Introduction

Riordan Manufacturing's owns three plants: Albany, GA where plastic bottles are produced; Pontiac, MI where it handles the company's custom plastic fabrication, and Hangzhou, China that currently operates a decentralized unit of the organization producing electric fans. When creating a process design for Riordan's fan production operation, it is important to create a holistic production system that addresses several different aspects of production, including total quality management, material requirements planning (MRP), process design, supply chain considerations such as just-in-time manufacturing and Six Sigma, accurate forecasting methods, and a means of implementing change.