For the purpose of this assignment, I have observed how employees do their tasks at three local stores; a small family run restaurant, a fast food restaurant, and a large-scale supermarket. I live in a decent sized city where there are many small restaurants, fast food chains, and large-scale supermarkets. Because there are several options for consumers, businesses need to make the most of their operations and materials management (OMM) processes to draw in as many consumers as possible, and to keep them as loyal customers.
The operations, which are, “The value-creation activities that convert a company’s inputs into finished goods and services” (Jones, 2007, p. 373) for these three companies have some similarities, because they are in the service industry, but there are also some differences. The small family run restaurant takes a different approach concerning greeting their customers and bringing them into the restaurant. Someone is at the door immediately to greet them with a warm smile, take them to a seat, and bring them beverages. Even during peak hours, they are sure to greet each customer and let them know how long they will wait before they are seated, if there is a wait at all. The employees of the fast food restaurant, on the other hand, do not greet the customers until they reach the counter to place their order.
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In this modern lifestyle the popularity of fast food restaurants are growing every day. Fast food restaurants have appeared in large quantities all over the world and these restaurants have become more popular, because fast food can be prepared and served very fast. Jessica Williams (2007, p. 216) finds that “Fast food restaurants were firstly appeared in Unites States in the 1940s. Today there ...
The customers walk through a maze of ropes to reach the counter, and if there is a line, there is no way of knowing how long it might take to get to the front of the line. Once the customers place their order, they must get their own drink and find an available seat. The supermarket is different, because the customers are on their own from the time they walk in the door, until it is time to pay. One thing that my supermarket does is that they stress to their employees the importance of customer service. Every employee who you see in the store will greet you with a smile and a, “Hello!” followed by asking if you need any help finding anything. They do a superior job of making the customer believe that they are welcome and they try to establish a relationship with the customers to create customer loyalty to their store.
Concerning the output of each of these companies, they are a bit different. The family run restaurant has the customer pay at the table, which seems to make paying faster, because the customers do not have to go to a counter after their meal to pay the bill. The waitress takes the payment, and is always sure to thank the customer. When things are busy, anyone will take your payment so that you are not stuck waiting at the table. The fast food restaurant has the customers pay at the time they place their order, which consolidates the transactions and make things faster for the customers.
During peak times, such as lunch and dinner, they have extra employees scheduled so that the process of taking orders, cooking food, and delivery orders is streamlined, and the customers do not have to wait a long time. The supermarket recently has added self-checkout stations so that customers with just a few items can scan their own items, bag them, and pay, all without needing the assistance of a cashier. One cashier is stationed at these lanes to watch them, in case there is a problem or the customer has a question. This has made it easier to get in and out of the store, even during peak hours.
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COST Company tried their best to grasp the sophisticated technology, thus the COST Company used highly to training the professionals, like the geologists, geophysicists, and the engineers. The COST Company also trained the skilled and semiskilled labor that run the company’s field operations. On the other hand the professional labor and the skilled labor, the two groups always occurs the clashed. ...
The main costs that are associated with the OMM systems are the costs of raw materials and components, plant, labor, inventory, and distribution (Jones, 2007).
Deciding whether or not a company wants to outsource to reduce labor costs, lease instead of purchase their plant, buy from others or simply purchase the supplier, how much inventory to hold at any given point, and the way to distribute goods are things that affect the cost of a company’s OMM system. Companies can gain a competitive edge by reducing costs; one way to reduce costs is by having a well-designed OMM system in place (Jones, 2007).
However, companies need to be mindful that they do not reduce costs to the point that it begins to affect customer service and the company’s revenues.
References
Jones, G. R. (2007).
Introduction to Business: How companies create value
for people. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
