Le Petit Chef Case

Le Petit Chef Case 1) What should Gagne do? Specifically, which throw aways should she fund and why? How should she handle the executive meeting? A fair assessment of the pip at Le Petit Chef is that there are far in like manner legion(predicate) projects on the table. This overf starting time has led to missed deadlines and therefore missed profit. The open frame between LPC and other cook manufacturers is closing fast and action is required. Essentially, Le Petit Chef postulate a cornerstone development.There are five proposed projects A invigorated intelligent (fuzzy logic) line of microwaves, a low- court version of an existing microwave line, an entirely new low-cost line, a quick heating model, and a prodigiousr cavity Liberte. When choosing which projects to fund, Gagne must evaluate them on three base criteria will this project differentiate one harvest-time from the next? bequeath this project expand the r& angstrom unitd team too thin? , and will this project p rovide a competitive benefit? For the short term, LPC should not set out to enter the low-cost microwave market.Le Petit Chef is gibe with high oddment, high performance appliances and trying to tackle a low cost market that is henpecked by large companies such as Samsung and GE would not be appropriate. Because of this, both projects associated with a low end line should be crossed off Gagnes list. However, perhaps in the future when the company is on more(prenominal) solid footing a low-end line can be attempted. Adding a larger cavity to the Liberte should besides be cut because this just adds another component into the mix.Too many components that seizet overlap from one product to the next increases total cost and adaptability. Another reason to cut the larger cavity is because it really does null major to differentiate the product. Next, LPC should fund the implementation of a Fuzzy system of logic microwave line. This would differentiate the product among high-end co mpetitors, not put too more strain on r&d according to a senior design engineer, and promote the high-class label associated with Le Petit Chef. This project is absolutely necessary to undertake.Another project that should be funded is the development of a Liberte-express with a more powerful magnetron. This adds another vital differentiating feature, will be loose to develop, and be finished relatively quickly (6 months). At the meeting, Gagne simply posits to list the facts to the executives since there shouldnt be too much convert to do. She necessitate to present her product choices listed above rationally and stress the indispensableness for the company to stay true to its reputation by tensioning on high-end appliances.She exacts to alert the execs about how thin r&d is spread and she should probably prepare a list of projects that could be soft axed. She needs to stress the importance of allowing r&d to focus on less projects. The primary theme of her presenta tion should be realigning Le Petit Chef as the frontrunner in the microwave business. She also needs to outline the flowing financial issues and how the proposed projects will affect them. 2) What factors explain Le Petit Chefs measly performance? What actions would you recommend to remedy the situation?Le Petit Chefs unequal performance can be largely attributed to the recent influx of contender from abroad. Essentially, the Asian manufacturers such as Samsung and Sharp infiltrated the low-end market which in shape forced European microwave companies to move into the previously Le Petit Chef dominated high end market. One statistic that basically tells the entire story is that the determine of the microwave oven had dropped by 10% each year from 1996 to 2000. In an attempt to ward off competition, LPC spent hefty sums in advertising. This was overkill and caused financial issues.Another gravestone factor was the r&d team being spread so thinly across so many products. Exh ibit 9 highlights this by showing the products branching out in an almost blind drunk manner. Quite frankly, LPC needs to reduce its projects. In order to remedy the situation, LPC needs to do a handful of things. First, they need to realize that they cannot compete with the large foreign companies. Therefore, any thoughts of entering the low-cost market should be intemperately discouraged. LPC has a niche in the high end market and they need to stick to their guns.By focusing on the high end marked, R&D is also not as overextended. Next, LPC needs to differentiate their products from the competition. They need to give the buyer some incentive to fork over more cash for their expensive microwaves. Another thing that LPC should try to do is to manufacture more components that are interchangeable between models in order to cut back costs. LPC should also focus on the appearance of their microwaves, because to sell a high-end product it has to appear that way. Essentially, the ap pearance is the ultimate differentiating factor.