Case: Custom Fabricators. Inc. – from Lean Manufacturing Partner to

By upgrading their brand, it will help to identify the qualities of the products that set it apart from the competition. They have to make the

We evaluated our company’s position in the industry, and found ourselves in an excellent starting position to further develop our products and match them to the industry’s needs. Our market share is adequate and we can advance further with our strategy improve and reposition our products in the coming years. We have underutilized capacity, which we intend to improve, while increasing automation to reduce costs. We have plans to improve our promotion to improve product awareness and with the appropriate product lines we will increase price to improve margins and better align our high-end product image. Our current financial position is optimistic, showing our leverage (Assets/Equity) at 2.0, when our goal is to maintain 1.5-2.0 overall. By utilizing the analysis tools we are learning what elements are driving demand, how to effectively tailor our products through R&D, how best to adjust our marketing and pricing, while lowering input costs, in order to improve margins and to ensure our stakeholders are all satisfied.

Forecasting activity being carried on by the principals of Fantastic for their business of ceiling fans marketing and assembling that was rapidly growing. Basic purpose behind making the forecasts was the decision on assembling and importing ceiling fans. The idea was to find a low priced, “assemble it yourself fan” from Taiwan and Hong Kong. These ceiling fans were cost effective as they reduced cooling cost during summer and heating cost during winter.

Parts Emporium, Inc. is a wholesale distributor of automobile parts formed by two disenchanted auto mechanics, Dan Block and Ed Spriggs. Originally located in Block’s garage, the firm showed slow but steady growth for 7 years before it relocated to an old, abandoned meat-packing warehouse on Chicago’s South Side. With increased space for inventory storage, the company was able to begin offering an expanded line of auto parts. Fifteen years later, Parts Emporium was the largest independent distributor of auto parts in the north central region.

its brand to more quality-oriented and had adjusted model prices in the view of new

We aimed to win market share by appealing to cost-conscious or price-sensitive customers, which we felt that the majority of consumers consisted of. This would be achieved by having the lowest prices in the target market segment, or at least the lowest price to value ratio (price compared to what customers receive). To succeed at offering the lowest price while still achieving profitability and a high return on investment, it was evident that we had to be able to operate at a lower cost than our rivals. We aimed to achieve this goal though a combination of two methods, the first being achieving a high asset turnover. In the manufacturing of our cameras, we wanted to achieve the production of high volumes of output. In theory this approach meant fixed costs would be spread over a larger number of units of the product or service, resulting in a lower unit cost. We hoped to take advantage of economies of scale and experience curve effects[3]. We hoped and realised that higher levels of output both required and resulted in a higher market share, and created an entry barrier to potential competitors, who may be unable to achieve the scale necessary to match our low costs and prices.

The Project Management Institute states the stakeholders are individuals a group or an organization that have a vested interest or role a particular project and may also be impacted by the project (Morphy, 2017). The project stakeholders for the Winsome Manufacturing are divided into distinctly defined groups by departments. These departments can consist of design, production / manufacturing, sales purchasing and marketing (Morphy, 2017). The stakeholder’s responsibilities are to follow the instructions assigned by the department managers in order to complete the company’s goals for the manufacturing of the new storage bins (Morphy, 2017). For example, Senior management that are stakeholders provide different

New Product Development : the aggressive investment strategy into R&D division led to speed in releasing new products in the market. This gave the company higher ROI returns projections. The faster cycle of innovation led to multiple product availability in the market which led to further increasing the gap between them and the competitions and also the company indulged in manufacturing self brand products rather than Co-branded or Partnerships.

After analyzing the results from the previous quarter, it was determined that the prices set for each segment were not sufficient. Product sales priority were also not properly adjusted. With the R&D investments, sales priorities needed to be changed for the main focus to become the most profitable market segments. Prices were not competitive which in turned decreased revenue, market share, and profitability. To become more competitive we altered the prices in each market segment. The Workhorse product was the first to change, the price was lowered to $2500 in an attempt to increase sales; at this price Team 4 was still making a profit on this product, as well as making the price much more competitive. The Workhorse sales priority was also lowered to 3rd in Americas and 4th in APAC and EMEA. This product was not selling as well as we had hoped, and was no longer as profitable as it once was which led to this decision. Next, the Innovator product’s price was adjusted; this involved a price increase to $4100. This price was adjusted to include the new

The parts manufacturing process, especially for molds that were previously manufactured and maintained in inventory, is a somewhat different process than that for mold fabrication. Raw material ordered for this process usually takes a week to arrive, contributing to an extended lead time for delivery of parts to clients. Custom Molds' practice of ordering raw materials only after the specification review is clearly affecting the timely delivery of its orders, and in the parts manufacturing industry where delivery times are critical, this can affect the company's relationships with clients.

Moreover, even though producing in Vietnam would suppose a strong saving in cost in the labor-intensive processes, the risk of mold duplications and counterfeits is high. The imitation of the company’s products would eliminate the differentiation that allows them to charge a much higher price than the local manufacturers (15$ compared to 3$). Also, the company lacks of experience establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in a new country.

Do you agree with Water’s decision to keep product 103? Continue Production End Production Sales (Net) $ 26,670,000 $ - (Less) Rent $ 1,882,000 $ 1,882,000 Property Taxes $ 401,000 $ 401,000 Property Insurance $ 534,000 $ 534,000 Compensation Ins. $ 458,000 $ - Direct Labor $ 6,879,000 $ - Indirect Labor $ 2,309,000 $ - Power $ 302,000 $ - Light and Heat $ 106,000 $ - Building Service $ 75,000 $ 75,000 Materials $ 4,851,000 Supplies $ 350,000 $ - Repairs $

The products that had given the company success, were forgotten. For that reason, the new strategy was based to revive those ‘core products’ and bring with them back the values that their founders set at the beginning (Breen 2013). (See Appendix 2)

I. Introduction 1. There are several basic approaches to competing successfully and gaining a competitive advantage, but they all involve giving buyers what they perceive as superior value compared to the offerings of rival sellers. 2. This chapter describes the five basic competitive strategy option for building competitive advantage and delivering superior value to customers – which of the five to

However, this process needs to be automated and accessible to their Chinese manufacturer so they are better able to prepare to fulfill the orders in a timely manner. This purchase order process should be combined with a plan that incentivizes their manufacturer to process their orders quicker. They also need to penalize the manufacture for faulty products and late delivery. Although they currently have a Quality Control process they should have their own representative participate in the QC the process in China.