Supply chain management principles and practices

Supply Chain Management

Over the last several years, Apple has been dominating the cell phone market with their popular selling I Phone. However, for a short while the Motorola Razor would challenge the I Phone for dominance. Then, the company would be left behind, as Apple would make innovations that were difficult to keep pace with. This would cause Motorola to face various challenges going forward, as sales would decline and the company would have trouble finding products that are popular with consumers. (Reardon, 2010) as a result, Motorola has embarked on a bold new initiative to implement a new phone that can challenge Apple once again. To understand the different aspects of this project requires examining the specifications for the phone. This will be accomplished by looking at: the project network, establishing a timeline, identifying issues not affecting the critical path and possible changes that could be introduced to shorten production / improve quality. Together, these different elements will provide the greatest insights as to how Motorola can design a phone that will challenge the major players in the industry.

Draw a project network that includes all the activities.

The best model that company can use for introducing the new cell phone to the market is the functional project strategy. This is where the entire design and implementation of the phone will sit with one division. The idea is that this will keep possible leaks down and it will help to streamline the design / production process. Given the fact that this strategy has worked successfully in the past (with the design of the Razor), means that a similar approach can be taken. As a result, the design of the new device must be able to surpass those offered by the industry leaders. To determine this, the I Phone 4 can provide insights as to what specifications are in demand. These include: a height of 4.5 inches x 2.31 inches, it has a weight of 4.8 ounces, the depth of the phone is .37 inches, there is a rechargeable lithium battery with a talk time of 14 hours and the phone supports both Windows / Mac operating systems. This is important, because it shows how the device that is being introduced by Motorola must surpass these basic specifications. At the same time, they must take into account possible innovations beyond what is on the market. This means increasing the size of the battery, making the phone more user friendly and adding features that may not be offered by other phones. ("I Phone 4 Technical Specifications," 2010)

As a result, the project network would need to include a number of different elements to achieve these objectives. Where, the various activities and strategies will outline how this will take place. Below is the project network design for activities.

Figure 1: Project Network Design for Activities

President

Research and Development

Engineering

Manufacturing

Provide Product Specifications

Product Design

Produces the product

Conducts Market Research

Integration

Quality Control

The above project network will streamline the process of: designing, manufacturing and distributing the phone to consumers. When you put these different elements together, they are highlighting how the company needs to take more focused approach when developing and manufacturing new products. This will help the company to achieve this objective, while giving everyone the flexibility to adjust to changes in the marketplace.

Project Timeline

In general, the start to finish times on the project will range from: 1 to 22 weeks. This is because each stage of the project will require various amounts of time to complete. The below chart illustrates the estimated start and finish times for each activity.

Chart 1: Start to Finish Times

The different start to finish times indicate, that the latest it would take to design and manufacture a prototype would be about 22 weeks. The critical set of activities for the project includes: specifications, research, design and integration. These different elements are important, because they are showing how the design process is streamlined. This will have ripple effects on the subcontractors, as the time involved will determine how quickly they can manufacture the different parts for the device.

When you step back and analyze the project time line, it is clear that Motorola can be able to produce a device that can deliver the features that are in most demand for consumers. However, in order for this happen, the company must follow this system, as it will stream line research and development. At the same time, it will provide the various subcontractors with specifications on how they can create the different parts. Once this occurs, it means that the overall process has been shortened from design to product implementation.

Identify slack in the activities not on the project critical path.

The different slack activities that are not on the projects critical path include: circuit, battery, display, camera and user interface designs. The slack in this part of the structure is 1. At the same time, other areas that would fall into categories that are not on the critical path include: hardware research and prototype testing. The slack for these areas are: 9 and 6. When you put these different elements together, this highlights, how there could be a possible slack that will range from 1 to 9 days. This is important, because it is underscoring possible delays and challenges that could be faced when producing / designing the phone.

Your boss would like you to suggest changes that could be made to the project that would significantly shorten it. What would you suggest?

Possible changes that could be made to shorten the project include increasing the overall amount of collaboration among staff and team members. Under this kind of approach the company could have a small team work on the design and manufacture of this phone. Where, each team would work on specific aspects of the project, but would have their work subject to peer review. This approach of keeping the teams small and improving collaboration will reduce the underlying amounts of secrecy surrounding the device. As possible leaks about specifications or product information could occur. However, beyond this point, this approach could improve collaboration and the design of the product by ensuring that a number of different viewpoints are taken into account. This will improve the kind of product that is being manufactured, as the increased collaboration will help to create more applications and features that are most in demand from consumers.