Managing Quality

The four dimensions of quality include design, conformance, availability, and field service. Bose addresses design quite specifically when engineering a product. Actually, most, if not all, Bose products are uniquely designed to give the customer better performance and quality overall. For example, the Bose Wave Music System is distinctive in its design due to the waveguide technology which is able to give the system excellent clarity and sound quality within a relatively small package. The system’s design gives it, great performance and overall quality.

Conformance entails compliance with specifications. Bose utilizes conformance by modeling their products according to customer demand. For example, the Bose SoundDock digital music system was originally engineered for stationary use. Its function includes playing an iPod while charging the iPod’s battery simultaneously. Customer feedback showed that consumers wanted to enjoy this same performance, while allowing for portability, as well. Therefore, Bose conformed with their creation of the SoundDock Portable.

New Bose Product!
Bose® SoundDock® Portable Digital Music System


In terms of availability, Bose employs a practice that attempts to meet all customer needs. Therefore if a particular product is not in stock, Bose employees make sure to offer the customer a variety of options. The first of these options involves checking the inventories of other store locations. If the product is available at another store, a transfer will be made and shipped directly from the supplying store, to the customer. Another option would be to extend to the customer a chance to be contacted as soon as the merchandise is available. Finally, the customer is always able to make online purchases, and choose from the same selection of products offered in all store locations.

The fourth and final component of quality is field service. Bose specializes in this dimension because all Bose products feature the same warranty and return/exchange policy. This is also true for products that are not new, but what is referred to as Factory Renewed. Factory Renewed products have been previously purchased, and then returned for various reasons. When returned, the package is inspected and if the seal has been broken, then everything is sent back to the manufacturing plant, where it is tested to ensure the same appearance and performance as a brand new product. It this point, the merchandise is then recertified and shipped back to the original store, featuring the same warranties and trial period of a new product. However, the product is offered at a discounted rate. This strategy not only gives customers pricing options, but proves that quality is always a main priority at Bose. Making this a perfect example of field service quality.

Choice of Technology

New Bose Product!
Bose® Computer MusicMonitor™ Speakers


Bose utilizes Computer Aided Design, Computer Aided Manufacturing, Computer Aided Process Planning and Group Technology.

Bose Corporation implements Computer Aided Design (CAD) when planning the design of a new product or redesigning an existing one. Computer software is used to completely simulate the structuring and overall configuration of the product. Then engineers use the CAD drawing as a guide during the process of assembling and arranging the product’s actual layout.

Bose also utilizes Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) to assist in the production of the goods made in the batch flow processes. This technology alternative allows the company to set aside aspects such as material flow, production processes, and machine control, and leave them for the computer systems to execute.

This is where Computer Aided Process Planning, or CAPP, comes into play. This allows the computer to delegate which processes are assigned to which machine and which products will the machines will be working with. Also within CAM, Bose uses GT, or Group Technology, in order to categorize electronic products while still manufacturing at maximum quality. This technological advancement allows specific products to receive specialized attention from specific equipment while the same process occurs with other product families, simultaneously. Both CAPP and GT allow the company to save time because it cuts down the list of tasks required from the engineers, while also, enhancing production quality. Since the engineers have a smaller spectrum of duties to attend to, the tasks are left within their list, are executed with much more precision.

New ways of automating Bose production should include more integrated customer databases. Currently, the corporation uses an online database of Bose customers, called the Advocacy Log. With this internet based system, any Bose store can go online and access customer information. This enables all employees to better assist any and every customer. However, this database operates independently from other customer databases.

For instance, when a customer purchases any Bose product, they are entered into the Point of Sale, or POS, system’s database. Entering a customer into this database allows for the company to access their information for purposes such as warranty, repairs, as well as returns and exchanges. The customer information gathered includes, Name, Full Address, Telephone Number, and Purchase details. Unfortunately this information being entered into the POS system does not transfer into the Advocacy Log. Meaning that an employee must take the time to manually transfer the information from POS system to the Advocacy Log. This process can become tedious and inefficient.

If the two databases were to communicate and interact, this would allow the company to augment customer service beyond expectations. This idea would be perfect for Bose Corporation because customer service will always be top priority.

Bose Corporation uses an Enterprise Resource Planning System. Based on the sales trends of a specific amount of time, marketing strategies are evaluated and applied after the sales data is analyzed. However, the type of ERP system used by the company is unknown, because employees and the other administrators are not authorized to divulge such elaborate information involving internal company processes.

Bose is an e-Producer that is involved in Business to Consumer, B2C, and Business to Business, B2B, e-Business. Bose is an e-Producer because they acquire and sell products online. Bose is involved in online purchasing, ordering, and information sharing with quick and effective transactions. Bose also utilizes B2C in everyday interactions, by selling directly to consumer, as well as B2B in terms of collaborative efforts with companies such as Apple.

Process Selection

Bose Corporation uses a batch flow product-flow. When inventory is ordered, several different products are ordered in numerous varying quantities. Made-To-Stock is the type of customer flow they process. After ordered products are shipped to the store, they are then moved into the various stock rooms, to await transfer to the selling floor, or directly to the register for customer pick-up. Bose would fall into the cell corresponding to both the Make-to-Stock and Batch Flow categories within the process characteristics matrix. Also within that cell, would be Customer Jewelry and Glassware factory.

A few of the factors that influence Bose's process selection include customer expectations, cost efficiency, and product variety. Bose is an audio electronics company. This market is based upon Made-to-Stock customer flow processes. Therefore, it would not be responsible for the company to step completely outside of that box. Most electronic consumers expect to have the ability to walk into a store and purchase a product at that very moment, if they so choose. For Bose to utilize any other
customer flow process would be very inconvenient for a customer who expects immediate gratification. However, Bose is very attentive in terms of customer feed back.

Bose® In-Ear Headphones


For instance, Bose's in-ear headphones arrived on the market within the past year and featured silicone tips which enhanced sound quality due to the tips being able to create a more effective seal within the ear canal, as well as augmented comfort at the same time. Well, after a few months of much excitement buzz and high sales, customer review revealed that the tips slipped off of the earphone very easily, causing problems all around. So, Bose took this feedback into consideration and redesigned the tip of the earphones where the silicone ends are attached. By simply affixing a grove on the earphone's point, the silicone tips stayed on a lot easier. This is a perfect example that illustrates, Bose still takes customer needs and desires into consideration regardless of the fact that they implement Made-to-Stock customer flow processes.

Secondly, any other customer flow process would be extremely cost inefficient for the company to implement. Made-to-Order customer process selection, because once again, those customers who are accustomed to immediate availability and purchase options would opt to take their patronage to another company. Finally, Bose utilizes batch flow for product processes in order to offer a variety of products to the consumers. This way, a customer who is not in the market for an entire surround sound system can walk through the store and find a great speaker system for his/her new iPod. Batch flow allows the company to appeal to virtually all prospective buyers.

Mass customization may be a process that Bose looks into for future methods of product and customer flow processes. Currently, Bose offers several systems that are very similar in design, but either have one more or one less feature in comparison to its predecessor or successor. For example, Bose offers a Wave Radio that features the company's patented wave-guide speaker design that produces crisp, clear, powerful sound from a relatively small system. This radio also features an AM/FM tuner and alarm clock with a remote control. Bose's Wave Music System is the same exact system, with the addition of cd capabilities.

Bose® Wave® Music System


Assemble-to-Order is a process made famous by the Dell Corporation, and is definitely a method that could also be very successful with Bose. Especially because Bose specializes in Home Entertainment Systems, a completely customized system would be something that would appeal to the masses on a grand scale. Although customers already have the option to choose which speakers and music storage options they'd like, that is the extent of their choices. Therefore, mass customization is something that Bose should most definitely look into.