Custom Molds Essay

822 Words4 Pages
This case is about a family business, Custom Molds Inc., that designs and molds custom plastic parts for manufacturers of electronic connectors. Molds are unique designed for each customer. As the company expanded and Custom Molds’ reputation grew, they expanded and began to manufacture some of the plastic parts that they had been building molds for. The company is now dealing with a changing electronics industry, delivery problems, and some defective parts. A major issue that Custom Molds is facing is adapting to the changing needs of their customers. For example, the chart on molds produced provided in the case shows that orders for multiple parts have decreased over the past several years. This is a problem for Custom Molds because it would be much easier for the company to produce several identical molds rather than an increasing number of individual, unique molds. Another issue that the company is facing is that they have slow process and delivery of their products. The production process of each mold can take from two to four weeks, and the company is giving a lead-time of nine weeks. If orders for plastic parts come in with orders for the molds, there is a significant difference in time for how long each is being manufactured for. Additionally, despite there being a shorter lead time for plastic parts, customers complained that they were receiving their parts in four to five weeks instead of the published lead time of three weeks that Custom Molds provided. Other bottlenecks, such as the same machinist always assigned to the mold design teams, are slowing down the process as well. Additionally, quality of the molds has begun to be an issue at Custom Molds. In the past, the company had been known for its high quality and great reputation. The company still spends approximately one day per mold doing quality inspections. However, according to the recent

More about Custom Molds Essay

Open Document