Study the scenario and complete the questions that follow:

Exquisite Fashion

Linda Ndlovu is an entrepreneur. She started a clothing manufacturing business and established a store a few years ago that focused on teens. Her brand and store are called Exquisite Fashion. Initially, Linda worried about just getting the business running and keeping the financials above water. As her success grew, Linda realized that she needed to think more about the big picture. What was the direction she wanted her company to go$?$ Did she want her business to stay as a single store? Did she want to get her brand sold in other clothing stores? Did she want to expand locally within the city of Chicago, or was there another avenue of growth she should pursue?

Although her company was relatively small, Linda had senior staff, namely a director of operations $($DO$),$ a director of finance $($DF$),$ and a director of supply chain management $($DS$).$ Linda was a very hands$-$on owner of her company. Linda knew that each of her senior staff were experts in their areas; therefore, she decided the best course of action was to engage them in the planning of her company$$s future.

Linda and her staff spent many weeks discussing the situation. Ronald Mathews $($DF$)$ was concerned about the financial effect of expansion. Ronald supported expansion; however, he emphasized that the specific strategy selected should be based on its financial impact. For example, how would it affect labour costs? What about inventory costs?

Sheila Adams $($DO$)$ agreed with Ronald that the selection of a specific strategy was a crucial first step. Sheila explained that the type of production strategy the company chose to utilize would be one that they would be $$stuck$$ with for at least a year, maybe more. The production strategy would dictate such things as capacity, scheduling, and training. Therefore, while she understood Ronald$$s concerns, she disagreed that the financials were the primary consideration. Sheila believed that they should instead look at it primarily from the perspective of production. What strategy would enable them to run the production smoothly? Sheila preferred a strategy where she would have a stable workforce she could count on$.$

Andy Xulu $($DS$)$ said that in theory, both Sheila and Ronald were correct. However, as the director of supply chain management, Andy$$s perspective was different. If they planned to sell their clothing line to other stores, they must focus on ensuring that the availability of the product was constant and consistent. If they didn$$t have the inventory to provide to local stores, then those stores may eventually drop them as a supplier. Andy$$s argument to Ronald was that if they were too cautious about the financials, they may be putting the company in a position where they would fall short of meeting customer expectations.

Linda listened to their views and realized that each one had valid points. Selecting the wrong strategy could result in her company failing financially in the long term. Furthermore, technically, her store was her manufacturing company$$s customer, although the teens were the ultimate end users. If she added other intermediate suppliers between her manufacturing company and the teens, that is$,$ other clothing stores, they would be her manufacturing company$$s critical customers. Obviously, as her own customer she knew about any problems that would cause a disruption in supply; however, other stores wouldn$$t care about the reasons. Consequently, a disruption in supply would be a major cause of customer dissatisfaction.

Finally, she understood Sheila$$s point of view very clearly. A stable trained workforce was essential to the quality of their product. A strategy that may seem more attractive from a financial perspective, that is$,$ keeping labour costs low, could affect their ability to maintain the level of quality they currently had$\mathrm{.}4\mathrm{.}1$ If Linda and her staff decided to expand the business by selling the Exquisite Fashion brand to other clothing

stores, advise her on which production strategy would be the best. Explain why that choice would be the best by

addressing how the concerns of each director are resolved or at least minimized.

$(10$ Marks$)$

$4\mathrm{.}2$ One of the options that Linda is considering is the lead capacity strategy. Based on the scenario and the issues

all three directors voiced, do you agree that this is the best capacity strategy? Explain your answer.

$(5$ Marks$)$

$4\mathrm{.}3$ Sheila $($DO$)$ and Andy $($DS$)$ have different concerns. Exquisite Fashion can procure and implement a system or

systems that would provide a resolution for both directors. Identify the system or systems and explain why it or they

would alleviate the specific concerns of each director.