Case Study Applications To Operations Syllabus Points

Syllabus Point Business & Brief Explanation

Strategic Role (Cost Leadership) Aldi - By minimising expenses, Aldi has the lowest
possible cost of producing products, and has the
lowest prices. This can be done by increasing
production to reduce costs (economies of scale)

Strategic Role (Good/Service Sony - Produces a range of televisions 8K,

Differentiation) 4K, HD or OLED with a number of screen sizes. All
options start with a low price point that increases
with additional features

Goods & Services In Different
Industries
Bing Lee - Advertising targets households that like
electronic items. The humour of playing up the
family-owned business and selling to households is
highly successful. Snap Laundromat - Utilises new
technology such as online accounts and QR codes
to allow consumers to pay for using their laundry
services

Interdependence With Other
Key Business Functions
Mazda - Aims to create a whole new line of electric
vehicles. The vehicles need to be designed
(marketing/operations), and the design/prototypes
need to be made by skilled people (finance/human
resources)

Globalisation AON - Insurance provider that has effectively

created a global insurance brand from the sale of
high-quality business insurance products. Provides
standardised insurance options for all consumers
globally

Technology Zazzle - The online marketplace company almost

completely relies on technology to run. Orders are
placed and tracked via the website, and the ability
to customise products requires the use of
innovative technology

Quality Expectations Tiffany & Co - The high-quality jeweller has a

reputation built on very high-quality standards, and
the high-quality diamonds used in its jewellery. If a
product fails to reflect the high quality, a
refund/replacement/exchange will be offered at no
cost. Partnership with supplier ‘De Beers
diamonds’ used as a quality process.
Cost-Based Competition
Government Policies
Legal Regulation
Environmental Sustainability
Corporate Social Responsibility
Transformed Resources
Transforming Resources
Influence of volume, variety,
variation in demand, & visibility
Kmart - The department store draws inventory from
low-cost nations overseas such as China, India &
Vietnam. Lower cost allows for waste elimination,
economies of scale, and the mass production of
standardised products
Woolworths - After certain Australian states
announced a ban on single-use plastic bags,
Woolworths went one step further and removed
these bags from stores in every state.
IKEA - Some legal regulations affecting IKEA
include those regarding product safety, returns,
operations auditing, waste disposal and sourcing
Cadbury - Cadbury has an eco-efficiency team that
is appointed to implement strategies that result in
the use of biodegradable packaging, Fair
Trade-certified cocoa beans and reducing coal,
water and gas use; this has significantly decreased
Cadbury’s greenhouse gas emissions recently
Zara - Only uses ethical cotton in its products. Out
of the major clothing retailers, only Zara draws
stock from supply chains that have less
controversy and issues The Body Shop - Has
always used environmentally friendly resources
and packaging for its products
IKEA - IKEA carefully monitors and checks all of its
inputs, resources and materials to ensure they
meet all of the required standards (sustainability,
safety, ethics, etc)
IKEA - Has adopted an informal workplace
atmosphere which focuses on compliant and
collaborative workspaces
Zara - Zara’s management of the 4 V’s is
interconnected. It is able to quickly respond to
changes in volume, has additions to its product
range every few months (variety), variation in
demand is impacted by the move from seasonal
clothing changes to changes 6 times a year. Zara
stores are also placed in highly visible areas,
specifically in the centres of large shopping centres
Sequencing & Scheduling IKEA - Uses a computer software scheduling
system called Kronos. The software analyses
employee availability and creates staffing
schedules, as well as studying sales figures and
labour data to assist in staffing numbers

Technology Google - Google utilises technology similar to that

of Skype or Zoom to allow employees to work from
home. This has allowed for higher productivity as
fewer employees are needed on site and more
employees can work at a point in time

Monitoring, Control & Apple - Same argument/point as ‘New

Improvement Product/Service Design & Development’: Apple
releases their products and monitors how they
perform in order to determine what needs to
change for the launch of the next product/design

Customer Service IKEA - Workers, signage and ‘How-To’ videos

assist consumers in the store and provide a
memorable experience that makes the customer
feel valued

Warranties Takata - A string of faulty Takata airbags, followed

by numerous recalls which were costly to the
business, but also heavily damaged the business’
reputation
Performance Objectives -
(Quality, Speed, Dependability,
Flexibility, Customisation, Cost)
New Product/Service Design &
Development
Supply Chain Management
Outsourcing
Technology
Mercedes Benz - Has a big focus on and competes
based on quality. Combines a high-quality design
with high standards of conformance. UberEats -
Consumers place an order with their food arriving
in less than 30 minutes. Speed means that
consumers continue to order as the fast speed
results in a lower cost (shorter driving distance =
cheaper delivery fee). Quillton - Popular toilet
paper company faced disrupted supply chains and
reduced dependability due to the COVID-19
pandemic that saw a toilet paper shortage
nationwide. Chemist Warehouse/Land & Sea
Brewery - During Covid, CW showed they had a
low level of flexibility by failing to provide adequate
amounts of hand sanitiser. However, LSB showed
high levels of flexibility by using excess alcohol to
produce more hand sanitisers. Adidas -
Undertakes mass customisation by varying
standard products that it offers (shoes/clothes).
Allows consumers to personalise their purchase by
detailing any size requirements, colour, style, etc.
This customisation aspect is called ‘miAdidas’.
Commonwealth Bank - Same as ‘Outsourcing’;
allowed them to significantly reduce costs as
certain activities were performed externally.
Apple - Has built a reputation as a company that
produces goods that focus on innovative,
customer-oriented technology. Success is
attributed to iterations of products
Amazon - During the toilet paper shortage of the
COVID pandemic, Amazon intentionally set the
prices of toilet paper significantly higher than
supermarkets in order to capitalise on the supply
chain issues for supermarkets and other stores
Commonwealth Bank - When ComBank began
outsourcing to India, efficiency began to rise and
the business also became more profitable due to
the cost savings and access to specialised support
Aldi - The first supermarket and/or store to use and
implement the conveyer belt to move products
passed the consumer and to the worker. Was the
last supermarket to implement price scanning
Inventory Management Toyota - JIT inventory management approach with
the aim of minimising waste and fully utilising the
capabilities of employees so that only minimal
inventory was needed

Quality Management Amazon - write about its use of six sigma