INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT KASHIPUR

OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT 1

ON

THE GOAL: A PROCESS OF ONGOING

IMPROVEMENT

Submitted to

Prof. Sunil Kumar Jauhar

Submitted On:

20.11.2022
Q.1.

 Figure out what assets the plant has, and then evaluate how well they meet market

demands. A bottleneck exists when available resources are insufficient to meet market

demand.

 Talk to the production crew to figure out where the line tends to form and why it's so

important. There is a bottleneck in any process anywhere there is a long wait time

because of an excessive queue.

 Determine or estimate the market need for the goods. A bottleneck exists when the

number of hours required to meet market demand for the parts exceeds the number of

hours available to use the resource for manufacturing. (The term "available hours" refers

to the total number of hours in which production can take place without being interrupted

by repairs to machinery or breaks for workers)

Q.2.  

 Seek out the system's limitations or bottlenecks. Both the oven and the NCX10 were cited
as major bottlenecks in the factory.
 Determine how these limitations will be used to your advantage. Towards the end of the
book, they came to the conclusion that machines also need downtime, in the form of
lunch and the like.
 All other considerations must take a back seat to the goal of removing the bottlenecks.
Prioritization should be given to addressing bottlenecks rather than other, less critical
tasks. All other procedures should be regulated to fit within the limits set by the
bottleneck. Put this book on first-come, first-served basis by removing the red and green
tags.
 Raise the profile of the system's limitations. Bringing the old Zmegma machine back to
life in this book.
 If the bottleneck is eliminated at any stage, the procedure must be repeated from the
beginning.
Q.3.

Profitability in terms of throughput and cycle time increases is limited by the scope of this
method. Beyond a particular threshold,

 The cost of the equipment would rise as the number of times it had to be set up

grew.

 Since there would be a greater need for deliveries, the price of shipping, packaging, and
transportation would rise.

 The level of capacity usage will fall.

 The labour cost would increase

 There may be difficulty meeting surging demand if current stock levels are

insufficient to meet it.

 With fewer units being shipped at once, the dealer would be stuck moving through the little

stock they have on hand.

Q.4.
Improving Quality: It can be achieved through the reduced batch size

Creating Jobs: The right amount of parts, timely delivery, etc., may all be

monitored with the help of newly established jobs.

Producing Products: Timely optimization of production allows for the shipment of

items to keep up with market demands.

Producing at a lower cost: It is possible to lower production costs by more efficient

use of available resources.

Producing efficiently: Efficient production can be achieved by lowering the defect

rate and raising the quality of the product given to customers. Eliminating unnecessary

downtime in the form of machine or operator idling, stockpiling, or WIP will boost output

and productivity.

Staying on the cutting-edge technology: However, while it is crucial to use

cutting-edge technology in order to maintain a competitive edge, it is as vital to eliminate

any unnecessary steps in the process. It is expected that the implemented technology would
contribute to the acceleration and growth of sales.

Gaining Large Market share: Having a sizable portion of the market does not

guarantee financial success. It's important to keep in mind that expanding business through

new customers and sales is the ultimate objective. Getting one but not the other could mean

falling short of the company's ultimate objective. Therefore, it is crucial to boost both sales

and client loyalty.

Q.5.

 Throughput: “The rate at which the system generates money through sales”. As the

organisation loses money if it only produces and does not sell its wares, throughput

should be calculated based on sales rather than production.

 Inventory: “All the money that the system has invested in purchasing things which it

intends to sell”. The term "inventory" is used to describe a company's stock of goods and

services for sale.

 Operational expenses: “All the money that the system spends in order to turn

inventory into throughput”. To be counted as operational costs are all the means by

which a business turns its stock into revenue.

Q.6.

 Net Profit that the organization generates

 Return on Investment (ROI) that the organizations get back

 Cash flow in the organization

Profit maximization refers to maximizing both the return on investment and the

cash flow of a business.

Q.7.

 Profit maximization refers to maximizing both the return on investment and the cash

flow of a business.

 The Process step where the inventory gets piled up and acts as the weak link in the

process is a bottleneck process

 A bottleneck occurs when a process's output is lower than what is required to meet market
demand.

 All the other processes must be planned in accordance with the bottleneck

 Methods must be coordinated such that a buildup of parts at a chokepoint does not halt the flow of
the components.

Q.8.

 Learning should be a lifelong pursuit. Have faith in your own curiosity and never

stop asking questions. In this approach, we can gain new insights into a tried-and-

true procedure.

 Avoid micromanaging by concentrating on the big picture rather than the details of any

one department or employee. To achieve organisational success, it's crucial that all

departments work together toward a common goal.

 If you want something bad enough, you should see it through to the conclusion. It's

important to remember that nothing is over until it's over. That's something I picked up

from the book thanks to Alex Rogo's example

 Pick appropriate metrics to develop and evaluate business or organization objectives.

Incorrectly selected metrics could lead to a never-ending cycle of fixing symptoms

rather than causes within the organization.

Q.9.

 The concept of using this novel format book is interesting and for people who are avid

readers, would find this book interesting as well as informative

 The book suffers, in my opinion, since the reader's attention is diverted from the topics

that a textbook should be teaching them to the story being told. Whether or not this book

may be considered a textbook depends on whether or not the principles are first

explained theoretically, and then explained with an example for simple learning, and

whether or not the attention is kept only on the subject.

 The Theory of Constraints is also a major theme throughout the book. There is more to consider

than the idea of limits when analysing a company's day-to-day operations. If it's going to be a go-

to text for operations management, it needs to cover more ground.

Q.10.

a. “If you don't manufacture a quality product all you've got at the end is a bunch of

expensive mistakes. You have to meet the customer's requirements with a quality product,

or before long you won't have a business”

b. “Since the strength of the chain is determined by the weakest link, then the first step to

improve an organization must be to identify the weakest link”

c. "Whatever the bottlenecks produce in an hour is the equivalent of what the plant

produces in an hour. So ... an hour lost at a bottleneck is an hour lost for the entire

system"

d. “Just remember we are always talking about the organization as a whole—not about the

manufacturing department, or about one plant, or about one department within the plant.

We are not concerned with local optimums."

e. “Sales volume . . . that's what matters. And when we've got parts that can't be assembled

into a product and sold because we don't have the other components, or because we don't

have the orders, then we're increasing our costs."

f. “Throughput is the money coming in. Inventory is the money currently inside the system.

And operational expense is the money we have to pay out to make throughput happen.

One measurement for the incoming money, one for the money still stuck inside, and one for

the money going out.”

g. “The rule he gave me last night is that an hour saved at a non-bottleneck is a mirage."