete the simulation for module #2.

Major Decisions

Based on the decisions made for each of the team members during Module 1 and Module 2, some of the factors were due to managing the product due dates, a stock of the material and staff for each department which caused the level of operating to have efficiency loss. Some of the disadvantages were forecasting future demands to fill the orders at the right time to make sure that the output of the product would not be too early or late. Moreover, during the modules, some of the lead times had a future lead time which made the framework fall into greater error, which made it difficult to ship and arrive on time to the customer.

Effect on the Performance

In the effect of the performance, the team found that meeting the delivery of the product to the customer was an important factor. The team found that consistency of providing quality product and service of delivery to the customer would have a higher level of the contract between the manufacturer and the customer. If the performance is based on the delivery, the shipping cost will be less for the company and the customer. Therefore, focusing on the performance of each department is an important part of the operations. Moreover, if management pays more attention to the lead times, the material that is required to order and how to prioritize which jobs need to be complete, the performance will have a positive effect as it goes to the next department for inspection and delivery time.

Learning Curve Theory

In the learning Curve Theory part has three sections to it, and according to Jacobs & Chase, the three assumptions are “1. The amount of time required to complete a given task or unit of production will be less each time the work is undertaken. 2. The unit time will decrease at the decreasing rate. 3. The reduction in time will follow a predictable pattern” (2014, pg. 131). In reviewing these points of view and looking at the results from Team B, they do not all fall within the given explanation. Results varied from person to person, having results go from good to dab and from bad to good. There could potentially be a few reasons such as the understanding of the concept the game implied. Another reason might be they did not fully understand the concept and the last interpretation is that team members did not remember the process of the game or the buttons needing to be pressed.

I learned over the course of my life that what I put into practice is how in life it turns out, the example is baseball. The way you practice is how you play the actual game. So if your sluggish in practice, your sluggish in the game. In this instance of using the construct of the game to understand the process of receiving, production and shipping, the practice does not equal real life. In the case of Clark, he showed improvement in revenue increasing value by 7000.00 dollars to a total of $32,074. Adriana resulted in a negative of 4-1,088 costing the company money. Tamara increased the revenue by $21,000. Omar showed the best results increasing by $8,000.00 to a total of $35,528.00. If looking at the increase on in dollars, then the theory of learning applies because the reduction in time followed a predictable pattern, therefore increasing revenue.

For some of the team members the concept of repetition and understanding the game is seen in the results, however, this is only a game and each one must understand the concept of the game but in real life, the manager’s performance is seen in action with real results, and the capabilities of hiring more employees, or making adjustments were they see fit to ensure the process of receiving the order and supplies, to production and ensuring the assembly line functions and flows to shipping out products to those companies requesting. In the game, you could not call the requesting company and provide details as to why shipping is late, or do natural things because it was a game. This theory applies in real life in the fact that once you have the understanding, your able to adjust as you move on and deal with the real issues of managing personnel and equipment.

Evaluate Team B Results

Team B believes that having good control of the inventory will be a more efficient and profitable to the company. Some of the factors the team discussed were that if the manufacturer pays attention to the inventory stock, they have on hand they can make better decisions when ordering and adjusting what is needed for orders. That way it is easier to fill and complete the incoming orders, and it makes it easier for the company to sell at a much lower cost to the customers.

In lean production, it gives the manufacturer the opportunity to make selling easier to the customer. Some of the factors will improve the aspects of distribution and delivery a better strategy outcome. It also gives the manufacturer to have better product quality and delivery lead times. In which it improves the daily jobs by 100 percent. Moreover, the manufacturer functions in better productivity, quality of the product and delivery.

Best Performance Options

The first module in the weekly exercise was based on the production and shipping processes of a business’s supply chain. In reviewing each team member’s results from the module, the best performance of options included meeting the demands of the customer according to the contract. The contracts state what the customer requires in the form of quantities, quality of products, and the time frame in which the order is required. Meeting all of these conditions of the contracts proves to give the best performance in the production and shipping phase of the supply chain process.

Another really important portion of the supply chain process was understanding what type of production is being utilized whether this is a make-to-order or make-to-stock system a good production manager must understand the difference. The manager must also know the equipment that is required in the production of different products to accommodate a variety of contracts. Usually, the“demand is not completely known, and safety or buffer stock must be maintained to absorb variation” (Jacobs & Chase, 2014, Chapter 20). Understanding equipment set-up times and the cost to the company for running those machines in the production process are vital in completing contracts for customers. The manager should be knowledgeable of the time frame placed on different contracts to prioritize the orders for on-time shipping to the customer.

The second module of the weekly team exercise dealt with the inventory aspect of supply chains. In this portion of the exercise, we learned about the ordering of raw material from suppliers to produce goods and services for clients. In this part of the production, the contracts are very important so that the proper quantity and quality of raw materials are purchased for production purposes. In the ordering process, most suppliers of raw materials offer their customers discounts for certain quantity sizes as well as lead times to produce this material for the manufacturer. In some cases, the manufacturer may have the option of allowing a longer lead time for the production of raw material from their supplier as long as contracted production times permits these actions. In most case the long-term relationship between both suppliers and customers allows the manufacturer to accommodate both parties in different situations.

Conclusion

In conclusion team, B learned the importance of the relationship between the manufacturer and the customer. How making the right decision of having stocked product, the production, and the delivery can affect both the parties. Moreover, by making the best decisions can also be cost efficient for everyone and meeting the demands of lead times for deliveries. Team B learned after evaluating the teams results and discussing those results can either have a positive or negative outcome.

References

Jacobs, R. F., & Chase, R. (2014). Operations and Supply Chain Management (14th ed.). https://phoenix.vitalsource.com/books/1259850137/epubcfi/6/72!/4/76/2@0:77.1.

Appendix

Omar Banegas

Adriana Cortez

Michael Reyes

Tamara Morgan

Michael Clark