National Air Express

Case Study
NATIONAL AIR EXPRESS
This case can be used to introduce the issue of productivity and how to improve it, as well as the difficulty of good consistent measures of productivity. This case can also be used to introduce some of the techniques and concepts of OM.
1. The number of stops per driver is certainly a good place to start. However, mileage and number of shipments will probably
be good additional variables. (Regression techniques, addressed in Chapter 4, can be addressed here to generate interest.)
2. Customer service should be based on an analysis of customer
requirements. Document requirements in terms of services desired
(supply needs, preprinted waybills, package weights, pickup and drop-off requirements) should all be considered. (The house of quality technique discussed in Chapter 5 is one approach for such
an analysis.)
3. Other companies in the industry do an effective job of estab-
lishing very good labor standards for their drivers, sorters, and phone personnel. Difficult perhaps, but doable. (The work mea-
surement supplement to Chapter 10 addresses labor standards.)
Video Case Studies
FRITO-LAY: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IN MANUFACTURING
This case provides a great opportunity for an instructor to stimulate a class discussion early in the course about the pervasiveness of the 10 decisions of OM with this case alone or in conjunction with the Hard Rock Cafe case. A short video accompanies the case.

1. From your knowledge of production processes and from the case and the video, identify how each of the 10 decisions of OM is applied at Frito-Lay:
Product design: Each of Frito-Lay’s 40-plus products must be conceived, formulated (designed), tested (market studies, focus groups, etc.), and evaluated for profitability.
Quality: The standards for each ingredient, including its purity and quality, must be determined.
Process: The process that is necessary to produce the product and the tolerance that must be maintained for each...