Improving Operations Performance with World Class Manufacturing Technique: A Case in Automotive Industry Fabio De Felice, Antonella Petrillo and Stanislao Monfreda Operations Management Global competition has caused fundamental changes in the competitive environment of the manufacturing industries. Firms must develop strategic objectives which, upon achievement, result in a competitive advantage in the market place. However, for almost all manufacturing industries, an increased productivity and better overall efficiency of the production line are the most important goals. Most industries would like to find the formula for the ultimate productivity improvement strategy. Industries often suffer from the lack of a systematic and consistent methodology. In particular, the manufacturing world has faced many changes throughout the years and as a result, the manufacturing industry is constantly evolving in order to stay ahead of competition. Innovation is a necessary process for the continuous changes in order to contribute to the economic growth in the manufacturing industry, especially to compete in the global market. In addition to innovation as a mode for continued growth and change, there are many other vehicles for growth in the manufacturing industry. One in particular that has been gaining momentum is the idea of World Class Manufacturing (WCM) developed by Richard J. Schonberger (in the 1980s). Some of the benefits of integrating WCM include increased competitiveness, development of new and improved technology and innovation, increased flexibility, increased communication between management and production employees, and an increase in work quality and workforce empowerment. The System of (WCMS) has been adopted by the many automotive Companies around the globe. As Manufacturers in many industries face worldwide competitive pressures. These manufacturers must provide high-quality products with leading-edge performance capabilities to survive, much less prosper. The automotive industry is no exception. There is intense pressure to produce high-performance at minimum-costs. Companies attempting to adopt WCM have developed a statement of corporate philosophy or mission to which operating objectives are closely tied. Source: WCM Model by Schonberger The goal of WCM is to continuously improve production performance, seeking a progressive elimination of waste, in order to ensure product quality and maximum flexibility in responding to customer requests, through the involvement and motivation of the people working in the establishment. The process to achieve World Class Manufacturing (WCM) has a number of philosophies and elements that are common for all companies. Therefore, when applied to the manufacturing field, TQM and WCM are synonymous. Customer needs and expectations is a very important element in WCM. The manufacturing strategy should be geared to support these needs. These are also a means of defining employee responsibilities and making them feel involved. As introduced in World Class Manufacturing, well known disciplines such as: Total Quality Control, Total Productive Maintenance, Total Industrial Engineering, Just in Time and Lean Manufacturing are taken into account. Question 1

1.2 The company in the case study, like all other organisations has to decide on their inventory management and are expected to maintain a strong moral compass, which ultimately determines the organisations integrity. As an Operations Management Student, advise the company on what to consider when managing their inventory. (16 Marks)