Catnap Pet Products

Catnap Pet Products

CPP, based in Saskatchewan, Canada, is a manufacturer of specialty wicker pet

carriers. Ranging in size and color, these items are stylish and functional. Annual sales

have averaged 50,000 in the past three years with each unit being sold at $99.95 to

$279.99. CPP sells directly on the internet or through several mail order partners and has

no major competitors. Catnappers are made of four components: the wire frame and door,

the plastic floor pan, weaved resin panels, and the shipping boxes. All of these

components come from both the US and Mexico as well as Canada. The components are

assembled, packaged, and shipped from CPP's warehouse in Saskatchewan. Excel

macros is the software of choice when developing quarterly forecasts.

Approximately 35% of CPP's customer order directly from the website, the other 65% is through catalog companies. These catalog companies all have different ways of placing their orders, but all orders are shipped directly from CPP, as no inventory is held by the companies. CPP uses several technology tools to aid in their business. Some of these include an e-commerce package to manage the website, a warehouse inventory management system, and accounting software.

At a recent trade show, PETCO and Target showed interest in carrying CPP's products. Projected volume would be increased to 250,000 units. CPP executives were ecstatic but quickly realized that the Saskatchewan facility and their 'information

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February 3rd, 2013

system' could not support such volume. CPP executives conducted a meeting, and the initial basic strategy was to continue to serve their existing customers through existing facilities and use a contract manufacturer in China to produce Catnappers for PETCO and Target. The product would be shipped to San Diego, CA via ocean container and managed by a third party logistics company to facilitate final delivery to PETCO and Target.

Given its volume growth and supply chain process changes, what technology

challenges will CPP face?

The technology challenges that CPP will face such as the current capabilities of their information system can not sustain the increase in unit volume. The website they currently have for customers to order from use only 35% volume usage which need to be updated or changed. Their e-commerce package system have to be updated or changed to suit the capacity of the upcoming product sales. The warehouse management system will have to be changed and increased due to the huge demand of products needed by customers. The inventory level will need to be increased as well as the help with routing, documentation, labeling, and tracking. Additionally, the structured query language (SQL) database, spreadsheets, and accounting software package are used to handle and make functional their current annual sales of 50,000 units, it will have to be updated or replaced with a software system that is capable of acquiring the information needed to handle and function perfectly with annual sales of