leapfrog supply chain case study

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Leapfrog supply chain ROIs with strategic partnerships

Supply chains have gained overdue boardroom recognition over the last five years. According to a survey conducted by McKinsey, 93% of senior supply-chain executives intend to make their supply chains far more flexible, agile, and resilient. But what drives this change in mindset today? The aftershocks of COVID-19 in supply chains.

After the pandemic exposed operational and macroeconomic vulnerabilities, companies returned to the drawing boards to rethink supply chain strategies. Despite heavy technology investments and redesigning business processes to bolster supply chain capabilities, the promise of a resilient, networked, and autonomous supply chain is still a distant reality. C-suite leaders struggle with whether technology investments will pay off. How do they align with and enable company strategy? Do the promised technological capabilities enhance core strengths?

Orchestrating entire supply chains isn't a one-click solution. It involves tough decisions on which capabilities to add to your company's digital core and how well they will fit together. Depending on the complexity, process maturity, workforce stability, functional expertise, IT capability, and funding in your organization, elevating supply chain performance requires substantial investment in holistic transformation initiatives, not just technology. The demand for techno-functional expertise is high. And to respond to these needs faster, more and more companies are externalizing their supply chains to strategic partners.

Harness partner capabilities to bridge talent and technology gaps 

Externalizing supply chains isn't new. Contract manufacturers, subassembly companies, and third-party logistics providers are essential to an outcomes-driven supply chain model. External partners often provide flexibility, allowing companies to scale their operations to speed up go-to-market without bank-breaking investments. And sharing supply chain responsibilities can help navigate and manage risks to protect you against global disruptions, market fluctuations, or geopolitical uncertainties.

But that's not all. Today, supply chain leaders use external capabilities to bridge the talent gap that's increased because of the disconnect between how fast institutes train people and what skills the industry needs now. By the time people pick up the skill, the technology is old.

Out-of-date working methods and legacy products add to the problem. According to a report from Dell, more than 70% of software used by Fortune 5000 companies was developed 20 or more years ago. So why would you go to the refrigerator and eat moldy bread every day when strategic partnerships offer a healthier option?

Three strategies to achieve results through externalization 

The buy-versus-make approach of externalizing supply chains refines operations, reduces change management efforts, accelerates decision-making, and improves investment outcomes. When you bring in the expert, you take the pressure off your company to quickly acquire and train employees. This approach enables plug-and-play actions that help companies speed up user adoption of tools and technologies at a lower cost without relying on tribal knowledge.

Once you've analyzed your current state of operations, it can help to break down these operations into functions and phases of implementation. This way, you can work with your partners to define concrete success parameters and know when and how much to invest for faster visible impact.

Here are three ways you can drive outcomes quickly and effectively using a supply chain partner:

• Use real-time data, advanced analytics , and generative AI (gen AI) to scale up scenario planning and bring decision recommendations to end users
• Enable end-to-end process visibility for accurate forecasting across customer demands, inventory, working capital, and capital expenditure
• Absorb new sources of data like the internet of things (IoT), leverage unstructured data, and consume insights to elevate supply chain performance

Through externalization of operations, you can get access to newer technologies and systems, such as tracking tools and supply chain management software, which might be more budget-friendly than developing them in-house.

The power of partnerships in action

A digital supply chain for a leading audio equipment manufacturer 

Challenge: A US-based global manufacturer and seller of audio equipment lacked visibility into its supply chain while new product introductions failed 50% of the time. These challenges trickled down to other departments, such as sales and marketing, resulting in high operational costs. This was the trigger for revamping its entire supply chain process.

Solution: We dug deep into the workings of the firm's supply chain to get to the root of the systemic issues that hindered its operations. And we implemented a whole stack of advanced analytics to solve these pain points, enabling a forecasting methodology based on machine learning that is now run as a managed service, solid supply-network planning, and inventory management.

Result: Forecasting accuracy for new products improved by 65% and could be generated 30% faster. With crystal-clear visibility into the supply chain, the firm reduced planning time by 40% and inventory levels by 15%. The right combination of people, processes, and technologies was key to the project's success. 

Building the networked, autonomous supply chains of tomorrow now

In a world of everything as a service and cutting-edge technologies creating value faster, there's an urgent need to bridge the learning gap. Fifty percent of respondents in a recent survey of 300 supply chain executives see talent shortage as a significant challenge over the next 12 months.

Building capabilities internally is time-consuming and can lack clear direction. Tapping into a broader ecosystem of skills and services to build hyperconnected and autonomous supply chains will open gateways to better risk management, planning, and forecasting while allowing businesses to focus on their core activities. The process of externalization has its share of complexity if there's a mismatch of expectations. You need to choose partners whose long-term vision and expertise align with your company's needs to help navigate the future. Keep in mind your partners' cultural DNA – it cuts down change management friction in the long run.

A strong partner can help you avoid the challenges of selecting technology providers, implementation costs, and technology adoption challenges. After all, there are no lone geniuses in business, only genius partnerships.

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Supply Chain Challenges At Leapfrog

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Supply Chain Challenges at Leapfrog

United Arab Emirates University Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) Supply Chain Management Application & Strategy CASE 1 : Supply chain challenges at Leapfrog SCML 460: Supply Chain Management Application & Strategy Context: Introduction ………………………………………………. page 3 Questions ………………………………………………. page 3 Conclusion ………………………………………………. page 5 References ……………………………………………… page 6 Introduction: Our case study is about "Supply Chain Challenges at LEAPFROG".

The term supply chain conjures up images of product or supply moving from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors to retailers to customers along a chain(2). We recognize that we must have a small image about that company so, we start searching on internet to know the history of that company: The company was founded in 1995 by Michael Wood and Robert Lally. When Wood found no products on the market that could help his struggling son learn to read.

Since then, LeapFrog has developed a number of learning platforms with a library of software titles, covering subjects including phonics (the method of learn by hearing), reading, writing, and math for grade school children (2). So this company focuses on educational toys for babies and children. We have on this case study "Supply Chain Challenges at LEAPFROG" five question to deal with. Firstly we will answer and discuss the partners who are in upstream and who's in the downstream, also we will talk about the first supplier and second supplier.

Order custom essay Supply Chain Challenges at Leapfrog with free plagiarism report

Secondly we will give information about the data they have in the production level of the LittleTouch LeapPads and from where they bring it. Thirdly we will talk about which part of production process is limited on the Capable Toys and how they respond to these challenges. Fourthly about the challenges on the material sourcing and how they resolve it. Finally about the logistics solution that they use on that time and what the strength, weakness of that solution. Questions: * First question Draw a map of the supply chain for leapfrog. Including the retailers, capable toys, and suppliers of key materials (such as tyvek).

Which supply chain partners are "upstream" of leapfrog? Which are downstream? Which partner are first tier suppliers? Second tier supplier? Answer: This is the map for the supply chain for the leapfrog company DownstreamUpstream Third Second First- tier supplier manufacture Distributer Retailerconsumer DuPont Co Printing firm Capable factory(LEAPFROG Factory) Bulk internet (end customer) (Tyvek) (Kmart, toys R us, Wal-Mart) Upstream activity (OR) firm

Activities or firms that are positioned earlier in the supply chain relative to some other activity or firm of interest Downstream activity (OR) firm Activities or firms that are positioned later in the supply chain relative to some other activity or firm of interest * As we can see that the map show every think that we need the upstream is the side of suppliers and the downstream is the side of distributer, retailer and customer. First-tier supplier The supplier that provides products or services directly to a firm. Second-tier supplier The supplier that provides products or services to a firm's first-tier supplier(3). Second question is what data ultimately led to leapfrog's decision to increase production levels of the little Touch LeapPads? Where did these data come from? How long after interpreting these data did leapfrog start talking with capable toys about increasing production levels? Days, weeks, month? Answer: Because they are facing a Christmas future. They check their store and they found that they had sold 360 of littleTouch LeapPads in the products introductory weekend. So this information goes on the new system then the software shows that there will be a huge demand on that period almost 700000 unit to meet projected holiday demand.

So they forecast the number of units for that period. These data come from four computer models. They are designed to weed out unusual explanation for sales spikes. Everything from discount and TV advertising to where be stores the product was displayed. I think it take days because they have direct contact with their supplier, because they allow to them to enter the sales database * Thirdly, what part of the production process limited output level at capable toys? How did capable respond to the challenge? Answer: The molds that make the plastic are critical part of the production process it's called also the tools.

They had two set of tools running around the clock, and they got the ok from the leapfrog for a third set of tools in the last of August, and the approve for the fourth set was after when the third set was ready and that was in the mid-October. * Fourthly, what were some of the material sourcing challenges facing Leapfrog and Capable toys? How did they resolve these problems? Answer: They had a hustle to find the specialized material and parts they need for the huge demand for those toys, they need for each toy a mini speaker, three microchips and brain. Also they found trouble on finding a supplier for touch-sensitive membranes.

However they also, have a problem to find a supplier for material clothlike paper (tyvek). They solve these problems by using staff tapped network of supplier to hunt down a second vendor, so they found the DuPont Co. for the (tyvek) but they also need something that would be drool resistant and still absorb ink. So they found a third party for that – a book – printing firm- in US. * Finally, what type of logistics solutions did Leapfrog use to get the toys to the stores on time? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these solutions? If it had been August rather than December, what other opinion might Leapfrog have used? Answer:

They solve the problem by using the air fright to respond for the shortages. The strength as we can see that they consider about the time & speed, so they will reduce orders delaying and lead time. On the other hand about the weaknesses, they almost lost their profit on air shipping because it costly and they will need to deal with 3PL to support them. Conclusion: As we can recognize from this case that the leapfrog have many challenges in different things like sourcing, production process, logistics and many other things. Also on our report by answering the question we discuss how they resolve their problem and analyze it.

We describe the supply chain map and discuss about how they process their information on their systems. On the other hand we talk about the production process and what challenges they had their and how they resolve that problems with their suppliers. Although we see the sourcing problem and the solutions for that, also we have a look in their logistics solution for their problem when they have a shortage. References: http://www. sbaer. uca. edu/publications/supply_chain_management/pdf/01. pdf http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/LeapFrog_Enterprises http://ar. scribd. com/doc/34674743/Introduction-to-Operations-Supply-Chain-Management

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Expertly Crafted Case Study On Supply Chain Challenges At Leapfrog

Type of paper: Case Study

Topic: Supply Chain , Company , The Firm , Firm , Volume , Materials , Leapfrog , Network

Published: 05/23/2023

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The upstream involves the flow refers to the movement of the numbers of the components like as the materials products to the supplier that comprises of the sources of the goods supply chain. Therefore the leapfrog’s suppliers are the upstream partners of the firm. The downstream involves the movement in that direction of the customers and therefore the downstream supply chain management refers to the retailer as well as the main consumers.

11th, August 2003 the nationwide sale volume of the firm had a total of 360 sales units in the introductory weekend. The toy executive made extrapolations from the sales volume through the use of the computer models that are designed to reduce unusual explanations for the increment of the sales volume. The forecast from the software anticipated that the demand was 700,000 units and it took a week for the firm to arrange for the increment.

Plant’s requirement to hire additional workforce, need to seek for more materials and the parts as well as molds that tend to make the plastic parts that can produce one unit in forty seconds. The firm dealt with the challenge by determining the constraint of the product strategy that less of approximately 41 metal molds. The advancement in the mold design helped in the reduction of toys fail rate from 5 percent to 0.3 percent.

Discovery the specialized materials that they required for the production of toys. The firm required a plant that could be drool resistant as well as absorb ink. Capable toys and leapfrog resolved the problems by tapping their network of the suppliers to find for another supplier as well as hiring the US company that will do the printing.

Air transportation Strengths Little capital tie-up Frequent, fast speeds and security Low risk degree of damages and theft Weaknesses Higher transportation costs Sea transportation Strengths

Large volume transported

Environmental friendly There were no stop over from Hong Kong to Los Angeles Weaknesses Slow due to water network Higher capitals expenditure Leapfrog will have selected to ship the goods through water network for the added standard stopovers from Hong Kong to Los Angeles so as to reduce the costs.

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SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES AT LEAPFROG CASE STUDY

Operations & Supply Chain Management

1. Draw a map of the supply chain for LeapFrog, including the retailers,

Capable Toys, and suppliers of key materials (such as Tyvek). Which supply

chain partners are “upstream” of LeapFrog? Which are “downstream”?

Which partners are first-tier suppliers? Second-tier suppliers?

* Retailers includes but not limited to the names listed

The "upstream" flow refers to the movement of a number of elements, such as

material goods, to the supplier, that is, the "source" of the product supply chain.

Hence, LeapFrog’s suppliers are its upstream partners. "Downstream" refers to

movement in the direction of the customer, or even the consumer. Thus,

downstream supply chain management refers to retailer and may also be parents

(main consumers.)

2. What data ultimately led to LeapFrog’s decision to increase production levels

of the LittleTouch LeapPads? Where did these data come from? How long

after interpreting these data did LeapFrog start talking with Capable Toys

about increasing production levels? Days, weeks, months?

On August 11 2003, the nationwide sales of LeapFrog’s LeapPads totaled to 360

units in its introductory weekend. With this data, Mr. Kevin Carlson – Toy

Executive- made various extrapolations from the sales through four computer

models designed to eliminate any unusual explanations for the sudden increase in

sales. There turned out to be no anomalies whatsoever, deeming the spike in

demand genuine. According to the forecasting software, the projected holiday

demand was 700 000 units, 50 percent more than what was planned to ship. It

took only a matter of days ( a week at most) for LeapFrog to arrange the increase

in production with Capable Toys, having had already the additional set of tools

ordered in late August. This fast reaction to growing demands is all made possible

by technology and global supply chains. Nowadays retailers are less guarded on

their market data and allow suppliers to have access to sales databases overnight,

making data tracking and demographic analysis much easier and convenient.

3. What part of the production process limited output levels at Capable Toys?

How did Capable respond to the challenge?

There were 3 issues that limited the increase in production levels:

i. Molds that make the plastic parts can pump out only 1 unit every 40

ii. The need to find more raw materials & custom made parts

iii. The plant’s need to hire more workers

Out of the three, the first issue brought on the most strain in increasing output

Capable Toys specializes in design and supply chain efficiencies that

‘dramatically speed up manufacturing processes.’ What the factory did was, first,

to determine the limitation of the product design, which were LittleTouch’s 41

metal molds called tools. One set of tools produces a maximum of 1750 units per

day. The factory originally had 2 sets of tools running (producing a total of 3500

per day) but in order to increase the movement of production a third set was added

in late August and the fourth set a week later. Mr. Huang, the engineering

supervisor of Capable Toys, not only produced the extra sets but also increased

output to 6300 units per day when the third set was installed- a 20% improvement.

In addition, the improvements made to the mold designs reduced the toys fail rate

from the initial 5% to 0.3%.

4. What were some of the material sourcing challenges facing LeapFrog and

Capable Toys? How did they resolve these problems?

Material sourcing challenges that LeapFrog and Capable Toys were facing:

Finding the specialized materials they needed for toys they produced.

Each toy was equipped with a mini-speaker and three microchips that

could translate a child’s touch into a signal for the toy’s “brain”. However,

Capable Toys faced a trouble finding supplier that could provide them

touch-sensitive membranes.

LeapFrog needed something that would be drool-resistant and still

absorb ink. The material called Tyvek, was made by Dupont Co. Usually,

homebuilders use Tyvek as a part of the insulation process because it is

water-resistant and still breaths.

Nevertheless, LeapFrog and Capable Toys managed to resolve the problems

Tapping their network of suppliers to seek a second vendor that would

provide them touch-sensitive membranes.

Hiring the US company to do the printing, so that they can get Tyvek

through a third-party supplier or a book-printing firm. This option added

50 to 60 cents per book in production costs, yet it was worth it because

maintaining the company’s long-term image was important for them.

5. What type of logistics solutions did Leap Frog use to get the toys to the stores

on time? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these solutions? If it had

been August rather than December, what other options might LeapFrog have

AIR FREIGHT

Air transport is suited for valuable goods and high-speed shipments

- Fast speeds, frequency and security

- Little capital tie-up

- Low risk of theft and damage

- Cost-efficient transport of light parts

Weaknesses:

- High transport costs for bulk goods; at $10- $15 per

lightweight, but bulky, toy, air shipping sliced the company’s

profit on those LittleTouch shipments to almost nothing.

SEA FREIGHT

Ocean shipping is suited for the intercontinental shipment of bulk cargo,

bulky goods and dangerous materials such as oil and gas over large

- No stopovers within 14 days from Hong Kong to Lost Angeles.

- Environmentally friendly

- Large transport volume

- High capital costs

- Slow Tied to the water network

Due to the critical nature of delivering the products at an immediate time – in

order to save declining sales that was due to the scarcity of the product- the

company was forced to spend on the most expensive yet fastest means of

shipping, air freight. This squeezed Leapfrog’s profits despite the ever-growing

demand in the month of December. To put into perspective, if it were August,

where demand was only slowly picking up and an abundant stock of the

LittleTouch toy available (350 000 units were made initially); LeapFrog would’ve

chosen to ship the products by sea freight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles with

added standard stopovers in order to minimize expenditures.

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A human-centered, high-value approach to eliminating TB in India.

TB in India is a case in point that buying more healthcare doesn’t necessarily produce better health.

In 2020 Leapfrog to Value and USAID partnered to make the case for applying value-based care to addressing India’s TB epidemic.

USAID India Mission subsequently invested $8M in an ambitious 3 year program to test our core hypothesis: a human-centered approach to TB care can produce better outcomes at a better cost.

World Health Partners leads implementation of this program in four districts in Gujarat and Jharkhand.

California Transparency in Supply Chains Act Disclosure

Last updated: august 9, 2023.

LeapFrog (together with group of companies of VTech Holdings Ltd.) makes this disclosure pursuant to the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, a law designed to increase the amount of information manufacturers and retailers make public regarding their efforts to address the issue of slavery and human trafficking in their supply chains.

At LeapFrog, we are committed to conducting our business in a lawful and ethical manner, and we expect the same from our suppliers. As part of this commitment, we have no tolerance for slavery or human trafficking in our supply chain.

LeapFrog has taken the following steps to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from its supply chain:

Verification.  LeapFrog strives to establish and maintain close working relationships with its suppliers. LeapFrog does not rely upon third parties to verify its product supply chains in order to evaluate and address risks of slavery and human trafficking.

Supplier Audits.  LeapFrog's own factory in China is audited frequently by major U.S. retailers, partly for the purpose of establishing compliance with applicable laws, as well as their own corporate policies on employment and workplace standards. LeapFrog also has a program to conduct announced audits of its suppliers by its in-house designated team including Quality Assurance Team.

Certification.  While LeapFrog does not require its suppliers to certify that materials incorporated into their products comply with the slavery and human trafficking laws of the countries where they are doing business, LeapFrog's standard purchasing agreement includes requirements that our suppliers comply with all applicable laws, including laws that govern slavery, human trafficking, and other exploitative labor practices.

Internal Accountability.  All LeapFrog employees are required to comply with our written, company-wide ethical code, which promotes honest and ethical conduct, as well as legal and regulatory compliance. LeapFrog’s ethical code requires all employees to follow all applicable laws, including those prohibiting forced labor or trafficking.

Employee Training and Accountability.  We provide training on human rights for our employees. Employees that interact with suppliers are expected to report any potentially unlawful or unethical conduct that comes to their attention, including the presence of slavery or human trafficking in LeapFrog’s supply chain. Under our Whistleblower Policy, any such report will be promptly and appropriately investigated.

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• CASE STUDY: SUPPLY CHAIN...

CASE STUDY: SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES AT LEAPFROG Introduction A supply chain consists of a network...

CASE STUDY:

SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES AT LEAPFROG Introduction A supply chain consists of a network of companies linked together by physical, information, and monetary flows. When supply chain partners work together, they are able to accomplish things that an individual firm would find difficult, if not impossible, to do. Few cases illustrate this better than the situation faced by LeapFrog in August 2003.9,10 LeapFrog, which describes itself as a “leading designer, developer and marketer of innovative, technology-based educational products and related proprietary content,”11 had just introduced a new educational product called the LittleTouch LeapPad. The distinguishing feature of the LeapPad, whose target market was toddlers, was that it combined high-tech materials and sophisticated electronics to create an interactive “book” that made appropriate sounds when a child touched certain words or pictures. While LeapFrog was confident the toy would be popular, no one—including the retailers, LeapFrog, and Capable Toys, the Chinese manufacturer who had primary responsibility for producing the LeapPads—knew for sure what actual consumer demand would be. Such uncertainty, which is typical for the toy industry, can be particularly problematic because the demand for toys is concentrated around the November and December holiday season, giving supply chain partners little time to react. Furthermore, toy companies planning for holiday sales have traditionally had to place orders many months in advance—in February or March—to allow enough time for products to work their way through the supply chain and to retailers’ shelves. In effect, toy companies had one chance to get it right. If a toy company ordered too few copies of a particular toy in February or March, customers in November and December went away disappointed, and the toy company lost significant revenues; if a toy company ordered too many, the result was leftover toys that had to be sold at a steep discount or loss.

By 2003, however, LeapFrog had developed a new approach that used sophisticated forecasting systems, fast information flows and cooperation between supply chain partners, and a flexible manufacturing base to improve the responsiveness of the toy supply chain. Here’s how it happened. E-commerce, Relationship Management, and Forecasting The first inkling that the LittleTouch LeapPad was a hit came in early August 2003, when major retailers such as Target and Toys “R” Us showed sales of 360 units during the introductory weekend. In previous years, these retailers might have hesitated to share such detailed sales information with a toy company. By 2003, however, retailers realized that sharing sales information in real-time with LeapFrog would increase the toy company’s odds of meeting surging market demand. The result was that by the Monday following the introductory weekend, LeapFrog knew about the weekend sales figures. While 360 units might not seem like a lot, LeapFrog’s forecasting models indicated that if the trend continued, holiday demand for LeapPads would be approximately 700,000, more than double what LeapFrog had requested be produced by Capable Toys. LeapFrog and its manufacturing and logistics supply chain partners would have to find a way to produce another 350,000 LeapPads and move them to retail stores, all within a few months. Supply Chain Constraints Within days of developing the revamped demand forecast, LeapFrog started to work with Capable Toys to identify what steps would need to be taken to increase production levels. They found that several constraints had to be resolved:

Production molding constraints. To manufacture the required plastic parts used in the LeapPad, Capable Toys had designed and built two sets of mold tools capable of producing the equivalent of 3,500 LeapPads each day. If these mold tools were run for 60 days, they could produce only 3,500 * 60 = 210,000 additional units—far short of the quantity needed. Material constraints. Capable Toys and LeapFrog faced a limited supply of key components, including custom-designed electronics and Tyvek, a special water- (i.e., drool-) proof paper. Logistics constraints. Even if Capable Toys was able to produce the additional toys required, LeapFrog had to consider how best to get those units from China to U.S. retail shelves. Traditionally, toys produced in China traveled by ship. Although this option was relatively slow, it kept costs down. But with production creeping into September and October, LeapFrog had to consider other, more expensive, options. How did LeapFrog and its supply chain partners resolve these constraints? First, Capable Toys put its in-house engineers to work designing two additional mold sets. The thirdmold set, which went online in October and improved on the design of the earlier two sets, allowed Capable Toys to increase its production of LeapPads from 3,500 to 6,300 units per day, an 80% increase. At the same time, Capable Toys called on its first-tier suppliers to help identify additional sources for the specialized chips, membranes, and other electronics used in the LeapPads. Finding a source for the Tyvek paper was a little bit trickier; to gain access to this key material, LeapFrog had to contract with a U.S. company for the printing. While this added to the product’s costs, LeapFrog management felt this was a better alternative than running out of units and alienating retailers and their customers. With the production capacity and material constraints resolved, LeapFrog had one final problem—getting the units to the stores in time for the holiday season. Because of the short lead time, LeapFrog was forced to use air shipping and special fast shipping, which added $10 to $15 to the cost of each LeapPad. These additional costs ate into the profit of the LeapPad, which sold for $35, but as with the Tyvek paper, LeapFrog management felt that the long-term satisfaction of retailers and customers outweighed the additional costs. In the end, the decisions LeapFrog made to respond to the surging demand for LeapPads turned out to be the right one. While LeapFrog has struggled financially in recent years, in 2010 the company made $4.9 million on sales of $432.6 million.12 And the company has used its success with the LeapPad product line (discontinued in 2008) to launch a wider range of educational toys that incorporate even more sophisticated electronics.

 Questions 1. Draw a map of the supply chain for LeapFrog, including the retailers, Capable Toys, and suppliers of key materials (i.e., Tyvek). Which supply chain partners are upstream of LeapFrog? Which are downstream? Which partners are first-tier suppliers? Second-tier suppliers? 2. What data ultimately led to LeapFrog’s decision to increase production levels of the LittleTouch LeapPads? Where did these data come from? How long after interpreting these data did LeapFrog start talking with Capable Toys about increasing production levels? Was it days, weeks, or months? 3. What part of the production process limited output levels at Capable Toys? How did Capable respond to the challenge? 4. What were some of the material sourcing challenges LeapFrog and Capable Toys faced? How did they resolve these problems? 5. What type of logistics solutions did LeapFrog use to get the toys to the stores on time? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these solutions? If it had been August rather than December, what other options might LeapFrog have used?

Providenci Wintheiser Verified Expert

1013 Answers

The "upstream" flow refers to the movement of a number of elements, such as material goods, to the supplier, that is, the "source" of the product supply chain. Hence, LeapFrog’s suppliers are its upstream partners. "Downstream" refers to movement in the direction of the customer, or even the consumer. Thus, downstream supply chain management refers to retailer and may also be parents (main consumers).

On 11th August 2003, there were almost 360 units of LeapFrog’s LeapPads were sold in the entire country in its introductory weekend. With the help of this data, a number of extrapolation was made by Mr. Kevin Carlson – Toy Executive from the sales by using four different computer models that we’re able to eliminate any kind of unusual explanation for the unexpected rise in sales figures. In the analysis, no anomalies were found which could result in a sudden increase in sales. In fact, the forecasting software predicted the holiday demand to be 700000 units which were 50% more than the number of units transported. The company took only a few days to increase its production with Capable Toys. With the help of a global chain and the latest technology, the firm was able to induce the production level to meet the unexpected rise in sales.

The increase in the production level was restricted by the three main issues which are as follows-

• The mold which is used to make the plastic part can pump only 1 unit in 40 seconds
• There were the requirements of finding out the raw materials and customized parts
• There was the requirement of hiring more manpower

What the factory did was, first, to determine the limitation of the product design, which were LittleTouch’s 41 metal molds called tools. One set of tools produces a maximum of 1750 units per day. The factory originally had 2 sets of tools running (producing a total of 3500 per day) but in order to increase the movement of production a third set was added in late August and the fourth set a week later. Mr. Huang, the engineering supervisor of Capable Toys, not only produced the extra sets but also increased output to 6300 units per day when the third set was installed- a 20% improvement. In addition, the improvements made to the mold designs reduced the toys fail rate from the initial 5% to 0.3%.

Material sourcing challenges that LeapFrog and Capable Toys were facing are as follows-

LeapFrog needed something that would be drool-resistant and still absorb ink. The material called Tyvek, was made by Dupont Co. Usually, homebuilders use Tyvek as a part of the insulation process because it is water-resistant and still breaths.

Finding the specialized materials they needed for toys they produced. Each toy was equipped with a mini-speaker and three microchips that could translate a child’s touch into a signal for the toy’s “brain”. However, Capable Toys faced a trouble finding supplier that could provide them touch-sensitive membranes.

They managed to resolve the problems by tapping their network of suppliers to seek a second vendor that would provide them touch-sensitive membranes. Also, by hiring the US company to do the printing, so that they can get Tyvek through a third-party supplier or a book-printing firm.

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