...Quality Metal Service Center Case Analysis Company History Quality Metal Service Center was established in the late 1800s as a local metals distribution center. By 1992, it had grown into a national metal distribution company operating in four geographic regions-each of which contained about six districts. The company had experienced rapid sales growth along with the geographic expansion since the 1920s. In 1991, Quality Metal posted sales in excess of $750 million. In March, 1992, the president and CEO, Edward Brown, questioned the effectiveness of the company’s controls. He stated, “I don’t know if our controls have inhibited managers from pursuing our goals of aggressive growth and above-average return on assets, as compared to the industry…” (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2007, p. 300). Anthony and Govindarajan (2007) indicated in the years leading up to the 1990s, the metal distribution industry was “regarded as a mature, highly competitive, and fragmented industry.” There were, however, within the metal industry some important indicators that could enhance the growth potential of the metal service center sector. Anthony and Govindarajan (2007) identified three trends within the industry. One was the steel mill’s retrenchment. Product lines had been dropped, customer service staff had been reduced and specialty products were eliminated. The second trend included the implementation of a “just-in-time” inventory management system. Metal users reduced costs...
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...Case 3: Quality Metal Service Center EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Quality Metal Service Center specializes in buying metals from steel mills in large lots and distributing it in smaller lots with shorter lead time to metal users. The Company started out as a local distributor but has now expanded into 27 locations nationwide. The Company strategy involves 3 Things: 1.) Focus on Specialty products such as high-technology metals which provides higher returns and contributes about 60% of the Company’s Revenue, 2.) Identification of where these metals are consumed. The development of the industry’s first metal usage data base by the Company helped them decide where to expand. Lastly, 3.) Increasing market share through value-added services offered to customers such as Account Support for Just-in-Time Ordering and other processing services for cutting, polishing, and others. These strategies are aligned with the key trends happening in the industry. In order to satisfy customer needs, the Company needs to bank on specialized products and be able to provide these to customers applying JIT process which means more frequent deliveries at lesser lead time. Upon examination of one district in the Company, a pending proposal about an additional investment in equipment was raised to the District Manager. The equipment will help in further processing its products in order to fulfil the customer needs. Currently, the process is being outsourced in another district which affects the lead time....
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...Quality Metal Service Center Group 2 Araojo, Oscar Jan Asis, Alvin Magboo, Mike Raniel Manzano, Krystele Ann Peralta, Diana Marie Rodriguez, Jerelleen EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Quality Metal Service Center has shown its resilience in the industry through its century old existence banking on industry knowledge and high quality products. The company is doing well and would like to maximize its potentials by looking into its control system. Analysis has shown that potentially profitable projects may not be pushed through due to some inefficiencies in their performance evaluation and incentives system. The company is currently using ROA as the sole criterion of evaluation. However, ROA will be lower on companies with newer assets that those with older ones. This will lead managers to reject proposals of new projects with large capital outlay. The Economic Value Added is a more appropriate measure in this situation. In light of the application of the EVA, the issue with the Columbus District manager will be resolved, and the proposed project should be accepted. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS The Metal Distribution Industry is highly competitive and fragmented industry which composed of fewer companies because of the high costs of establishing and maintaining this kind of business. It is on its mature stage that improved efficiency on production is the priority in order to beat the competitors in the industry. End users still have different needs which are unmet by the market players...
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...Plastic material can easily be formed/shaped Entering the plastic business segment would have the following cons: • Unknown business territory, no experience • Carbonation leaks after 4 month – major issue • Cannot be fully recycled Acquiring Continental Can Canada would have the following pros: • Double in size domestically, increase market share rapidly • Plastic container line would come from this factory • Expansion globally • Increasing bargaining power Acquiring Continental Can Canada would have the following cons: • Bidding war could create too high acquisition price • Conflict with different cultures • Expansion might create unnecessary costs • Increased difficultness of overseeing the company 2, How attractive has the metal container industry been...
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...into the sediments. For each of the three lakes, sediment samples are taken from ten different locations within each of the lakes. The sediment samples are examined for five particular metals. These are Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Arsenic (As) and Lead (Pb). The purpose of this report is to find out what the level of each metal contaminant in each of the lakes and compare the level against Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality 2000 Volume 1 (ANZECC, 2000). Also to find the possible source of each metal tested. Results Table 1. Metals concentration in sediments from Knighton Lake, University of Waikato, 2000 | Ni | Cu | Zn | As | Pb | minimum (ppm) | 8 | 39 | 416 | 15 | 40 | Maximum (ppm) | 13 | 79 | 1515 | 25 | 170 | Mean (ppm) | 11 | 62 | 892 | 21. | 88 | standard Deviation | 1.65 | 12.32 | 317.93 | 3.27 | 44.23 | | | | | | | The Knighton Lake results when compared against the guidelines showed that the concentration of nickel and copper are below the trigger value and therefore are at an acceptable level. The results for the arsenic and lead are just above the trigger level. The zinc level however is at a very high level, its 484.8 ppm higher than the ISQH-High value in the ANZECC, 2000. Table 2. Metals concentration in sediments from Oranga Lake, University of Waikato, 2000 | Ni | Cu | Zn | As | Pb | minimum (ppm) | 10 | 68 | 1097 | 14 | 17 | Maximum (ppm) | 17 | 134 | 1895 | 29...
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...What’s Better Silicone or Tin Bakeware? It’s difficult to answer. However most recipes and heat requirements are designed for metal with paper inserts. Heat transfer in metal can vary. Some recipes list higher temps and time for non-stick pans vs older metal cupcakes which are darker in color after use. Silicone is still relatively new for baking. When baking with a material that does not retain and conduct heat, you will indeed need to make adjustments. You might have to increase both the time and the temperature by slight amounts. In tin Bakeware you can basically guarantee that it is going to be safe. Because it has been aware for a about 200 years. In that time it has gotten better but everything does eventually. Silicone have a few hazards such as: Lower quality silicone coatings contain filler that may be hazardous- if any white shows through when you twist your silicone bakeware, there are probably fillers. Oils- which are very powerful and toxic, may “migrate from the material. Many silicone baking mats are actually made of fibreglass covered on both sides with silicone. The bottom line on safety is: check your manufacturer for other materials possible contaminating your silicone bakeware. Treat it well- no cutting on those baking mats! If you want to be very conservative, skip the silicone and stick with glass, cast iron, or stainless steel for cooking and baking and unbleached parchment paper if you need something flexible. The pro’s and cons of silicone. Pro’s-...
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...Molding Methods Molding process is used to create intricate metal components. The mold material used to make these “molds” could be either temporary or permanent. Temporary molds are made up of refractory sands and resins. The temporary mold has to be broken to retrieve the cast. Permanent molds are made of ferrous materials and are normally employed for casting low melting point materials but this process is too costly. Because of this conundrum, most of the foundry industry has its castings produced using temporary mold materials. Compared to permanent molds, the temporary sand molds can cast high melting point materials and larger parts, while permanent molds can produce small castings of better quality and dimensional accuracy. Sand casting uses temporary sand molds to form complex metal components that can be made of almost any alloy. Sand casting has a relatively lower production rate as each time the part solidifies, the mold has to be broken to retrieve the part. The sand casting process makes use of a furnace, metal, pattern, and sand mold. The metal is melted in the furnace, ladled, and then poured into the cavity of the...
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... Prepared by M. Hooper & P. Hooper. March 2005 The following materials have been authorised for use by students in this context, by Johnson Matthey. Some data is not current, and some is adapted to give a working document to allow completion of the assignment, To complete the assignment students must have access to detailed information about a company. This is often difficult to obtain, and the following information will provide exemplar material for the completion of the IVA. The information is based on the British Company – Johnson Matthey, one of the leading speciality chemicals companies in the world specialising in Catalysts, Precious Metals and Speciality chemicals. Johnson Matthey is a large multi-national company. There is a lot of information available on the various web-sites. The website reflect the divisional nature of the company. These notes will summarise the company structure, provide a guide to focus the students attention through the various divisions to the area of interest. The full company’s website is: http://www.matthey.com Links can be followed to the 'Catalysts' division website at: http://www.jmcatalysts.com then, to the 'Process Catalysts and Technologies'...
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...This page is a detail introduction about soybean oil press machine (http://www.oil-processing.com/PRODUCTS/Oil-Pressing-Machine/Soybean-Oil-Pressing-Machine.html) setting up steps. If you are interested in it and you plant to start a soybean oil mill plant, please read on. 1• Cut 1.75-inch metal tubing into two 24.5-inch pieces and one 6.5-inch piece. A carbide saw blade is essential to cut metal; these are available for whatever type of powered or unpowered saw you use to cut the tubing. • 2 Cut a 5.5-inch piece of flat steel bar and two 8-inch pieces of angle iron. The bar will serve as the top crossbar in your frame while the angle irons will join the frame to a wooden base. 3• Stand all three tubes on their ends, with the long tubes 5.5 inches apart. Place the short tube in between them and use an arc welder to weld the steel crossbar at their top ends, and the angle iron pieces on both sides of their bottom ends. This will make a rectangular metal frame with the short pipe in the middle of one short side. • 4 File or grind any rough edges from your frame, then paint it. The paint will dampen down any shavings. Once painted, it can be attached to a wooden base by passing screws through the holes in the angle iron piece. • 5 Make the press canister by welding a circular piece cut from your plate steel onto one end of a wide steel tube. Drill holes through the outside of the canister and file down any rough edges. • 6 Form the press piston by cutting another...
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...temperatures. While the alloy in the this range, it has a pasty form that consist of solid, tree-like structures called dendrites (meaning tree-like) and metal. The formation of Stable Nuclei in Liquid Metals: The two main mechanism by which the nucleation of solid particles in liquid metal occurs are homogeneous nucleation and heterogeneous nucleation. Homogeneous Nucleation in a liquid melt occurs when the metal itself provides the atoms needed to form nuclei. When a pre liquid metal is cooled below its equilibrium freezing temperature to a sufficient degree, many homogeneous nuclei are created by slow-moving atoms bonding together. For a nucleus to be stable so that it can grow into a crystal, it must reach a critical size. A cluster of atoms bonded together that is less than a critical size is called an embryo and one that is larger than the critical size is called a nucleus. Embryos: Small particles of a new phase formed by a phase (i. e. solidification) that are not of critical size and that can resolve. Nucle: Small particles of a new phase formed by a phase change (e . i . solidification) that can grow until the phase change is complete. Homogeneous Nucleation: The formation of small regions of a new solid phase ( called nuclei) in a pure metal that can grow until solidification is complete. The pure homogeneous metal itself provides the atoms that make up the nuclei. Heterogeneous nucleation: The formation of very small regions of a new solid phase (called...
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...research about BHP Billiton, relevant Australia export policy and the South Africa. Secondly, the group leader will select the useful information to decide export production, location and form of the expansion. Finally, all group members start to analyse and discuss some special strategies of expansion. Stage 1 | Collector(Qinghui Li) | Collect relevant information and data | 1 week | Stage 2 | Leader(Tong Lu) | Disposal useful information and allocate task for all people | 1 week | Stage 3 | All members | Start to the report | 2 weeks | The aim of assignment is making strategies to expand BHP Billiton’s South Africa market. And we choose export aluminium to South Africa. The reason is that Aluminum is a widely used non-ferrous metal with demand driven by end use consumption in transportation, packaging, construction and household items. Meanwhile, South Africa is developing country and will need lots of aluminum to construct infrastructure. We can provide information about markets and industry trends in particular countries or regions, to assist in the development of investment plans, strategies or objectives. * We can make introductions to potential international partners, buyers and other in-market contacts. * We can supply referrals to service providers who can give you specialist advice, such as lawyers, business advisors and investment promotion agencies. * We can facilitate access to international governments and other relevant overseas decision-makers...
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...Quality Metal Service Centre lies in the metal distribution industry which is highly competitive and mature. There are fewer companies in this field than those in the retail business or service industry. Quality Metal Service Centre is in the middle of the value chain. They have two major responsibility areas, both internal and external. One issue identified with QSMC is that they have few suppliers to choose from as there only a certain number of metal mills available. With their corporate strategy to focus sales efforts on targeted markets of specialty metal users, they plan to introduce higher technology metals such as titanium however titanium is not readily available on the distributor market. This will not only further limit their selection of suppliers, it will also lose their previously stable base of customers if end user customers when it diminish its participation in the broader commodity product line. Both the bargaining power of suppliers and threat of substitute products to high-technology metals may make the specialised metal industry less profitable. Another weakness with redeploying into higher technology metals is that the rapid development of technology will expense too much cost and further reduce the profits of the company. Research and development cost, patents costs and the changing market in the business environment may be a threat to Quality Metal Service Centre. The organisation structure of QMSC is quite complex. It is decentralised very much on...
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...Marketing Management Report The Concept My concept is an end-to-end e-waste management company dedicated to environmental stewardship with advanced recycling technology, and to extract high quality metals by rendering innovative e-waste management solutions with fastest turn-around time from e-waste to economically viable metals. This company will solve and meet three critical needs: 1. It will give municipalities and companies a cost effective alternative to landfilling and rerouting the generated e-waste. 2. It will regularize the current fragmented e-waste management industry, which consists of collectors, recyclers, transporters, smelters etc and will provide end-to-end e-waste management solutions to produce economically viable metals. 3. It will use latest metal extraction and e-waste recycling technology to produce metals that will help to meet growing demand for environmentally viable metals. The recycled metals will be targeted towards electronics manufacturers, metal traders, and equipment manufacturers. Additionally, the company will offer a service to, e-waste storage and recycling plants by municipalities, sellers and manufacturers of EEE (electrical and electronic equipment). Currently, these municipalities and companies face several issues regarding the disposal of WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment). Landfills are filling up fast and current e-waste management solutions are not adequate to meet the ever increasing inflow of waste....
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...Case 7-3 Quality Metal Service Center In early March 1992, Edward Brown was President and CEO of Quality Metal Service Centers with the following comment: Although I am satisfied with the company's past performance, I believe that we have the ability to increase sales and profitability. Given the expansion of the market and competitive position, it is my feeling that we have missed certain opportunities to grow. I do not know if our government system has been to discourage managers to adhere to the objectives of the company, which is growing fast and being above average ROA compared with other companies in the industry. I want you to have it in mind when you are evaluating our system. proliferation Metal industry Metal Service Centers purchase from many factories (e.mills), including USX, Bethlehem, Alcoa, Reynolds and smaller companies like Crucible, Northwestern and Youngstown . These suppliers sell products in large batches. By doing this they maximize the throughput capacity of large production end collisions (e.run). Service Centers sells its consumers in smaller batches and shorter processing time. The distribution of metal industry was generally considered of mature, highly competitive and sundering industry. Still has a lot of firsts in the industry who have given Service Centers opportunity to grow. cuts in steel plant in their effort to be more competitive by increasing production capacity, most large national metal manufacturers have been withdrawn product lines by...
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...Rings Sterling Silver is a very popular silver alloy. Sterling silver is nothing but pure silver alloyed with harder metals so as to increase its strength and durability. This is done because pure silver, though a precious and highly reflective metal with bright white shine, is prone to scratching as it is soft and very malleable. Sterling silver usually contains about ninety two and half percent of silver and is combined with other metals. The other metal usually combined in seven and half percent quantities is copper. The minimum millesimal fineness of sterling silver as per the sterling silver standard is 925. Other metals that can replace copper in sterling silver are platinum, zinc, germanium and even additives like boron and silicon. However, copper greatly increases the strength of the silver while keeping the beautiful colour and shine intact. Also, the small...
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