Natural Designs
Natural Designs Inc.
1. What types of decisions must Jim McMaster make on a daily basis for Natural Designs to run smoothly? What kind of decisions must he make on a long-term basis? On a daily basis, Jim must analyze their available supply and anticipate the demand and manage sales in order to balance demands for goods to available supply. Jim must also understand the company’s goals and direct growth decisions based on the mission and desired road map of the company. Jim should also improve manufacturing and delivery systems in order to meet desired delivery time. 2. Describe the operations strategy for Natural Designs. Has this strategy changed as a result of the custom bird feeder operation? If yes, how? Natural designs provided a limited amount of products with different variations available by selecting from the 10 styles. Yes, the strategy changed from providing variety based on fixed and limited designs, to creating variations based on the customer’s desires and specifications
3. What might have been done differently to facilitate the offering of custom bird feeders? Customers may have been provided choices for limited customization, such as variety of colors or finishing’s that they can get it, But not to the extent where the details would consume more labor time resulting to a reduction in profit margins. Pricing would not be fixed at $10 for customization. It should be based on the amount of customization or the detail.
4. How should McMaster analyze the alternative expansion options? Which would you recommend: a second facility or a move to a single, larger facility? We feel as if they should move to a larger facility because they would keep everything in one facility and they would be able to keep the operation going and not have to worry about operations in both facilities where it could make things
1. What types of decisions must Jim McMaster make on a daily basis for Natural Designs to run smoothly? What kind of decisions must he make on a long-term basis? On a daily basis, Jim must analyze their available supply and anticipate the demand and manage sales in order to balance demands for goods to available supply. Jim must also understand the company’s goals and direct growth decisions based on the mission and desired road map of the company. Jim should also improve manufacturing and delivery systems in order to meet desired delivery time. 2. Describe the operations strategy for Natural Designs. Has this strategy changed as a result of the custom bird feeder operation? If yes, how? Natural designs provided a limited amount of products with different variations available by selecting from the 10 styles. Yes, the strategy changed from providing variety based on fixed and limited designs, to creating variations based on the customer’s desires and specifications
3. What might have been done differently to facilitate the offering of custom bird feeders? Customers may have been provided choices for limited customization, such as variety of colors or finishing’s that they can get it, But not to the extent where the details would consume more labor time resulting to a reduction in profit margins. Pricing would not be fixed at $10 for customization. It should be based on the amount of customization or the detail.
4. How should McMaster analyze the alternative expansion options? Which would you recommend: a second facility or a move to a single, larger facility? We feel as if they should move to a larger facility because they would keep everything in one facility and they would be able to keep the operation going and not have to worry about operations in both facilities where it could make things