The production planner of Omega Optical, a manufacturer of industrial lenses, developed the following production plan for the next 4 periods.
Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4
Demand Forecast 40000 70000 30000 55000
Beginning Inventory 9000
Planned Production 48000 48000 48000 48000
Ending Inventory
a. Is the production planner following a chase demand or a level capacity strategy?
b. Evaluate the projected beginning and ending inventory for each period. Possible backorders may be shown by a negative inventory.