Mattel - Ruth Handler Innovating Mattel and Barbie & Sustaining Innovation Leadership in Mattel's Toy World

MATTEL

Ruth Handler Innovating Mattel and Barbie & Sustaining Innovation Leadership in Mattel's Toy World

Management of Supply Chain Operations

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................ 3

Critical Strategic Milestone ........................................................................................ 3

Mattel Timeline ............................................................................................. 4

Organization Wide Supply Chain Issues ....................................................................... 5

Safety ......................................................................................................... 5

Security ....................................................................................................... 7

Profitability and Investment .............................................................................. 7

Protecting Intellectual Property ......................................................................... 8

Management and Leadership of Mattel ........................................................................ 8

Ruth Handler ................................................................................................ 8

John Amerman ............................................................................................. 9

Jill Barad ..................................................................................................... 9

Robert Eckert ............................................................................................. 10

Performance Change Over Time .............................................................................. 10

Sales/Cost .................................................................................................. 11

Quality ...................................................................................................... 11

Supply Chain Performance ........................................................................... 12

Application and Analysis ......................................................................................... 13

Systems Thinking ........................................................................................ 13

4 Step Stakeholder Analysis .......................................................................... 13

MACRO Industry Analysis ............................................................................ 14

Dynamic 4 Forces ....................................................................................... 15

Customer Preference ......................................................................... 15

Competitors Actions ........................................................................... 15

Critical Regulatory Environment ........................................................... 16

Core Competency ............................................................................. 17

SWOT Analysis ......................................................................................... 18

Recommendations ............................................................................................... 19

Short-Term ................................................................................................ 19

Long-Term ................................................................................................. 20

Expected Results .................................................................................................. 20

Appendix: References ............................................................................................ 21

Executive Summary:

The purpose of this case study is to explore the inner workings of Mattel, Inc., a leader in the toy industry. The topic is illustrated by looking at the following: critical strategic milestones, supply chain operations management issues, management and leadership of the firm, performance change over time, a detailed analysis of systems thinking, shareholder analysis, dynamic 4 forces, SWOT analysis, short/long-term recommendations, and expected results.

Secondary research was conducted to provide insight into Mattel's supply chain management and update the case to the present. This research includes scholarly journals, interviews, Forbes, newspaper, and the Mattel website. The research provided many key findings.

First, Mattel faced internal struggles with multiple CEOs, all with different strategic methods. Jill Barad was a woman with a mission and ultimately put Mattel in a negative financial position through her many mergers and acquisitions. Second, Mattel outsourced all operations. Third, after the 2007 recall, Mattel moved all toy-prototype creations in-house to project their intellectual property and ensure safety before moving product overseas. Mattel also implemented checks and balances with their Chinese suppliers. Finally, Mattel continues to innovate with consumer trends as they have slowly expanded into digital and online as an extension of their physical toys.

In the short term, Mattel should maintain their cost and production expenses with Chinese manufacturers and expand digitally. Keeping costs in the supply chain low has been a key component to Mattel's success. Now that Mattel has implemented regular audits the production quality has increased. Digital is another area where Mattel needs to enter in order to capitalize on trends and engage the youth.