Individual Case Study - Crane Manufacturing

Your consultancy company has been called in by MegaCorp to improve the performance of their Crane Manufacturing Company.  Your junior consultant has visited the company and looked around the factory with the Manufacturing Manager and the Information Services Manager.  Unfortunately, he resigned from your company after being head-hunted by one of the larger consultancies.  He has left you with a short report (attached) which gives the main details.  The brief is to produce a feasibility report for proposed developments to the manufacturing system. Your tasks are:

1. Determine the company’s competitive priorities and its current position with regards to competitiveness. Identify the most serious problems and issues for urgent action.
2. Describe in outline the solution(s) you would propose for the problems identified. The aim of the document is to secure the contract to do further analysis, design and implementation. It is important not to over promise, but your report should describe the areas you propose to deal with, the existing systems and procedures, the envisaged requirements, the changes you propose, the benefits that the company can expect and the estimated cost of the changes.  You should also give some consideration to any other issues that you consider may be important in the longer term.

Your manager may be able to clarify some of the details of the company and the brief.  If you are faced with difficult alternatives you should offer the company alternative solutions rather than making sweeping assumptions. It is anticipated that up to two class hours will be available to conduct work on this assignment, partly with the help of your “manager”.  You may also e-mail your manager with queries, but don’t expect him to have all the answers. A report of up to 3000 words is expected. You may wish to represent your ideas using diagrams as well as text.        

Sample Solution