A Case Study of Supply Chain Management in a Manufacturing Company in China

How to manage inventory is becoming an increasingly crucial issue for most manufacturing companies. R&D, the pseudonymous case study considered here, is a foreign direct investment (FDI) company engaged in producing electronic components. As the prices of raw materials and operation costs increased, R&D was challenged to maintain a smooth relationship among several factors: level of inventory, customer satisfaction and production efficiency. This paper first discusses the key factors that affect R&D’s inventory level. It then combines recent supply chain management theories and quantitative data into a framework for identifying how R&D might determine optimal ordering policies and strategies to reduce overall costs, while at the same time satisfying customers in terms of service.