Analyzing Operations Management Challenges for Foodland Supermarket

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the operational challenges encountered by Foodland Supermarket, an Australian supermarket chain. It begins by identifying key challenges such as changing technology, globalization, evolving customer expectations, job design changes, quality management, and global manufacturing. The report then delves into how these challenges impact the future of the business. Furthermore, it explores various areas of operations management, including quality management, supply chain management, and inventory management, and assesses their influence on Foodland's success. The study highlights the importance of adapting to technological advancements, managing global operations, meeting changing customer demands, and maintaining high-quality standards to ensure the supermarket's continued success in a competitive market. The report underscores the significance of strategic planning and operational adjustments to navigate the dynamic business environment and achieve sustained growth and profitability for Foodland Supermarket.

CHALLENGES TO
BUSINESS SUCCESS AN
OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT FOCUS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Key challenges and the impact of these challenges on the future of the business.................3
Operation management areas and how they impact the success of the business...................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Operation management refers to a business practice which is followed by every company
wherein they oversee and controls every task of the business. This is done in order to ensure that
every task of the company is well performed and the goals and objectives of the business are
achieved with efficiency and effectiveness (Ingason, 2015). For the present study the company
chosen is Foodland Supermarket. It is an Australian supermarket which was founded in the year
1962 by Hoeper family which is headquartered in South Australia. These stores are
independently owned and operated in more than 120 locations all over the world. The present
report starts with identifying different challenges over recent years which impacts the business in
the future. Further the report will discuss different areas of operations management and how
these areas impact the success of Foodland Supermarket will be outlined.
MAIN BODY
Key challenges and the impact of these challenges on the future of the business
The business operates in a dynamic business world wherein there are frequent changes taking
place in the business parlance. Therefore, it is very necessary for the company to frequently
analyse the changes and outline the different challenges which can impact the working and
operation of the business in the world. In the globalized and highly competitive era the business
has to go through many challenges. Some of the key challenges highlighted which impact the
business to a great extent are as follows-
Changing technology- Key challenge for Food land super market is change in
technology and is impacting the organisation future in many ways. For Changing technology,
new type of managerial, diplomatic and social skills is required so that proper decision making is
there (Day and Schoemaker, 2016). Technological change is impacting the organisation as it
creates new product and services for the customers. Technological change helps in brining
effective communication in Food land super market that further helps in bringing new ideas for
the product development. Not only changing technology also helps the business to increase its
efficiency with lowering the cost of business operation.
The business process gets faster and efficiency of the business rises. With the help of
change in technologies, it brings opportunity for the firm to optimize its risk and minimize the
risk that are involved in the business operations. Due to changing technologies, managerial
functions of the Food land super market are changed with force. Responsibility of the

management team get increased with respect to planning, decision making and brining
coordination (Comfort, 2019). These changes brining strategic planning in order to implement
new technology.
Technological change is affecting different aspects of organisational environments that are: -
 Market competition and uncertainty rises with respect to Food land super market.
 Organisation's product and services will be of high quality and more diversity will be
required in the product and services.
 Complexity with respect to external politics and legislative reform gets increased.
Continued globalization of market- globalization refers to as a business system wherein
any country can trade with any other country without any restriction or constraint. This is
growing phenomenon and is adopted by almost all business. This is because of the reason that
there is great competition and to face this competition the company has to do business at a large
scale. But this globalization poses many different challenges for Foodland supermarket because
of the reason that with globalization has some challenges which impact the business for future
growth.
The major challenge for Foodland supermarket due to globalization is that it impacts the
organizational structure of the supermarket (Psomas and Antony, 2015). This is majorly because
of the reason that when the supermarket goes in another country then it has to follow different
value chain, different inventories and supply chain. This all impacts the structure of the working
of the company. Therefore, this impacts the business in future because of the reason that now
company has to again change its way of working in accordance with the different system
followed in other country.
Another challenge which globalization poses for Foodland supermarket is the changes in
the legal framework. This is because of the reason that every country has its own specific rules
and laws. Therefore, when supermarket goes for globalization then it has to follow different
laws. This has a negative impact on the business because now again it has to change its laws
applicable and many activities need to be changed in accordance with the laws applicable.
Changing customer expectations- Change in customers expectation impacts the loyalty
of the customers because of which, organisation have to make changes in the business operation
so that they retain (Qazi and et.al., 2017). Food land super market have to do proper research and
development with respect to the expectation of the customers as the demand of customers

changes due to market trends. It is important for the firm to understand the consumer behaviour
and change business operation time to time. Customers are having both type of expectation that
is explicit and implicit with respect to products and services attributes, features and benefits. In
Explicit expectation, customers are having expectation regarding quality of product and services.
Their focus is on the relationship which they have with the organisation.
On the other hand, Implicit expectation generally reflects the norms that are established.
Here customers are comparing the products and services of the organisation with other
companies and always choose the leading brand. These expectations are impacting the business
operations as Food land super market works to satisfy these types of expectations of the
customers by making operational changes (Felix, 2015).
That helps in meeting the expectations of the potential customers and they become loyal
towards the products and services offered by the company. In order to meet customers’
expectations Food land super market, have to gather the respective information about the
customers and have to build an effective relationship with them. Every customer is having
different perception so organisation have to do proper research and development with respect to
business operation in order to meet its expectation as it directly impacts the business
performance.
Changing job design- job design refers to as the system wherein the business allocates its
working among the employees specifying the content and the methods used to perform that job.
This work is allotted on the basis of the capability of the person to perform the task. The major
reason why changing job design is a challenge for Foodland supermarket is that if there are
frequent changes in the job design than it will create a confusion in the minds of the employees
and workers that which work is to be performed by whom. This frequent changes in the job
design impact the supermarket in future because of the reason that as there are changes in job
design this decreases the morale of the employees as for some time they have to do a particular
work and after some time the work of the employee changes (Willar, Trigunarsyah and Coffey,
2016). This develops a negative feeling within the employees as they think that they are not
capable of doing the work and this impacts the business in way that the employees might leave
the job which is not beneficial for the supermarket.
Another change in the job design is the promotion of the employee to a better position.
This is a challenge because of the reason that now the employee has more of the responsibility

and work and for it might be possible that it may not have complete knowledge of the new task.
Therefore, this will impact the supermarket in way that now it has to provide for training to the
employee relating to the new job profile (Zimon, 2016). Also, it is a challenge because id the
employee not perform the new task up to the expected level than this might hamper the working
of the company.
Quality management- for facing the tough competition the most important thing which
Foodland supermarket needs to take into consideration is the quality of the products and the
services. The major reason underlying this fact is that there are many supermarkets operating in
Australia but the only basis on which the consumer can differentiate between different
supermarkets is on the basis of quality of the product and services provided by the different
supermarket. The maintenance of quality is a major challenge for the company because of the
reason that the competition is high and to face this competition the supermarket has to maintain
the quality at any cost. This quality management is a challenge for the supermarket because it
has to research for different quality standards which it has to follow for maintaining the quality.
This is because of the reason that there are many different quality standards for maintaining the
quality.
This has major negative impact over the future of the business because of the reason that
for maintaining the quality it has to invest much amount of money within the business.
Therefore, this will increase the cost of the business. But in contrast to this there is also a positive
impact of this challenge that is with maintenance of quality the consumers will be more attracted
towards the goods and services of supermarket and this will result in increase in the customer
base for Foodland supermarket.
Global manufacturing- it is defined as the set of different principles which guides and
directs the way things are planned and done at the manufacturing facility for ensuring quality
products are made at the global level. The global manufacturing is a challenge for Foodland
supermarket because of the reason that at the global level there are many different sets of
consumers which have different needs and preferences. Therefore, it is very difficult for
supermarket to cater to the needs of all these consumers (Weinmann and et. al., 2015). Also,
another challenge of global manufacturing is that every country has its own specific
environmental policies and rules which the supermarket has to follow. This is a challenge
because of the reason that it has to maintain comply with different rules and policies.

The impact of this is both positive and negative. The positive impact of this challenge is
that global manufacturing help supermarket in increasing the level of technology. This is due to
the reason that with global manufacturing the supermarket comes in contact with the new and
latest techniques and technologies (Fonseca and Domingues, 2017). With the help of this global
manufacturing the company is able to access these new and latest techniques and implement
them in their manufacturing process. But in the other hand, the negative impact of global
manufacturing on the business in future is that the transportation cost is very high. This is
because of the reason that the company has to transfer its goods and services to other countries as
well and this includes huge cost.
Operation management areas and how they impact the success of the business
Operation management refers to as business function which ensures the management of the
process through which the goods and services are created is managed properly and effectively.
This is done because of the reason that if goods and services will be effectively produced than
they will be liked by the consumers to a great extent. There are several areas of operation
management which Foodland supermarket needs to follow for getting success in its business.
These different areas and their impact in success of the company are discussed in the connected
points below-
Quality management- Quality management is the technique of improving processes of
manufacturing product or services for the purpose of maintaining consistent quality in making
products in the company. It is essential for maintaining quality in Food land supermarket that
help in attracting more consumers towards the company. This system involves different elements
such as quality manual, procedures, instructions and records, customer satisfaction, management
of data etc. In this proper policies and procedures will be followed that help in providing
effective use of resources (Ingason, 2015). It consists of internal processes that help in setting
rules and regulations for the future course of action. There are different types of quality
management system that includes document and change control, supplier management,
equipment and asset management etc. Foodland Supermarket is adopting control system that
provide effective use of value chain and enhancing it for the future.
All these systems help in improving efficiency as well as effectiveness in gaining success
for the future. For implementing and establishing this system different steps is being followed
such as:

 Design and build- This is the first stage that help in developing processes and doing
planning for the future. In Foodland supermarket this system is being implemented and
providing consistency in making quality product for the future. After designing product,
it builds trust among customers regrading services that is provided to it and quality
effectiveness that provide consistency in building systems (Mane and Patil, 2015).
 Deploy- This system is being implemented into business for deploying each process and
enhancing quality for the future. After deploying this system into Foodland supermarket
that help in bringing effectiveness in product.
 Control and Measure- These are two areas that involve implementing quality
management system into the company for enhancing business operations. There are
different measures that have been taken that help in protecting against risk and impact
from environmental perspective can be controlled by using different tools in Foodland
supermarket.
 Review and Improve- In this stage review are being taken from other employees that
help in emphasizing different aspect for maintaining quality in the company.
Quality management help in providing success for the future as it helps in increasing
greater efficiency and reducing waste from the company. It leads to provide better consistent
control in Foodland supermarket. For the purpose of gaining more profit in the company that
lead to provide better understanding of needs of consumers that provide effective use of
resources for the future. For achieving success in business, it is important for reducing risk from
business so this system help in provide accuracy in work and increasing efficiency for the future.
It also helps in improving participation of employees into business that enhance future growth
and productivity.
By implementing this system into Foodland supermarket, it helps in increasing sales as
well as profitability. This lead to success in the company and enhance business at greater heights
that create change in business operations and involving various aspects that are included in the
company. Basic elements of total quality management such as communication, ethics, integrity,
leadership, trust and training (Zimon, 2015). Implementing management tool that help in
ensuring customer loyalty, satisfaction of employees etc. Improving consistent quality that help
in increasing productivity as well as profitability. On the other hand, it also has some negative
aspects as changing in demand of customers that lead to loss as operational cost increase as

change in technology. Therefore, these elements that help in gaining success for the future. This
can be further explained by applying model as:
Total quality management model
This consist of both top-level management and employees of the company that help in
formulating effective policies and procedures for providing quality product to consumers. This
model mainly emphasizes on quality rather quantity and delivering better customer review to
others (Taskov and Mitreva, 2015). It is also essential in providing feedback from customers that
help in formulating new strategies that help in gaining competitive advantage for the future. This
also help in providing understanding with consumers and their needs that help in meeting it as
they are expecting from company. Feedback from customers help in delivering better services by
Foodland supermarket and enhancing it in making planning and research. Continuous
improvement in processes and procedures help in satisfying needs and expectations of
consumers. It emphasizes that if any complain from customers come then finding out its root
cause help in solving problem.
This model used by Foodland supermarket for doing strategic planning and involvement
of each and every employee in the organization for providing effective services to customers. On
the other hand, less involvement of employees in operational activity provide failure while
implementing this model into company. Therefore, this model help in maintaining quality for the
future aspect in Foodland supermarket.
Supply chain design- this is defined as the process or series of steps through which the
supermarket manages and structure its supply chain to ensure that there is right balance between
the inventory, manufacturing cost and the transportation cost. For Foodland supermarkets it is
necessary to maintain the demand and supply of the inventory needed to manufacture the goods
and services. For managing the supply chain, the Foodland supermarket uses the SCOR model
that is the Supply Chain Operation Reference model. This model is a management tool which
helps Foodland supermarket in improving and communicating supply chain management
decision within the company and with the suppliers (Christopher, 2016). This model states that
first the company needs to plan the demand of the goods or the raw materials and properly plan
the requirement of the needed raw materials. The next step is to source that is to manage the
inventory, the network of the suppliers, agreements with the different suppliers and many other
related factors. The next step is to manufacture the goods and services.

The company needs to have an effective supply chain management and design in order to
complete its production in time and with quality and efficiency. The effective supply chain
design impacts the success of the supermarket because of the following reasons-
 On time production- the effective supply chain helps the company in manufacturing the
goods and services on time (Wisner, Tan and Leong, 2014). This is because of the reason
that with good supply chain the raw material is timely available and this leads to on time
production of the goods.
 Raise output- this is another impact of effective supply chain on the supermarket. This is
because of the reason that with effective supply chain management there is effective
communication and everybody knows in advance that what work they have to do.
Therefore, this results in increase in output as all the work is done with proper
coordination and efficiency.
 Boost employee’s morale- this on time completion of work improves the morale of the
employees as they finish the work on time and with full effectiveness and productivity.
Also, there have been development of many different supply chain software which
simplifies the work of the employees. This increase the productivity of the employees and
increases the coordination and cooperation among them.
 Decreases useless time- the effective supply chain ensures that the work of the
supermarket is properly managed and is accomplished before time. With proper planning
the work of production is distributed among the employees in accordance with the
capability of the employees. This process makes sure that the employee performs that
task in which he excels. This practice ensures that the if the work is provided in
accordance with their capability then they will perform it with highest efficiency.
Therefore, this will decrease the inefficient time.
 Increases the customer base- this is another success factor which leads to increase in the
number of consumers. This is because of the reason that supply chain ensure ion time
production of goods and as a result of on time production the goods are delivered to the
consumers in time (Li and Zhang, 2015). Therefore, this in time delivery attracts more of
the consumers. Hence, this increases the consumer for the company.
Managing inventory- managing inventory or inventory management is defined as the
process of ordering, storing and managing the inventory which is required for the business. This

includes the complete management of the whole inventory that is the raw materials, work in
process, the finished goods and the goods or inventory stored in the warehouses. The effective
inventory management is necessary for Foodland because if the inventory will be made available
on time then it will lead to success of the company (Al-Qatawneh and Hafeez, 2015). For
managing the inventory Foodland supermarket uses the method of Just- In- Time approach. The
just in time is an inventory approach wherein the materials are ordered only at the time when
there is a need of those inventories in the production process. The use of good management of
inventory leads to success of the business and also if the inventory is not managed properly then
also it impacts on the success of the business. Good inventory management on Foodland
supermarket leads to success for the company. These success factors are as follows-
 Lower holding cost- Effective inventory management leads to decrease in the cost of
holding the inventory. This is because of the reason that inventory management ensures
that the inventory is ordered at time when it is required. Therefore, this practice ensures
that no inventory is stored rather they are order only when they are in use. Hence, this
reduces the cost of storing the inventory which leads to success of the company.
 Improved cash flows- as there is no need of storing large inventories thus, that money
which was earlier blocked in the storage of the inventories is used in some other place
and the cash flows are increased. This is because of the reason that now that money will
be used in some other place and more returns will be gained from that.
 Less dead stock- another success because of efficient management of the inventory is that
it helps on reduction in dead stock. This is because of the reason that earlier much stock
was stored in physical form. But after the use of effective inventory management the
company started ordering the inventory only at time of need. Therefore, this practice
eradicates the problem of stock becoming old or out of fashion.
 Elimination of waste- also if the supermarket uses effective inventory management then
it leads to elimination of waste. This is because of the reason that the inventory is ordered
by analysing the needs and requirement of the inventory (Gonschor and Beamer, 2014).
Thus, this practice ensures that no inventory is ordered if there is requirement of that
particular inventory. This ensures that there is no wastage of the inventory. Elimination of over production- this is another success for the supermarket after
implementation of the inventory management techniques. This is because of the reason

that the inventories are provided on time and the need of inventory is assessed after all
the research (Frieyadie, 2015). Therefore, this practice ensures that there is not any over
production of goods. Hence, this reduces both the time and the cost involved in the
production of goods and services.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it can be concluded that there are different management operations
included that help in improving efficiency and effectiveness in business. Designing of goods and
services plays an important part for providing better products to customers. This help in
increasing customer satisfaction for the future. Process that will be used for designing product
and enhancing changes in business. Effective supply chain management help in improving
process that will be used for manufacturing product into the company. This lead to create various
changes in business that lead more emphasize on enhancing operational activity.
Inventory management is another concept that will be used for managing inventory in the
organization that help in delivering better quality services to consumers. Effective use of
resources also helps in improving productivity as well as profitability. Maintaining quality in the
company increasing satisfaction level of consumers that enhance sales in business. There are
different challenges that become significant in increasing operational cost as changing in
technology cater to it. Henceforth, globalisation is another factor that bring challenging aspects
for the company to adopt while marinating effective supply chain management system. From the
above study lastly, it can be said that for ensuring better quality product effective system will be
applied for future results.