any aggregate planning

APPLY YOUR UNDERSTANDING Grassboy, Ltd Grassboy. Ltd. produces a line of Canadian lawn mowers for both domestic sales and export to the U.S.A. The moners come in a variety of engine sizes and cutting widths. In an effort to deal with the highly seasonal nature of its clemand, Grasshoy forecasts demand for the next eight quarters. The forecast for the next eight quarters is given in the following table Quarter Demand Forecast 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 5000 7500 15.000 5000 6000 8000 16.000 5500 8 Grassboy has a single production line that asse 7000 units per quarter per shift using regular time and can assemble an additional 25 percent using overtime. The assembly line can be operated for either one or two shifts; however, the union contract permits making changes to the number of shifts only at the beginning of a quarter. The company is permitted to send the workers home early without pay if its plans call for pro- ducing less than 7000 units in a given quarter. The cost of adding a shift is SC7500 (Cana- dian dollars), and the cost of eliminating a shift is 5C14,000. Grassboy also has identified several overseas manufacturers that can produce as many of its lawn mowers as needed as subcontractors On average, the cost of producing a single lawn mower is 5C25 per mower using regular time and SC33 using overtime. The delivered cost of mowers produced by subcontractors is SC49. Grassboy's cost of holding a lawn mower in inventory for one quarter is 504, and the cost of backordering a unit is SC12 per quarter. Inventory costs are calculated on the basis of average inventory held during the quarter (ie, the average of the quarter's beginning and ending inventory). Backorder costs are calculated on the basis of the ending backorder position in a given quarter. Grassboy was operating with one shift in the quarter just ending and expects to end the quarter svith 750 units in inventory Questions 1. Develop an aggregate plan that calls for a constant level of employment that meets the fluctuations in demand by using inventory, backorders, overtime, subcontracting or some combination of these. Assume that all demand must be met by-the eighth quarter 2. Develop an aggregate plan that meets the fluctuations in demand by adjusting the number of shifts. 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the aggregate schedules vou developed Which one would you recommend to Grassboy's management? PLAN. DESIGN YOUR OWN AGGREGATE EXPLAIN PARAGRAPH SHOW CALCULATIONS IN EXCEL