Case Review: Shell Case Fabrications Company
From the case presented, the Shell Case Fabrications (SCF) Company faces limited choices in meeting the scheduled deadline of production of the modems. First, Songsee, the project manager, appreciates that the manufacturing process lags by two weeks and that something must be done to cover the delay. In fact, the options presented for the adjustment are together with adopting new product designs and paying an extra one hundred thousand pounds for quickened assembly. Therefore, Songsee faces the dilemma of deciding among the options promptly if the deadline was to be met.
From the analysis of the information presented, this discussion recommends that the manager accept Sabin’s offer of an extra 100,000 pounds. By paying the approximated cost, Songsee should be certain of the quality of the products and the commitment to meet the deadline. The option is contrasted with the other choices presented, where the aspect redesigning and producing the new shape models would be more costly and have no assurance of meeting the time limit. Accordingly, by accepting the extra fee as Sabin requires, Songsee would be sure to meet the closing date and deliver quality products to the client. However, the option raises the risk of high production costs and lowered profit margins.
With the Air Connection Links Company being the main customer of the product by the SCF Company, the two entities derive mutual benefits from the business deals. Accordingly, the SFC Corporation needed to negotiate with ACL based on the long-term benefits. Therefore, the analysis recommends that the SCF focuses on facilitating the increased production by paying more and expect to reap from the relation in the future transactions. In essence, by injecting the money required by ACL for the production of the modems, then SCF could develop a positive and long-range relationship as against pushing the company to meet the cut-off date without getting involved. Again, the negotiating teams should reduce the formality of the engagement as such challenges the levels of trust between the trading partners. In essence, the reduced bureaucracy would save time and build on business confidence.
