Concept Design Services

The case is all about CDS (Concept Design services) , earlier they were in to business to consumer business by d product name of “Focus” now they have moved from business to consumer to business to business format. They have tied up with many design house and they give them the design which they manufacture and then distribute to the customer. They also moved from manufacturing focus products to high – quality stylish home wares with a high design value.

CDS has become Europe most profitable home ware businesses; it was originally founded in 1960s. The company has moved from making industrial mouldings mainly in the aerospace sector, and some cheap home ware products. The move into concept was initiated by Marketing Director Linda fleet. She had prior exp in decorative products industry. She had d gut feeling that correct product with appropriate promotion and marketing can earn big profits to the company. The company moved to design house partnership with the facility to provide distribution services as well.

The company changed its manufacturing unit with high end machinery with many moulds which gave them around 600 % increase in productivity. The most successful design partnership was with villessi , Italian design house. Their manufacturing operations were gr8 in terms of scheduling and planning for a product. They had good machinery which utilises their full capacity. There were some challenges for the company as well as there was issue within the company as they were pushed to a limit. But it was good in some way. The main objective or key to future was building and retaining design expertise will be the key to the future.

The company had an edge with design and finishing of the product as they were into making aerospace products which gave them this expertise. Now they are the leader in euro market, but they are thinking what should be their future plans and what product venture they should do in future. Or we can say the issue for debate in company was long term beyond their expertise as the two changes they made earlier were already their strength. Concepts Input transformation output processes.  Operations topology.  General model of operations Management and operation strategy. Questions Why is operations management important in CDS? Operations management is important in CDS (Concept Design services) if they are to continue being one of Europe’s most profitable home ware businesses. As with any other company, CDS objective is to add value to their final product while using its resources effectively and efficiently through its internal processes like planning, scheduling, control, quality. The company has successfully been able to apply the technology used in the aerospace sector into home ware items, through the mastering of injection moulding machines.

Moreover, the company has expanded into a premium home ware product market from low end product i. e. “Focus”, integrating new functions within its operations, such as forming partnerships with reputable designers and increasing the volume and complexity of its production i. e. High design value products and outsources the low end low profit making product i. e. “Focus” brand. Draw a 4 V’s profile for the company’s products/services. Volume: High/ low. it can be drawn that production volume is high as it has increased 600% since the buying of new large multi-cavity moulds and machinery. Another ndication of high volume production is the fact that CDS decided to subcontract their Focus line to other moulding companies, so they could focus on the production of their premium line (Concept Design). But as it’s not mention in the case so we can’t be sure of the volume aspect. It can be low as well high. Variety: High. CDS market is a highly competitive one, in which design innovation determines the longevity i. e. Long term of the firm. CDS capacity of developing products that are in fashion and moreover, its adaptability to change as fashion changes is key to the survival of the firm.

For the same reason as with variety, CDS is forced to continuously produce innovative designs that would keep their customers interested and therefore keep demand high. Visibility:  Mixed high and low.  What would you recommend to the company if you were asked to advice on improving its operations? There are 2 areas that CDS needs to improve: the relationship between its designers and other parts of the company (such as the manufacturing and distribution, planning) and a better forecasting of sales.

The designers don’t get to spend enough or any time on the ‘floor’ of the company, that is, they do not have an in depth understanding of the manufacturing processes and the way they are affected by their decision making. If they could spend some time doing ‘cross training’ they would get a real idea of the manufacturing processes. Departments should have a better collaboration. As per Linda its a fashion industry so predictions can’t be accurate, but it should be to accurate to a point where there is better planning and accuracy of decisions.