Product details

This is the first of a two-case series (696-034-1 and 696-035-1) which describes a UK-based company making bulk packing for the food, supermarket, drink and tobacco industries. Cartons are made from heavy duty card, and packed flat. A three stage process (Cut, Print, Fold and Glue) is used. The main market requires rapid response to call-offs against long-term contracts. The company is in difficulty, having failed to build up stock to meet the seasonal peak and as a result is now making to order reactively. As a result the bulk of available capacity is being consumed by frequent set-ups. Data on 45 products is provided. It offers the opportunity to calculate Economic Batch Quantities on a single or multi-stage basis, with and without allowances for lost output. It introduces the concept of bottlenecks and Theory of Constraints in a relatively simple, but genuine, situation.