Details

Case

US Denim - The Dyeing Capacity Enhancement Dilemma (A)

Kiran Shakeel, Syed Zahoor Hassan

INDUSTRY : Textile

AREA : Management Information Systems

ORGANIZATION : US Denim

LENGTH : 42

LUMS No : 18-435-2011-1

PUBLICATION YEAR : 2011

KEYWORDS:

US Denim,Dyeing Capacity Enhancement Dilemma,Leading World Class Denim Industy,Innovation,Profitability,Growth,Dyeing Equipment,Risk,Reward

DESCRIPTION:

This case presents a situation where a firm has focused on establishing itself as a leading world class player in the denim industry. The case presents an opportunity to examine in detail how various innovative ideas have been utilized by the company to not only establish a reputation for quality, but also achieve high growth and high profitability. Focusing on learning from its own and other organizations experiences to innovate vis-a-vis plant layout design, Human Resource policies, and the use of IT and Marketing approaches has provided US Denim with a distinctive competitive advantage. This case provides many opportunities for learning about the issues and challenges in leveraging innovation.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1) How the various elements of technology and systems work in a denim manufacturing industry. 2) The special challenges associated with running a world-class manufacturing operation in a developing country with many issues related to the availability of energy, a dangerous law and order situation, lack of access to experts from more developed countries. 3) How innovation becomes not only a strategic choice, but also a strategic necessity when running a business with severe constraints. 4)Understand how the innovation strategies in a number of areas such as Operations, Information Technology, Humar Resource, Procurement; Product Development and Marketing have to be integrated to achieve competitive advantage. 5) Discuss the impact of pressure to perform, and the high cost of failure, on the willingness to take risks associated with pursuing new ideas. 6) Highlight the immense value of establishing a culture of innovation within an organization.

SUBJECTS COVERED:

Management Information Systems