Here is the second case study for CMA (Final) - Group 3 students-

Paper 15- Business Strategy and Strategic Cost Management

CASE STUDY 2

A Case Study on Strategic Intent

Fastfix is a small company operating in a single city. Its business is repairing laptops. It has earned a good name for its fair charges and speedy delivery. For the next five years, the environment offers the following information: Many school students are being given laptops by the school themselves and this trend is likely to continue for another five years. College students and coaching centres provide new laptops to all the students during the admission. The fees are inclusive of these costs. Tablets are first replacing laptops in certain market segments and models are changing every six months. If there are major repairs, richer people discard the products and go in for new products or newer versions. However, there are rural markets and certain parts of urban markets which will still be interested in the low cost repaired and re-sold products. Considering the above case of Fastfix it will limit its operations to only one city. 

You are required to give: 

(i) A vision statement; 

(ii) A mission statement; 

(iii) Does SWOT analysis exist?

(iv) Some parameters that could be used in such the above situation relating to the financial and growth perspectives in a Balance Score Card (BSC). 

Answers:

(i) Vision Statement: Our Company intends to provide the best quality of repairs to laptops in the fastest possible time anywhere in the city with the most reasonable changes to customers. 

(ii) Mission Statement: We deliver at customers‟ doorstep their fully functional laptops with minimum down times for customers while ensuring:

(a) Timely delivery as promised: 

(b) Reasonable charges: 

(c) Good quality of services; 

(d) Replacement of parts by genuine parts based on genuine needs; 

(e) Pick up of faulty laptops; and

(f) Offer stand by laptops as per customer requests.

(iii) SWOT Analysis:

(a) Strengths: Access to standard parts that normally fail in laptops, network of trained employees who have thorough job knowledge, available loyal customers, less time in delivery and perfect commitment. 

(b) Weakness: Going beyond the scope of faults recognized by the customers, often leading to cost over runs while preventing future repairs calls. 

(c) Opportunities: Branches may be opened in schools/colleges/big coaching centres. Business can be extended to sale of reworked computers in ready and going markets, preventing maintenance services, annual maintenance contracts, upgrades and compatibility addition with new peripherals, etc. 

(d) Threats: Unless tablet markets also are created to, there is a threat to long term survival. Threats from one stop shops for repairing all types of mobiles /computers /laptop /tablets/ iphones/smart phones, etc. Threats of obsolescence resulting in non-availability of spares. 

(iv) Balance Score Cards (BSC): 

(a) Financial perspective: Revenue from repairs, average job order cost, total spares purchases, delivery costs, (revenue per jobless variable cost per job) as a % of revenue par job, debtors management (target nil), etc. 

(b) Learning/innovation/growth perspectives: Number of employees trained, number of new products repaired, number of new spares used, machinery used for cleaning/servicing, new logistics management, service call tracking, repair status on-line tracking, etc.

Source: Suggested Answers - December 2013 by ICAI