Research Paper on:
Brother International Europe Case Study

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
operate autonomously, ad as such there is no co-ordination, there is a range of more than 65,000 parts and each office appears to hold between 20,000 - 25,000 parts. 75%  of customers are left unhappy and the employees are also very unhappy with the situation and this is only the tip of the iceberg. If we look at the  situation in more detail we can then diagnose which are the problems and which events are the effects of the problems. It is only when the root causes are identified  that the problems can be remedied. The main issues appear to be the lack of stock and the time it takes to get stock that is not held. With  a lead time from ordering to receipt of 4 months, As there is an inelastic demand for the parts, as many customers cannot use parts from elsewhere due to the  design of the machines and the agreements that they have signed with Brother to only use the proprietary parts. This long lag and the need for parts sees costs increase,  a larger level of orders are out through as emergency orders and expedited by air, which is the most expensive method of transportation. As there are delays there are also  additional costs incurred, such as the cannibalisation of new machines to gain access to the part. The system is also one where there is the need for many staff to  undertake overtime due to the processes involved. The system is also at fault. There are twenty autonomous offices which all make orders, but there is no single efficient system.  The orders are placed by local offices, but have to be authorised by the regional head office. There is then no method of tracking the delivery time of the parts