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The quality of the product that is being made is very important to a company what ever they are making.

The quality of the product that is being made is very important to a company what ever they are making.  The higher the quality if a product the more the company can charge for that product.  If the company makes a low quality produced that is not very good people will not buy it, also if people can find a similar product at a lower price and higher quality they will buy that.  When a business makes a product they must decide on the following things:

·    what is the lowest level of quality that is acceptable for the product?

·    who is responsible for the quality control

·    a method of quality control that will be used that dose not effect the cost to severally

What is the BSI?

The BSI (British Standards Insatiate) is responsible for setting standards that products must be made to.  They set standards for very product that is made, this means that products are made to a high standard.  When a product complies with the BSI standards it is given a kite mark, this tells the consumer that product meets their standards.

Methods of quality control

Has TQM made a difference too quality of products?

TMQ has made a massive difference to the quality of the products.  This method of quality control has improved the overall quality of most products.  This is because now everyone is responsible for the quality of a product.

Task 2

Why does a business like Sony use new technology?

A business like Sony must always have new technology so that it is bale to keep its market position ahead of the competition.  If they did not have new technology then they would fall behind.  They will not only use new technology in there products they will also use new technology in there manufacturing.

One of methods that they employed new technology was by automating their production.  In the 19^th and 18^th century people did production, and then a few hundred years later there was automation.  This replaced all of the people with machines.  Sony is one of the world leaders in automation.  The products are now also designed on computer; this allows them to make major changes on the computer.

There are also other advantages of Sony introducing new technology in to its manufacturing.  These are:

Increased quality: A machine will not make a mistake unless it has been programmed wrong.  A human can make a mistake much more easier.  This will increase the overall quality of all of the products as fewer mistakes are made.

Greater variety: They are bale to adapt the machines are able to be re programmed much quicker, then the old machines that would have taken a long time to reset.

Increased output: A computer can work for long time with out a break, while a person will have take breaks.  This will increase the number of products produced, thus increasing profits. 

Increased labour productivity:  The new technologies will allow workers to produce more.

The new technology that is being used also improves working conditions as they are now more quieter, and worker friendly.

There can be some disadvantages to a company adding in new technology he main one is that if they get it wrong it can be a very costly mistake.  Normally if a company gets it wrong then they will normally scrape the machines.

Reported by:  Rajeev Kapur, Production manager

Reported to:   Board of directors

Date:               Wednesday, 02 February 2000

Subject:           The advantages of introducing new technology in to manufacture of our product and just in time production.

1.   What is Just in time production

1.1. This method of production is totally different from the traditional method.  Instead of building up store of a product, the products are built then shipped out straight away.  In this method the raw materials are not stored they are used straight away.

2.   Are there any advantages to this method

2.1. Lots of storage space is saved:  When the raw materials are delivered they are used straight away.  Then when the products have been produced they are shipped out straight away.  This saves lots of storage space that also saves money.

2.2. Quality of the components:  The raw materials are used as soon as they arrive.  This means that they must be defect free because of this the company must insist on this or it will slow production.  The manufactory then dose not have to pay for faulty parts that saves money.

2.3. The workers have more responsibly:  The workers are responsible for making sure that production line dose not stop.  This make the workers feel more valued.

2.4. Improved quality:  The production time is lower, so it means that there is more time to check the quality of a product.

3.   What other advantages are there

3.1.   As the products are being produced as they are needed and stored it means that the products will always have the most up-to-date technology.  This means that if there is new technology relapsed then it can be put into the products straight away.

3.2. This method of production is much faster so it means that will be able to compete with the large Japanese companies that all employ this method.

4.   Why introduce new technology into the manufacturing of our product

4.1. New technology could totally revolutionize the methods of product that are used in our company.  The new production methods could help to make our business more efficient, and to help compete with other large companies.

5.   What are the advantages of introducing new technologies

5.1. There are many advantages that come with introducing new technologies, they are:

5.1.1.   Increased quality: A new method of production will use computers to control the machines.  This means that there will only be mistakes if the machines develop a fault, or are programmed wrong.

5.1.2.   Increased output: A machine can work for longer periods of time then humans.  This means that you will be able to make more of your product for a longer period of time.

5.1.3.   More range:  A wider range of products can be made on one machine.  This is because a computer-controlled machine can be reset for a different product much quicker then the old traditional method.  This means that one production line can be used to make more then one product, which will increase the amount of money that could be brought in

5.1.4.   Better worker productivity: The new technology may allow each worker to produce more.

5.2. Are there nay advantages to workers

5.2.1.   As most of the production will be done by machines that are more advanced the working condition will improve.  The production line will be quieter, and much more worker friendly.  The new technology may also remove all of the tedious jobs, or jobs in harsh environments

6.   Is their any thing that we should considered when buying

6.1. Before we purchase any new technology we must carry out research to find out what we need, and who can supply it.  If this is does wrong 5then it could be a very costly mistake.

7.   Overall is new technology and just in time production good

7.1.   These new methods are very important for our company to stay completive with other companies. There may be a high cash input at the start but this would be repaid over a certain period of time.  The company cannot afford not to implement these new technologies other wise it will find it hard to compete.

Task4

Why is keeping the correct amount of stock important?

If a company does not use the TQM of production it will use the traditional method, in this method stock control is important.  If there is not enough stock then the company will not be able to meet order, and not enough then it will have to waste money on storage, and will have lots of stock holding up funds.  The stock control is very important for a business to do well.

What four important decisions must be made when dealing with stock control?

The amount of stock that a company has effects how well the business doing.  There are four factors that you must think about when setting stock levels:

·    What is the lowest level of stock the company will have?

·    What is the most stock that the company will have?

·    How much stock will be reordered at a time

·    What level must the stock fall to before you reorder

Diagram showing stock control:

                                                                                  Maximum level

                                                                                                                       Reorder level

                                                                                                     Minimum level

                                      10                                                      20                    Time days

Task 5

How has work-study improved the level of production?

Work-study is a method of measuring how long a method of production should take.  The production manager will use work-study to help make the production better.  The production manger does work-study, this person is also responsible for: 

Keeping costs down: The costs of production must be kept down methods of doing this are work-study, rearranging the factory lay out, or new machines.

Timing: The production timetable must be kept to, the manger helps to make sure of this

Maintaining standards: The production manger must maintain a constant standard.

Task 6

Channel of distribution

There are different methods of distribution, some apply to large business, some to small, and some to both.

Channels of distribution that apply to both:

The channel of distribution is how the business gets its products to the customer.  The channel that is chosen must suite the business.  A large company could not sell millions of sweets to a person, so instead it sells to shops.

There are four methods of distribution, they are:

Consumer

Producer

                                         Channel 1

                                                Channel 2

                                                Channel 3

	Producer		Wholesaler		Retailer		Consumer

 

Consumer

Retailer

Wholesaler

Agent

Producer

                                                                                                                                               

Channel 1 of distribution

This is the simplest method of distribution as it involves the he manufacture selling straight to the consumer.  This method of distribution is not very practical as it is not very often a good method as a person will not normally live near the factory.  A business may also use this ,method to keep the costs down as it cut as the middleman.  This method of distribution is used a lot when it comes to selling raw materials to other factories.  An example of this is in a car factory when the company6 that sells the raw materials will sell it straight to the factory.

Channel 2 of distribution

This is also quite a simple method of distribution, in this method the manufacture sells to a retailer (shop) who then sells to a consumer.  Very large retailers like john Lewis use this method also.  They will get the products from the manufacture and then sell them on.

Channel 3 of distribution

In this method the channel starts to get more complicated.  The manufacture sells to a whole saler who then sells to a retailer.  This method allows the product to reach smaller shops.  This is because the whole saler is able to break up bulk.  Also a small shop will not have the space to store large amounts of a product.  Also products that have a slow shelf life may also have to sell quickly.  This means that a small shop that has a low stock turn over would only be able to buy in small amounts.

Channel 4 of distribution

This is the most complicated of all of the channels.  In this method the manufacture will use an agent to sell the product to the whole saler who then ells to a retailer and to a consumer.  The agents in this method know what the local conditions are like, the agents are also able to help give the manufacture control over whom they sell to.

What is the wholesaler’s role

The whole saler is very important to both the manufacture and the small business.  The whole saler helps the retailer in the following ways:

The products can be delivered straight to the  retailer.  This can be very important for a small shop that does not have the faculties to transport large amounts of a product.  Also this saves the retailer from buying special vehicles that are needed for refrigeration.  Also that there is delivery this saves the retailer lots of time.

The whole saler may also give the retailer credit, or discounts for using cash.  This can free up lots of cash of the retailer that can be used for other things.

They break up the bulk of the goods.  A small shopkeeper would not be able to store a few thousand cans of soup so instead they sell in small amounts.  The local shopkeeper can also have a wider variety of products as they can buy lots in small amounts.

How can the whole saler help the manufacture?

The whole saler can also be invaluable to the manufacture.  The whole saler is important to the manufacture in the following ways:

As the whole saler buys in bulk it saves the manufacture a lot of time and money.  This is because the whole saler only has to deal with one supplier, while if the manufacture had to deal with a large number of shops then it would cots lots in administration.

This is what it would look like with out the whole saler:

Retailer

Retailer

Retailer

Retailer

Retailer

Retailer

Retailer

                                        

This is what the order and delivery process looks like with the whole saler:

The links of distribution are now much simpler.

The whole saler will also save the manufacture storage space.  As the products are finished they are sent to the whole saler straight away this saves a lot of space, as they do not need to spend money on storage space.

The whole saler mat give advice to the retailer about the product.  This saves a lot on money for the whole saler, as they do not have to this.  The whole saler may also carry out the promotion that saves the manufacture money.

When selecting which channel to use the following must be considered?

When a manufacture is trying to select the best method of distribution they must look at the following:

If the product is perishable very quickly the goods must be available to a wide range of shops show that it can be sold very quickly

How often is the product purchased, if it is brought on a daily basis the it should also be available in a wide range of shops.  A very good example is newspapers that are sold daily.  People do not want to travel far for a paper

Is the product sold to normal customers or producers?

If the product needs lots of technical back up then it would be sold direct.  This is because the manufacture will be able to provide the best technical backup.

Where are the people you are selling to if they are over a wide area then you use retailers, if they were all in one area then you would sell direct

The cost of product if the product costs lots of money then you will sell in retail shops where there are well of people.

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