Operations Management-KFC

This document provides an overview of the operations management of KFC, including its history, global expansion, menu offerings, and ownership structure.

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT-KFC 1
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT-KFC
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation

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OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT-KFC
Introduction
KFC is an American fast food restaurant chain founded in 1952 by Colonel Harland
Sanders an American based businessman. Kentucky Fried Chicken ( KFC) was initially started in
Kentucky during the great depression as a roadside restaurant, offering fried chicken to its
customers.Upon realizing the potential of franchising the restaurant, Colonel Harland opened the
first KFC Franchise at Salt Lake City in 1952. The Company embarked on the popularization of
fried chicken in the first food industry that was largely dominated by hamburger. The company
recorded a massive expansion only a few years after its establishment. The rapid expansion of
KFC made it too large for the aging Colonel to manage. Therefore, in 1964 he decided to sell it
to a group of investors who led by Jack Carroll Massey and John Brown Young Jr, both
American entrepreneurs.
Headquartered in Louisville Kentucky, the fast food restaurant chain became one of the
first American fast food chain restaurants to expand globally, opening its first outlets in Jamaica,
Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, and England by mid-1960s. A series of leadership and

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corporate ownership changes in the 1970s and 80 saw the global chain experience mixed changes
in its US market. Specifically, these changes included the running of the chain by individuals
who had minimal or no experience in the restaurant industry. The fast-food chain was first sold
to Heublein in the start of 1970s and later to R.J. Reynolds Food and Tobacco Corporation.
PepsiCo later acquired Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1986.PepsiCo continued expanding the
company internationally opening its first restaurant in China in 1987. The move also made KFC
the first western restaurant to open its doors in the Chinese market. The chain’s aggressive
internalization journey in China has enabled it to expand rapidly. The Chinese market is
currently the chain’s single largest market with 5200 outlets (Kim, 2018). In 1997, PepsiCo split
off its restaurant division as an independent business, which later became known as Tricon
Global Restaurants. Tricon Global Restaurants changed its name to Yum! Brands in 2002. KFC
is currently a subsidiary of Yum Brands widely known for its Wingstreet, Taco Bell and Pizza
hub Chains.KFC is currently ranked as the second largest restaurant chain in the world by sales,
coming after McDonald's. Based on December 2018 statistics, the company currently operates in
136 countries has 22,621 locations globally. Although its operations in the US have continued to
decline significantly, KFC has continued to grow massively in the African, South American and
Asian markets.
Initially, the offerings of the company included pressure fried chicken pieces added 11
spices and herbs also known as Sander's recipe served in a cardboard bucket. However,
currently, the food chain has expanded its products offerings to include including soft drinks,
wraps, coleslaw desserts, French fries, salads, and chicken fillet sandwiches.

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Based on 2013 statistics, KFC had 4491 outlets in the US market, 4563 in the China
market and 9821 distributed in different parts of the world. Its global outlets are either directed
by the company or owned by franchisees (Balakrishnan, Michael & Moonesar,2013). In total,
about 11 percent of KFC's outlets are owned by the company while Franchise holders manage
the rest. Faster expansion of the chain is however guaranteed by company ownership. Both those
owned by the company and those owned through franchise are symbolized by the image of
Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of the company. The chain operates in non-traditional
locations such as Colleges, theme parks, Stadia, convenience stores and filling stations (Fan &
Li, 2010). Additionally, it offers limited delivery services in some of its markets. On average,
each KFC restaurant outlet receives about 250 orders per day and sells products worth about $1.2
million per year. The Chairman of Yum! Brands is largely responsible for the chain’s operations
(Luna, 2019).
KFC is a regional leader in the African market, and currently operating in major African
countries. Its slowly taking over the African continent with 828 outlets in South Africa and 32
outlets in East Africa. Its rapid expansion in the African market has however been hampered by
lack of quality supplies and sourcing issues (Food Business Africa, 2019). It has also continued
to expand in Asia with outlets in countries such as Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bangladesh, Cambodia,
Pakistan, Taiwan, and Myanmar. Additionally, KFC has about 350 outlets in India, 466 in
Indonesia,1200 in Japan, 784 in the United Kingdom and over 160 in Australia

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References
Balakrishnan, M. S., Michael, I., & Moonesar, I. A. (2013). Actions and insights - Middle East
North Africa: East meets west. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Fan, Y., & Li, Y. (2010). Children's buying behavior in China: A study of their information
sources. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 28(2), 170-187.
Food Business Africa. (2019). KFC to open four more outlets to stay ahead of rivals |. Retrieved
from https://www.foodbusinessafrica.com/2018/06/27/kfc-to-open-four-more-outlets-to-
stay-ahead-of-rivals/
Kim, I. (2018). How KFC became China's most popular fast-food chain and made nearly $5
billion last year. Retrieved from https://www.pulse.com.gh/bi/strategy/how-kfc-became-
chinas-most-popular-fast-food-chain-and-made-nearly-dollar5-billion/v45fmwh
Luna, N. (2019). KFC names first chief communications officer. Retrieved from
https://www.nrn.com/people/kfc-names-first-chief-communications-officer