CASE STUDY
Tasks for Course: DLMBAEOIM01 – Operations and Information Management
CONTENT
- Tasks……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
- Task 1: Beverage producer……………………………………………………………………… 2
- Additional information for the evaluation of the case study……………………………………… 4
- Tutorial Support……………………………………………………………………………………… 4
- Task 2: Fast Fashion……………………………………………………………………………… 3
1. TASKS
In this section, you can select one of the listed case studies to work on (see sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3).
When working on your case study, please consider the task described in the respective case study itself.
1.1 Task 1: Beverage producer
A small medium-sized, regional beverage producer produces lemonade in three different flavors. As the producer’s technical manager, you have set yourself the goal of further optimizing processes and procedures. In a first step, the basis for this is to improve the demand forecast. Based on past values, future demand should be forecasted as accurately as possible. Given the actual requirements of the first three quarters of this year, you want to determine the demand for the first two quarters of next year:
| Variety /Quarter | I/2018 | II/2018 | III/2018 |
| Lemon | 28.100 | 34.200 | 31.300 |
| Elderberry | 10.400 | 11.000 | 9.000 |
| Lychee | 8.000 | 10.200 | 12.000 |
Task A: First, consider and discuss whether one of the possible forecasting methods is generally superior. Determine the prognosis values for the different types of lemonade. Use the simple averaging method for the beverage type “lemon”, the 1st order exponential smoothing method for the beverage type “elderberry”, and the Holt method for the beverage type “lychee”. If necessary, make reasonable assumptions for parameters to be used.
The local supermarkets are to be supplied from a central warehouse location to keep the transport effort at a minimum. For this purpose, an optimal location for regional supply of the supermarkets is to be chosen. You know the average cumulated demand quantities as well as the locations of the supermarkets:
| Supermarket | Location | Cumulative demand (in thousands) | |
| x-coordinate | y-coordinate | ||
| 1 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| 2 | 7 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | 12 | 2 | 9 |
| 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| 6 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
Task B: Determine the optimal location using the Center of Gravity method. Discuss which location factors are
not considered here and how they can be included in the evaluation.
To plan the next production period (month of November), various customer orders or orders from various supermarkets must be scheduled in a processing sequence. Only one filling line is available for this, so that the orders can only be processed sequentially.
| Customer order | Duration (in days) | Delivery date |
| 1 | 4 | November 6th |
| 2 | 2 | November 21st |
| 3 | 3 | November 8th |
| 4 | 7 | November 20th |
| 5 | 7 | November 15th |
| 6 | 2 | November 16th |
| 7 | 8 | November 10th |
| 8 | 3 | November 21st |
Task C: For the creation of possible sequences you want to apply the different priority rules of sequence planning. First discuss possible priority rules and their respective advantages and disadvantages for the given problem. Compare the possible sequences based on the average production time, the maximum delay and the number of delayed orders. Carry out the comparison and determine the processing sequence
1.2 Task 2: Fast Fashion
Fast Fashion describes a business model of the textile trade in which the collection is constantly changing and the time from the latest designs of the fashion creators to mass production in the stores is greatly reduced. The constant change in the assortment and a shortened shelf life of the materials used should encourage customers to visit the sales areas frequently. Sales can be further increased by evaluating sales data and reacting quickly to it. Major Players in the fast fashion industry are H&M, Zara and Benetton. To deliver an efficient strategy each company chooses different mechanisms to meet the value for the customer.
Task: Compare and contrast the approaches taken by H&M, Benetton and Zara to managing their supply chains. Highlight the differences in the approaches focusing on the processes of design, manufacturing, sourcing, and distribution. Discuss limitations of the different approaches in terms of internationalization and market expansion. How could digitalization contribute to optimize their supply chain operations?
Literature:
Hansen, S. (2012). How Zara Grew Into the World’s Largest Fashion Retailer. In The New York Times Magazine, retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/magazine/how-zara-grew-into-the-worlds-largest-fashion- retailer.html
2. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE CASE STUDY
When conceptualizing and writing the case study, the evaluation criteria and explanations given in the writing guidelines should be considered.
Identification: general problem description
Concepts: Correct application of methods and technical terms
Analysis: reasonable use of comparison factors and given data, correct execution of applied methods
Conclusion: comprehensible interpretation of the results and further conclusions
Formalities: Adherence to the guidelines of chapter 4.3
Accuracy: Correctness of spelling and punctuation
Language: Quality of the linguistic expression and adequacy of language style for scientific work
3. TUTORIAL SUPPORT
Students have the option to make use of any one of several opportunities to get support for their case study analysis with the course tutor. Taking advantage of these opportunities is the responsibility of the student and the use of these services is voluntary. It is possible to contact the tutor regarding formal and general questions about working on the case study. Please note: a review of outlines and aspects of the presentation is not intended here, since the student’s ability to work independently is part of the evaluation and counts as a part of the overall assessment. There are however general tips for developing the case study to help you getting started.
