Flash back to the early 1980’s. The only thing world-class about Calcomp was the mess it was in. The company that practically invented the computer plotter – a device engineers and architects use to print intricate, oversized schematics – has become arrogant, inattentive and lazy. Every last plotter that rolled off the assembly line didn’t work well enough without some rejiggering. A legion of field technicians was needed to make house calls on installed machines that malfunctioned every few weeks. Competitors, such as Hewlett Packard, jumped into the breach, stealing dissatisfied customers.

Flash forward to the 1990’s Calcomp was recognised as a leader in world-class manufacturing. No more mass assembly lines. No more bugs. No more field technicians. The difference between the

1980’s and 1990’s was firstly the quality programme implemented by the President. Quality was seen as the satisfaction of customers, with gracefully built, innovative products that work from the start, rarely breakdown, are competitively priced and upgraded faster than any other competitors’ products.

Secondly, in the early 1980’s the manufacturing process was fractured. Product design and manufacturing design were not co-ordinated. The company stockpiled parts and only checked for defects after it was completely built. In the 1990’s inventories were cut to the bare minimum and a preferred supplier programme was initiated. In this way the company managed its demand and reduced the wastage costs. Suppliers used the quality information to transform their businesses and attract new clients.

Thirdly, when a new product is conceived, a team of more than a dozen people representing virtually every department shepherd’s it from development to delivery. With this kind of team work, engineers do not design parts that the factory workers cannot put together.

Readjusting attitudes to work was the most important part of the jump to quality. Today frontline workers are treated with as much respect as the executives. Assembly workers are never reprimanded to stop the assembly line if there was a quality problem. Production managers wear beepers and are expected to respond to problems immediately.

The senior vice-president of the plotter division stated the following “The product we build tomorrow will be better than the ones we build today”.

“In the 1990’s inventories were cut to the bare minimum and a preferred supplier programme was initiated”. Identify the most appropriate JIT techniques that Calcomp could have used and evaluate its influence on supply chain management. (500 Words)