Derby Grey has been manufacturing premium leather and leather products for more than three decades. The company imports ethically sourced materials…

CA Final · Integrated Business Solutions (Multidisciplinary Case Study) · MTP · November 2026
Derby Grey has been manufacturing premium leather and leather products for more than three decades. The company imports ethically sourced materials and processes them into high-quality natural leather using sustainable and responsible tanning methods. Its focus on quality and craftsmanship enables it to offer products that combine durability, elegance and style. Sustainability and ethical business practices are also important to Derby Grey. The company continuously works to improve its production processes while following environmentally responsible practices. It provides fair and safe working conditions to its craftsmen and artisans and supports skill development to help preserve traditional leather craftsmanship. Derby Grey follows a cost-conscious business model to offer stylish leather luggage bags at competitive prices. To keep operating costs low, it provides only a basic level of customer service. Luggage bags are generally sold in boxes for customers to assemble, wherever required, while deliveries are handled by a third-party distributor, Costa Cruise. This arrangement helps the company control its operating and distribution costs. Despite these cost-control measures, Derby Grey suffered heavy losses during the financial year ended 31 March 2026. At that time, the effective capital of Derby Grey was ₹ 150 crore. Over the years, Derby Grey has developed a strong presence in the leather luggage market and offers luggage bags of sizes up to 62 inches to customers across the globe. Its business in India is organised into two independent divisions based in New Delhi. Division ‘Mx’carries out all manufacturing and packaging activities, while Division ‘Rx' is responsible for sales and distribution. Division Rx operates 11 retail stores in New Delhi and also sells products through Derby Grey's e-commerce website. As part of its growth strategy, Derby Grey has expanded its retail operations beyond India to Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Singapore. These overseas businesses operate as independent subsidiaries under Division Rx. The expansion has increased the company's international presence and its exposure to cross-border transactions and financing requirements. Derby Grey also imports materials required for its manufacturing operations. During the year, it imported rubber from Malaysia for use in certain components of its luggage products and paid total customs duties and tax of ₹ 14,48,000 on the import. The Central Government has notified that Malaysia's share in India's total imports of rubber exceeds 5%. Basic Customs Duty (BCD) is 10%, safeguard duty is 30% and IGST leviable in section 3(7) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 is 12%. Social Welfare Surcharge (SWS) is applicable at 10% of BCD. To meet its financing requirements, Derby Grey has obtained a six-month loan of USD 2 million. Interest on the loan is payable on maturity at SOFR plus 1% per annum. The current six-month SOFR is 2% per annum. Since the principal and interest are payable in US dollars after six months, the company is exposed to fluctuations in the USD/INR exchange rate. Derby Grey has therefore approached its bank to explore the possibility of hedging this exposure. The bank has provided the following exchange rates: Particulars Exchange Rate Spot rate: USD 1 ₹97.055 Six-month forward rate: USD 1 ₹96.915 Management is considering whether Derby Grey should enter into a six-month forward contract to fix the rupee amount payable against the loan and related interest. While reviewing the company's financial position, the Board also considered matters relating to managerial remuneration. Dr. Philips, who was serving as the Technical Director of Derby Grey, was appointed as its Managing Director with effect from 1 April 2024. One of the terms of his appointment provided that, in the event of inadequate or no profits in any financial year, his remuneration would be governed by the provisions of Schedule V to the Companies Act, 2013. Dr. Philips was paid remuneration of ₹ 55 lakh for the financial year ended 31 March 2026. At a recent meeting, the Board also discussed legal claims made by Stewart and John, two wholesale customers who together account for approximately 10% of Derby Grey's total sales. The claims relate to products supplied by the company during the last three months of the financial year, which the customers have alleged were faulty. If the claims are successful, Derby Grey is expected to pay ₹ 20 million to Stewart and ₹ 16 million to John. Based on the advice of the company's legal advisers, there is a 55% probability that Stewart's claim will succeed and a 20% probability that John's claim will succeed. Derby Grey has an insurance policy covering claims of this nature, and it is highly probable that successful claims would be covered by the policy. The financial statements currently include a provision of ₹ 20 million for the legal claim, but no asset has been recognised for the amount expected to be recovered from the insurance company. The legal claims have also drawn management's attention to a broader issue concerning product quality and customer satisfaction. Derby Grey has recently experienced an increase in sales returns and a large number of customer complaints on social media. Management is therefore concerned about whether weaknesses in the manufacturing and delivery processes are affecting product quality and customer experience. To address these concerns, Dr. Philips has appointed a performance management expert to help Derby Grey apply the Six Sigma technique. The objective is to identify the main causes of product returns, improve product quality and evaluate the company's existing performance. Dr. Philips is, however, concerned about the ability of the company's existing IT systems to provide the detailed information required for Six Sigma analysis. In particular, data relating to manufacturing activities such as cutting, preparation, closing and lasting may be required to identify the root causes of quality problems. At present, sales-return data is compiled only on a quarterly basis and does not provide sufficient detail. Management may therefore need additional information relating to manufacturing quality and customer satisfaction. A review of customer feedback on returned products provides the following information: These developments have raised a number of financial, taxation, legal and performance management issues for Derby Grey. **Question 2.6:** ADVISE Managing Director on Six Sigma implementation to reduce the number of sales returns using the DMAIC method.

Suggested Answer and Working Notes:

DMAIC is a methodology of Six Sigma used to improve existing business processes. It is advisable for the Dr. Philips to execute the following phases of DMAIC- Define the process This phase emphasises exactly what the customer's requirements are? In this case, focus is precisely on why bags are returned. The objective of the process needs to be clear, as in this case, to reduce the number of customer returns. Customers expect certain minimum requirements from the manufacturing and packaging process, for example, that the bags are properly packed in boxes. They also expect the goods to be delivered undamaged within a reasonable time and at the time & date committed. Further, customers' perceptions of quality should coincide with the price paid, though different customers may have different expectations. Measure the existing process This phase measures the process to determine existing performance. In this case, the sales returns figures do not show a complete picture as to why customers return bags, which of the classes belongs to 'poor packing', which belongs to 'defective item', which belongs to 'activities of other subdivisions', etc. The ambiguity of the data and the classification of definitions will need to be addressed to enable the process to be measured effectively. Analyse This phase detects the root cause of the problems. Possible root cause of sales returns are as follows: Difficult to assemble or pieces missing (47%) – Returns could be because the bags were not manufactured or packed properly in the 'Mx' division, but they could also be due to poor design, customers losing pieces, or simply being unable to assemble the bag. Bags were not as demanded and of poor quality (43%) – Returns could be due to defective manufacture or if the customer had merely changed their minds and no longer required the bag. In 'bags were not as demanded', the identification of 'defective items' are too vast. Arrived damaged (9%) – It may be that customers wrongly classified defective bags as damaged. Though bags may become damaged by the 'Çosta Cruise', only a small number of returns relate directly to them. Arrived late (1%) – Reasons of arrived late could be either ‘Costa Cruise' could not make delivery on time or 'Mx' division could not complete the order on time, and this causes only 1% of returns, which is relatively insignificant. Further, information could be analysed, like country wise sales returns, product wise sales, or with more clear definition of 'defective items' from the customer's perspective. By doing so, the firm may easily get information related to areas of the business where sales returns are high and hence be able to focus on. Improve In this phase, recommendations are made to minimize or eliminate the root cause of the problem, and then those recommendations are implemented to improve the process in a systematic manner. Derby Grey is required to consider aspects of production or packaging which could be improved, for example, the timely repair and maintenance of equipment or training of existing staff, etc. Further, availability of resources and likely costs of making the improvements need to be carefully considered. Control Here, control means maintaining improved performance and future performance. Derby Grey would be required to monitor the performance on an ongoing basis. If sales returns reach a particular level, it should be reported to the responsible person, and he should act immediately. In addition, Derby Grey needs to redesign its IT system in such a way so that it can provide the required detail. Since this is continuous monitoring, it may also require revisiting some phases in DMAIC.
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