Operations Management: Processes and Supply Chains, 12th Edition

Solved Problem 4

The Northville Post Office experiences a seasonal pattern of daily mail volume every week. The following data for two representative weeks are expressed in thousands of pieces of mail:

Day	Week 1	Week 2
Sunday	5	8
Monday	20	15
Tuesday	30	32
Wednesday	35	30
Thursday	49	45
Friday	70	70
Saturday	15	10
Total	224	210

1. Calculate a seasonal factor for each day of the week.

2. If the postmaster estimates 230,000 pieces of mail to be sorted next week, forecast the volume for each day of the week.

Solution

1. Calculate the average daily mail volume for each week. Then, for each day of the week, divide the mail volume by the week’s average to get the seasonal factor. Finally, for each day, add the two seasonal factors ...