Answered: Compare the assembly line in China to…

ENGR.ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

14th Edition

ISBN:9780190931919

Author:NEWNAN

Publisher:NEWNAN

Chapter1: Making Economics Decisions

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1QTC

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Compare the assembly line in China to that in San Francisco along the following dimensions : ( 1 ) volume or rate of production , ( 2 ) required skill of the workers , ( 3 ) level of automation , and ( 4 ) amount of raw materials and finished goods inventory

Transcribed Image Text:Case: The Tao of Timbuk2* The local manufacturing is focused on the custom messenger bag. For these bags, orders are taken over the Internet. The customers are given many configuration, size, color, pocket, and strap options. The bag is tailored to the exact specifications of the customer on the Tim- buk2 assembly line in San Francisco and sent via over- night delivery directly to the customer. Recently, Timbuk2 has begun making some of its new products in China, which is a concern to some of its long-standing customers. The company argues that it has designed its new products to provide the best pos- sible features, quality, and value at reasonable prices and stresses that these new products are still designed in San Francisco. Timbuk2 argues that the new bags are much more complex to build and require substantially more labor and a variety of very expensive machines to pro- duce. It argues that the San Francisco factory labor cost alone would make the retail price absurdly high. After researching a dozen factories in China, Timbuk2 found one that it thinks is up to the task of producing these new bags. Much as in San Francisco, the China factory employs a team of hardworking craftspeople who earn good wages. Timbuk2 visits the China factory every four to eight weeks to ensure superior quality standards and working conditions are met. On the Timbuk2 website, the company argues it has the same hardworking group of bag fanatics designing and making great bags, and supporting the local com- munity and the increasingly competitive global market. "Timbuk2 is more than a bag. It's more than a brand. Timbuk2 is a bond. To its owner, a Timbuk2 bag is a dependable, everyday companion. We see fierce, emo- tional attachments form between Timbuk2 customers and their bags all the time. A well-worn Timbuk2 bag has a certain patina-the stains and scars of everyday urban adventures. Many Timbuk2 bags are worn daily for a decade or more, accompanying the owner through all sorts of defining life events. True to our legend of 'indestructibility,' it's not uncommon for a Timbuk2 bag to outlive jobs, personal relationships, even pets. This is the Tao of Timbuk2." What makes Timbuk2 so unique? Visit its website at www.timbuk2.com and see for yourself. Each bag is custom designed by the customer on its Website. After the customer selects the basic bag configuration and size, colors for each of the various panels are presented; various lines, logos, pockets, and straps can be selected so that the bag is tailored to the exact specifications of the customer. A quick click of the mouse and the bag is delivered directly to the customer in only two days. How does it do this? This San Francisco-based company is known for producing high-quality custom and classic messenger bags according to the customer's personally customized order, using a team of approximately 25 hardworking cut- ters and sewers. Over the years, it has fine-tuned its plant's production line to make it as efficient as possible, while producing the highest-quality messenger bags available.

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