IV HW MATERIALS AND SUPPLIERS

A. Inputs
Dyson makes vacuum cleaners. It takes raw materials like steel and plastic, and
makes some of the components – or parts – used in its products. (Other
components are made by other companies.)
Here are some typical combinations:
aerospace replacement
automotive spare
car components parts
computer
electronic

Materials and parts are just some of the inputs. The others are labour – workers
and managers – and capital – money. Knowledge is also important because Dyson
is a leader in vacuum technology.
Vacuum cleaners that are in the course of being made are work-in-progress. At
any one time, Dyson has goods worth millions of dollars in its factories and
warehouses; these are both the materials and components used to make its
products, and its finished goods – the products that have been made.
Quantities of raw materials, components, work-in-progress and finished goods in a
particular place are stocks.
Note:
BrE: work-in-progress; AmE: work-in-process
BrE: stocks; AmE: inventories
Goods is rarely used in the singular, except in specialized economics contexts.

B. Suppliers and outsourcing

Dyson has its own manufacturing operation, but it works with its suppliers –
companies that provide materials and components. Some companies refer to their
suppliers as partners.
The company uses subcontracting – which means using outside suppliers to
provide components and services. In other words, it uses outsourcing rather than
doing these activities in-house – within the company.
Note:
Outside is the most frequently occurring adjective in front of suppliers.

C. Just-in-time
It costs money to keep components and goods available for customers to buy in
stock. Stocks have to be financed – paid for. They also have to be stored – kept in
special buildings called warehouses – and warehouses – moved from one place to
another. So Dyson is asking its suppliers to provide components just-in-time –
when they are needed.
This is part of lean production or lean manufacturing, in which products are
made in the most efficient way – doing things as quickly and cheaply as possible,
without waste.
Note:
Lean production is about as frequent as lean manufacturing.

Exercises
1. Match the sentence beginnings (1–6) with the correct endings (a–f) containing
expressions from text B.
1 The computer manufacturer is
cutting back on in-
2 The poor standard of some
subcontractors’
3 Retail giants Sharks Ltd have
decided to
4 Late deliveries from outside
f a maintenance is worrying train
operating companies.
e b spent $157 million on the Cymbalta
advertising campaign.
d c house production work in a bid to
reduce costs and increase efficiency.
a d outsource canteen and cleaning
services, to focus better on its buying
and selling activities.
 5 Gruma has manufacturing
6 Lilly and its partners
c e suppliers are causing delays in
production, the Azco group claims.
b f operations on five continents, and its
products are sold in more than 50
countries.

2. Replace the words in italics with the correct forms of words from text C.
1 Let’s get the materials only when we need them (__ just-in-time
_______________) to keep costs down.
2 It’s difficult to find the right special buildings (__ warehouses
________________) to put our finished goods in.
3 You have to decide well in advance how to pay for
(__financed________________) all this.
4 It’s very important that we keep (___in stock_______________) these
components at the right temperature.
5 The company found that using couriers on bicycles was a very quick and
effective (efficient__________________) way to deliver documents in big cities.
6 They want to introduce a system of making things efficiently
(__handled________________) without waste.

3. Write short answer about the issue below (100-300 words).

Are hand-made products better than mass-produced products? Why?

Handicrafts or traditional industries are industries that depend on the hand or

using only simple tools without using modern machines. It is one of the main
sectors of traditional craftsmanship. The term is usually applied to the traditional
means of making individual goods. These items have cultural and religious
significance, and the term handcraft usually distinguishes from the category that
uses it frequently. Handcrafted goods are among the more traditional, created as a
necessary part of the business than pursued as hobby and luxuries.
In the late nineteenth century, handicrafts in Britain were part of daily occupations,
not hobbies, and were considered among the creative works of the people, using
natural materials and traditional techniques.
Handicrafts in the Indian Subcontinent
The history of handicrafts in general areas now comprising India and Pakistan
from an ancient epic. For a quick look at the traces of Indian handicrafts we need
to go back almost 5000 years. The first references to handicrafts in the Indian
subcontinent can be found from Daru Jo Moen, Indus Indus Valley Civilization
(3000 BC-1700 BC). India's artisanal tradition revolves around religious beliefs,
local needs of loyalty, as well as the special needs of patrons and kings, along with
an eye for foreign and local trade.
Handicraft List

Handmade souvenirs in Ghadames.

Traditional artefacts at the Ouzoud waterfalls.

Handicrafts include:

Beadwork
bone carving
Furniture Industry
Shipbuilding industry
Collage, and may include the use of seeds, cloth, paper, photographs and any other
materials
crochet
Metal engraving (silver, aluminum)
Textiles
gardening
knitting
marquetry
metal tool making
Mosaic......etc.

for consumer products

They are the products that the consumer buys to use directly for the purpose of
satisfying his needs and desires, and he usually obtains them from retail stores.
One of the characteristics of these goods is that a large number of consumers buy
them in small quantities each time or when they need them, and the decision to
buy them is affected by the personal motive of the consumer, and their prices are
usually much lower than the prices of productive goods. There are three types of
consumer goods:

Affordable product: It is the consumer goods that the consumer buys without the
need for much thought, and it is easy in all stores, as he thinks it is cheap goods
and is always purchased from the nearest stores to the consumer. Examples of
affordable consumer goods include sugar, tea, soap, cigarettes, newspapers and
magazines...etc
Shopping product: It is consumer goods that the consumer does not buy directly,
but rather differentiates between the alternatives offered in the market in terms
of price, quality and brand. TV, video...etc.
Special products: These are consumer goods that the consumer makes an effort
to obtain in order to distinguish them with special specifications or famous
trademarks, and a large number of consumers do not accept to buy them. Usually
the stores that offer these goods are few, and the location of the store may not
play a big role in marketing these products because the consumer will search for
them a lot. These goods need great marketing efforts to activate their sales
through advertising, such as watches, jewelry, sports equipment and cameras.