American Connector Company Analysis Essay

Quality and cogency is the underlying to Ameri tush Connector fraternity (ACC) success. ACC has disoriented grocery sh ar to DJC oer the radical-make years, which go out be exacerbated if DJC fan outs a outturn adeptness in the linked States. DJC has gained very much know leadge from its Kawasaki ground and is going to draw in the US market with factories that exit be economical. ACC is in trouble and necessitys to drastic eithery lurch the panache they do transmission line if they want to survive.Looking and emulating DJC is the first gait American Connector needs to follow. American Connector can regain market sh be and survive by charge on spirit and qualification. ACC needs to do the following to ensure success originally DJC inscribes the US market1)Redesigning their grinder layout for a to a greater extent streamlined operation.2)Purchase pertly equipment that is in better shape and more than in effect(p). impart a huge maintenance chopine to ensure the equipment runs properly.3)Work with the consumer to create a dependable simplistic design.4)Continue to keep employees happy to put to wreak sure they remain at the companionship and ACC retains this intellectual property.5)Implement a Quality ensure Division. ACC cannot rely on identifying unfit split only after return. They need to put through quality control throughout the process, which will reduce costs and increase efficacy and profitability.Industry Background lacquer and the fall in States harbor had a different prospect and work ethic over the old centuries moreover it has become especially unornamented over the last 30 years. The United States relies on money, scientific sophistication and news report/name recognition. Japan has been able to labor leading with austere work, innovations, and technolegitimate advances. To the disfavor of many American companies, Japan has interpreted technologies created by US companies and rise engineered and meliorate on them until they were the dominant company in the industry. A good example is sh receive with the DJC great deal in Japan. They took ideas, concepts and engineering from American companies and made them even more efficient and successful.The galvanising connector industry is large. These connectors do every social function from enlarge wires to wires, wires to outlets, attach wires, components or chips to PC boards, or attach PC boards to other boards. These connectors acquit two main part a plastic housing and metal socket pins or terminals. The applications range from military and aerospace to computers to telecommunications to automobiles. on that point argon thousands of standard connector overlap lines. The determine of the connector depends on its level of technology and industry use.In the 1970s on that point was a large boom in the United States and companies took emolument of it. Demand slowed in the 1980s leading to many suppliers for a reduced ne ed leading to consumers world able to pack their prices.The miniaturization of circuitry and technological advances led to the need for new connectors and manufacturing techniques. The demands of the consumer were exceedingly specific. This allowed other competitors to place down the US market.Lessons LearnedA. DJC at the Kawasaki Plant1) Efficiency DJC continued to review and sort out their mathematical product facilities to find the most efficient government agency to operate. This focus on efficiency has created a cost efficient way of producing wire connectors that cannot be rivaled. It will photograph other companies years to match the efficiency of the Japanese production facilities.The Just-In-Time delivery of resources and demand on their raw material suppliers to beat almost daily deliveries of supplies, DJC reduced the need for large w atomic number 18houses saving money. The use of attach rolls of connectors was a design that the consumer liked and whole kit and boodle easy for use at their production facilities. The design of their product encase led to a more efficient way to palletize and containerize their products for shipment to distributors. While DJC maintains almost two months of finished goods, the design of the package reduces the room it requires in the warehouse.2) Quality Japans streamlined operations has allowed it to add up quality assurance to their production process. with this high quality and need of flawed separate they have gained a good paper, which was something that was normally reserved for American companies. The free burning inspections, replacement or worn parts and the high level of maintenance of the equipment allowed the factory to run smoothly. The focus on secureness problems before they happened has led to fewer problems encountered on the production line.3) Links to Customers DJC maintained a close link with its node and took the customer input to adjust the connectors to meet customer n eeds. This allowed DJC to be proactive and occlusive ahead of changing trends deep down the computer industry. The alter designs they created required fewer raw materials change magnitude efficiency and reducing costs.4) Trade Secrets DJC reverse engineered many of its early connectors from designs from other companies. This sped up the design process and allowed them to quickly enter the market. They did not want the same thing to happen to them so they had contracts written up with suppliers and created an internal design division that did their work in house. This allowed DJC to keep their advanced ideas to themselves, maintaining their reinforcement over the competition.5) Plant Layout DJC focused on the best way to produce connectors. Their give layout and simplified design process allowed for an efficient operation, utilizing the factory space to its fullest. The process was engraft up in the most logical and efficient manner allowing for an increase in quality and reduction in personnel. The new Japanese coiffes were highly automated but DJC focused on pre-automation to ensure the plant runs smoothly. All people that work deep down the factory understand their role and are properly trained, materials are centrally located, quality and cultivations were clearly laid out and persisting improvements are sought. The limited number of products that DJC produces for their consumer allows them to docket long production runs.6) Goal saddle horse The management was involved in all aspects of decision-making. They understood the importance of the having an boilers suit design that is understood by all divisions. They created the overall goal and allowed the managers of the different divisions to create their own goals that conformed to the focus of the company. Employees on the line knew the goal of the company and what management expected and single-minded many of the problems at the lowest level.B. American Connector at Sunnydale1) Operati ng Problems The American Connector facilities especially in calcium are experiencing increases in costs and constipation in quality. The performance in the plant is leading to the consumer losing confidence in ACC. This will lead the consumer to other options like DJC with a better reputation.2) Investments self-complacency allowed ACC to believe in that respect was no foreign competition in the US. They did not invest time or money into upgrading their facilities, quality, or capacity. The equipment within the facility is becoming outdated and is not being replaced.3) Efficiency The production facility is not run efficiently. There five production areas in the plant. Different areas run at different speeds leaving stockpiles of parts. This leads to inefficiency and an increase in facility space required to take away all of the parts awaiting further assembly. The facility is not fully automated which leads to gradual assembly on small runs, which are assembled by hand.The packaging of the connectors is inefficient with the wide range of package designs awkward for terminal and shipment. The awkward packaging does not conduce itself to proper palletization or containerization taking up extra room in the warehouse.It is hard to adjust production lines with the forecast being done three months in advance. With a difficulty among customers of predicting the success of their products, it is hard for ACC to set out ahead or adjust quickly to changing demands. If a different manufacturing business is more adaptive they will withdraw the sales.4) Quality ACC quality has slipped at the Sunnyvale plant. There is a high rate of defective parts. While most of the defective parts do not make it to the customer, the waste product of time and supplies costs ACC money.RecommendationsAmerican Connector Company has two options 1) stay with the status quo or 2) learn from the success of DJC and change their address to head off DJCs competition in the US market. Re ally at that place is only one option for American Connector. Whether ACC believes it or not DJC will enter the US market. They need to change their learning ability and do what is best for the company. With the way the US connector market has played out, it is open for international companies to enter the market. ACC must change their mindset and stop being complacent. The lack of rivalry did has not spurred ACC to be innovative and create new ideas but allowed them to stay with the status quo missing the surge from their competitors.Complacency has led to outdated equipment and an inefficient plant operation. By taking the lessons that DJC learned at their Kawasaki plant, ACC can increase efficiency. If ACC streamlines their plant operations, buys new equipment, works with their customers to create a simpler product design, and makes more transportation friendly packaging they can have a more efficient operation.ACC has a couple of advantages over DJC that they need to cash in o n. First, they are already in the US market. ACC is already established in America and can avoid many of the barriers to entry i.e. tariffs, taxes and sign financial layout that international companies will experience. ACC needs to build on their good reputation with their US customers.DJC is not keeping their employees seven-day than an average of 9 years. While they have a good salary for the entry-level employees, their advantage is reduced as employees advance within the company. They do rotate employees to different jobs p.a. giving them good experience in different areas but cannot keep them until retirement. If ACC takes guardianship of their employees andgives them a competitive wage, good benefits and advancement opportunities they should have an advantage over DJC with more efficient workers.Referenceshttp//net.mba.wfu.edu/Shafer/FulltimeOpsStrategy/acc%20handouts.ppt