Case Study Questions:

1- Critically evaluate two appropriate Tools Quality Management to be used for the case study ?

2- what are the factors that could affect location decisions in this case study in terms of region,site and country?

3- Critically evaluate the inventory management purpose in this case and discuss the types of inventories ?

4- How inventory items can be classified to manage efficiently? (ABC analysis)

5- How accurate inventory records can be maintained to manage properly?

Company Operations Management SBYAbaya Textiles Company has seen steady financial growth the past 5 years. A traditional family business deeply rooted in manual operations, the company sole founding member, SBY Senior wish to pass on the company leadership to his younger much more technology savvy son. Currently SBY Sr. Much of the management decisions were made on adhoc basis and in some cases with lack of accurate information due to poor coordination and untimely sharing of up-to-date real-time supply-chain and logistics data. Such affected the operations productivity and in some cases wrong decisions being made resulting in unsold overstock of out of fashion abaya. SBY Jr. conducted market research for the past 2 years. He discovered a new breed of sophisticated customer who wants to design their own trendy Abaya, away from the traditional market needs. He is also convinced by moving their company manufacturing plant to Buraymi, in Oman will help to reduce the operation costs. Alternatively, he also considered manufacturing industrial area within SAIF Zone, next to Sharjah International Airport in the Emirate of Sharjah. The remaining setup of their main office in Dubai and their 50 sales shops (through United Arabs Emirates) do not need to change. In near future, he also planned to setup new channel of distributions by opening new branches in neighboring countries including Oman, Saudi and Bahrain. SBY Jr. felt that such strategic move will provide better opportunities in improving the company several other business objectives that have been neglected. He also wanted to optimize the use of Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) to increase the company operational excellence and increase its competitive advantage. Such initiatives will allow the management to focus on important business decisions and avoid mistakes that his father experienced. His challenge is to convince his father in investing heavily into converting all of their heavily manual operations into optimizing integrated Enterprise-wide (ERP) IS/IT. In strategic restructuring plan, SBY Jr. hired you as his Operations Director to help him drafting a robust operations management strategy. Your immediate tasks are to address several strategic management decisions as part of a suite in convincing SBY Sr. The company mission is to acquire cost leadership through advance technology optimization in operating SBY Abaya Textiles leading towards an innovative business entity. SBY Jr. hopes this will enhance further the company competitive advantage as a first mover in textile industry. Your involvement as Operations Director, elevated SBY Jr. perceptions on expanding his original business strategy (Part 1) beyond manufacturing costs reduction and effective decision-making. Your operations management strategy is to optimize quality management in improving the company profitability. You want to incorporate Web-based eCommerce application within the proposed ERP solution based on outsourced Cloud computing services. The latter will reduce further the need in heavy investments especially in the IS/IT total operating costs that was the main concerns of SBY Sr. Your proposal projected a potential increase in target customers globally beyond UAE, Oman, Saudi and Bahrain. Yet, decreasing operation costs exponential by reducing the 50 physical shops into only a single regional shop positioned in all of the country major cities. Region like Dubai will only have 1 physical shop instead of current 4 shops in different parts of Dubai. You want to streamline the manufacturing operations management to be integrated with the company supply-chain and logistics management. While SBY Jr. is aware of eCommerce dot.com business model and technology such as Cloud computing, he wants you to convince the management by highlighting the various operations management strategies. In particular, how the needed ERP integrated eCommerce business model based on Cloud computing overcome the problem on inaccurate information on supply-chain and logistics management. With the shifting of the current factory to the potentially proposed new possible sites, how can the management effectively synchronize effective information sharing between the internal SBY Textile teams (of sales, designers, raw materials purchasers and the manufacturing plant operations) together with their raw materials suppliers (mostly from Sharjah and Dubai) and transportation agencies. Most importantly, SBY Jr, wants to implement effective real-time quick response to customer feedbacks and customizable design to meet new breed of sophisticated customers. A customer-oriented mechanism which was absence in the current operations. SBY Jr. is concerned with the inventory level to meet their dynamic customer demands, especially during festive periods such as Eid Fitr and Eid Adha, where timely delivery will avoid returning of ordered abaya. This is to overcome overstock experienced currently. He is very concerned with the costs on logistics yet needed timely delivery from suppliers as well as to customers upon completing customers ordered finished products. On top of it, the quality and competitive designs of the Abaya must cater to the different future market needs. There must be a definitive decision on the most suitable process strategies in manufacturing the much more varieties of abaya design yet to be cost effective. Since inaccurate information and poor decision-making were the main problem, how implementing ERP application will address issues concerning sales to customers in different countries and purchases from suppliers. SBY Jr. is concerned on whether the project will be successful. The strategies should provide justifications on how the proposed direction will overcome the existing operation problems and address future business model. The bottom- line, this project will increase the company revenue and yet reduces their overall operation costs. Company Operations Management SBYAbaya Textiles Company has seen steady financial growth the past 5 years. A traditional family business deeply rooted in manual operations, the company sole founding member, SBY Senior wish to pass on the company leadership to his younger much more technology savvy son. Currently SBY Sr. Much of the management decisions were made on adhoc basis and in some cases with lack of accurate information due to poor coordination and untimely sharing of up-to-date real-time supply-chain and logistics data. Such affected the operations productivity and in some cases wrong decisions being made resulting in unsold overstock of out of fashion abaya. SBY Jr. conducted market research for the past 2 years. He discovered a new breed of sophisticated customer who wants to design their own trendy Abaya, away from the traditional market needs. He is also convinced by moving their company manufacturing plant to Buraymi, in Oman will help to reduce the operation costs. Alternatively, he also considered manufacturing industrial area within SAIF Zone, next to Sharjah International Airport in the Emirate of Sharjah. The remaining setup of their main office in Dubai and their 50 sales shops (through United Arabs Emirates) do not need to change. In near future, he also planned to setup new channel of distributions by opening new branches in neighboring countries including Oman, Saudi and Bahrain. SBY Jr. felt that such strategic move will provide better opportunities in improving the company several other business objectives that have been neglected. He also wanted to optimize the use of Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) to increase the company operational excellence and increase its competitive advantage. Such initiatives will allow the management to focus on important business decisions and avoid mistakes that his father experienced. His challenge is to convince his father in investing heavily into converting all of their heavily manual operations into optimizing integrated Enterprise-wide (ERP) IS/IT. In strategic restructuring plan, SBY Jr. hired you as his Operations Director to help him drafting a robust operations management strategy. Your immediate tasks are to address several strategic management decisions as part of a suite in convincing SBY Sr. The company mission is to acquire cost leadership through advance technology optimization in operating SBY Abaya Textiles leading towards an innovative business entity. SBY Jr. hopes this will enhance further the company competitive advantage as a first mover in textile industry. Your involvement as Operations Director, elevated SBY Jr. perceptions on expanding his original business strategy (Part 1) beyond manufacturing costs reduction and effective decision-making. Your operations management strategy is to optimize quality management in improving the company profitability. You want to incorporate Web-based eCommerce application within the proposed ERP solution based on outsourced Cloud computing services. The latter will reduce further the need in heavy investments especially in the IS/IT total operating costs that was the main concerns of SBY Sr. Your proposal projected a potential increase in target customers globally beyond UAE, Oman, Saudi and Bahrain. Yet, decreasing operation costs exponential by reducing the 50 physical shops into only a single regional shop positioned in all of the country major cities. Region like Dubai will only have 1 physical shop instead of current 4 shops in different parts of Dubai. You want to streamline the manufacturing operations management to be integrated with the company supply-chain and logistics management. While SBY Jr. is aware of eCommerce dot.com business model and technology such as Cloud computing, he wants you to convince the management by highlighting the various operations management strategies. In particular, how the needed ERP integrated eCommerce business model based on Cloud computing overcome the problem on inaccurate information on supply-chain and logistics management. With the shifting of the current factory to the potentially proposed new possible sites, how can the management effectively synchronize effective information sharing between the internal SBY Textile teams (of sales, designers, raw materials purchasers and the manufacturing plant operations) together with their raw materials suppliers (mostly from Sharjah and Dubai) and transportation agencies. Most importantly, SBY Jr, wants to implement effective real-time quick response to customer feedbacks and customizable design to meet new breed of sophisticated customers. A customer-oriented mechanism which was absence in the current operations. SBY Jr. is concerned with the inventory level to meet their dynamic customer demands, especially during festive periods such as Eid Fitr and Eid Adha, where timely delivery will avoid returning of ordered abaya. This is to overcome overstock experienced currently. He is very concerned with the costs on logistics yet needed timely delivery from suppliers as well as to customers upon completing customers ordered finished products. On top of it, the quality and competitive designs of the Abaya must cater to the different future market needs. There must be a definitive decision on the most suitable process strategies in manufacturing the much more varieties of abaya design yet to be cost effective. Since inaccurate information and poor decision-making were the main problem, how implementing ERP application will address issues concerning sales to customers in different countries and purchases from suppliers. SBY Jr. is concerned on whether the project will be successful. The strategies should provide justifications on how the proposed direction will overcome the existing operation problems and address future business model. The bottom- line, this project will increase the company revenue and yet reduces their overall operation costs