Case—Production Scheduling at DeLand Crayon Company

DeLand Crayon Company (DCC) is a large manufacturer of molded wax crayons. DCC sells three sizes of crayons, namely standard, large and jumbo. Standard-sized crayons, which account for most of the demand, include nine basic colors (red, blue, green, yellow, orange, violet, brown, black, and white), seven popular combination colors (red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, red-violet, blue-green, blue-violet, and pink), 16 fluorescent colors, and four metallic colors. DCC also manufactures several specialty crayons, such as reduced length, hexagonal shaped, golden glitter, glow-in-the-dark, wipe-off, washable, and keno. Demand for non–standard-size crayons, fluorescent, and metallic-colored standard crayons and the specialty crayons is low and uneven, but DCC believes that they must be maintained to create the perception of a broad product line.