...ASAD AMIN Align Technology, Inc. Issues Align Technology was facing many issues; there are some factors that effects the cost and sales of the company. * The core of the problem was that the average cost per case was higher than the average selling price and the Company was not meeting its financial targets. * The demand of Align’s product was less than the actual manufacturing capacity and Company’s policy (excess production capacity) to prevent delivery restraints. * The orthodontists had been slower to adopt invisalign and they charge a premium cost. Analysis The average cost of a case is calculated as an average $200 more than its selling price. This is the main cause through which the company was still far from profitable. There were two parts to the challenge of lowering the manufacturing costs: reduce the fixed costs and reduce the variable costs. The company can reduce the cost by downsizing the extra labor from treat operations and SLA mold fabrication (See Exhibit 2). They can devise new technologies and procedures that reduced the variable costs, company can save a huge amount if they practice this thing. However, manufacturing fixed costs were too high because Align Technology had scaled its production capacity far above the real demand just because to achieve high tolerance and high volume manufacturing. The demand for Align’s ingenious product fell short of its manufacturing capacity and therefore...
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...Align Technology, Inc. is a medical device company who pratices the design, manufacture and marketing of Invisalign, the world’s leading invisible orthodontic product. Invisalign is a series of clear, removable aligners that both orthodontists and general dentists use to straighten their patients’ teeth. By aquiring the precise virtual image of a patient’s teeth, manipulating this image of the teeth in prescribed increments, creating positives of these positions, and then manufacturing thin plastic, invisible negatives of the teeth at each stage of the treatment, the company offered clear, removable appliances that effectively straightened a patient’s teeth. With more than twenty million unique aligners made to date, Align is one of the largest manufacturers of mass customized products in the world. However, the company was still far from profitable, and its technology had not yet been widely accepted as the treatment of choice by orthodontists. The problem being that the demand for Align’s product fell short of its manufacturing capacity and therefore, the company was not meeting its financial targets. With an average selling price of $1,600 per case at an average cost of $1,800 the company would never reach its targeted 50% gross margins by the end of the year (Bowen, p.1). Align is operating under a customizable made to order strategy, while maintaining 20% above demand excess. Align needs to find the correct mixture of demand and supply within its own manufacturing process...
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...Align Technology, Inc. Matching Manufacturing Capacity to sales Demand Align technology Inc has brought revolution in the technology of dentist field by offering that they can straighten patient’s teeth without metal braces invisibly and effectively. They made invisalign system which operates by obtaining virtual image of patient’s teeth, manipulating these images in prescribed increments, creating positives of these positions and then manufacturing plastic thin negatives of teeth for every stage of treatment which as a result was a clear and removable appliance that straighten patient’s teeth effectively. Operations of this system take place in US, Mexico and Pakistan. Issues These were some factors which effect company sales and demand: * Main issue with Align Inc was that the demand of its product becomes less than its manufacturing capacity so that company was not meeting its financial targets. * In US over 200 million people had malocclusion while less than one percent has treatment from orthodontist which results in less demand of their product. * Many of the customers (Orthodontist, GPD) were not interested in switching from traditional way (Metal braces) toward invisalign system. * The cost of the company was too high then its price which leads toward loss for the company. * Company was just marketing and providing training about its product to orthodontist not to the general practice dentist but many of the case were first go to them and stop...
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...OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 2 * ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC. GROUP 10: 2012IPM008 AishwaryaMangla 2015PGP071 BHASKAR DEY 2015PGP375 SRIVINAYAKA PANDURANGAN 2015PGP152 JALADHI SURATI 2015PGP196 MANJULA VADDE 2012IPM020 Archit Kothari 2012IPM100 Shivraj Kumar Gaurav 2014PGP429 WAGHMODE SUBODH INTRODUCTION Align Technology Inc was co‐founded by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth in the year 1997. They invented a new product “Invisalign System” to cure “Bad Bites” malocclusion. The current existing alternative for this in the market is ‘metal and ceramic braces’.Invisalign provides a new method of treating malocclusion through clear, thin, plastic and removable braces which are practically invisible. The benefits to Orthodontists for adopting the Invisalign system are theability to visualize treatment and potential outcomes using Clincheck (a web based computer graphic developed by the company), minimal additional training (initially 3 hours and later increased to 6 hours), ease of use, an expanded patient base, higher fees, decreased chair time. Align Technology Inc received the 510(k) from the FDA in 1998 and began marketing the system in 1999. Align restricted the use of the system to those individuals with mature dentition having mild Malocclusion. Over the next three years, they were able to raise over $130 million. The demand for the new product has grown more slowly than initial forecasts predicted, and the cost structure is preventing the company from...
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...When Corporate Values do not Align with Personal Values When an individual accepts a position at a company, it is important that they should first check that their values match the companies’ values. Often, the companies’ values are readily available and should be researched before the position is accepted, but in some cases, an employee will find out too late that they feel a conflict between their own values and their employer’s values. Every person has certain ‘Benchmark Goals’ that dictate what is important to them in life (Pace, 6). Some people value family, money, and some value having a career in a certain field. Employees in positions where there are conflicting values can be unhappy in their position, and it can carry over into their personal life. When values align, it can give an employee a sense of purpose and connection with their position and coworkers. Sometimes though, if the values do not match up, it can cause internal conflict for the employee, or even conflict between employees. There are two main ways that an employee can have conflicts with the values, between them and their supervisors or coworkers, and between them and their company. Someone who has very strong values centered on faith will struggle with a company who requires weekend work which might cause them to miss a weekly service. Katherine Dean reminisces about a position she once held where her supervisor pushed them too hard, because he overly valued sales and financial gain, even above...
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...ALIGNING INCENTIVES IN SUPPLY CHAINS AGENDA OVERVIEW OF ARTICLE MODEL OF ANALASYS (CLASS DISCUSSION) CONCLUSION QUESTION / ANSWER PERIOD CISCO (Mad Monday April 16, 2001) The world’s largest network equipment maker shocked investors when it warned them they would soon be scrapping $2.5 billion of raw surplus (almost 50% of quarterly sales) - which is one of the largest inventory write-offs in US history. How could Cisco misread demand by $2.5 billion, almost half as much as its sales in the quarter? Many experts believed it was due to forecasting errors, or forecasting software problems, or even mismanagement from top executives But were they right in their assumptions? CISCO (What really happened) The truth is Cisco ended up with much more inventory (subassembly boards and semiconductors) then demand required due to supply chain partner’s behaviour in the 18 months leading up to Mad Monday Cisco did not have a manufacturing plant and subcontracted out to multiple third parties who mass produced the components because demand for Cisco products usually exceeded supply Cisco compounded the problem by offering incentives to suppliers who delivered quickly, which gave the suppliers incentives to build buffer stocks. The suppliers also boosted profits by buying in bulk from component suppliers. This turned out to be a win/win situation for the subcontractors and the component suppliers alike. Demand began to...
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...president of Levendary China also operated like the original founder. He took it upon himself to make the changes needed in order to adapt to the needs of the Chinese customer. Looking at the operations from this perspective one would be able to conclude that although the China operations may not be strictly process aligned with their American counterparts they are certainly vision/mission aligned. From the information given in this case, it appears that the China expansion had no corporate strategy in place. Incorporating a globalization strategy and aligning it with the corporate vision/mission is the first thing I would do. They could use what is called the balance scorecard, which is a strategic planning and management system used to align the business activities of an organization, improve internal and external...
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...In late 2003, the company of Boeing was the worst of its life. However, it was changed some market demand and solved the technology issues, then slowing to improve. According to the case study (Boeing), the six-box organisational model provides a framework that succinctly identifies the key factors at the centre of the Boeing situation. It explains the following according to Palmer et al. (2009): 1. Strategy – was to update their technology systems, downsize their operations, and re-establish relationships with their suppliers and the only feasible way costs could be cut. 2. Structure – the problem of 1994 airbus which shocked the management executives and began a series of changes that were implemented to overcome the bureaucratic structure, outdated technological systems, and unnecessary processes in a company that had reportedly changed. 3. Systems – Boeing adopted the principles of lean manufacturing and aimed to rejuvenate their reputation by making their production more efficient. The object of the project was to implement an automated system of assembly lines. 4. Style – the decision was made to diversify from the traditional commercial airline industry and the many acquisitions that were made created integration issues for the company. The aim again was to add more stability to the business by diversifying into information services and the space industry that providing services with elevated margins that would reflect on Boeing’s bottom line. ...
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...Literature Review Analysis and Report of “Shaping Strategy in a world of Constant Disruption” Havard Business Review Article by: John Hagel III, Seely Brown, Land Davison Presented by: Edwin Martin, Shawn Ransome, Jason Roach November 2011 Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 1 2. What is this reading about? 2 3. Critical Issues 3 4. Relation to topics discussed 4 5. Alignment of concepts with topics discussed 6 Executive Summary A shaping strategy is one which will normally command the majority into changing their paradigms about a certain product, causing disruptive innovation to take place. In order to garner such massive support for such a new product, the product must be marketed well enough to convincingly express the new opportunities afforded to the audience. The new product must also define new standards and practices which make participation easy and affordable. Also, demonstrating that there is the conviction and resources for success which would not compete against participants. Essentially there are 3 key ingredients to making a successful shaping strategy; 1. Create a shaping view, 2. Develop a shaping platform and 3. Demonstrate shaping acts. This report will attempt to review and analyze the HBR article “Shaping strategy in a world of constant disruption” and would show how the shaping strategy can be used to propel business growth while gaining massive support for new innovative and technological products. The report...
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...In today’s educational realm, STEM is a common acronym used in the classroom curriculum. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Additional subjects are beginning to follow including music, English, art, and social studies (Honey, 2014). STEM became an intergraded part of the school system when Common Core started to become mandatory for schools to adopt. The premise behind STEM is to integrate the core subjects with everyday real world experiences to help students connect everyday situations into their daily learning. As with any good school curriculum, schools must adopt their own STEM program to fit the individual needs of each school in order to keep in alignment with their school’s unique population, overall challenges, and the students’ and school’s needs. It is not a one...
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...Phase 5 Individual Project 2013 Information Technology Management Table of Contents Business System Planning (Week 1) Introduction 4 Identify how the following critical success factors will be addressed by case study 5 Governance 5 Business plan alignment 6 Process improvement 6 Resource optimization 6 Operating excellence 7 Identify how the following critical success factors will be addressed by case study 7 Business management issues 7 Strategic and competitive issues 7 Planning and implementation concerns 8 Operational items 8 Identify how the variables defined by Strassmann's Model will be measured 8 Efficiency 8 Effectiveness 8 Competitivness 8 Profitability 8 Strategic Information Systems Assessment (Week 2) Create an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for case study 9 Case study continued 9 SWOT analysis of case study 10 SWOT analysis continued 11 12 13 Create an assessment of the forces that are presently governing competition for case study 14 Using Wiseman’s Framework of Strategy Development define the strategic thrusts and advantages 15 Information Systems Business Case (Week 3) Critical success factors for IT Manager 16 Continued. 17 General stratgy for IT goals and objectives of the case study. 18 General strategy on how IT department will support the goals and objectives of the case study 19 Information Technology Strategy Statement (Week 4) Business aspects 20 ...
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...Technology Assessment Using internet databases, I have researched the regulatory requirements related to technology with the health care industry. Within this assignment, I have identified and analyzed my belief of the most significant new technology requirements for the health care industry. I have analyzed the basic technology underlying health care information systems. I also have made a recommendation of an innovation and explained how my recommendation can improve the overall level of health care in my community. Lastly, I have suggested a key action that senior health care leadership can take in the community to push the boundaries of information technology management. Most New Significant Technology Requirements for Health Care I believe that the most new significant technology requirement for health care is the use of electronic medical records (EMR). This is a digital form of a paper chart which encompasses the medical and treatment history of the patients in one office. An EMR permits a physician to track data over time, easily pinpoint which patients are due for preventive screenings, and check on how patients are doing on particular parameters like blood pressure readings or vaccines (Electronic Medical Record, 2014). They also monitor and improve the general quality of care within the clinic or hospital. Providers should approach the implementation of the EMR with seriousness. I say this because As of January 2014 all public and private healthcare providers...
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...globally he has to take a call as how to introduce the product. Alternatives: Lankton has three alternatives in front of him on the issue of leveraging the capability of NovaPlast: 1. Build a new plant employing only NovaPlast machines: The advantage of having all the NovaPlast machines in a single plant is engineering efficacy. The Centralized development would facilitate personal oversight of project. Also the senior management is all in favour. However this option does not align with Nypro’s close-to-customer strategy. It will result into longer delivery time which is the most critical factor determining customer demand and satisfaction in the current competitive market scenario. 2. Install 2-3 machines in each plant: Having NovaPlast machine in each plant will help Nypro in quoting shorter delivery time and capture more market share. It aligns with the company’s close-tocustomer manufacturing policy. There could be however opposition from plant employees to adoption of an unproven technology and standardized employment of NovaPlast in all plants as it happened in the case of MRP2 system. To spur innovation, plants can be allowed to compete for developing best techniques for developing mould design with the new machine. 3. Employ NovaPlast in single plant and move to internal market of innovation to test commercial viability: This option could be implemented very quickly and allow for engineering efficacy. However it will...
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...Innovation in the Global Organization Sasha Albury Leading Innovation in the Global Organization Foundations of Leading Innovation Capella University September, 2015 Innovation is the way of the future. One must adapt in order to keep up with the ever-changing needs of society. In today’s economy, the ability to innovate is more profitable to a company and a requirement for growth and success. For example, Samsung and Apple have found creative ways to set their phones on the next level by creating smart technology in handheld and portable devices. These companies know how to keep their consumers on their toes. They are constantly releasing the latest in technology with cell phones, tablets and laptops. Because of their creativity and out of the box thinking, they are two major players in the technology world compared to, for example, Nokia and Blackberry. Leaders influence whether or not individuals and teams can innovate. They can control the strategic thinking, influence other avenues, and control organizational practices. Innovation only happens when all members of the team are committed. Leaders themselves do not necessarily have to be the most innovative individual, but they must be able to inspire. 70 percent of organizations report that innovation is among their top three priorities (McKinsey Global Survey, 2007) and therefore, innovative thinking and managing innovative teams should be high on the agenda. In order to create an organization that is successful...
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...Assumptions, Limitations, Scope and Delimitation The study will help establish whether participating teachers are curious and eager to learn new skills that will provide additional teaching opportunities. It is assumed that teachers are curious and eager to learn how to infuse advanced technology and also develop an understanding of instructing with available technological tools such as wireless laptop technology (Marino, Sameshima, &ump; Beecher, 2009). The limitations are as follows: first, the amount of time available for the researcher to conduct this study, which may also limit the study’s scope to a smaller group of respondents. The other limitation is the researcher’s inability to assess the accurate amount of time teachers will spend using an online network. The next limitation is the location, a rural school system and not a suburban or urban school system because the system under review only has four schools. The final limitation is teachers’ use of available technology within their classroom due to possible technophobia, lack of training, and or skills. The delimitation in this study is that no data will be collected from XYZ’s students and administrators who also use wireless technology. The TAS questionnaire, which is a standardized measure with high reliability and validity of teachers’ technological attitudes, will be administered to 108 teachers. However, the use of a self-reported questionnaire will also assume that participants provide truthful responses from...
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