FILES- WRITING SAMPLES
INNOVATIONS IN TECHNOLOGIES HELP TO ALLEVIATE DEMAND ON OVERBURDENED SUPPLY CHAIN NETWORKS IN THE FACE OF COVID-19
Supply Chain Management- Graduate Level Research Project
Abstract
Procurement strategies employed to service the United States healthcare industry today have caused crippling shortages within the global supply chain in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. Just-in-time and lean manufacturing processes are inadequate when presented with massive increases in international demand during crises and are responsible for devastating failures in maintaining service level requirements. Additionally, communities affected by COVID-19 are generating alarming quantities of bio-medical waste. Increased strain on biomedical waste management processing and transportation led to technological innovations to provide rapid data collection and analytics. These figures assist in the identification of emerging hotspot and outbreak locations, information used in on-site treatment and disposal of hazardous waste solutions intended to mitigate overburdened processing facilities. Furthermore, shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE) combined with temporary relaxing of federal regulations allows for innovative technologies for decontamination, sterilization, and reuse of PPE. Finally, identification of emerging technologies can provide viable and long-term reformative solutions to healthcare regarding reusable PPE.
THE EFFECTS OF ORDER PENETRATION POINT ON DEMAND MANAGEMENT
Manufacturing Planning and Control- Graduate Level Research Project
Abstract
Manufacturing is understood to be an incredibly expansive business sector that can be seen in every industry. Typically, manufacturing is depicted as the use of industrial machinery as a means of transforming raw materials into a tangible object that meets the requirements of an intangible idea, or conceptual design. Products manufactured can include, but are not limited to, nails, books, computers, cars, buildings, and airplanes. As products increase in complexity and applications in which they can be utilized, manufacturers must identify and fulfill market demands. Traditionally, manufacturers relied on forecasting techniques to accomplish this, however with advances in technology, decreased product life, manufacturing environments evolved to accommodate these changes. Additionally, by differentiating between products and at which point within the supply chain they will maintain inventories, manufacturers can optimize the way they serve their customers. Order penetration point, or OPP, is the point at which customer input is required for the completion of the manufacturing process and its location within the supply chain network is critical to the effective management of consumer demand. (Jacobs et al., 2011, p.35) With the introduction of lean manufacturing principles in the early 90’s, firms discovered that OPP is variable and serves to increase efficiency as it, and inventory management transitions closer to the back-end of the supply chain network. (Womack, Jones, & Roos, 1993) Thorough comprehension of manufacturing environments and how they are affected by demand is essential before a firm can make a selection and proceed with implementation. Manufacturing environments include make-to-stock (MTS), assemble-to-order (ATO), and make-to-order (MTO). Analysis of methodologies and OPP locations among manufacturing environments reveals differing methodological practices employed to fulfill demand and inventory management.