Timbuk2 Case Study

CASE STUDY: TIMBUK2

1.) Consider the two categories of products that Timbuk2 makes and sells. For the custom messenger bag, what are the key competitive dimensions that are driving sales? Are their competitive priorities different for the new laptop bags sourced in China?

Some of the competitive advantage which are the key factors of Timbuk2 bags are:-

 Quality

 Durable

 Reliable

 Not prone to defects

 Custom made bags for each of the customers

 The quick delivery of bags

 The rave review which the company gets for its bags i.e. it basically carries a good name in the market

 For its laptop bags, even though they are manufactured in china, the designing is done in San Francisco. so the exclusivity remains

 Cost effective manufacture of laptop bags in china

 Being able to adopt to changes in demand and fashion

By manufacturing the bags in china the company saved the manufacturing cost but lost their niche of manufacturing and selling in America itself. The general perception of it being a Chinese product led to customers felling little betrayed. Also unlike their custom messenger bags they need not worry so much about the delivery time of laptop bags as it is manufactured in advance.

2.)Compare the assembly line in China to that in San Francisco along the following dimensions:(1) volume or rate of production, (2) required skill of the workers, (3) level of automation, and (40 amount of raw materials and finished goods inventory?

Volume Or Rate Of Production:-

The factory in China

 Mostly used for manufacturing the laptop bags

 labor is cheap and available in plenty

 The availability of specialized machines enables the manufacture of bags easy

 The large plant size enables more volume to be produced

The factory in San Francisco

 manufacture only specific or custom bags

 Machinery involved is less as not too much cutting process involved like a laptop bag

 Manufactured goods size depend on the order

Required Skill Of The Workers:-

Since the plant in china specializes in manufacture of laptop bags,