Ryan Kitchen Case Study Report

                           Ryan Kitchen Case study

     Submitted to:                                          Submitted by:

     Keith Carter                                         Amanpreet Shergill

Executive Summary

Issues Identification

Environmental & Root Cause Analysis

Alternatives & / or Options

Recommendation

Implementation Plan

Monitor and Control

Executive Summary

Facing a challenging market as Ryan Kitchen was attempting to reshape the manufacturing operation, a proposal has been put in place comparing between two alternatives that were offered to solve some lead time and flexibility issues. The first option was bringing the manufacturing of a key component of the cabinets in house whereas the other option was to create a stronger strategic partnership/ alliance with their key cabinet hardware suppliers. Therefore, as we evaluated Ryan Kitchen’s core competency, manufacturing capacity and the supplier lead times and relationship, it was found that it is best to go with option 2 which is to create strong strategic partnership with Lake Manufacturing, hardware supplier, to deal with all issues of the manufacturing process and inventory management and just deliver the product when Ryan Kitchen needs it is the best at this point in the business lifetime. This is thought to be a strategic option for Ryan Kitchen due to several reasons that are to be addressed in this report. An implementation plan and some monitor and control measures have been put in place to ensure expectations are laid down clearly and a time frame is decided. It would be ideal to get lots of the addressed issues incorporated and negotiated and get started on planning on the longer-term plan which is to find other strategic partners in the market. The option 2 is a long-term process and can not be implemented upfront as it needs proper planning, budget allocation, current market demand, work force etc. In house option can be consider for future growth and demand and company can work on that for its incorporation but for current situation company should implement go for option – 1 i.e. creating strategic partnership with Lake manufacturing.

Issues Identification

Company is facing lead-time and flexibility issues on changing customer demands. Customers were requesting faster response times and moreover they also wanted to establish as private-brand or exclusive product lines to set themselves apart from their competitors. She wanted to identify the possibility of changing manufacturing approaches to provide faster turnaround for her customers while maintaining flexibility

to meet each customer’s product choice.

we believe that the below needed to be recognized and highlighted so as to be able to reach the best strategic alternative for Ryan Kitchen.