Reference no: EM131437190
Heartsong LLC is a designer and manufacturer of replacement heart valves based in Peoria, Illinois. While it is a relatively small company in the medical devices field, it has established a worldwide reputation as the provider of choice for high-quality, leading-edge artificial heart valves. Most of its products are sold to large regional hospital systems and research hospitals. Specialty heart centers are another emerging but fast-growing market for its valves. While Heartsong would like to grow quickly, its growth is constrained by the need to finance larger production runs and then carry this additional inventory. For products like those of Heartsong, vendors typically do not collect payment until the unit is actually used in surgery. Moreover, heart valves are usually required on short notice, which means that they must be either onsite or inventoried at a nearby location. If they are nearby, then the transport of the unit to a hospital or heart center occurs within a matter of hours, and sometimes minutes. For this reason, accelerated growth would require Heartsong to both finance increased production of its heart valves and carry increased levels of inventory that are sitting on their customers' shelves. In fact, inventory-carrying cost is the company's single largest cost outside of research and development. While profitable growth is necessary, if Heartsong is to continue extending its competitive advantage through increasingly greater investments in basic heart valve R&D, it is not clear that the company can internally support all these increased financial commitments (R&D, manufacturing, and inventory). Doc Watson, the CEO of Heartsong, is considering an outside contractor, EdFex, to handle the inventorying, warehousing, and delivery of its valves. EdFex has secure, high-tech warehouses in most major population centers around the country and can ensure delivery of a product to these markets from its warehouses in less than one hour.
Discuss Heartsong's competitive advantage, including the value-chain activities that appear to underlie this advantage, and the implications of an EdFex outsourcing arrangement to support the competitive advantage that make it attractive to Heartsong.
What is the sales price variance
: Try flexing the june budget, comparing it with the original june budget, and so find the sales volume variance.
|
Relationship in data modeling-different types of databases
: Describe, in detail, the relationship between data modeling, the different types of databases, and the overall design of a data warehouse. Be sure to address the purpose of dimensional models and discuss the basic components of a dimensional model an..
|
Analyse the average-case efficiency of given algorithm
: CAB301 Algorithms and Complexity Assignment - Empirical Analysis of an Algorithm. In this assignment, you will analyse the average-case efficiency of a given algorithm experimentally
|
Manufacturer produces three different devices
: A manufacturer produces three different devices (device A, B and C) at two manufacturing facilities (the Denton plant and the Piano plant). Each day the Denton plant can produce 396 units of device A, 43 units of device B, and 35 units of device C at..
|
Designer and manufacturer of replacement heart valves
: Heartsong LLC is a designer and manufacturer of replacement heart valves based in Peoria, Illinois. While it is a relatively small company in the medical devices field, it has established a worldwide reputation as the provider of choice for high-qual..
|
Wisdom of requiring the training operation to earn profit
: Samson Software operates a training facility that offers classes in the use of its software products. Latoya Johnson had recently been named director of customer training, and she will be given considerable freedom in operating the training facility ..
|
Describe the nature and causes of the compensation problem
: Describe the nature and causes of the compensation problem described in this incident. Are ‘‘merit’’ salary increases always based on ‘‘merit’’? Why or why not? What are the long-range benefits of a true ‘‘merit’’ program? What are the problems assoc..
|
While knowing about a physician substance abuse
: While knowing about a physician substance abuse and fired him for cause, however hospital did not report the facts to their Board what will be the consequence for the hospital?
|
Make case for prioritizing investments in human resources
: You are to assume that you work for an organization that does not have a human resource department. The C.E.O has asked you to write a research paper in support of the formation of a HR department. Why is managing human resources important (compared ..
|