Introduction and Problem DefinitionCustom Molds, Inc. was founded by a father and son team in 1987 to provide high-quality custom molds to electronic connector manufacturers, but s It was then extended to the production of plastic parts for industry. In recent years, the changing environment of the electronics industry has had a profound impact on the way Custom Molds conducts its business and manufacturing processes. The changing sales mix, coupled with delivery and quality issues, has prompted the company to revise its business strategies to address the following issues: 1) Changing trends in the electronics manufacturing industry that have resulted in changes in customer ordering requirements 2) Unpredictable bottlenecks in the production environment 3) Quality issues resulting in defective parts 4) Delivery times promised to customers were not met Analysis 1) Inefficiencies of Process Some of the issues presented above result from inefficiencies in the two separate processes occurring in the same production facility at Custom Molds, namely the Mold Manufacturing Process and the Part Production Process (Exhibits 1a and b) . The two processes meet different customer needs. Mold making, a skill-driven, artisan-driven process, requires flexibility and quality. Parts manufacturing, on the other hand, involves a more standardized process that competes on delivery and low cost. The margin for parts is also much smaller. In the mold manufacturing process, the time required to receive the ordered materials for each manufacturing is generally 3-4 weeks. Only after receiving the materials does the master plant planner review the workload of the designated master machinist and plan the mold manufacturing. Idle time...... middle of paper ...... everyone's strategic business objectives Due to changing market trends, Custom Molds should conduct a comprehensive review of its business objectives and decide whether to focus on mold making or part production. It is evident that the manufacturing sector is becoming less and less viable to meet the manufacturing needs of the electronics industry. Add to this the high operating cost in the mold manufacturing business, and the ROI of this business segment may not be attractive enough for the company to continue to sustain the operation. By focusing its production efforts on parts production, the company can better manage its resources to ensure timely delivery of quality parts and also develop better relationships with its customers..