The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (Scott) was the world’s leading dealer and marketer of consumer products for do-it-yourself lawn and garden care in addition to products for specializing in horticulture. Scotts started it spreader business according to “(Pearce & Robinson, 2011), with the introduction of drop spreaders and expand business in later years to develop broadcast spreaders. Scott’s Vision for the company future involved making the plant automated as possible and were headed in that direction.”
Scott’s was trained and developed there human resources to meet the need for the future direction of the company. This direction would consist of fewer assemblers and a greater number of machine technicians to maintain plants. By making these changes the company would dramatically cut labor cost and make help balance out the difference and make the cost comparable to the cost of plants in China.
I think the key issue with Scott’s growth and development wanted to maintain quality but, also it was important for the company to innovative and cost effective. A good example of this sort of process innovation according to “(Pearce & Robinson, 2011), was the development of a new hand spreader assembly process. Scott’s redesigned the spreader and removed screws connectors this allowed for a pressure fit. In addition to allowing the company to build an in house an automated assembly line which help to cut cost because less staff was needed. This process only required four people but, the previous method call six people to manually put together this product. As director of Scott’s Bob Bawcombe felt strongly about developing innovation and technology according to “(Pearce & Robinson, 2011), he felt the general manufacturing competence was intimately tied to ability to continue to the reduction of product cost going forward. In addition to this kind of innovation requires production capability to be in house.
Define the Problem

Alternative Solutions
Scott’s alternative solutions included maintain morale and avoiding the loss of skills and the associated problem- solving routines, it was Temecula leadership team that carefully ensure that productivity improvements did not lead to dismissals. As mention “ (Pearce & Robinson, 2011), Instead, they used temporary workers and attrition to manage the decling demand for labor.
Scotts had considerable experience sourcing components according to “(Pearce & Robinson, 2011), for spreaders manufacture and assembly to China. Since the only product –specific component of the plastic injection molding process was the mold the common practice when outsourcing was for the customer to own the molds and the suppliers to own the injection molding machine and plant. The one exclusion to this was the use of the “in-mold labeling.
The Temecula manufacturing plant produced all of the Scott’s Miracle Gro’s domestic lawn seed and fertilizer spreaders. The Temecula plant as mention in “(Pearce & Robinson, 2011), also pioneered the use of “in-mold labeling”, becoming one of the few facilities in the world to have “in mold labeling” capability for injection molding of such a large product like the spreader hoppers.” Believing strongly in that the product and process of innovation Bawcombe his plant largely function on manufacturing skills that his team had developed through prior experience.
The relevant labor cost in China was based on the current wages but were projected to increase by 40 percent over the next 10 years “ according to the Chinese Labor Ministry.” I think the cost will be partially offset of the shipping over the period of 10 years.
In my reading “ sourcing from China meant that the lead time of scotts suppy chain would increase.