Case Study on Mattel

“Mattel has rigorous procedures, and we will continue to be vigilant and unforgiving in enforcing quality and safety.”

Mattel Inc., a global leader in design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products was caught in wrong side of the news and faced with a Senate hearing after it was accused of having sold toys coated with lead paint and faulty magnets that caused death to a toddler and injury to 12 children. It was also caught up in one of the biggest recalls in the company history amounting to 20 million toys. Being a company selling its toys to 150 nations and accounting for $ 592,000 million in sales and targeting children as the primary customer, it has to ensure the highest levels of safety in terms of its manufacturing and packing processes. Here in this case safety of the children was at stake and no parent can tolerate that. On further analysis of the situation

With the effects of Globalization and outsourcing in the 20th century, Mattel was manufacturing about 65 percent of its toys from the five factories it had setup in China as of 2007. They had formulated their own code of conduct called the Global Manufacturing Principles which laid down guidelines for its working conditions and to its quality and safety. All of Mattel’s factories, contractors and suppliers were to oblige by the guidelines set. They had audits of their own organization and of its contractors once every three years by International Center for Corporation Accountability (ICCA) to assure compliance with the standards set out in their GMP. To safeguard safety and guarantee of their products, Mattel tested its products at its own facilities and also in special test labs. They also required their vendors to purchase paint from certified vendors who were evaluated based on their guidelines to ensure compliance with lead level standards. Regardless of these strict measures Mattel enforced on itself and on its suppliers, they still ended up in a pile of mess that brought them to...