Read the DeMar case study at the end of Chapter 5 (p. 189 in the 13th edition).

Your client is DeMar. They have asked you, an independent consultant, to write a 1-2 page memo addressing the following questions:

1. What is DeMar's *current* strategy to achieve competitive advantage through operations? Support your answer with information you cite from the case study and the textbook chapter.

2. Of the 10 Operations Management decisions, which three are the most important to achieve DeMar's strategy? Please provide support for your answer. An excellent answer here will define each of the three you chose, tell me why you believe they are the most important, and briefly cover what the other seven are and why you believe those are less important.

3. For the three most important decisions you chose, what, specifically, can DeMar do to improve operations? Be specific.

De Mar, a plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning company located in Fresno, California, has a simple but powerful prod- uct strategy: Solve the customer's problem no matter what, solve the problem when the customer needs it solved, and make sure the customer feels good when you leave. De Mar offers guaranteed, same-day service for customers requiring it. The company pro- vides 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week service at no extra charge for customers whose air conditioning dies on a hot summer Sunday or whose toilet overflows at 2:30 A.M. As assistant service coor- dinator Janie Walter puts it: We will be there to fix your A/C on the fourth of July, and it's not a penny extra. When our competi- tors won't get out of bed, we'll be there!" De Mar guarantees the price of a job to the penny before the work begins. Whereas most competitors guarantee their work for 30 days, De Mar guarantees all parts and labor for one year. The company assesses no travel charge because it's not fair to charge customers for driving out." Owner Larry Harmon says: We are in an industry that doesn't have the best reputation. If we start making money our main goal, we are in trouble. So I stress cus- tomer satisfaction; money is the by-product." De Mar uses selective hiring, ongoing training and education, performance measures, and compensation that incorporate cus- tomer satisfaction, strong teamwork, peer pressure, empower- ment, and aggressive promotion to implement its strategy. Says credit manager Anne Semrick: "The person who wants a nine-to- five job needs to go somewhere else." De Mar is a premium pricer. Yet customers respond because De Mar delivers valuethat is, benefits for costs. In 8 years, annual sales increased from about $200,000 to more than $3.3 million