Reference no: EM133929444

Section 1
National Cranberry Cooperative Executive Summary Assignment (50%)
Your team has been hired as operations consultants to analyze and provide strategic recommendations to National Cranberry Cooperative's operations. Please use the rubric below to structure your analysis-1. Problem Statement(s), 2. Problem Analysis (both Qualitative-Management-Strategic Analysis as well as Quantitative Visualizations-Tables-Graphics to support your analysis), 3. Alternatives Evaluated, and 4. Recommendations. Get expert online assignment help in the USA.
Focus on summary infographics to visualize data for senior executives within your narrative analysis that logically tells the story of your analysis.  Not just cut and paste excel spreadsheets
The Analysis is intended to be a realistic management and supply chain analysis a senior management team would ask you to prepare.  As such, the length of the written analysis should be roughly 4-5 pages with summary, executive-level data visualizations, graphics, charts, tables within the body of the analysis write up (with clear takeaway statements), referenced by the narrative analysis. Detailed calculations and your completed capacity analysis flow chart in the Student Spreadsheet should be placed in an additional appendix for later detailed review.
Case Analysis Guidance: (don't answer these below questions directly, but consider them in your analysis)
Management needs to understand the key management and operations problems, the root cause(s) of the problems that lead to inefficiencies that show up as symptoms of the root cause(s). What are the problems and what are the symptoms?  If you address the root cause or bottleneck issues you are able to reduce or eliminate symptoms. Follow the money--management teams are concerned with the financial implications of decisions and required action.
Use a pillar logic structure to logically

identify the management problem(s) (which are most often the "symptoms" of a root cause(s) from the senior management's perspective

Bottleneck in the wet receiving cause track delay and idle time.
Increasing in operational costs and potential revenue loss.
Capacity mismatch between peak harvest and normal operation.

Analysis (narrative and quantitative / visualizations
Drying and storage have lower utilization while wet receive operation by %100 capacity in the peak time.
Track wait times and chart output show delays concentrated in the peak harvest days.
Financial analysis highlight has been increased labor cost and cost per unit due the bottlenecks.

Evaluate potential alternatives and quantify their impact to the problem statement problems/symptoms for the business and the ROI

Increase in wet receiving reduces bottlenecks and ROI depends on capital.
Combination approach= moderate capacity expansion with workflow increases to be the highest ROI
Workflow optimization and scheduling= high impact and low cost in the output.
Peak season moderate reduction in delays and minimal capital investment.

Identify a recommendation from the alternatives (sometimes can be a combination) and use your business acumen and practical decision making to quantify the business and financial impact to the company.

We expect improve by 35% - 40% reduction in track wait time, impacting load factor to lower operating cost, so ROI realized within two to three years.
Implement combined approach incremental wet receiving capacity, temporary peak labor.

In your Alternatives to Consider and Recommendations, consider how many days or weeks per year are considered the peak days.  Should NCC build capacity for the Peak capacity?  Effective capacity?  Is there an optimal Load Factor?  Should NCC make capital investments?  Which one or ones?  What is the return on investment?