1. What parts of the supply chain are most closely involved with the situation in this case? What is the responsibility of each part in order to maintain a smooth flow of material?

Procurement Department: This department did not completely assess the demand that needed to be met. They miscalculated the demand by underestimating it to be 2500 units when the actual demand was over 4000 units. They were working in isolation rather than working closely with the Marketing department. They did not maintain a close relationship with their suppliers. Instead, they ignored any type of communication that the suppliers attempted to make with them.
Forecasting Department: The forecasting department wasn’t able to accurately predict the demand and so the procurement department wasn’t able to make the necessary adjustments and arrangements with the supplier as the demand changed from 2,500 units to 4,000 units monthly.
Marketing Department: The marketing department knew that the monthly volumes had increased to 4,000 units but the procurement department was not informed and wasn’t able to plan accordingly.
Production Department: The production department didn’t alarm the procurement department that the lead time required for the materials were 10 days instead of the 14 days. There was a change in the operation plan and the procurement department was not informed and so there were issues with the acquisition of materials.

2. What initially appears to be the problem? What really is the problem(s) in this case?

Initially, the problem seemed to have been with the suppliers not meeting their end of the bargain by missing every other shipment causing delays for Avion. However, it was later recognized that the problem has been with the procurement managers not communicating with the production group more often. Initially, Foster was given the volume requirement of