Abstract

Chinese Pharmaceuticals (HK) Limited, a private, family-owned business in Hong Kong that supplies Chinese medicine products to retailers in Hong Kong and Macau, faces a situation where additional cash is needed for additional inventory. Jason Kwok, the General Manager is challenged to maintain adequate inventory levels of Noto37, a Chinese herbal medicine used to control cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Without compromising the company’s cash flow needs, Jason has to implement better systems internally, by improving sales forecasting and prudent inventory management, to avoid shortages of the product.

Learning Objectives

The key objectives of the case are to provide students with necessary skills and an understanding of:
deriving reliable and accurate forecasts for inventory replenishment decisions.
Through the case, students will learn to:
1) resolve inventory management issues using a variety of forecasting models;
2) identify the strengths and weaknesses of a particular supply chain design; and
3) evaluate the feasibility of adopting a vertically integrated supply chain.