A 5 page paper discussing a case study describing TRW Nelson’s determination to enhance customer service as a route to achieving greater control over inventory and receivables. The project involved both “functional” managers and MIS managers, each more loyal to their own areas than to the overall success of the project. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: CC6_KS-TRW.doc
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
two companies were involved in automobile and aircraft parts production as well as the new industry serving the fledgling space exploration effort. TRW Nelson is a component of United-Carr,
which is in turn a component of the Industrial division of parent TRW. The division specializes in parts manufacturing. Chairman Ruben F. Mettler laid out new directions for
TRW Nelson in 1975, citing as his goals for the company such items as "... an even stronger commitment to quality of earnings and quality and strength of our balance
sheet" (Galbreath, 1978; p. 331). Specified Strategy The most notable characteristic of Mettlers statement is
that though it speaks directly of "quality," apparently quality of product was worthy of little or no attention. Executive vice president A. William Reynolds, however, stressed that the companys
goal would be a 15 percent return on assets employed (ROAE), and that strict control of inventory and receivables would be required in order to obtain the goal. Toward
that end, the key to all would be excellent customer service (Galbreath, 1978). This statement is valid in that inventory moves much more
dependably when customers are happy and continuing to buy. Similarly, control of receivables indicates that there will be only a minimum of delinquencies with which to deal. In
turn, that indicates that few customers are withholding payment for reasons of grievance, such as when orders are not filled correctly or when they find any products to be defective.
Though production quality can be inferred, it is not an explicitly stated goal of TRW Nelson in 1975. Today, product quality and customer focus are all-important (Deming, 1986),