Product design at regal marine case study

Assignment Help Operation Management

Reference no: EM132214080

Product Design at Regal Marine Case Study:

With hundreds of competitors in the boat business, Regal Marine must work to differentiate itself from the flock. As we saw in the Global Company Profile that opened this chapter, Regal continuously introduces innovative, high-quality new boats. Its differentiation strategy is reflected in a product line consisting of 22 models.

To maintain this stream of innovation, and with so many boats at varying stages of their life cycles, Regal constantly seeks design input from customers, dealers, and consultants. Design ideas rapidly find themselves in the styling studio, where they are placed onto CAD machines in order to speed the development process. Existing boat designs are always evolving as the company tries to stay stylish and competitive. Moreover, with life cycles as short as 3 years, a steady stream of new products is required. A few years ago, the new product was the three-passenger $11,000 Rush, a small but powerful boat capable of pulling a water-skier. This was followed with a 20-foot inboard–outboard performance boat with so many innovations that it won prize after prize in the industry. Another new boat is a redesigned 52-foot sports yacht that sleeps six in luxury staterooms. With all these models and innovations, Regal designers and production personnel are under pressure to respond quickly.

By getting key suppliers on board early and urging them to participate at the design stage, Regal improves both innovations and quality while speeding product development. Regal finds that the sooner it brings suppliers on board, the faster it can bring new boats to the market. After a development stage that constitutes concept and styling, CAD designs yield product specifications. The first stage in actual production is the creation of the “plug,” a foam-based carving used to make the molds for fiberglass hulls and decks. Specifications from the CAD system drive the carving process. Once the plug is carved, the permanent molds for each new hull and deck design are formed. Molds take about 4 to 8 weeks to make and are all handmade. Similar molds are made for many of the other features in Regal boats—from galley and stateroom components to lavatories and steps. Finished molds can be joined and used to make thousands of boats.

Discussion Questions

a- How does the concept of product life cycle apply to Regal Marine products?

b- What strategy does Regal use to stay competitive?

c- What kind of engineering savings is Regal achieving by using CAD technology rather than traditional drafting techniques?

d- What are the likely benefits of the CAD design technology?

Reference no: EM132214080

Questions Cloud

Makes all final decisions on purchasing item : Alan Gellen is facilities manager for city of Milwaukee and makes all final decisions on purchasing item such as chairs, lights, and other supplies and material

What is the purpose of control chart : What is the purpose of a control chart? Provide an example of how you would use a control chart in your professional or personal life.

United parcel service of america : Few brands are more familiar these days than UPS. Everyone pictures “brown” when they hear the name, or even the truck rumbling on their streets.

Does culture play role in how people perceive change : hat can leaders to prepare their organization to deal with unplanned change? Does culture play a role in how people perceive change?

Product design at regal marine case study : With hundreds of competitors in the boat business, Regal Marine must work to differentiate itself from flock. What strategy does Regal use to stay competitive?

Be sure to consider the categories of ethical values : Be sure to consider the categories of ethical values and apply one or two models before reaching your conclusion.

Auto industry using porter five forces framework : In 2009 the American auto industry was in a dire economic state. Define the 2009 auto industry using Porter's five forces framework.

Convert from fahrenheit to celsius : Write a temperature conversion program that converts from Fahrenheit to Celsius.

Write and test a main program that declare an array : Write and test a C++ main program that declare an array arr of 6 integers

User Account

All Pages