THINKING CRITICALLY Case 11-A: Distribution at Hewlett-Packard Even well-managed
ID: 352434 • Letter: T
Question
THINKING CRITICALLY Case 11-A: Distribution at Hewlett-Packard Even well-managed organizations don't always work back in operation within four hours-irrespective of where as efficiently and effectively as management would like. the customer is located! At Hewlett-Packard (HP), billions of dollars of prod- ucts-from computers and diagnostic devices to toner organization is its ability to know when problems need to cartridges--are shipped each year. Customer orders come be addressed, and then proceed to do something about it. in 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Nearly sixteen thou- The job of correcting this problem fell on the shoulders of sand different products are requested daily and must be HP's distribution supervisor, Loretta Wilson. shipped from six different warehouses-often located One characteristic that distinguishes an outstanding Loretta quickly assembled a team of experts-both from within and external to the organization. These included logistics, systems, and operations experts. They quickly assessed the situation and established their goals. In essence, the team wanted to "find smarter and sim pler ways to handle parts fewer times at several points in the distribution channel." They concluded that a new or more miles apart. It often takes weeks to get the products into the customer's hand. This is a serious prob- lem with customers who have contracts with HP stating that deliveries are to be made in four hours or less. That means that from the time a customer calls the HP customer service line, they should have their replacement part and beExplanation / Answer
1. The team was needed as the complexity of the project needed expertise, commitment and quality. A team will bring in expertise of many experts and their different perceptions will enable the project to be multi-faceted in its approach. The team in case can be classified as a problem solving team.
2. In my view, the advantage accrued for specialization is neither lost nor diminished when individuals from different specialties work together as a team as they bring in diversity, better quality, and more commitment with their individual expertise/specialization to the project. In such team, specialization converts into decision taking a longer time, but the decision quality and commitment.
3. Loretta Wilson’s team did achieve its objective as the new distribution facility started getting orders filled within the contractually required four hour window. Also, consolidation of previous six independent facilities into a single operation led to a productivity growth of more than 33%.
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.