This report provides an analysis of the operations management of Woolworths Group Limited, including operational strategy, forecasting, location strategy, quality management, process design, inventory management, and job design.
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Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Operations management Name of the student Name of the university Author Note:
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2 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Table of Contents Introduction......................................................................................................................................3 Operational Strategy in Global Context..........................................................................................3 Project Managing implementation of a new operation....................................................................4 Forecasting of demand and resources..............................................................................................5 Location strategy.............................................................................................................................5 Quality Management and Process Design.......................................................................................6 Figure No 1: WQA Standard Pathway (Including GAP Audit)..................................................7 Figure No 2: WQA Standard Pathway (Excluding GAP Audit).................................................8 Inventory Management....................................................................................................................9 Job Design.......................................................................................................................................9 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9 References......................................................................................................................................10
3 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Introduction Woolworths Group Limited is one of the major Australian Company that has a number of retail stores across Australia and New Zealand. The company which is headquartered in New SouthWalesinAustraliahasannualrevenueofmorethanA$55billion (woolworthsgroup.com.au 2018). The following report has highlighted the process by which the management of the company undertakes the operations of the business and has also provided different elements that makes up the operations of the business. The purpose of the following report is to determine the different kinds of factors that determine the quality of the service provided by the company. The operational strategies will thus cover the important aspects or elements that are undertaken by the management of the organizations to attain success in the market. Operational Strategy in Global Context Operational strategy is one of the many functions of a business organization and is directly linked to the supervision and the redesigning of the business operation for the production of different kinds of goods and services. The business organizations can design an effective and efficientsystemforusingtheresourcesandthedifferentkindofworkprocessbythe procurement of the technologically advanced machineries and the hiring of the competent staff in the organization. According to,Parkinson (2018)the operational strategy of Woolworth has a number of different aims. However, the main aim of the organization is to provide the best products and the best possible services to the customers of the organization. The management of the company has divided the areas by means of the looks of the supply and manages the distribution centers and the supply chain. Apart from this it also divides investment in a
4 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT continuous improvement in the implementation of different kind of information technologies as well as strategies to reduce the shrinkage. The main focus of the operational strategy is to sub contract with the different types of suppliers to avoid the creation of any kind of manufacturing factories. The management of the company provides special attention to the identification and the selection of the suppliers of the organization. The company gives special care to the selection to ensure the best quality of the products which are supplied by them and sold to the customers. The following process helps to increase the reputation of the company and also reduce waste easily. Project Managing implementation of a new operation As said by,Rosemann and vom Brocke (2015)the management of Woolworths has decided to implement a systematic and well planned strategy to ensure cost reduction and quality of product. The organization has decided to implement a cost reduction as well as increase the quality of the product that is sold in the stores of the company. Cost Control is one of the main operational objectives of the organization. The main business purpose of the company is to provide customers with quality products at a much affordable price. The following can only be done by means of mitigation of wastes and ensure a regular checking of the goods by the quality control department. Apart from this the management also aims to collect regular feedbacks of the customers to get the perfect idea regarding the needs and the demands of the products that are supplied to them(Smith Maull and CL Ng 2014). The cost is most necessary to be controlled since it is believed to be the ultimate success to the organization. The focus on the product quality will lead to the growth of the revenue and the increase in the share of the profit. The customers prefer the purchase of the product with high quality and a competitive price structure.
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5 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT The better will be the quality of the product; the easier will it be for the management of the company to manage the operations of the business smoothly and efficiently. Forecasting of demand and resources Forecasting is one of the most important functions in the retail sector and it is similar in Woolworths. The following function helps the managers of the organization to predict the future demands of the customers and perform the related functions in an effective and planned way. The quality of the goods sold by the management of Woolworths in the retail stores of the organization is maintained according to the basis of the forecast(Smith Maull and CL Ng 2014). As mentioned earlier the organization have to select and establish the stores of the business in such a way that it helps the organization to gain the best resources needed for the improvement of the company and also helps tin its growth. The main resources that will be needed for the organization to fulfill the strategy of ensuring quality goods for the customers and also maintain a low cost for the goods is all possible by means of a proper forecast. Location strategy Selection of the right location is the key to the success of the organization. If a company selects the wrong location it may not have the customers, workers, proper transportation and the required materials to ensure its success. Therefore it can be said that location often plays a key role in the success of the organization(Parkinson 2018). The locational strategy of Woolworths helps to identify the optimal position for the setting up of new shops by analyzing different other factors like the presence of the customers, presence of other infrastructure and most importantly the quantitative study on the revenue of the following organization. The contemporary location strategy is planned in accordance with that of the operational strategy of the business where the
6 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT company has plans to open the new store close to the warehouse of the suppliers to ensure the best quality of the products. The presence of the stores close to the warehouse also ensures a significant reduction in the price of the products. This is because much less or negligible transportation cost has to be spent by the organization to shift the products of the organization from the warehouse from that of the stores. The maintenance of quality will thus be much easier for the organization. Quality Management and Process Design The nominated service providers of the company include transport, warehouse and distribution suppliers. These service providers are required to gain certification to the private quality assurance model of Woolworths. the quality assurance model of Woolworths is referred to as Woolworths Quality Assurance Standard(Kasemsap 2017). Apart from this the companies have to also gain other kind of different existing regulatory or governmental quality assurance certificates. The vendors, suppliers and other kind of companies who provide resources, goods and services to Woolworths will be audited and synchronized in accordance to the current standards of WQA Audit requirements with the current WQA standard appendix. The new vendors who may show interest to supply products in new stores of Woolworths have to undergo a GAP check to ensure whether the current set of the quality standards matches with that of the Woolworth quality standard.
7 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Figure No 1: WQA Standard Pathway (Including GAP Audit) Source: (Jie and Gengatharen 2018)
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8 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Figure No 2: WQA Standard Pathway (Excluding GAP Audit) Source: (Hitt Xu and Carnes 2016) The process design of the company will be based on the combination of the product and the designation of a low cost for the organization. The company retails the product combination of the goods and the services. the service is specially for the customers of the organization. The quality of the services provided by the management of Woolworths include the likes of inventory handling, displaying the goods, helping out the customers, billing the products and many more as such.
9 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Inventory Management According to,Hitt Xu and Carnes (2016)being an element of supply chain management, inventory management includes the aspects of controlling and overseeing the ordering inventory, storage of inventory and the regulation of the products that are sold by the company. The inventory management of the company in the case will involve the creation of an effective inventory plan where the goods will be listed according to their types, date of dispatch, date of supply, quality and other important variables. The inventory management will thus provide a proper organizational support to the contemporary operations of the business. Job Design The job design of the company will include the advertisement of the vacant position of the operations department in a number of media articles including print media, television media and online media(Yunet al.2018). The interested applicants will undergo an interview and skill test to get selected in the process. The selected employees will then be provided a special training to handle the inventory and the operation management of the business. Conclusion The following report has provided a proper analysis on the operations management of Woolworths. The inclusion of the operational strategy, forecasting demands and contemporary strategies along with the highlight of the locational strategy has provided the perfect example regarding the topic of the report. A thorough analysis of the report will help the readers to gain a knowledge regarding operations management. The report thus provides a huge scope to any kind of future resources that aims to study on the following topic on Woolworths Company.
10 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT References Hitt, M.A., Xu, K. and Carnes, C.M., 2016. Resource based theory in operations management research.Journal of Operations Management,41, pp.77-94. Jie, F. and Gengatharen, D., 2018. Australian food retail supply chain analysis.Business Process Management Journal. Kasemsap, K., 2017. Advocating sustainable supply chain management and sustainability in global supply chain. InGreen Supply Chain Management for Sustainable Business Practice(pp. 234-271). IGI Global. Parkinson, M.M., 2018. Case Study 4: Woolworths Group plc. InCorporate Governance in Transition(pp. 203-221). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Rosemann,M.andvomBrocke,J.,2015.Thesixcoreelementsofbusinessprocess management. InHandbook on business process management 1(pp. 105-122). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. Smith, L., Maull, R. and CL Ng, I., 2014. Servitization and operations management: a service dominant-logicapproach.InternationalJournalofOperations&Production Management,34(2), pp.242-269. Woolworthsgroup.com.au. (2018).Woolworths Group: Quality Brands and Trusted Retailing. [online] Available at: https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2018]. Yun, G., Yalcin, M.G., Hales, D.N. and Kwon, H.Y., 2018. Interactions in sustainable supply chain management: a framework review.The International Journal of Logistics Management.