Using the information in Problem 13.3, develop plan B. Produce at a constant rate of 1,400 units per month, which will meet minimum demands. Then use subcontracting, with additional units at a premium price of $75 per unit. Evaluate this plan by computing the costs for January through August.

Problem 13.3

The president of Hill Enterprises, Terri Hill, projects the firm’s aggregate demand requirements over the next 8 months as follows:

Her operations manager is considering a new plan, which begins in January with 200 units on hand. Stockout cost of lost sales is $100 per unit. Inventory holding cost is $20 per unit per month. Ignore any idle-time costs. The plan is called plan A.

Plan A: Vary the workforce level to execute a strategy that produces the quantity demanded in the prior month. The December demand and rate of production are both 1,600 units per month. The cost of hiring additional workers is $5,000 per 100 units. The cost of laying off workers is $7,500 per 100 units. Evaluate this plan.

Note: Both hiring and layoff costs are incurred in the month of the change. For example, going from 1,600 in January to 1,400 in February incurs a cost of layoff for 200 units in February.

The S&OP team at Kansas Furniture, has received the following estimates of demand requirements:

a) Assuming one-time stockout costs for lost sales of $100 per unit, inventory carrying costs of $25 per unit per month, and zero beginning and ending inventory, evaluate these two plans on an incremental cost basis:

â—† Plan A: Produce at a steady rate (equal to minimum requirements) of 1,000 units per month and subcontract additional units at a $60 per unit premium cost.

◆ Plan B: Vary the workforce, to produce the prior month’s demand. The firm produced 1,300 units in June. The cost of hiring additional workers is $3,000 per 100 units produced. The cost of layoffs is $6,000 per 100 units cut back.

Note: Both hiring and layoff costs are incurred in the month of the change, (i.e. going from production of 1,300 in July to 1,000 in August requires a layoff (and related costs) of 300 units in August, just as going from production of 1,000 in August to 1,200 in September requires hiring (and related costs) of 200 units in September).

b) Which plan is best and why?