BIS 647 Design Thinking Case Study

Design Thinking

Design Thinking is a methodology used by designers to solvecomplex problems and find desirable solutions for clients. A designmindset is not problem-focused, it’s solution focused andaction-oriented towards creating a preferred future.

In this course, we have learned standard business processes indifferent functional modules. In the real world, the businesstransactions are integrated. It requires the business designers tonot only understand the business problems and processes but alsouse design thinking method to achieve desired solutions.

The purpose of the current case study is to utilize designthinking approach to solve a given business problem. Please readthe background and other provided information. Based on the giveninformation, please apply what you have learned in the class toanswer the questions by the end.

Background

Suppose that you are a new hiring, and you are taking therotations across different departments within Trike-R-Us Inc. Oneof the most popular products is the premium tricycle for kids.Trike-R-Us Inc. purchases raw materials, such as frame, wheels, andtires from vendor Tricycle Parts. Then they assemble and producethe premium tricycles and sell them to both wholesale and retailcustomers.

Till now you have already finished the rotation and understoodthe general business processes within the enterprise. Yoursupervisor asks you to prepare a plan for sales of the premiumtricycle in December 2017. You have already collected the productssales history, BOM, and other relevant information. Based on theinformation, please answer the key questions at the end.

Premium Tricycle Sales History

Month	Quantity Sold
Jan-2017	980
Feb-2017	1200
Mar-2017	1000
Apr-2017	950
May-2017	980
Jun-2017	1010
Jul-2017	1000
Aug-2017	970
Sep-2017	990
Oct-2017	1005
Nov-2017	995
Dec-2017	?

Premium Tricycle BOM

Material Name	Quantity
Frame	1
Rear Wheel	2
Rear Tire	2
Front Wheel	1
Front Tire	1
Handle Bar	1
Stem	1
Hand Grips	2
Seat	1

Material information

Material Name	Purchasing Price	Stock
Frame	$ 10.00	500
Rear Wheel	$ 3.00	500
Rear Tire	$ 2.50	500
Front Wheel	$ 3.00	500
Front Tire	$ 2.50	500
Handle Bar	$ 4.00	500
Stem	$ 7.00	500
Hand Grips	$ 2.00	500
Seat	$ 5.00	500
Premium Tricycle		0

Key questions:

1. Based on your thinking, what is the possible amount of salesof Premium Tricycles in December 2017? If you have implemented SAPas ERP solution in your company, which step in production planningwill determine this number ?

2. With SAP, if you run MRP to process the planning, what arethe input and outputs? Please detail the input and output withmaterial name and quantity (hint: Planned independent requirement,purchase requisition, and production proposal)

3. In order to prepare for the December 2017 sales, what do youneed to prepare before December 2017? (hint: purchaseorder/production order)

4. Do you have a shortage of the raw materials? What is thespecific shortage for each of them?

5. If you need to purchase the raw material from Tricycle Parts,what is the purchase order value? Please provide the detailedformula of how you calculate the order value

6. If the inventory management department has set up a safetystock for each of the raw materials as follows, how thisconfiguration will impact MRP? Please detail the updated output.What is the updated shortage for each of the raw materials? What isthe updated purchase order value?

Material Name	Purchasing Price	Stock	Safety Stock
Frame	$ 10.00	500	150
Rear Wheel	$ 3.00	500	150
Rear Tire	$ 2.50	500	150
Front Wheel	$ 3.00	500	150
Front Tire	$ 2.50	500	150
Handle Bar	$ 4.00	500	150
Stem	$ 7.00	500	150
Hand Grips	$ 2.00	500	150
Seat	$ 5.00	500	150