Brian Addington Valerie Ramsey Carrie Richardson Sara Scott Dave Speidel Panasonic Car Audio Division

Company Background Located in Peachtree City Manufacture Car Stereo Equipment Basic Products: CD tuner, Cassette tuner, CD/Cassette combo, Radio tuner, 6 disc changer

Supplies to Panasonic 60 main suppliers 60% of supplies come from overseas Originally used boat, lead time was 12 weeks (6-8 for manufacturing, 4 for shipping)

Supplies to Panasonic Switched to air –low weight to cost ratio of electronic components –bulk shipping rates (Yamato and Fed Ex) –inventory reduction –increased customer response due to constant shipments

Supply Chain

Panasonic to Customer Customer dictated Customers send in weekly orders 1-2 weeks notice for large changes in demand Never miss an order!

Panasonic to Customer

Picking Suppliers Mainly small, independent companies Moving away from Japan and U.S. No preferred countries, only preferred suppliers. Characteristics of choosing suppliers –Quality –Dependability of delivery –Engineering capabilities and support –Reputation –Financial stability –Price

Forecasting Determine market flavor and trends –Example: SUV popularity Past history Forecast six months out, but only two months out is firm

Inventory Service level of 100% Prefer to stock raw materials rather than finished goods. Keep 7 days of finished goods in stock Adding 70,000 square feet of warehouse space to the Peachtree City Plant

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Computer to computer exchange of knowledge Allows immediate knowledge to adapt to order changes Allows communication with certain suppliers Eliminates confusing paperwork Requires costly support which may be eliminated through the use of a web based system