A sudden increase in the demand for smoke detectors has left Acme Alarms with insufficient capacity to
Question:
The company also has the option to obtain additional units from a subcontractor, who has offered to supply up to 20,000 units per month in any combination of electric and battery-operated models, at a charge of $21.50 per unit. For this price, the subcontractor will test and ship its models directly to the retailers without using Acme's production process.
a. What are the maximum profit and the corresponding make/ buy levels? (Fractional decisions are acceptable.)
b. Describe the qualitative pattern in the solution.
c. Use the pattern in (b) to trace the effects of increasing the fabrication capacity by 10 percent. How will the optimal make/buy mix change? How will the optimal profit change?
d. For how much of a change in fabrication capacity will the pattern persist?
Step by Step Answer:
Management Science The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets
ISBN: 978-1118582695
4th edition
Authors: Stephen G. Powell, Kenneth R. Baker