Wednesday 3 July

This Chapter describes the fifth week of an MBA student’s project to find out, for a newly appointed CEO of a manufacturing company, what happens with the company’s products from the beginning of their life to the end of their life. The Chapter includes more than a dozen interviews carried out at the company’s site in North Germany. Those interviewed include representatives of the Product Management, Quality, Business Process, Packaging, Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), Customer Support, Training, Product Support, Bids & Proposals, IS and Product Costing Groups. The interviewees explain their product-related activities and the objects such as parts, data and documents they use in these activities. They also outline the IS systems they use, touch on product-related issues in the activity, and suggest improvements.