Operations Management Assignment

Read the following mini-case study, and answer the THREE questions that follow: Panasonic Corporation, a giant Japanese electrical-household appliances assembly plant will relocate its whole operations in high technology LCD assembly factory in Japan to Malaysia. Its Regional and Corporate Director (Asian & Oceania), Masaru Maruo, said the move was an integrated strategic effort to make Malaysia its main hub for production plant in streamlining its production using high technology for their LCD television and camera products for domestic and global market. He said, the company has already ceased its operations and assembling productions of the LCD panels in the Philippines (2002), Australia (2005), and recently in Indonesia, last March (2009). He said that the decision was made to enable Panasonic to focus on the existing operations in Shah Alam, Selangor, as the main centralised centre for TV LCD production and digital cameras in this region. This decision was taken because we receive strong cooperation and support from the Malaysian Government continuously since we started operations 44 years ago. Political stability, investment incentives and competitive economic policies, high skilled labour with multi-language proficiencies are the major factors that attract us to continue our operations and expand our businesses in Malaysia. Those factors are important for our operations expansion as well as for enhancing our capabilities to produce more competitive products to compete in this challenging and competitive business he said at the press conference in his office at Panasonic Towers, Osaka, Japan, yesterday. Source: Raaf, A.R. (2009). Panasonic Pindah Operasi Pasang TV LCD ke Malaysia , in Berita Harian, 11 December 2009, Malaysia.

QUESTIONS 1. Critically evaluate the factors that attract investors, such as Panasonic Corporation, to set up operations in Malaysia. [8 Marks] Based on the above operation, identify the four (4) types of inventory needed to operate the factory. Discuss two (2) inventory management models that may be adopted in such a factory. [8 Marks] Compare and contrast the following manufacturing terms: a) Material Requirements Planning (MRP); b) Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP 2); and c) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). [9 Marks] [TOTAL = 25 MARKS]

2.

3.

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