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Module Code-

Module Name-

Format- Report

Assignment Title- A Report on the Operation Management Case of

ROAM

Student ID-

Student Name-

Word Count- 1000

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Table of Contents

Question 1 3

Question 2 4

Question 3 5

Question 4 5

Question 5 7

References 8
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Question 1

Mass customisation is a newly adopted frontier in the manufacturing and marketing field, mass

customisation refers to custom-made products and services at a lower cost. The cost and

expenses are maintained in such a way that are marginally higher or similar to the production

costs (Kumar, 2007). It is offered that mass customization processes equip a first to offer

diversified products and create flexibility in the individualistic customization in the low

increment in the corresponding cost, it enhances the consumer value that can foster a competitive

edge.

The key difference between mass customization and mass production is reflected in the

production concepts of the products and the needs of the customers. The technology has

enhanced the product differentiation and the production capacity in an organisation. On the other

hand, mass customization mainly attempts to grab customer attention by offering services

according to the preferences of the individuals.

The case of ROAM, which is a startup luggage manufacturing shows the inefficiency of the

company in predicting the demand for the consumers, the key operational tradeoff was the

company the feast or famine consequences due to the scrambled process to a backlog or an idle

waiting time for receiving the orders (Campos Sabioni, Daaboul & Le Duigou, 2022). This was

caused by mass customisation.

For mass customisation, lean manufacturing is required. Lean manufacturing has helped

ROAM to continue prediction according to the batch size to meet the specific demands of the

customers (Maware, Okwu & Adetunji, 2022). Lean manufacturing helps to minimise waste

while maximising productivity.

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ROAM has tried to adopt the lean manufacturing system, but it was evident that the CEO of

ROAM, Larry Lien wanted to supplement the time-sensitive consumers with the targeting of the

time-insensitive customers. She decided to offer discounts for the goods to the time-insensitive

consumers for their longer waiting time while time-sensitive consumers will be served first

(Ramanathan, Krishnan & Muraliraja, 2019). This decision could effectively manage the time

and cost of ROAM while meeting the demands for the customised luggage of the customers.

Question 2

It was difficult to hire production workers when the demand for customised suitcases was high.

According to the case study, Larry projected a demand for 1000 units of suitcases per month. Iot

reflects 331/3 orders of fat. Hiring additional workers was challenging as the daily demand rate

was varying significantly, the high demand for 2-3 days may overwhelm the available workers

(Paul & Chowdhury, 2021). Thus, the high fluctuation level of demand has restricted ROAM

from hiring additional workers in the production system.

Mass production has helped ROAM in the design of the products as it was made to order the

manufacturing process, there were live-chat advantages to the time of designing the bags that

offered a personal touch in each bag through monoprogramming. On the other hand, with mass

production efficiency and flexibility are maintained with a reasonable margin in each stage.

To engage the employees in ROAM, by making them engaged in the communication and

interaction process with the customers. During the lower demand, the employees can be engaged

in the marketing activities by iterating with the target market in the social media platforms. It can

offer valuable insights into the target market that can be included in the luggage to offer more

insightful products. At the time of the demand hike, these employees need to be engaged in the
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production process. However, during demand hikes, a rewards and recognition system must be

engaged (Hurtienne, Hurtienne & Kempen, 2022). Thus a highly motivated and engaged team

could be formed in ROAM.

Question 3

High minimum order quantities are required by other brands. It can come through the online

order and delivery system (van Maasakkers, 2021). Also, to extract high minimum orders, the

products must be differentiated from the competitive brands.

As ROAM has a focus on mass customisation, it cannot serve the high amount of minimum

orders within a limited period. Thus they did not want a MOQ.

If ROAM aims to outsource the stock-keeping units with an annual demand of 1220 units of

luggage, the ROP could be high. ROP refers to the purchasing inventory to replenish the entire

stock (Wallhagen, 2023). From the cost-benefit analysis, it is clear that the cost of the inventory

could be high for ROAM as for the 1220 units of languages annually there is no additional

inventory required.

Question 4

The easiest choices are the zipper, zipper pull, handle, stitching and the two side shells.

The bill of materials of ROAM in terms of inventory can be divided into two types-

The Engineering BOM: It defines the design of the finished goods (Deceglie et al. 2022). It will

include the size, colour and weight.

The Manufacturing BOM: This includes the parts that will be shipped before manufacturing. For

example, the fabric, zip and the sticking equipment.

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Question 5

The control of the supply chain is crucial to manage the risk of uncertainties. Supply chain

disruption may cause delivery delays, damage to raw materials and high costs of operations. For

example, at the time of the pandemic, different companies faced the negative impact of supply

chain disruption during the lockdown periods (Guan et al. 2020). It helps to control the entire

operational activities from sourcing the raw materials to the delivery of the goods to the

consumers.

To control the supply chain an in-house supply chain is crucial. It can resolve the disruption in

the operational activities. However, building an in-house supply chain is highly expensive. Thus,

building a local supply chain is a significant strategy for an organisation that can help brands

access raw materials from local suppliers (Dolgui, Ivanov, Sethi & Sokolov, 2019). For example,

ROAM has decided to build a local supply chain with the US as per the case study.
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References

Campos Sabioni, R., Daaboul, J., & Le Duigou, J. (2022). Concurrent optimisation of modular

product and Reconfigurable Manufacturing System configuration: a customer-oriented

offer for mass customisation. International journal of production research, 60(7), 2275-

2291. Retrieved from:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207543.2021.1886369

Deceglie, M. G., Gaulding, E. A., Mangum, J. S., Silverman, T. J., Johnston, S. W., Rand, J.

A., ... & Repins, I. L. (2022). Correspondence: Bill of Materials Variation and Module

Degradation in Utility-Scale PV Systems. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, 12(6), 1349-

1353. Retrieved from: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9911195/

Dolgui, A., Ivanov, D., Sethi, S. P., & Sokolov, B. (2019). Scheduling in production, supply

chain and Industry 4.0 systems by optimal control: fundamentals, state-of-the-art and

applications. International journal of production research, 57(2), 411-432. Retrieved

from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207543.2018.1442948

Guan, D., Wang, D., Hallegatte, S., Davis, S. J., Huo, J., Li, S., ... & Gong, P. (2020). Global

supply-chain effects of COVID-19 control measures. Nature human behaviour, 4(6),

577-587. Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0896-8

Hurtienne, M. W., Hurtienne, L. E., & Kempen, M. (2022). Employee engagement: Emerging

insight of the millennial manufacturing workforce. Human Resource Development

Quarterly, 33(2), 137-156. Retrieved from:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/hrdq.21453
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Kumar, A. (2007). From mass customization to mass personalization: a strategic transformation.

International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, 19, 533-547. Retrieved from:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10696-008-9048-6

Maware, C., Okwu, M. O., & Adetunji, O. (2022). A systematic literature review of lean

manufacturing implementation in manufacturing-based sectors of the developing and

developed countries. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 13(3), 521-556. Retrieved

from: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJLSS-12-2020-0223/full/

html

Paul, S. K., & Chowdhury, P. (2021). A production recovery plan in manufacturing supply

chains for a high-demand item during COVID-19. International Journal of Physical

Distribution & Logistics Management, 51(2), 104-125. Retrieved from:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJPDLM-04-2020-0127/full/html

Ramanathan, A., Krishnan, P. K., & Muraliraja, R. (2019). A review on the production of metal

matrix composites through stir casting–Furnace design, properties, challenges, and

research opportunities. Journal of Manufacturing processes, 42, 213-245. Retrieved

from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1526612518312489

van Maasakkers, L. J. (2021). Master Thesis–Operations Management & Logistics. Retrieved

from: https://research.tue.nl/files/188552602/Master_Thesis_Lex_van_Maasakkers.pdf

Wallhagen, F. (2023). Improvements of an Inventory Control System with Simulation-based

Analysis. Retrieved from: https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?

pid=diva2:1770082
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