Operations and Service Management: A Case Study of DHL

This report discusses the operational management practices of DHL, including total quality management, and how they impact the organization's efficiency. It also explores the role of technology in this process and the supporting functions linked to operational management practice.

Operations and
Service Management

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Identify one operation management practice within a chosen organisation........................3
Assess how operation management practice impacts the organisation in respect to
efficiency.....................................................................................................................................5
Assess how technology could be embedded in this process....................................................6
Discuss what supporting functions are linked to operation management practice and
assess how can they help with ensuring organisational success............................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Operational management may be defined as one of the most important practice of the
organisation which are used by the them in order to develop highest level of efficiency as well as
the effectiveness within the organization. The main function of the operational department of the
company is to convert the raw material into the finish goods in a very effective manner in order
to increase their profitability as well as sustainability in the market (Bordoloi, Fitzsimmons and
Fitzsimmons, 2019). Operational and services management assist the management of company
to effectively manage the operation and control of the business. The following report is based on
the DHL which is German Logistics company founded in 1969 in San Francisco, U.S. The
founder of the company is Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn and the head of the
company is situated in the Bonn, Germany. The firm deals in the courier, package
delivery and express mail service and provide their services all across the globe. DHL express
has a well-known image in the market of Europe and Germany's and they deliver around 1.6
billion parcel per year. The following report is going to discuss about the operational
management practices which are incurred within the organization and how these practices impact
on the organisation in relation to the efficiency. This report also paid focus on the role of
technology in the process along with the different functions which are linked to the operational
management practices and how they assist in the organizational success.
TASK
Identify one operation management practice within a chosen organisation
Operational management practice is being considered as one of the most important part
of any firm. With the help of this practice highest level of efficiency can be created within the
organisation. In order to carry the operations of the business in a very effective manner and attain
the set goals and objective different types operational management practice used by the
management of the organisation (Zurich and Documentation, 2018). Different types of
operational issues has been faced by the management of the organisation in order to because of
the increase in the changes and in the trends. These issues can only be handled or resolve by
implementing the excellent practice method such and quality management standards and system,
stock control, supply chain management and many more. For this report quality management
tools and techniques are take into consideration. The total quality management process may be

defined as the continuous process of analysing, determining and reducing the errors in the
manufacturing as well as supply chain management and enhance the customer experience. In
relation to the DHL, TQM has been discussed below: -
Flow chart of DHL: -
The three-quality management tool which is utilized by the DHL are flow chart,
brainstorming and productivity improvement. Flow charts are basically the diagrams which not
only shows the flow but also shows the nature of the steps in the process (Leimeister, 2020). For
example, like these charts shows the flow of information during the process of package delivery.
These charts are utilized by the respective company in order to promote the understanding the
specific process. With the help of these flow chart the customers are able to understand the
supply chain of the DHL in a very effective manner. So, flow chart is used by the DHL as a tool
in order to manage the supply chain.
Brainstorming as a Quality Control Tool
Brainstorming is basically a technique which are implement by the DHL in order to
enhance the quality management practice. This comprises of different types of development
solutions of the problems which are facing by the company. After receiving the suggestions, they
discussed how to established the values (Rösler, Osterrieder and Friedli, 2021). Brainstorming
tool are used by the organization when many options are desired by the firm. The results which
are developed from the brainstorming are utilized by DHL in order to improve the service
delivery system which is totally aligned to the behaviour of the customer. Hence by using this,
DHL not only improves its service delivery but they also enhance the satisfaction level of the
customer along with the retention rate of the consumer
Productive Quality Productivity Improvement Management Tool in DHL
Productivity improvement also uses by the DHL in order to improve its process. Intraship
product is introduced by the DHL as an automation solution for their clients during the process
of order entry. The management of the DHL planned to completely replace the Airborne Express'
accounts payable procedures after adopting the Airborne Express. In order to improve the
account payable process ImageSource was compress by the company. By the introducing the
Intraship within the management by the respective company the visibility of the supply chain has
been improved and along with this the errors of the data entry have been reducing. In addition to

this, by using ImageSourcethe account Payable process has been improved which assist in
eliminating the problem of double entry.
Assess how operation management practice impacts the organisation in respect to
efficiency
By using the TQM as a operational management practices the productivity bas well as the
efficiency of the organization has been improves in positive manner. This management practice
cover each and every aspect of the operations management from starting to end. Along with this,
this also assist in paying focus on improving the quality of business in order to enjoy the
competitive advantage in relation to the quality, productivity and the satisfaction of customers
(Szende, Dalton and Yoo, 2021). In relation to the DHL, TQM is adopted by the firm which
assist in improving their efficiency. Following are ways in which the efficiency of the DHL is
improved by the TQM has been discussed below: -
Enhance the productivity: - The TQM is being considered as an essential integrated system
which assist in enhancing the whole productivity of the firm. In relation to the DHL, this assists
the management of the company in paying focus on the each and every area of the organisational
process which gives the services to the customers, that improves the overall productivity.
Eliminate the waste: - with the use of the TQM practice the management can effectively
eliminate the different types of risk, defects and the wastage form the operational process. This
not only assist the organisation in identifying the unproductive activities but also helps in paying
focus on the wastage of time and resources (Grover, Kar and Dwivedi, 2020). In relation to the,
DHL, the supply chain manager of the company utilized the different types of resource planning
in order to bifurcate the resources in a very efficient and effective manner.
Develop Effective communication system: - with the help of total quality management tool the
collaboration has been increases within the organisation which leading to the development of
effective communication system. In relation to the DHL, the management of the company make
sure that there must be effective communication system within the organisation which help in
communicating the ideas as well as viewpoints to all the group member as well as different
department of the organization. By this, misunderstanding can be avoid and role can be effective
communicated that assist in attaining the desired goals and objectives effectively.

Assess how technology could be embedded in this process
Increasing use of technology by organizations all across the world assist them in
performing their activities smoothly. In operation management methods such as total quality
control, firm make full use of several technologies to smoothly proceed their functions. In
relation to the DHL company the execution of the technology in operational management
practices has been described below.
Social media: this is being considered as one of the best growing platforms which are used by
the company management, that allows them to connects with their customers directly and make
them aware about the services in which the firm is dealing. The various division of the firm like
marketing and human resource use this kind of technology which give positive result in relation
to their operational management (Netessine, 2021). The use of social media technology in case
of the total quality management assists the company in paying more focus on the consumer and
gain sufficient insight into their target consumer groups in an effective and cost-effective way.
One of the most important key principles which is associated with the TQM is, this makes the
organization more consumer oriented and provide high quality services that lead to the improve
the customer satisfaction. A key role is played by the social media in attaining these aspects of
the firm which make able DHL to effectively connect with the target customers and deliver
quality services.
Social media platforms allow organizations to collect data about consumer preferences
and changes in preferences that operations departments can use to perform TQM. In addition to
this, the usage of social media technology helps organizations in improving the employee
collaboration and develop effective communication channels. Inter-departmental communication
and collaboration between different departmental levels of an organization, is considered an
important part of Total quality management and the use of social media technology can also
support in achieving this aspect effectively (McManus, Winroth and Angelis, 2019). The
optimistic effect of this technology is that this helps in improving the communication and
effectively evaluate consumer data. However, collecting consumer data can develop a
cybersecurity risk for business and, as a result, this can adversely affect consumers. In relation
to the DHL, the effective use of the social media technology enables companies to successfully

implement the entire total quality management. This will also give assistance to the businesses in
order to take a customer-centric approach and gain positive consumer insights.
Artificial Intelligence: another rising technology that business organizations can use to
improve total quality management and the organization's overall operational control is artificial
intelligence. The actual application of TQM tools and techniques develop a variety of obstacles
to the company in relation to controlling, analysing and interpreting organisational data in order
to use the TQM methodologies (Choi, Wallace and Wang, 2018). Artificial intelligence can also
be used in order to improve the quality of products by using sensors and gauges. Quality is
considered one of the most significant aspects of TQM that can be improved using artificial
intelligence. The use of artificial intelligence is to provide a variety of inexpensive and time-
saving ways to measure and verify the quality of products and services. However, as the business
environment changes, AI technology has not improved accordingly as this, needed more time
and cost. For DHL, appropriate utilization of AI technology can help in running the operational
activities smoothly and improve quality control processes.
Discuss what supporting functions are linked to operation management practice and assess
how can they help with ensuring organisational success
There are different types of supporting functions which are linked to the operations
management practices which help in ensuring the success of the organization effectively. In
relation to the DHL, the functions which are linked to the operational management practice has
been discussed below: - Quality planning: this may be defined as process of analysing vital elements of a
business process, operations, and project and determining the appropriate policies in
order to achieve those elements. It also includes developing appropriate plans that define
the appropriate quality standards, practices, resources, and activities associated with a
specific product or service (De, Boer and Andersen, 2018). For DHL, the management
designs appropriate plans to attain the set quality standards that lead to improved whole
performance. Good quality planning helps companies in setting up the right policies and
achieve the required quality standards within the set time limit.
 Quality assurance: - This is another function of TQM, which is basically a systematic
process that supports the firm in determining that whether a product or service meets

certain quality standards or not. For DHL, this total quality control features help
companies in delivering the high-quality products and services to the target customers
and ensure that all types of defects are eliminated. This helps the businesses in order to
improve their overall profitability and productivity by enhancing their customer
satisfaction and maintaining it over time. The utilization of this TQM feature also helps
companies like DHL to effectively achieve their intended goals
 Quality control: TQM another function is quality control. Under this feature, company
operations managers regularly check the quality of products and services to ensure that
they are effectively controlled and effectively maintain quality standards
(Thanawatchaikul and Supeekit, 2020). This allows organizations to raise quality
awareness and create an effective organizational culture that focused on continuous
improvement. In relation to DHL, this feature helps organizations in successfully manage
quality standards and attain their goals by providing high-quality services. Quality improvement measures: -The final function which is linked to the TQM is
quality improvement measures. This feature allows companies to take proactive steps in
order to improve the quality of their products and services. Along with this, this can also
assist the firm to regularly improve quality and attract a huge customers base. In relation
to DHL, this total quality control feature allows companies to take correct actions on a
regular basis which enhance their service quality and attain their desired goals
effectively.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that with the help of proper operational
management technique the business organisation can manage all their operational activity in a
very effective manner. This not only helps them in attaining their defined goals but also helps
them in enhancing the company whole performance. This report also concluded that how
operations management techniques such as total quality management can help enterprise in
reducing all kinds of waste and defects, increase productivity, and improve market image. Along
with this, this report also concludes the impact of TQM on company efficiency, including
increased productivity, elimination of waste, and reduction of product defects. In the end this

report concluded the technology's involvement in this process and the features which are
associated with operational management practice.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bordoloi, S., Fitzsimmons, J. and Fitzsimmons, M., 2019. Service Management: Operations,
Strategy, Information Technology, 9e.
Zurich, B.L.L. and Documentation, X., 2018. Service operations and management. Master of
Science in Engineering, p.380.
Leimeister, J.M., 2020. Service Management und Service Operations.
In Dienstleistungsengineering und-management (pp. 279-342). Springer Gabler, Berlin,
Heidelberg.
Rösler, J., Osterrieder, P. and Friedli, T., 2021. Service Operations. In Managing Industrial
Services (pp. 99-114). Springer, Cham.
Szende, P., Dalton, A.N. and Yoo, M. eds., 2021. Operations management in the hospitality
industry. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Grover, P., Kar, A.K. and Dwivedi, Y.K., 2020. Understanding artificial intelligence adoption in
operations management: insights from the review of academic literature and social
media discussions. Annals of Operations Research, pp.1-37.
Netessine, S., 2021. A vision of responsible research in operations management. Manufacturing
& Service Operations Management.
McManus, J., Winroth, M. and Angelis, J., 2019. Service operations management: A strategic
perspective. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Choi, T.M., Wallace, S.W. and Wang, Y., 2018. Big data analytics in operations
management. Production and Operations Management, 27(10), pp.1868-1883.
De Boer, L. and Andersen, P.H. eds., 2018. Operations Management and Sustainability: New
Research Perspectives. Springer.
Thanawatchaikul, T. and Supeekit, T., 2020, April. Causal Relationship Study among Total
Quality Management Criteria for Logistics Service Provider Business Excellence.
In 2020 IEEE 7th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Applications
(ICIEA) (pp. 525-532). IEEE.