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    Herman Miller Case Analysis

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    vivek
    Herman Miller faces challenges in transitioning to more sustainable materials for its Mirra chair. Specifically, it must replace PVC in the arm pads to align with its Cradle-to-Cradle design goals. While PVC is economical and the production line is set up for it, PVC has toxicity issues. TUP has been identified as an alternative material that improves sustainability. However, Herman Miller should continue researching even better substitutes while implementing TUP. It must also address supplier concerns over changes and develop a system to recycle used chairs to fully close the product lifecycle loop.

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    Herman Miller Case Analysis

    Uploaded by

    vivek
    1K views2 pages
    Herman Miller faces challenges in transitioning to more sustainable materials for its Mirra chair. Specifically, it must replace PVC in the arm pads to align with its Cradle-to-Cradle design goals. While PVC is economical and the production line is set up for it, PVC has toxicity issues. TUP has been identified as an alternative material that improves sustainability. However, Herman Miller should continue researching even better substitutes while implementing TUP. It must also address supplier concerns over changes and develop a system to recycle used chairs to fully close the product lifecycle loop.

    Original Description:

    Cradle to Cradle design at Herman Miller

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    Herman Miller faces challenges in transitioning to more sustainable materials for its Mirra chair. Specifically, it must replace PVC in the arm pads to align with its Cradle-to-Cradle design goals. While PVC is economical and the production line is set up for it, PVC has toxicity issues. TUP has been identified as an alternative material that improves sustainability. However, Herman Miller should continue researching even better substitutes while implementing TUP. It must also address supplier concerns over changes and develop a system to recycle used chairs to fully close the product lifecycle loop.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    1K views2 pages

    Herman Miller Case Analysis

    Uploaded by

    vivek
    Herman Miller faces challenges in transitioning to more sustainable materials for its Mirra chair. Specifically, it must replace PVC in the arm pads to align with its Cradle-to-Cradle design goals. While PVC is economical and the production line is set up for it, PVC has toxicity issues. TUP has been identified as an alternative material that improves sustainability. However, Herman Miller should continue researching even better substitutes while implementing TUP. It must also address supplier concerns over changes and develop a system to recycle used chairs to fully close the product lifecycle loop.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    1.

    Name:
    2. The Case: Cradle-to-Cradle Design at Herman Miller: Moving Towards
    Environmental Sustainability
    3. Client: Herman Miller
    4. The critical challenge faced by the client are following:
    a) Use of PVC for arm-pad skins
    b) Getting suppliers on board with regard to implementation of C2C
    design methodology
    c) How to get the used chairs back into the loop for recycling
    Out of the above mentioned challenges the first one is of prime
    importance and needs immediate attention.
    5. The major stakeholders according to my understanding of the case and
    their respective concerns are as follows:
    Stakeholders

    Concerns and Interests

    Herman Miller and its officials

    Environmental sustainability
    is the prime objective of
    Herman
    Miller.
    Their
    concern is to successfully
    implement
    the
    C2C
    approach in design and
    manufacturing
    of
    Mirra
    chair.
    Due to the use of cradle-to
    cradle
    approach
    in
    designing the Mirra chair, a
    lot of new materials need to
    be sourced. Suppliers are
    required to disclose their
    product
    configuration.
    Changes in the formulation
    or on many occasions
    completely new materials
    are required to be supplied.
    Mirra chair is one of the first
    products
    designed
    according to the cradle-tocradle
    approach,
    the
    success of this product will
    determine the future of C2C
    approach.

    Suppliers

    MBDC

    6. The challenge being faced by Herman Miller is whether to use PVC for armpads or not. The root issue they need to resolve is to find an alternative for
    PVC which is as efficient and economical as PVC, develop new tooling and
    assembly line suiting the new material or modify the existing one.

    7. The various possible options to resolve the challenges are:


    a) Search for newer materials which can be effective replacements for
    PVC and in the longer run develop new materials which have better
    performance than PVC and are cheaper
    b) Continue with PVC as the production line has already been designed
    according to PVC arm pads. Also the switching cost from PVC to any
    new material will be high in terms of revamping the supply chain.
    8. I would recommend Herman Miller to replace PVC with the new material
    TUP at the same time continue their research to find a better substitute. To
    support my recommendation I would like to bring to fore the following
    arguments:
    a) According to the DeF scorecard 91% of material chemistry by
    weight falls within the green and yellow categories. By making only
    one more material adjustment the recyclability can be increased to
    100%.
    b) Perception is a powerful driver in any industry, and the use of PVC in
    Mirra chair will be a threat to that image of environmental
    consciousness that the company has created for itself so
    painstakingly.
    c) PVC produces toxins during its manufacturing process. This will not
    only harm their employees health, but also damage the
    environment.
    d) PVC releases toxins in a fire. This makes it a high risk material for
    office equipment and furniture
    e) Herman Miller has always adopted environmental sustainability as
    part of its core value. Since PVC is not environmentally friendly, and
    against Herman Millers dedication towards sustainable design, it
    should not use PVC, as it will damage its brand.
    9. In order to implement the endeavour successfully Herman Millar might
    face some hurdles which need to be addressed. First, there might be
    issues regarding vendors and suppliers. This can be solved by letting the
    suppliers know the tangible benefits of the undertaking and educating
    them about the benefits of C2C design methodology. Second, the company
    might face issues in terms of closing the loop. It will not easy to develop
    competency to collect the used chairs and dismantle them for reuse. The
    company needs to develop a separate mechanism to collect the used
    chairs and bring them back to the manufacturing cycle. Third, the
    company may use TUP for the time being as there is no better option, but
    it needs to search for cheaper and more efficient replacements of TUP for
    future use. They also need to improve the DeF score by working on other
    components of the product. At present the DeF score is 61%.

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