Operations Strategy And Performance

Words: 3515
Pages: 15

Introduction (“The purpose of this paper is to….. by ……with recommendations……”) The purpose of this paper is to raise productivity and profitability at the Portland Plant by improving upon performance objectives with recommendations on forecasting methods, process layout, appropriate technology, production approach, inventory approach, and a quality approach with tools to manage, measure, and assess quality.

Analysis
Operations Strategy and Performance TIMELINE: After being informed by HP of a curling problem with ink-jet paper in 1996, Portland Plant began formulating a new coating for their ink-jet papers. From then until Spring 1998 they were able to curb the curling issues. However in 1997 production speed issues
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The primary material in paper is wood, and today more and more wastepaper or other used paper or cardboard products are being recycled into paper (“The Office Supply”, 2010). Additionally, this includes MRO (maintenance, repair, operations) expenditures as well, which is all resources used in the day-to-day operations of the plant which are not included in the end product such as equipment, office supplies and furniture, maintenance and consumables. The demand by customers is a major factor as to what goes into the process of producing and adjusting existing products to meet the needs and wants. The production process always takes the customer into consideration as the organization should be customer-centered and provide for the customer. HP had specifically complained about paper curling under low humidity conditions (Slack, 2007). Additionally, HP has provided specs for a new paper to be manufactured; engineers are currently working to meet the new paper requirements (Slack, 2007). The information they gather is research from what companies are looking for in a product, what consumers are demanding, and what the market is like (Slack et al., 2010). This also includes reports which are run to demonstrate where they should be and where they actually are (performance reports) and any gathered information regarding the products, including but not limited to customer and company reviews. Other important information includes inquiries