The organization we have selected is
Collinear Research Corporation. Collinear is an original equipment manufacturer,
manufacturing and redesigning products according to the requirements of
the customer. It is a small firm, looking to expand its business to $10mm
annually in the near future. Its vision is to spin off technology, learned
while developing products for other companies, into products of its own.
Currently, two departments of Collinear,
the CEO and manufacturing, are carrying out most of the functions and are
overloaded. The CEO takes care of the marketing aspect, while the manufacturing
department supplies the purchasing function along with more traditional
manufacturing activities. Thus, there appears a strong need for a separate
purchasing and marketing department, which would not only relieve the CEO
and manufacturing of some of their load, but also would also help Collinear
achieve its mission and vision. These points were identified as process
disconnects in Mini Project 1.
MOTIVATION AND SIGNIFICANCE
The shortcomings of a company without a separate marketing and purchasing department are the issue discussed here. Agreed, that as Collinear is basically a subcontracting firm, the majority of its orders are acquired through the CEO’s contacts. But, if Collinear is to achieve its vision of increasing its business to $10MM annually and also to spin off its own products, it is imperative that it has a separate marketing and purchasing department.