Custom Molds Strategy Analysis

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Introduction and Problem Definition

Custom Molds, Inc. was founded by a father and son team in 1987 to provide high quality, custom-designed molds for manufacturers of electronic connectors, but later expanded into the production of plastic parts for the industry. In recent years, the changing environment of the electronics industry had a profound impact on the way Custom Molds conducts its business and manufacturing processes. The changing sales mix, coupled with delivery and quality problems, prompted the company to revise its business strategies to address to following issues:

1) Changing trends in the electronics manufacturing industry that caused changes in clients' order needs

2) Unpredictable bottlenecks in the production environment

3) Quality issues resulting in defective parts

4) Delivery times promised to clients were not met

Analysis

1) Process Inefficiencies

Some of the issues presented above resulted from inefficiencies in the two distinct processes taking place in the same production facility at Custom Molds, namely the Molds Fabrication process and the Parts Production process (Exhibit 1a and b). The two processes serve different customer needs. Mold fabrication, a skill oriented and craftsman-driven process, requires flexibility and quality. Parts manufacturing, on the other hand, involves a more standardized process that competes on delivery and low cost. The margin for parts is also much smaller.

In the mold fabrication process, the time needed to receive the ordered materials for each fabrication is usually 3-4 weeks. Only after the materials are received does the plant master scheduler review the workload of the assigned master machinist and schedule the mold for fabrication. The idle time...

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...any's strategic business objectives

Due to the changing market trends, Custom Molds should conduct a comprehensive review of its business objectives and decide whether to focus on the fabrication of molds or the production of parts. It is obvious that the fabrication business is becoming less viable in terms of the reflecting the electronics industry's manufacturing needs. Couple that with the high cost of operation in the mold fabrication area, the return on investment from that business segment may not attractive enough for the company to continue supporting the operation. By focusing its production efforts on parts production, the company can better manage its resources to ensure timely delivery of quality parts and also develop better relationships with their clients.

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