Swatch Revolutionises Watch Manufacture Answer

1. What do you think has been the contribution of the marketing function, the product design function and the operations function to the success of Swatch? Swatch is a good example of the way three sets of competitive abilities in a company relate to each other. The three key contributions to Swatchs success (or the three important micro operations) are the way they have developed their products and services. the way they have positioned themselves in their market. the way they have created their products and services. The original stimulus for Swatchs success lay in its product design. The Swatch design was particularly innovative incorporating a plastic and designed with relatively few parts. This resulted in a watch which was robust capable of being adapted to changes in fashion and re!uiring relatively inexpensive parts and materials. This allowed the product to be positioned in the market place as an item of "mass fashion. #t was easily recognisable and stylish and yet sufficiently affordable to sell in large numbers. The design was also eminently manufacturable. $arts were standardised and the design intrinsically easy to make. This manufacturability combined with higher volumes further reduced the cost of manufacturing the product. The revenue implications of an attractive high volume product together with the cost implications of . !ow do you think Swatch compares with most watch manufacturers? Swatch has a range of products which are essentially very similar but customised "at the last minute. This allows it to operate at relatively high volume and low variety for much of its manufacturing process. #t therefore has a relatively simple and relatively cheap manufacturing operation while at the same time allowing "mass fashion orientation of its marketing. %iven this Swatch will have a higher degree of automated machinery (because of the high volume and the standardised parts) and rely less on skilled labour. Almost certainly it will put more effort into its design activities than most watch manufacturers.