Question

Problem 1: There are a number of places that make hats. THE HABERDASHER is a custom hat maker that makes made-to-measure hats and customers can choose style, type of material and specialized adornments. Typical hats cost over $500. Headwear is also a hat manufacturer, but it makes large quantities of simple wool hats that are intended to be sold mass-market at a price around $35. They use a single wool felt style and customers can only choose one of three colors and there are no additional options. THE HABERDASHER and Headwear both sell hats, but their company strategies are different resulting in different product attributes and process competencies. Based on the descriptions of the products and companies, complete the following: a. Use the process competencies of process flow time efficiency (ability to process quickly) and process flexibility as your axes, draw a possible operations frontier and describe the strategic positions of THE HABERDASHER and Headwear b. Based on your description of the strategic positions, what process architecture would work the best for each company? C. For each company, specify three different process metrics that could be used to track the effectiveness of their processes towards their strategic position.

Answer 1

a) Possible operations frontier diagram is attached .

" / IF rocess flowtime mettente Headwear IF ceny The efficient frontier Haberdashes E Ability to IHILIYAVALAVALAXIL F [E IF Process flexibility IF | E. Process Headwear New efficient frontier flowtime efficiency Ability to Haberdashert o Haberdashet are flexibility

b) Process architecture :

Based on the strategic positions , Haberdasher would need to increase the Process flow time efficiency by reducing the lead time between various processes , possibly eliminate redundant steps and hence move up the curve .This way they can reduce the waiting time for customers. This can be done by automation to the extent possible keeping in mind their uniqueness of approach .

Headwear should include flexibility in their approach by giving more options to the customers in terms of colour , styling etc. - after doing their process analysis .

C) Haberdasher Process metrics : ( to improve process flow time efficiency )

• Manufacturing cycle time
• Throughput
• capacity utilization

Headwear Process metrics :

• manufacturing cycle time
• time to make changeovers
• Throughput