Attempt only Four Case Study
Case I
PANDIT TO AFAUZI
The case is based on an actual incident which
took place in an Army unit operationally deployed in a field area just a few
months before the 1971 showdown with Pakistan. The opposing forces of India and
Pakistan were taking their respective positions in a pre-war scenario. The
clouds of showdown were looming large over the horizons of both the countries.
The rumbling of own tanks and guns, the reconnaissance, leaders of different
arms and services establishing liaison with one another in the process of
formulating plans for both defence and attack, digging of main and contingency
positions was in progress, complete war machinery was being mobilized, camouflaged, and
concealed. Ammunition and other explosives were being unloaded and dug
down. Junior leaders were being briefed and rebriefed, communications were
being checked, and troops were being motivated and looked after as most of them
were green because of their sudden induction in the Army in post war days of 1965.
Such was the scene which convinced all and sundry that war was imminent. Most of the troops looked forward
to a showdown mainly because they wanted to get rid of the heavy ammunition as
also for the mere thrill of it. Those who had not seen a battle, seemed excited
over the prospects of a war and those who had seen the war, took everything in their stride,
displaying a perfect cool, calm and confident countenance.
One Ram Bali Mishra (RBM) was a raw and green
jawan of about 20 years of age and two years' service and naturally had not
seen a war. He was relatively tall, well built with fair complexion. He had
pleasant manners, turned himself out well and spoke well. He was a complete
teetotaler, non-smoker, and a vegetarian. He was well educated and well versed
in religious affairs,
particularly,
of the religion to which most of the unit belonged. In the absence of the religious
teacher of the unit, he held religious institute (dharamsthal) and gave
religious discourses at the dharamsthal to all officers, junior commissioned
officers JCOs), non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and jawans. During the pre-war
days, he was performing the duties of a Sahayak (assistant, formerly known as
orderly) to Gun Position Officer (GPO), a young officer, of the rank of a
Second Lieutenant with one year of service.
RBM's charter of duties included:
(a) attending all the training activities of
his trade (telephone operator) which were being organized in the sub-unit;
(b) making arrangements to get the food from the officers' mess and water
from the tube- well for the office; and
(c) attending the telephone and noting down all the messages for the
office.
By virtue of the nature and timings of these
duties, RBM was excused physical training in the morning and games in the
evening which all other jawans of the sub-unit attended. He was generally happy
with these duties and working with the officer: After a short span of a week or so, the
officer noticed some changes in the behavior of RBM. He also looked pale and
worried. He was less talkative, less lively and his interaction with other jawans
decreased. He started keeping
aloof except where his duties warranted interaction with others. The officer
tried to find the reasons from RBM but nothing emerged except a shy and coy
smile and “aisi to koi baat Nai, Sahib". The officer tried to probe further to find
out if some guilt conscience was bothering him because of some bad habit which young
man of his age is
likely to fall prey to, in the absence, of even visual contact of civil life and
members of the opposite sex.
This was denied vehemently. After another week or so, it was noticed that
RBM had developed constipation, ate very little, felt tired after walking even a few
hundred yards and had become weak. He was interviewed by the officer but nothing
emerged once again. He was sent to the Regimental Medical Officer (RMO). The
RMO inspected him and gave some medicines. On being contacted by the officer, the RMO
mentioned that there was nothing wrong medically with RBM except that he was
scared of the prospects of war. He even disclosed that after having been
medically examined, RBM even started giving a discourse to the RMO on the bad
effects of a war on environment, economy, costs, etc. He stated that people
would be loaded with sufferings; killed, injured, maimed, and would become
homeless. The children would become orphans, women widowed, and the humanity
would suffer. He vehemently advised the RMO to make all attempts to stop the war and
if he could, at least oppose it. After a
brief conversation, the RMO was convinced that all the symptoms pointed to a
fear psychosis of war. He gave some medicines to RBM and sent him to the
sub-unit.
The RMO told the GPO that because of the
worry about the war, RBM had developed problems of digestion and hence, ate
less, became inactive and felt tired quickly. He had earlier been feeling shy
of expressing his apprehensions about the war to others, lest they consider him
a coward. The GPO gave a thought to the whole problem and interviewed RBM,
advising him to attend· all physical activities, including physical training,
weapon training, games, etc. thence on. The officer also planned to keep RBM among
the persons of his trade, specially in the command post which controlled the firing
of the guns, where from the officer himself was expected to control the' fire in case of
breakout of war.
A small cadre (class) was organized for all ranks of the sub-unit to
apprise them of the organization of all arms and services in the army, starting
from the level of a sub-unit. They were explained the tactics in the
battlefields, the deployment patterns of different arms, the pattern and modes of
support by the Air Force, the capabilities of weapons held by them, the
comparative sizes of the countries, India versus Pakistan, and the level of
forces held by them. They were also explained the cause for which they were
there. They were there to make their contribution towards the liberation of
Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), wherefrom about a crore refugees had entered India
because of the repression by Pakistan forces. These refugees had become a
burden on the Indian economy and social structure which India could not afford.
Thus, India, the foremost leader of peace loving nations, had to prepare for
war to ensure return of these refugees to liberated Bangladesh. At times, to
maintain peace, it becomes necessary to resort to war.
The participants were also told about the strength of their Army and
deployment in that area, of course, within the constraints of security
requirements. They were also told that none of them would remain alone even
during the war and that their sub-unit and the unit would always fight
together. They would always have their weapons and ammunitions with them, which
they were very good at firing. The process of medical care, the claim of
evacuation in
case of serious injuries and the enhanced
benefits and compensation
to families in case of death of a soldier, then announced by the government, were
also communicated to them. The reliability of India's friends on the international scene was also intimated. The tactics, capabilities of
aircrafts and weapons, and reliability of Pakistan's friends were also brought out. The
disadvantages and difficulties of supply to the then East Pakistan were
explained to the participants. The geographical location of East Pakistan in
relation to our country was also described. Everybody was convinced of the great
advantages and superiority we had vis-a-vis Pakistan.
Thence on, RBM was a totally changed man. He was noticed to be more active,
intermingling with others at the slightest pretext and opportunity, giving
discourses about loyalty to the country and martyrdom. He took keen interest in
all the training activities, including the digging of a number of contingency gun
positions. He volunteered to go with night patrols too, which operated to shoot bursts of rounds
with light machine guns in trees and groves close-by, whenever the guns were
deployed at a new place. He volunteered to venture out with the line party which was earmarked to lay telephone
lines over long distances through sugarcane fields. He started watching
the slaughtering of goats in the unit. Above all, he started eating eggs, though he did not touch
meat.
This transformation in RBM was a welcome sight and appreciated by all.
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief on seeing RBM becoming a brave
"Fauzi" from a timid "Pandit". The RMO was informed of this transformation.
He too felt happy. His contribution had been no less in diagnosing the cause of sickness
correctly. The cadre was conducted for the whole sub-unit with a view to
eradicate any apprehensions from the minds of others too, in case there were
any, and to educate all.
The cadre proved to be a great success. It motivated the whole lot, made them more
confident and ready
to face the challenge bravely. This was subsequently apparent when the hostilities
started.
QUESTIONS:
1.
What was the cause of
fear in RBM?
2.
What were the symptoms
of fear displayed by RBM?
3.
How did the RMO come
to know of the war phobia of RBM?
4.
What actions should be
taken to avoid building up of fear among the troops? Which of these
steps were taken by the officer?
Case II
HE WHO RIDES A TIGER
In the Year of the Youth, the author took up
a research project on young industrial workers. It involved comparing young and old workers.
Two industries producing the same machines at similar technological level were
selected. One belonged to the private sector and the other to the public
sector. While the latter was started a decade later than the former, it had
achieved greater expansion. Both were located in the same state.
After we obtained necessary permission to conduct our
study, we reached the mofussil town where the private sector industry was located. Before we
could launch our study, as a matter of principle, we wanted to meet the General Secretary of
the workers' union. The Personnel Department was not willing for this. On our
insistence they called the union official. We talked to him for about half an
hour but Personnel Department people were all the time hovering around.
So we fixed a time in the evening to meet him
in the union office in the town. We visited the union office in the evening. The
union was having
problem regarding wage deduction of some workers who did not show up for
overtime. The overtime notice was short and they had not consented either, even then the
management was threatening wage deduction for one week.
The union could hardly do a thing' as they in
the past had burnt their
hands when they had
to unilaterally call off the 106 day old strike in which even their Treasurer had
committed suicide. They were scared to the extent that they had productivity
linked bonus agreement for even 12% bonus. Moreover, a new minuscue union was
recently started in the company.
We visited the new union's office next
evening and held a long discussion. They asked for' our suggestions. The
union believed in legal battles more than agitations. After a visit to the
industry the author visited the state headquarters of the new union. There
every office bearer was surprisingly a lawyer. In the HQ we learnt that after
we left, their union took out a procession and held a meeting in the temple.
Perhaps this was the result of our discussion. While the older union was a
prisoner of its past, the new union was free to write its own history. Workers'
interests were being served perhaps by both.
QUESTIONS FOR
DISCUSSION
1.
Discuss
merits/demerits of the role of strike, agitation and legal approach in unionmanagement
relations.
2.
What role does mutual
trust play in building union-management relations?
CASE III
COMPETITION
AHEAD: VSNL AT CROSS ROADS
The telecom sector had been functioning as a typical government
department right from its inception. With the Department of Telephones (DoT)
being under the exclusive control of the Ministry of Communications, Government
of India (GO!), the system functioned more as a monopoly., With the advent of the LPG process (liberalization, privatization
and globalization) in the early nineties, the telecom department went through a
phase of modernization. A number of new and sophisticated electronic exchanges
were installed which enhanced the capacity and lead to the disappearance of
waiting list for telephone connections. In a landmark decision in 1995-96, the Government of India threw open its gates for private players
in the area of cellular services. LCG and ACG were the two major players to
enter this area in Karnataka region, while DoT decided to remain as an observer
and continued as a provider of basic services only. Subsequently the Internet, ISD and other services were also opened to private participation.
The year 1998 saw the entry of Vikas Telenet (VTNL)
as a basic service provider in the state of Karnataka. It launched its basic services in Bangalore district, the
commercial capital of the state, in January 1998. The impact of this entry was
felt by DoT as it resulted in a mass customer churning, challenging the market
leadership of DoT in basic services. This growing challenge from VTNL made
General Manager DoT Indore, R.L. Rawat realized the need for a comprehensive
review of the competitive scenario. The situation faced by the Bangalore
district was one of its kind. It was the only city where four companies were
providing telephone services. LCG and ACG were providing cellular services
while VTNL and DoT were providing basic services. To attract the
customers all the providers had attractive tariff plans. DoT's market share was
not affected by the entry of LCG and ACG as - they operated
only as cellular service providers and their services carried a premium price. But the entry of VTNL as a basic service provider with attractive
tariff plans showed a marked shift in customer base from DoT to VTNL specially
in case of heavy users make it necessary for DoT to come up with similar
competitive tariff plans.
General Manager Operations DoT Bangalore, S.N. Dutt, felt that
improved services, customer care and
proper pricing would help in winning back the heavy users who accounted for
almost 60 to 65% of the total revenue. Keeping this in mind, a review of VTNL's tariff plans was done (Annexure I). The review revealed that the
customers were getting a distinct price
advantage in the rentals and free calls given by VTNL.
Along with this, a discount ranging from 2.5 to 16% was also
announced by VTNL. S.N. Dutt formulated a comprehensive plan to
guard DoT's market share. Officers were appointed as account holders
and were responsible for rendering personalized customer care to commercially important customers hoping to retain them
with better services. He also formulated a proposal of discounts
which was forwarded to the Circle Head Office (Annexure-II) and a presentation
was made by DGM - Marketing K.K. Sen, highlighting the rate at which customer
churning was taking place and the need for implementation of new tariff plan.
He pleaded with the senior officers that DoT needed to be at least reactive if
not proactive, to sustain itself in the market. The proposal
was well received and forwarded to the Ministry of Communications for approval.
Responding to the need of the hour, the Ministry decided to offer a
comprehensive discount of 2.5 to 16% for its heavy users. The scheme was introduced in Bangalore, which was extended first
to the state of Karnataka and later on to the entire nation.
VTNL, which had so far been concentrating only on the heavy users, decided to now
expand its network to get a wider customer base. With this view in mind, a
number of promotional schemes were introduced e.g., web phone, a
facility for internet usage where access to the net was provided at a cost of
60 paise per call only. It also announced free Internet facility for a year on every new connection. Besides this, VTNL went in for heavy
promotion of its schemes. The careful wording of the schemes and enhancement of
the number of free calls made the customers feel that they were gainers as far
as rentals were concerned. These schemes when launched created very difficult
times for VTNL during May -August 2001. By then, DoT had been
Corporatised (October 1, 2000) and came to be known as VSNL. The Bangalore
office was extremely hopeful that the corporatisation would facilitate. the
implementation of new innovative schemes. For drafting a proposal of
innovative schemes, VSNL first conducted a market research where in -the database of surrendered connections was
used as sample and effort were made to identify the cause of disconnections.
The survey revealed that of the total number of disconnections 30% were due to
economic recession while 40% were due to customer turning in favor of VTNL
while the remaining were due to a multitude of factors interplaying with one
another.
To redeem the situation, VSNL, Bangalore prepared an innovative
plan known as Business Special Plan - Plan 600-800, which offered 800 free
calls on a monthly rental of Rs.600 only. The plan was put forward to Chief
General Manager at Bangalore for approval. The persistent efforts of K.K. Sen
bore fruits and the proposal was approved at the Circle level.
However, at the time of launch K. K. Sen realized that they needed
TRAI's (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) approval for going ahead. To
ensure the unhindered approval of TRAI, modified tariff plans called 500-700
and an economy plan were suggested and sent for approval. While formulating
these plans, an attempt was made to segment the market with an intention to
target each segment with a customized/specific
set of services. Plan 500-700 was targeted at high end users. Here, 700 calls
were offered free on a monthly rental of Rs. 500 only. The economy plan carried
a rental of just Rs.160 per month with a rate of Rs.l.20 per call. This plan
was specially targeted at customers who had more of incoming calls and needed a
facility for meeting their specific requirements. The rolling out of these
schemes had an immediate impact with nearly 8,000 customers coming over to VSNL
Bangalore. Along with these new tariff proposals a number of innovative
strategies were introduced by VSNL, Bangalore.
·
The
initial registration amount was reduced and new subscribers were offered the
facility of paying the amount in installments.
·
Call
centre functioning since February 2001 to deal with customer grievances was
made proactive to ensure better customer care.
·
Training
was given to the front-end-people for updating their skills and changing the
mindsets.
·
Tele-shopping
service was started which provided a one stop shopping facility, giving the customers the option to choose their telephone numbers,
instrument and service.. Installation was assured within 48 hours.
·
Phone-on-Phone
facility was started wherein customers could obtain a connection installed by
simply ringing up for it.
·
A bill
collecting facility was also introduced to further assist the customers.
·
VCC
Le., prepaid cards were introduced and even delivered at the doorsteps of the
customers.
·
Bill
collection in the rural areas by mobile vans was introduced.
·
Linemen
were given pagers to facilitate prompt servicing of faulty telephone lines.
·
Regular
meetings between call centre members and maintenance staff were held to
exchange information and solve grievances.
·
For
motivating and facilitating their employees, free telephone service was
provided to all the employees.
·
An
advertising budget of Rs.30,00,000 (0.2% of the total sales revenue) was
outlined for launching a comprehensive promotion programme using both indoor
and outdoor media ensuring a good coverage of the market.
VSNL – Tariff Structure
|
Scheme
|
Rental (Rs.)
|
Free Colis
|
Facilities
|
|
Business Plan - 500-700*
|
500 (Monthly)
|
700
|
Without STD
|
|
Economy Plan **
|
160 (Monthly)
|
Nil
|
With STD
|
|
Standard Plan*
|
500 (Bimonthly)
|
150
|
With STD
|
|
* 0.80 Per Call
|
** Rs.1 .20
Per Call
|
|
|
VTNL – Tariff Structure
|
Scheme
|
Rental (Rs.)
|
Free Calls
|
|
Silver 300
|
349 (Monthly)
|
300
|
|
Golden – 500
|
499 (Monthly)
|
500
|
~
Questions:
- What were the strengths and weaknesses
of VSNL?
- Do you think that VSNL should have
changed its thrust from basic telephony to cellular services?
- If you were the Deputy General
Manager, what strategies would you have undertaken to deal with the
competition?
Case IV
DISNEY’S
DESIGN
The Walt Disney Company is heralded as the world’s
largest entertainment company. It has
earned this astounding reputation through tight control over the entire
operation : control over the open – ended brainstorming that takes place 24
hours a day ; control over the engineers who construct the fabulous theme –
park rides; control over the animators who create and design beloved characters
and adventurous scenarios ; and control over the talent that brings the many
concepts and characters to life.
Although control pervades the company, it is not too strong a grip. Employees in each department are well aware
of their objectives and the parameters established to meet those
objectives. But in conjunction with the
pre-determined responsibilities, managers at Disney encourage independent and
innovative thinking.
People
at the company have adopted the phrase “Dream as a Team” as a reminder that
whimsical thoughts, adventurous ideas, and all – out dreaming are at the core
of the company philosophy. The over all
control over each department is tempered by this concept. Disney managers strive to empower their
employees by leaving room for their creative juices to flow. In fact, managers at Disney do more than
encourage innovation. They demand
it. Projects assigned to the staff “
imaginers” seem impossible at first glance.
At Disney, doing the seemingly impossible is part of what innovation means. Teams of imaginers gather together in a
brainstorming session known as the “Blue Sky” phase. Under the “Blue Sky”, an uninhibited exchange
of wild, ludicrous, outrageous ideas, both “ good” and “ bad”, continues until
solutions are found and the impossible is done.
By demanding so much of their employees, Disney managers effectively
drive their employees to be creative.
Current
Disney leader Michael Eisner has established the “Dream as a Team”
concept. Eisner realized that managers
at Disney needed to let their employees brainstorm and create with
support. As Disney president Frank Weds
says, “If a good idea is there, you know it, you feel it, you do it, no matter
where it comes from.”
Questions :
1. What environmental factors influenced
management style at Disney?
2. What
kind(s) of organizational structure seem to be consistent with “Dream as a Team” ?
3. How and where might the informal
organization be a real asset at Disney ?
Case V
“THAT’S NOT MY JOB” – LEARNING DELEGATION AT CIN-MADE
When Robert Frey purchased Cin – Made in 1984, the
company was near ruin. The Cincinnati,
Ohi-based manufacturer of paper packaging had not altered its product line in
20 years. Labor costs had hit the
ceiling, while profits were falling through the floor. A solid quarter of the company’s shipments
were late and absenteeism was high.
Management and workers were at each other’s throats.
Ten
years later, Cin – Made is producing a new assortment of highly differentiated
composite cans, and pre-tax profits have increased more than five times. The Cin – Made workforce is both flexible and
deeply committed to the success of the company.
On-time delivery of products has reached 98 percent, and absenteeism has
virtually disappeared. There are even plans
to form two spin – off companies to be owned and operated by Cin-Made
employees. In fact, at the one day
“Future of the American Workforce” conference held in July 1993, Cin-Made was
recognized by President Clinton as one of the best – run companies in the
United States.
“ How
did we achieve this startling turnaround ?”
mused Frey. “Employee empowerment
is one part of the answer. Profit
sharing is another.”
In the
late spring of 1986, relations between management and labor had reached rock
bottom. Having recently suffered a pay
cut, employees at Cin- Made came to work each day, performed the duties
required of their particular positions, and returned home-nothing more. Frey could see that his company was
suffering. “To survive we needed to stop
being worthy adversaries and start being worthy partners,” he realized. Toward this end, Frey decided to call a
meeting with the union. He offered to
restore worker pay to its previous level by the end of the year. On top of that, he offered something no one expected : a 15 percent
share of Cin-Made’s pre-tax profits. “ I do not choose to own a company that
has an adversarial relationship with its employees.” Frey proclaimed at the
meeting. He therefore proposed a new
arrangement that would encourage a collaborative employee-management
relationship “Employee participation
will play an essential role in management.”
Managers
within the company were among the first people to oppose Frey’s new idea of
employee involvement. “My three managers
felt they were paid to be worthy adversaries of the unions.” Frey recalled. It’s what they’d been trained for. It’s what made them good managers. Moreover, they were not used to participation
in any form, certainly not in decision making.”
The workers also resisted the idea of extending themselves beyond the
written requirements of their jobs. “
(Employees) wanted generous wages and benefits, of course, but they did not
want to take responsibility for anything more than doing their own jobs the way
they had always done them,” Frey noted.
Employees were therefore skeptical of Frey’s overtures toward “employee
participation.” “We thought he was
trying to rip us off and shaft us,” explained Ocelia Williams, one of many
Cin-Made employees who distrusted Frey’s plans.
Frey,
however, did not give up, and he eventually convinced the union to agree to his
terms. “ I wouldn’t take no for an
answer,” he asserted. “Once I had made
my two grand pronouncements, I was determined to press ahead and make them come
true.” But still ahead lay the
considerable challenge of convincing employees to take charge :
I made
people meet with me, then instead
Of
telling them what to do, I asked them.
They
resisted.
“ How
can we cut the waste on his run ?” I’d
say, or
“How are we going to allocate the
overtime
on this order ?”
“That’s
not my job,” they’d say.
“But I
need your input,” I’d say. “How in the
World
can we have participative management
If you
won’t participate?
“I don’t
know,” they’d say. “Because that’s
not my
job either. That’s your job. ?”
Gradually,
Frey made progress. Managers began
sharing more information with employees.
Frey was able slowly to expand the responsibilities workers would carry. Managers who were unable to work with employees
left, and union relations began to improve.
Empowerment began to happen. By
1993, Cin Made employees were taking responsibility for numerous tasks. Williams, for example, used to operate a
tin-slitting machine on the company’s factory floor. She still runs that same machine, but now is
also responsible for ordering almost $ 100,000 in supplies.
Williams
is just one example of how job roles and duties have been redefined throughout
Cin-Made. Joyce Bell, president of the
local union, still runs the punch press she always has, but now also serves as
Cin- Made’s corporate safety director.
The company’s scheduling team, composed of one manager and five lead
workers from various plant areas, is charged with setting hours, designating
layoffs, and deciding when temporary help is needed. The hiring review team, staffed by three
hourly employees and two managers, is responsible for interviewing applicants
and deciding whom to hire. An employee
committee performs both short – and long – term planning of labor, materials,
equipment, production runs, packing, and delivery. Employees even meet daily in order to set
their own production schedules. “We
empower employees to make decisions, not just have input,” Frey remarked. “I
just coach.”
Under
Frey’s new management regime, company secrets have virtually disappeared. All Cin-Made employees, from entry-level
employees all the way to the top, take part in running the company. In fact, Frey has delegated so much of the
company’s operations to its workers that he now feels little in the dark. “I
now know very little about what’s going on, on a day-to-day basis,” he
confessed.
At
Cin-Made, empowerment and delegation are more than mere buzzwords; they are the
way of doing business – good business. “We, as workers, have a lot of
opportunities,” said Williams. “If we want to take leadership, it’s offered to
us.”
Questions:
1. How
were principles of delegation and decentralization incorporated into Cine –
Made operations?
2. What are the sources and uses of power
at Cin – Made?
3. What
were some of the barriers to delegation and empowerment at Cin –Made?
4. What
lessons about management in a rapidly changing marketplace can be learned from
the experience of Cin – Made?
Case VI
HIGH-TECH ANSWERS TO DISTRIBUTION PROBLEMS AT
ROLLERBLADE
When a
manger finds that demand exceeds inventory, the answer lies in making more
goods. When a manager finds that inventory exceeds demand, the answer lies in
making fewer goods. But what if a
company management finds that they just do not know which situation applies?
This is
the situation that recently confronted management at Rollerblade, the popular
skate manufacturer based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Rollerblade has been one of
the leading firms in the fast growing high performance roller skate
marketplace, it matters a great deal for Rollerblade managers whether demand
and inventory are in balance, or not.
Rollerblade
was in a bind. The product literally
could not be shipped out the door. The
managers found that workers were not able to ship products because, as a result
of poor storage structures, they could not find the products. Once they were found, overcrowded aisles, in
addition to other space constraints, still prevented efficient shipping because
the workers could barely manage to get the products out the door. “We were out of control because we didn’t
know how to use space and didn’t have enough of it,” said Ian Ellis, director
for facilities and safety. “Basically,
there was no more useable space left in the warehouse, a severe backlog of
customer orders, and picking errors were clearly in the unacceptable range,”
added Ram Krishnan, Principal of NRM Systems, based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The
answer for Rollerblade was found in technology.
High-tech companies have introduced a collection of computer
simulations, ranging in cost roughly from $10,000 to $30,000, that assist
managers in generating effective facility designs. With the help of layout Master IV simulation
software, developed by NRM, Rollerblade Management was able to implement a new
distribution design. As a result of the
distribution improvement, Rollerblade was able to increase the number of
customer orders processed daily from140 to 410 and eliminate order
backlog. “Now we have a different business,”
says Ellis. “The new layout has taken us from being in a crunch, to being able
to plan.
Questions:
1. With
retailers as their primary customers, what customer competitive imperatives
could be affected by Rollerblade’s inventory problems?
2. How
appropriate might a just – in – time inventory system be for a product such as
roller skates?”
3. What
opportunities are therefore Rollerblade managers to see FOR themselves as
selling services, instead of simply roller skates?
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