Case Study 3: Managing Supplier Quality: Integrated Devices

on pp. 839-841, then answer the following questions/mandates:

Bill Edwards is a quality engineer assigned to the Injected Molding Commodity Team at Integrated Devices. The commodity team is responsible for evaluating, selecting, and negotiating agreements with plastic-injected molding suppliers to be used throughout Integrated Devices. The team is also responsible for improving service quality and material that Integrated Devices receives from its suppliers. Bill’s role after supplier selection involves working directly with suppliers that require training or technical assistance concerning quality control and quality improvement.

The company spends about 70 percent of each sales dollar on purchased goods and ser-vices, so suppliers have a major impact on product quality.

Bill just received a call concerning a recurring manufacturing problem at Integrated Devices’ Plant No. 3. The plant buyer said the plant is experiencing some quality variability problems with a key plastic-injected molding component supplied by Trexler Plastics. The component is sometimes too short or too long to fit properly with other components within the finished product. On occasion, the bracket snaps, causing end-product failure. Although the unit cost of the plastic-injected molding component is only $1.55, these quality issues (length variability and snapping) are creating production problems that far exceed the component’s purchase price.

 The local buyer announced he was having difficulty resolving the problem and asked for support from the corporate commodity team. The buyer said, “You corporate guys selected this supplier that we all have to use. The least you can do is to help us out of the jam your supplier choice is causing.” The buyer’s comment surprised Bill, although Bill would soon come to understand that plant personnel resented not being able to select their own suppliers.

 After investigating the problem during a tension-filled meeting with Plant No. 3 personnel, Bill determined he would have to visit the supplier directly. He would work with Trexler’s process engineers to address the manufacturing variability caused by the non-conforming component. Bill went back and reviewed his team’s actions when selecting a single supplier to provide an entire family of plastic-injected moldings. Trexler had quoted the lowest price of all competing suppliers and had provided samples that passed Integrated Devices’ engineering tests. Upon his arrival at the supplier, Bill learned that Trexler did not have a dedicated pro-cess engineer. One engineer, Steve Smith, was responsible for plant layout, process, quality, and industrial engineering. This individual, who was hired only two months previously, was still becoming familiar with Trexler’s procedures. When Bill asked to review the sup-plier’s quality control procedures, Steve had to ask several people before he could locate Trexler’s procedures manual. Bill decided that his first step should be to understand the process responsible for producing the defective component. At an afternoon meeting, Bill asked Steve for actual output data from Trexler’s process. Steve explained they did not collect data for process capability studies or for statistical control charting of continuous production. However, he did say that sometimes “things don’t seem to be operating well” with the equipment that produces the component.

Trexler uses an inspector to examine every finished item to determine if it should be shipped to the customer. After explaining the basics of process capability to Steve, Bill asked him to collect data from the process that produced the bracket component. Bill requested that Steve take exact measurements periodically from the process so they could draw statistical conclusions. Bill said he would return in three days to examine the data. Upon his return three days later, Steve shared with Bill the details of the data collection effort (see Exhibit 1).

Once Bill calculated a preliminary process capability from this data and examined the training and quality control procedures at Trexler, he realized he had some serious work ahead of him.

ASSIGNMENT

1. Calculate the Cp level? and Cpk of the process that produces the component purchased by Integrated Devices. Remember—process width = six times the standard deviation of the sample. Can the process at Trexler satisfy design requirements? What should be a target Cpk ?

2. Why is it important to prove that a process is proven capable before developing statistical control limits (i.e., SPC charts)?

3. Is Integrated Devices being reactive or proactive when it comes to managing supplier quality? Why?

4. Discuss the possible advantages of negotiating quality requirements directly into supplier contracts.

5. What is the risk of relying on product samples when selecting suppliers? What is the risk of relying too heavily on unit cost when making the selection decision?

6. Why was it so important for Bill to work with Plant No. 3 personnel before visiting Trexler?

7. The local buyer at Integrated Devices did not seem pleased that a corporate team selected the supplier that the local plants must use. Why do firms use corporate commodity teams to select suppliers? How can firms get support from plant personnel for companywide suppliers?

Read Case Study 3: Managing Supplier Quality: Integrated Devices on pp. 839-541, then answer the following questions/mandates:

1.  Calculate the Cp level? and Cpk of the process that produces the component purchased by Integrated Devices. Remember – process width = six times the standard deviation of the sample.

a.  Can the process at Trexler satisfy design requirements? 

b.  What should be a target Cpk?

2.  Why is it important to prove that a process is proven capable before developing statistical control limits (i.e., SPC charts)? 

3.  Is Integrated Devices being reactive or proactive when it comes to managing supplier quality? Why? 

4.  Discuss the possible advantages of negotiating quality requirements directly into supplier contracts. 

5.  What is the risk of relying on product samples when selecting suppliers? 

a.  What is the risk of relying too heavily on unit cost when making the selection decision? 

6.  Why was it so important for Bill to work with Plant No. 3 personnel before visiting Trexler? 

7.  The local buyer at Integrated Devices did not seem pleased that a corporate team selected the supplier that the local plants must use. 

a.  Why do firms use corporate commodity teams to select suppliers? 

b.  How can firms get support from plant personnel for company wide suppliers

Primary Response is due by Sunday (11:59:59pm Central), Peer Responses are due by Tuesday (11:59:59pm Central).

Primary Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

For this Discussion Board, please complete the following:

Tina is a coffee drinker and does not like to make coffee at home. Her favorite coffee is Starbucks™. She buys Starbucks at least three times a week. Reviewing the Product, one of the four Ps of Marketing, what is Tina buying and is the customer demand being fulfilled? Why or why not?

Tip: A product is a good or service that a company offers, fulfilling a customer demand.