Describe Fitter Snacker's communication problems with regard to the production process

Answer 1

Communication breakdowns are an inherent problem in most companies, and they are magnified in a company with an unintegrated information system. For example, at Fitter, Marketing and Sales personnel do a poor job of sharing information with Production personnel. Marketing and Sales frequently excludes Production from meetings, neglects to consult Production when planning sales promotions, and often fails to even alert Production of planned promotions. Marketing and Sales also typically forgets to notify Production when it takes an exceptionally large order.
When Production must meet an unexpected increase in demand, several things happen. First, warehouse inventories are depleted. To compensate, Production must schedule overtime labor, which results in higher production costs for products. Second, because some materials (such as ingredients, wrappers, and display boxes) are custom products purchased from a single vendor, a sudden increase in sales demand can cause shortages or even a stockout of these materials. Getting these materials to Fitter's plant might require expedited shipping, further increasing the cost of production. Finally, unexpected spikes in demand result in high levels of frustration for Production staff.
Production personnel are evaluated on their performance—how successful they are at controlling costs, keeping manufacturing lines running, maintaining quality control, and operating safely. If they cannot keep production costs down, Production staff receive poor evaluations. Managers are especially frustrated when an instant need for overtime follows a period of low demand. With advance notice of a product promotion by Marketing and Sales, Production could use slack periods to build up inventory in anticipation of the increase in sales.