Company Background
In what year was Scientific Glass, Inc. founded?
1992
Scientific Glass supplies products primarily to organizations in these fields.
pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, hospitals, research labs, and quality-control labs
Name two types of competitors that Scientific Glass faces in the laboratory equipment market.
large laboratory equipment providers like Thermo Fisher Scientific and smaller companies like Ace Glass
What new position was created at SG to address ongoing inventory issues?
Manager of Inventory Planning
SG’s estimated cost of capital used to evaluate inventory and warehousing changes is this percentage.
14%
What is the primary product that Scientific Glass, Inc. manufactures?
laboratory glassware
Which two global markets have shown growth for SG compared to North America?
Asia-Pacific and Latin America
What issue with inventory management led SG to hire a new Manager of Inventory Planning?
excess inventory
Scientific Glass aims to achieve a high service level to reduce stockouts. What inventory level target do they maintain to achieve this?
99% service level
The company’s inventory management system was affected by a significant percentage of raw materials and work-in-process inventory. What is this percentage?
25%
Scientific Glass first focused its sales efforts on this market
North America
Approximately what percentage of SG’s total sales comes from North America?
70%
SG’s management set a maximum debt-to-total-capital ratio to maintain financial health. What is this target?
40%
SG considers outsourcing its warehousing to a logistics company based in this city
Atlanta
What inventory turnover rate was SG historically able to achieve before its recent inventory issues?
6.0
What level of service does SG aim to achieve to ensure maximum product availability for customers?
99% service level
SG initially expanded into Europe by partnering with this type of business
a distributor
What was one of SG’s major goals in adding regional warehouses across North America
reducing order delivery time
What is the term used at SG for costs incurred when inventory is stored but not sold?
overage costs
The regional warehouses incur costs amounting to this percentage of the value of stored inventory
15%
What was SG’s revenue in 2009, reflecting its success in the industry?
$86 million
What innovative quality of SG’s products has helped the company establish its market niche?
durability and innovative design
What strategy did SG consider to centralize its inventory management in one primary location?
centralization of warehousing in Waltham, Massachusetts
What key advantage does SG expect by centralizing its inventory management system?
inventory pooling to better meet demand.
SG’s industry, the scientific glassware market, has shown an estimated annual growth rate within this range.
3% to 5%