Assignment

What are the key issues brought about in the conversation? What are the key symptoms, and what are the underlying problems? Be specific in your answers.

Use the product information to develop an MRP approach to the problems. Would MRP solve the problems? If so, show specifically how MRP would avoid the problems discussed by Ken and Jack.

Do any conditions bother you about the ability of MRP to deal with the problems? What specifically are those conditions?

Suppose it was discovered that only 250 of component E were in stock instead of the 300 listed on the inventory record. What problems would this cause (if any), and what are some of the ways that these problems could be addressed? How would (if at all) MRP help you when other methods might not?

Suppose that the design engineer advises that he has a new design for component F. It wont be ready until sometime after week 2, but he wants you to give a date for the first supplier shipment to come in, and you should be ready to tell the supplier how many to ship. Since the change is transparent to the customer, the design engineer advises you to go ahead and use up any existing material of the model. How will MRP help you to deal with this issue?

Can you think of any other what if questions that might be more easily addressed by a systematic approach such as MRP?