Based on the below case study state

Plot and critically discuss HFD$$s $4$Vs profile $($Volume$,$ Variety, Variation and Visibility$)$ for the company$$s products

Case Study of Hy Fybo Design $($HFD$)$

I can$$t believe how much we have changed in a relatively short time. From being an inward$-$looking manufacturer, we became a customer$-$focused $$design and make$$ operation. Now we are an integrated service provider. Most of our new business comes from the partnerships we have formed with design houses. In effect, we design products jointly with specialist design houses that have a well$-$known brand and offer them a complete service of manufacturing and distribution. In many ways we are now a B$2$B company rather than a B$2$C $($Tom Jameson, CEO, Hy$-$Fybo$-$Design $($HFD$))$

HFD had become one of Europe$$s most profitable homeware businesses. Founded in the $1960$s$,$ the company had moved from making industrial mouldings, mainly in the aerospace sector, and some cheap $$homeware$$ items such as buckets and dustpans, sold under the $$Fybo$$ brand name, to making very high$-$quality $($expensive$)$ stylish homewares with a high $$design value$.$

The move into $$HFD$$ products

The move into higher$-$margin homeware had been masterminded by Theo Boyas, HFD$$s Marketing Director, who had previously worked for a large chain of paint and wallpaper retailers. $$Experience in the decorative products industry had taught me the importance of fashion and product development, even in mundane products such as paint. Premium$-$priced colours and new textures would become popular for one or two years, supported by appropriate promotion and features in lifestyle magazines. The manufacturers and retailers who created and supported these products were dramatically more profitable than those who simply provided standard ranges. Instinctively, I felt that this must also apply to homeware. We decided to develop a whole coordinated range of such items and to open$-$up a new distribution network for them to serve up$-$market stores, kitchen equipment and speciality retailers. Within a year of launching our first new range of kitchen homeware under the $$HFD$$ brand name, we had over $3,000$ retail outlets signed up$,$ provided with point$-$of$-$sale display facilities. Press coverage generated an enormous interest which was reinforced by the product placement on several TV cookery and $$lifestyle$$ programmes. We soon developed an entirely new market and within two years $$HFD$$ products were providing over $75$ per cent of our revenue and $90$ per cent of our profits. The price realization of HFD products is many times higher than for the Fybo range. To keep ahead we launched new ranges at regular intervals.$$

The move to the house design partnerships

$$Over the last four years, we have been designing, manufacturing, and distributing products for some of the more prestigious design houses. This sort of business is likely to grow, especially in Europe where the design houses appreciate our ability to offer a full service. We can design products in conjunction with their own design staff and offer them a level of manufacturing expertise they can$$t get elsewhere. More significantly, we can offer a distribution service which is tailored to their needs. From the customer$$s point of view the distribution arrangements appear to belong to the House Design itself. In fact, they are based exclusively on our own call centre, warehouse, and distribution resources.$$

The most successful collaboration was with Villessi, the Italian designers. Generally, it was HFD$$s design expertise which was attractive to $$house design$$ partners. Not only did HFD employ professionally respected designers, it had also acquired a reputation for being able to translate difficult technical designs into manufacturable and saleable products. House Design partnerships usually involved relatively long lead times but produced unique products with very high margins, nearly always carrying the house design brand. $$This type of relationship plays to our strengths. Our design expertise gains us entry to the partnership, but we are soon valued equally for our marketing, distribution and manufacturing competence.$($Theo Boyas, Marketing Director$)$

Manufacturing operations

All manufacturing was carried out in a facility located $20$km from head office. Its moulding area housed large injection moulding machines, most with robotic material$-$handling capabilities. Products and components passed to the packing hall, where they were assembled and inspected. The newer, more complex products often had to move from moulding to assembly and then back again for further moulding. All products followed the same broad process route, but with more products needing several progressive moulding and assembly stages, there was an increase in $$process flow recycling$$ which was adding complexity. One idea was to devote a separate cell to the newer and more complex products until they had $$bedded in$.$ This cell could also be used for testing new moulds. However, it