QUESTION 1 – The Cyclone Furniture Company Case
Answers:-
a. There is an emphasis on Customer Service at Cyclone rather than on the Resource Utilization, which can be seen by excess of stock of both, raw material and finished goods.
Objective:-
The main objective of Cyclone is Customer Service.
Key success factors:-
• High customer service.
• Timely delivery of orders.
• Location of their showroom.
• Distance between factory and showroom (“90 minute drive from showroom”).
• High quality of their finished goods (“no doubt that quality if first-rate”).
• Satisfied employee (“You also note how cheerful the workers are and that there is an overall sense of people taking pride in their work”).
• Quality of workers (“workers for the three manufacturing sections are interchangeable”).
• The presentation of the store.

b. Structure diagram Domestic Furniture O
V Export Furniture O Furnishing O Upholstery O V C Office Furniture O
V= Stock
O= Operation
C= Customer
The operating structure of Cyclone Furniture is divided into three manufacturing sections, viz. Domestic furniture, Export furniture and Office furniture. The raw material from stock is sent to these units for manufacturing from where each unfinished product is moved to the Finishing level, and where appropriate to an Upholstery department and are finally stocked before being dispatched to Australia and the showroom in New Zealand.
Suggestions on improvement
As it is explained that the workers in these 3 different sections are interchangeable, it is recommended that these three sections are merged into a single section where all types of furniture is manufactured. This will minimize the labour movement and enhance the plant space utilization which will save the expenditure on the plant extension, and also maximize the machinery usage which can either lead