Ellen M.

North-O’Ferrall

February 20, 2015

Professor Beecher

Operations Management and Logistics MAN3504

Regal Marine Case Study

1. The concept of the product life cycle applies to Regal Marine because RM is constantly

under pressure to introduce new products - and those products have life cycles of only a few

years, therefore, a steady stream of new products is required to keep RM afloat in their industry.

It is a matter of approximately three years before a boat is out of style and its life cycle

terminated. This is a long life cycle compared to a newspaper or magazine, but if you are the

production manager for RM it seems rather short. As RM operates in an environment consisting

of many competitors, RM must continuously introduce innovative, high-quality new boats. Its

differentiation strategy is currently reflected in a product line consisting of twenty-two models.

2. Regal Marine uses a strategy of product differentiation that constantly introduces new

products, new innovations, and new styling to stay competitive in the luxury performance boat

market. Regal finds that the sooner it brings suppliers on board, the faster it can bring new boats

to the market, thus making their products the newest and the most sought after by clients who are

always searching for the newest and the best.

3. The cost and time saving at Regal Marine through use of CAD is typical of the use of

CAD everywhere. It allows a variety of designs and styles to be tested very economically. The

ratio of savings of engineering talent is about four to one. Most importantly, it allows them to be

creative economically and rapidly.

4. Computer Aided Design (CAD) technology speeds the development process.The payoff

from CAD is not only evident in efficiency, creativity, and styling but by production of the code

necessary for the numerical machines, such as the machines used to make the “plugs”, which is a

foam-based carving used to make the molds for fiberglass hulls and decks. These molds require

4-6 weeks to make and are all handcrafted. CAD also provides, as a by-product, very effective

and comprehensive documentation of design variables.