Case Title: M&L Manufacturing
M&L Manufacturing makes various components for printers and copiers. In addition to
supplying these items to a major manufacturer, the company distributes these and similar items
to office supply stores and computer stores as replacement parts for printers and desktop
copiers. In all, the company makes about 20 different items. The two markets (the major
manufacturer and the replacement market) require somewhat different handling. For example,
replacement products must be packaged individually whereas products are shipped in bulk to
the major manufacturer. The company does not use forecasts for production planning. Instead,
the operations manager decides which items to produce and the batch size, based on orders
and the amounts in inventory. The products that have the fewest amounts in inventory get the
highest priority. Demand is uneven, and the company has experienced being overstocked on
some items and out of others. Being understocked has occasionally created tensions with the
managers of retail outlets. Another problem is that prices of raw materials have been creeping
up, although the operations manager thinks that this might be a temporary condition. Because
of competitive pressures and falling profits, the manager has decided to undertake a number of
changes. One change is to introduce more formal forecasting procedures in order to improve
production planning and inventory management. With that in mind, the manager wants to begin
forecasting for two products. These products are important for several reasons. First, they
account for a disproportionately large share of the company’s profits. Second, the manager
believes that one of these products will become increasingly important to future growth plans;
and third, the other product has experienced periodic out-of-stock instances. The manager has
compiled data on product demand for the two products from order records for the previous 14
weeks. These are shown in the following table.
Week Product 1 Product 2
1 50 40
2 54 38
3 57 41
4 60 46
5 64 42
6 67 41
7 90* 41
8 76 47
9 79 42
10 82 43
11 85 42
12 87 49
13 92 43
14 96 44
*Unusual order due to flooding of customer's warehouse.
1. List all the main players or characters in the case and their roles or functions. (Yellow
Highlight)
2. List all problems in the case based on facts given. (No assumptions) (Red Highlights)
3. Analyze the list of problems with the use of cause & effect diagram and identify the main
problem/s of the case. (No assumptions)
4. Prepare a tree diagram to formulate solutions to the causes of the problem/s of the case.
5. Given the demand table from the case, prepare a weekly forecast for the next four weeks for
each product. Briefly explain why you chose the methods you used. (Hint: For product 2, a
simple approach, would be preferable to a technical approach in view of the manager’s disdain
of more technical methods.)
6. What are some of the potential benefits to M&L of a more formalized approach to forecasting
you have chosen for them?
7. Prepare your report in docx and convert to pdf file.
Note: Submit via your respective Google group drive on or before February 19, 2025. File
Name: Team
Name – OPS Group Activity No. 3 – Forecasting Case.pdf
