Wace Burgess Case Study

Wace Burgess Case Study
What are the external performance objectives for the M&S business, and how do these
differ from those for existing customers?
The external performance objectives for M&S are different from those for existing customers.
[ CITATION Sla04 \l 1033 ] Conclude that there are five operations performance objectives,
including quality, cost, speed, dependability and flexibility.
Different from existing customers, it requires higher quality performance for M&S that with
special quality specifications. M&S specializes in smaller size of sheet for smaller cards, and
searches for cards in sophisticated appearance with the use of special paper, gold foil blocking
and metallic inks. In comparison, the quality performance for existing customers is relatively
standard with printing size in 720 x 1020mm and no special requirement in card production.
Focusing on cost, it does not need to provide cost advantage for M&S in the production.
Different from existing customers as price sensitive and require low cost, M&S that with
financial strength would rather focus on quality in the order.
Concerning the speed, it requires fast delivery speed for M&S orders. The order for M&S is
Christmas cards, which will be received before the beginning of October and deliver in mid-
November. There is a short lead time for company that needs to speed up the production and
schedule in delivery over several weeks. On the other hand, the orders for existing customers are
scheduled into different seasons, which require slower speed in producing the cards.
In terms of dependability, it is more dependable for M&S to deliver the products on time as
promised. As M&S is a large corporation, any sudden changes as delay in delivery may impose
huge impact in business operation. However, it still need to ensure the delivery accuracy for
existing customers as to maintain the reputation in the market. Regarding the final performance
objective of flexibility, it requires higher flexibility as to change the operations for M&S. M&S
requires a mass production of sheets for 600000 in one single order, in contrast the average
production for existing customers is 8000. As a result, it needs to change the volume production
and adjust production time to meet the demand for M&S. The difference performance objectives
for M&S may create obstacles for Wace Burgess in managing the business.
What are the potential risks and rewards of accepting the order from M & S?
Accepting the order from M&S brings both risks and rewards for Wace Burgess. There are two
risks and rewards that existed respectively.
Regarding the risks, accepting M&S order may first result in work delay that imposes great loss
for company. The huge volume order form M&S adds pressure to production capacity that with
nearly full order book. Without proper management, it is easily to result in delay of work process
and delivery. M&S may cancel the order if it cannot receive the goods on time as promised.
Eventually, the reputation for Wace Burgess in the market will be ruined and the business is
adversely affected. The second risk is the employee frustration. M&S order requires several
changes in work force pattern as employees may need to work longer and faster in dealing with
tasks. The huge workload may force employees to resign or result in poor productivity.
On the other hand, there are also some rewards existed in accepting M&S order. The first reward
is the establishment of long-term relationship with M&S. The Christmas card is the first order
and initial cooperation between M&S and Wace Burgess. With the successful management on
quality and delivery performance, M&S may distribute more orders in future cooperation which
benefit the growth for Wace Burgess’s business. The second reward is the increase in profits and
sales from M&S order. Big retailers play a major part in future profitable card market. The
acceptance of M&S order can lead to a raise in market position and profit margins for Wace
Burgess. Besides, more sales will also be generated from other organizations as Wace Burgess
able to be a market leader in industry. Several risks and rewards constraint the decision of
accepting the order from M&S
2
Should the company accept the order if they get it
Wace Burgess should accept the order as the potential for growth which meets the company
mission as being the leading edge in he market. In accepting the order, Wace Burgess needs to
determine whether it has enough capacity and additional support to meet the demand
requirement for M&S.
[CITATION Cha \l 1033 ] State that the capacity decisions are affected by personnel and equipment
capabilities internally
Focusing on capacity situation in Wace Burgess’s factory, it can make change in employees and
machines that help to meet the exceeding demand from M&S. In terms of machines, there are
five printing machines, five folders and three guillotines with production of 6000 sheets/hour,
24000 cards/hour and 4000 sheets/hour respectively. The large machine capacity is sufficient to
manage M&S order of 600 000 sheets. Besides, the set-up time for machine is also fast with
three hours in printers, ten minutes each in guillotines and folders that are efficient to process the
additional operation work for M&S.
Regarding the employees, new hiring, work overtime and outsourcing can also help ease the
difficulty in reaching the order. Focusing on the additional support in fulfilling the order demand,
it concerns about the quality requirement. As for the requirement for utilization of special paper,
metallic inks and gold-foil blocking, the suppliers are found. Quality check for each 500 sheets
and computer imaging technologies are also able to provide that help to ensure only high quality
products will be delivered to customers. Thus Wace Burgess should accept the order as with
sufficient ability to handle the M&S business and provide best service in the operation.
3
Should management introduce any special or different practices in the factory to handle
the M&S order, if it is received?
Management should carry out some new practices in capacity management and operation
scheduling aspects to deal with M&S order.
Under capacity management, Wace Burgess can adjust the workforce pattern to meet the
exceeding demand for the order. Concerning the labor-intensive jobs as folding and packaging, it
can be solved by hiring workers for short-term basis and introducing overtime for existing
employees.
Team up one experienced and one new employees in a group can help to enhance the efficiency
for the work. Besides, outsourcing strategy can also adopted as to outsource the jobs of die-
cutting and embossing.
Subcontracting the work to those home-workers that meet the specific standards can help to
maintain the advantage in production for company. Concerning the operation scheduling, Wace
Burgess should prioritize and sequence the different orders within the same operation period. A
table can be developed to show order performing tasks with relevant resources and facilities
allocation. Johnson’s Rule can be used to find out the optimal sequence of jobs in operation. As a
result, time and resources can be saved and total production efficiency is increased despite
having the new order from M&S.
4
References
Chambers, S., & Helander, T. (1997). ‘Wace Burgess’, in Johnston et al. (Eds.), Cases in
Operations Management (2nd ed.). Financial Times Management.
Chase, R. B., & Jacobs, F. R. (2014). Operations and supply chain management (14th ed.).
McGraw-Hill.
Slack, N., Chambers, S., & Johnston, R. (2004). Operations Management (4th ed.). Harlow:
Pearson Education.

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