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and test new ideas for innovative products, thus stimulating their
creativity.
2. What outside factors had come together for Santa Cruz
Bicycles to be able to make the changes they did?
There are several outside factors that enabled Santa Cruz Bicycles to
radically change their processes: technology in producing intricate parts, the
human capital present in Santa Cruz and the changes that were happening in
the software industry.
First of all, Santa Cruz was able to move prototype production in-house
because the technology to build intricate parts was available in the market.
The company invested $ 45,000 in a van-size machine called Haas
Automation Toolroom Mill that could transform aluminum into intricate parts
needed to produce prototypes (Duvall, 2007). Therefore, the ability to control
production in-house gave Santa Cruz autonomy and flexibility, as opposed to
being dependent on third-party suppliers which may have its own timeline
and processes that may slow down Santa Cruzs prototype development.
Secondly, Santa Cruz was able to secure the high-quality human capital that
had the skills to build and test prototypes in-house because the Santa Cruz
area was known to be a hub for bicycle design and manufacturing
(Bookwalter, 2009) and attracted people with a passion for bicycle design
and bicycle riding. Gary Yokota is a master frame builder that was hired by
Santa Cruz Bicycles exclusively for that purpose. Having Yokota build and
test prototypes that were designed by the engineering team, using parts
2
variables. The new software did not make their function obsolete, but
enhanced the quality of their work.
Secondly, in selecting a software, Santa Cruz Bicycles considered future
expansion of software use (Duvall, 2007). They chose PTCs software with the
expectation to integrate with other PTC modules over time. This is an
important lesson in change management because a company needs to
project its future needs so as to encourage a seamless workflow that can be
built upon as the need arises (incremental improvements) as opposed to a
total system overhaul (radical change).
References
1. Duvall, M. (2007) Santa Cruz Bicycles: Not Your Fathers Ride
accessed at http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Projects-Processes/SantaCruz-Bicycles-Not-Your-Fathers-Ride
2. Graney, J. (2012) Joes Corner: The New Standard accessed at
http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/us/joes-corner
3. Bookwalter, G. (2009) Santa Cruz celebrates the cycling scene
accessed at http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_11632231
4. Pearlson K.E. and Saunders C.S. (2013) Managing & Using Information