24 Jul AFTER READING THE FOLLOWING CASE STUDY, DO THE ASSIGNMENT AS DESC

AFTER READING THE FOLLOWING CASE STUDY, DO THE ASSIGNMENT AS DESCRIBED AT THE CONCLUSION…..Case StudyAdapting the Supply Chain for a Global Injection Molding ManufacturerSummaryNot unlike many other industries, a leading manufacturer of injection molding systemswas confronted with significant growth in emerging markets over the last ten years.   As a consequence of this substantial shift in the location of demand, the manufacturer found it necessary to revisit its manufacturing footprint—would it be better to manufacture closer to these new markets—in order to better serve its end customers while still ensuring it maintained its competitive position as market leader. As a consequence of this change in manufacturing locations, it was necessary to revisit the supply chain network that was originally established to serve the pre-existing production facilities in both North America and Western Europe. The following case study describes how the change in manufacturing strategy resulted in a need for change in sourcing strategy. Company & Product ProfileCompany – Headquartered in North America, this manufacturer of injection molding systems had its primary production facilities in Canada, the Northeast United States, and Western Europe at the start of 2000. These facilities manufactured and assembled all the major elements of the injection molding system (described below), as well as many of the sub-components of the product. The supplier ecosystem that supported these sites evolved over the fifty years of the firms’ existence to be largely based in the US, Canada, and Western Europe. Although the customer base is spread over 100 countries, North America and Western Europe formed the most significant portion of demand a decade ago.Product – Although each element could be sold separately and paired with competitor’s product, this producer manufactures and sells complete injection molding systems. This forms the basis of one key competitive differentiation in that customers only need to deal with one provider of the complete system, which is also optimized for performance relative to systems that are assembled using parts across numerous suppliers. The primary elements of the injection molding system produced by this global manufacturer cover:Machines – A large industrial machine used to manufacture plastic parts via an injection molding process, comprised of an injection unit (that facilitates the flow of plastic) and a clamping unit (secures the mold the plastic will fill).   Mold – Typically precision machined from plates of metal such as steel, the element of the system with cavities that represent the shape(s) the plastic will form once cooled.  Hot Runner – A unit of the system, comprised of heated elements, that enable the flow of molten plastic into the molds.Locations – Through 2005, the manufacturing sites supporting the production of the elements of the system were as follow:North American Site 1 (Canada): Manufactured Machines & MoldsNorth American Site 2 (US NE): Manufactured Hot RunnersEuropean Site (Luxembourg): Manufactured Machines, Molds & Hot RunnersThe North American sites largely fulfilled demand in the Americas (North and South), while Europe satisfied  European (West and East) requirements. Asia-based demand was delivered by any combination of the sites, determined by capacity or trade terms between countries.Business SituationThrough most of the firm’s history in supplying injection molding equipment, demand was largely based in North America and Western Europe, home to the more mature plastic product manufacturing industries. Through the late 90’s and the early part of the new decade, there was a noticeable shift in the demand for injection molding systems from the mature markets to the growth markets, particularly in Asia with the continued rapid industrialization of China.Given both the manufacturing presence and the skew of demand in North America and Western Europe, the supply chain that supported these sites was largely local to the production locations. There was some global sourcing, however it was mostly contained to specific technology or unique supplier capabilities that could not be found locally (eg. machines manufactured in North America required motors that were supplied from a European supplier). Nevertheless, there was no concerted effort at sourcing globally in support of a larger strategic vision.In summary, the following table shows the portion of demand for end product in each region, as well as the proportion of supply that was being sourced (to support the manufacturing sites) in the noted regions in 2001. As stated earlier, North America and Europe (particularly the west) had both the largest portions of customer demand as well as greatest share of location of suppliers to the factories.RegionProportion of Demand(as %’age of total in 2001)Location of Suppliers(as %’age of total in 2001)North America4045Europe3550Middle East/Asia105South America150Through the period of 2000 through to 2006, there was a gradual and continued shift in the demand for injection molding systems from this manufacturer. At the half-way point of the decade, demand by region had noticeably shifted towards the emerging markets, such that the share by region was now approximated by the following table:RegionProportion of Demand(as %’age of total in 2006)North America30Europe25Middle East/Asia30South America15The manufacturer was being confronted by two significant challenges that required the development of a revised production strategy. These were:(1)   The location of the existing manufacturing sites in North America and Europe had competitive disadvantages in supporting the demand shift and expected growth, particularly in the Asia markets. There were both cost disadvantages in having to ship large, heavy injection molding systems into Asia from either North America or Europe, as well as responsiveness challenges. The lead time to supply a system into Asia from North America or Europe risked loss of demand to competitors in Asia that could supply their product in a much shorter lead time.(2)   Cost pressure was starting to become much more prevalent due to the emergence of lower cost competitors in Asia, notably China. Being closer to Asian customers, and leveraging a lower cost, local supply base allowed for a more competitively priced product from these emerging competitors.ASSIGNMENT:Please complete a 3-4 page case analysis that responds to the following:1. Provide a concise statement of the problem confronting the supply manager of this company. 2. Provide two alternative solutions.  One of the alternatives could be to maintain the current suppliers.3. Select your preferred alternative.(a) Explain why this alternative is better than the others.  What problem did your solution solve that the others didn’t?(b) Use content from the course and other references to support your choice.   One approach could be (1) I suggest this, (2) this reference states such and such (3) supports my suggestion in this way.(c) Why do you think this alternative will address the problem you stated at the beginning of your case study?