Summary Mattel has been criticized heavily for having to recall not once but thrice in 5 weeks 20 million

toys manufactured in China with lead paint and/or loose, potentially dangerous magnets. Clearly Mattel does not have sufficiently tight quality control procedures in its supply chain to compensate for the extra risks of outsourcing to Chinese subcontractors and clearly there are design flaws in the toys with the magnets that could come loose. Although many observers give the company credit for responding to the crisis quickly with an apology from the CEO and pledges to institute more rigorous product safety checks, Mattel still faces a number of problems, including significant costs associated with the recalls and new monitoring systems, potential lawsuits and a hit to its reputation just as the holiday shopping season gets ready to launch1. Introduction Mattel Inc. has recalled more than 20 million toys it manufactured in China, citing problems with lead paint and concerns about loose magnets that children could swallow. Mattel blames the most recent recall on a practice that may be all-too-familiar to engineers with experience manufacturing in China namely, a vendors furtive change in materials or manufacturing processes2.