Chaptor8 capacy meragomert Seasonal salads Lettuce is an all-year-round ingredient for most salads, but ‘bot the harvesting ofthe crop an is demand are seasonal Lettuces are perishable and must be kept in cold stores: and transportad in refrigerated vehicles. Even then the product only stays fresh for a maximum of a week. In most north European countries, demand continues throughout the winter at around haif the summer levels, but outdoor crops cannot be grown during the winter months. Glasshouse cultivation Is possible but expensive One of Europe's largest lettuce growers is G's Fresh ‘Salacs. Their supermarket customers requir fresh produce to be delivered 364 days a year, but because ofthe limitations of the English growing season, the ‘company has developed other sources of supply in Europe, t acquired a farm and packhouse in the Murcia region of south-eastern Spain, which provides the bulk of salad crops during the winter, ransported dally to the UK by a floot of reigorated trucks. Further top-up produce is imported by air from around the word Salas forecasts are agreed with the individual supermarkets wellin advance, allowing the planting and growing programmes to be matched tothe anticipated level of sales. However, the programme is only @ rough guide. ‘The supermarkets may change ther orders right up to the afternoon of the preceding day. Weather is a dominant factor. Fis, it determines supply -how well the crop grows ‘and how easy It sto harvest. Second, it influences sales ~ Cold, wet periods during the summer discourage the eating of salads, whereas hot spelis boost demand greatly. The fluctuating nature ofthe actual sales isthe result of a combination of weather-related avaiabily and supermarket demand, These do not always match. When demand is higher than expected, the picking rigs and their crews Continue to work into the midi of night, under floodlights ‘Another capacity problem is the operation's staffing levels. It retes on temporary seasonal harvesting and packing staff to supplement the fulltime employees for both the English and Spanish seasons. Since most of the crop is transported to the UK in bulk, large permanent Staff i maintained for packing and distribution in the UK. ‘The majority of the Spanish woraforce is temporary, with only a small number retained during the extremely hot ‘summer to grow and harvest other crops such as melons. The specialist lettuce harvesting machines the ‘rige) fare shipped over to Spain every year at the end of the English season, 6o that the company can achieve maximum utilization from all his expensive capital equipment. These Figs not only enablo vary high productivity ofthe pickers, but also ensure the best possible conditions for quality packing and rapid transportation to the cold stores. number of staff operate the same processes and should therefore be capable of delivering the same aggregate output in each period. Where non-perishable materials are processed, but not immediately sold, they can be transferred to finished goods inventory in anticipation of sales at a later time. Thus this plan is feasible (but not necessarily desirable) for our examples of the woollen knitwear company and the aluminium producer (see Figure 8.6). Level capacity plans of this type can achieve the objectives of stable employment patterns, high process utilization, and usually also high productivity with low unit costs. Unfortunately, they can also create considerable inventory which has to be financed and stored. Perhaps the biggest problem, however, is that decisions have to be taken as to what to produce for inventory rather than for immediate sale, Will green woollen sweaters knitted in July still be fashionable in October? Could a particular sluminium alloy ina specific sectional shape still be sold months after it has been produced? Most firms operating this plan, therefore, give priority to only creating inventory where future sales are relatively certain and unlikely tobe affected by changes in fashion or design. Clearly such plans are not suitable for ‘perishable’ products, such as foods and some pharmaceuticals, for products where fashion changes rapidly and unpredictably (for example, popular music CDs, fashion garments), or for customized products. level capacity plan could also be used by the hotel and supermarket, although this would not be the usual approach of such organizations, because it usually results in a waste of staff