Acme Home Improvements, Inc. was founded in 1982 in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. By mid 2015, the company had 125 stores along the US East Coast from Florida to Maine. Its annual sales are currently ~$5,400,000,000 with $280,000,000 net income. The average store is about 100,000 square feet with an additional 10,000 square feet of outside garden center. The stores typically carry 40,000 different products from 5,000 vendors worldwide. Major US competitors include Ace, Home Depot, Lowe's, and TruValue. All four operate already in Mexico. In the interests of seeking greater profits and buffering against downturns in the US market, Acme has determined to follow these and other competitors to Canada and Mexico. In the latter, it has established, in accordance with Mexican law, a joint venture with local interests, known as Acme Home Improvements de México, SA de CV ("Acme de México" or "Acme Mexico City"). (SA de CV = Sociedad Anónima de Capital Variable, a Mexican corporate form.)
There are five major product groups within each Acme store: plumbing and electrical supplies, building materials, hardware and tools, seasonal and garden/yard items, and paint, flooring and wall coverings.
Each store has a store manager, assistant store manager, bookkeeper, an information systems manager and an assistant, a manager for each of the five major product groups, customer service employees on the store floor to assist customers with their purchases, cashiers, receiving/stocking employees, and maintenance/janitorial employees.
Techniques Used in Operations Management
Overview:
Working individually, students will demonstrate competency in operations management by analyzing three operations management techniques and applying them to improve Acme Mexico City's operations in an integrated report.
Two of the techniques are mandatory. They are:
• Data-driven decision-making aka data analytics
• Linear programming
The student will select the third technique from the following list:
• Sustainable supply chain management
The student will submit a report in pdf format that integrates their three analyses and the applications to Acme Mexico City.
Critical thinking, information literacy, problem solving, systems thinking, and technology fluency are required.
Assignment
Within your analyses on the first - Data-driven decision-making aka data analytics - and third - your choice of one from among
• Decision support systems
• Outsourcing to include offshoring, reshoring, and nextshoring
• Sustainable supply chain management techniques, please address the following:
• What is the general purpose of the technique?
• How does or should this help operations in general?
• What are the limitations of the technique?
• What are the costs involved? What training is needed to use the technique? What else is needed?
• At Acme Mexico City, what is the problem, opportunity, or challenge that this technique can address?
• How will the technique help Acme Mexico City's operations? Why?
• What would be the areas that present challenges in the approach (e.g., cost, personnel, training, culture, technology, management commitment, etc.?)
Within your analysis on linear programming applied at Acme Mexico City, address the following:
• What is your recommended low-cost (not necessarily the minimum cost) customer service employee daily assignment schedule?
• What are your underlying assumptions and any qualitative factors that you believe are involved?
• How might non-typical days affect the schedule?