Notes and Guidance for Completing the CDS Case
Case Synopsis
Concept Design Services (CDS) is a company that has changed from being a manufacturer, initially of precision plastic components and cheap homeware to making very high-quality homewares, then to offering a design, make and distribution service for well-known brands. As we join the firm most of its new business comes from the partnerships formed with design houses. This transition has come in two stages. First was a move into higher margin homeware under the Concept brand name. Second, were design collaborations between the CDS design team and design houses (creative product designers), who rarely manufacture or distribute their products. However, CDS still has some old inexpensive homeware products (called Focus products) as well as the Concept range and its design house partnership work. CDS also has three main functions; design, manufacturing and distribution, although these functions are not equally important to the three types of business.
Question 1: Why is operations management important in CDS?
This is a big question and it is best to tackle it both at a strategic and an operational level.
At a strategic level, operations management has provided the capability, particularly in the design and manufacturing parts of the organization that allows the company to compete so effectively.
At an operational level, one could point out the designs that are cost effective and delivered on time allow the company to be first into the market with new ideas.
There are three types of operation represented in this company.
A design operation that produces the designs for products, sometimes in cooperation with design house designers.
Manufacturing operations that actually produce the products.
Distribution operations that take customer orders at its call centre, assembles the order from the products it keeps in store, and physically distributes the products to the customer
All of these are important as they contribute to the company in different ways.
Question 2: Draw a 4Vs profile for the companys products / services.
Although there is not enough information in the case to perform a rigorous four Vs analysis there is enough to make an informed approximation of what the four Vs profiles of the different product group would look like.
There are three main product groups, Focus products, Concept products, and Design House partnership products. Complete a 4 Vs profile of EACH of these three product groups.
Question 3: What are the implications of the 4Vs profile for designing operations at CDS?
This is a difficult question and requires the students to find specific examples within the case to highlight the implication of each of the 4Vs, for the three main product groups to the design of operations at CDS.
Here, there should be four profiles, one for each of the 4 Vs (Volume, Variety, Variation and Visibility), highlighting the implications of say high or low volume to design.
What we are looking for is specific examples for the three product groups. For example, the Design House Partnership products are low volume and this requires there to be frequent changes in moulds (i.e. low repetition).
Question 4: What would you recommend to the company if they asked you to advise the in improving their operations?
One way of approaching this question is to identify the challenges or problems that are identified in the case. These may include the following:
The move from a company that sells directly to retailers (Focus and Concept products) to one that sells predominantly to design houses (Design House partnership products).
The emerging differences between product groups. The Four Vs analysis indicated that Focus has a very different four Vs profile when compared to both Concept and Design House partnership products. What are the implications for this in how the company processes these three product groups?
Are the resources in the companys operations appropriate for these product groups?
What conflicts are there between the different functions and why?
How is the subcontracting relationship for the Focus products working?
*Use the case study and chapters as sources.
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