Kmart Operations: Strategic Solutions for Product & Service Quality

This essay examines the operational challenges faced by Kmart, specifically addressing issues related to poor product quality and customer service. It highlights instances of faulty and damaged goods, as well as negative customer experiences due to slow checkout processes and staff interactions. The essay proposes several strategies to improve Kmart's operations, including the implementation of automated store technologies similar to Amazon Go, and the adoption of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma methodologies to enhance product quality. Additionally, the essay suggests leveraging lean management principles for continuous improvement and focusing on customer relationship management (CRM) to enhance customer service and build trust. The overall aim is to provide actionable solutions for Kmart to regain its competitive edge and improve customer satisfaction.

Running Head: KMART 0
Managing Operations

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Poor quality product or service at Kmart: strategies that can be adopted to solve these
issues
Kmart is the first discount departmental store of Australia. Recently, it has more than
200 stores across all over Australia. It is also recognised as the most profitable store in
Australia. The mission of the store is to provide everyday needed products at low cost to the
customers. It approximately employs 30,000 team members across its retail stores. By
adopting various measures, it listens to customers, partners, as well as people in a better way.
Besides this, by taking into account the sustainable development program, it satisfies the
needs of community members. In recent time, Kmart is facing various issues due to its poor
quality of products as well as poor customer services. In the further section, the discussion is
carried on the issues that is facing. Strategies are also recommended to solve these issues.
Recently, Kmart is facing several issues related to poor quality product as well as
services. From a report, it is founded that Kmart is the king of bargain in home ware products
but it sells poor quality. While buying product at Kmart store, customer has founded the
goods damage as well as faulty. When a customer went to the store for buying vases but after
checking it has founded the side table as wonky. All these poor quality of products are
criticised by the customers in recent days (Gambale, 2017). Due to this, its sales growth is
hitting back at the discount departmental store. One customer also reported for the poor
quality of bed sheets. It stated that the bed sheets were of the worth of ten penny in Kmart.
Various customers were also criticizing the high prices of cheap products regularly. Besides
this, one customer stated that all people are finding the low prices as attractive but all these
are old thing that it is selling. It clearly states that all the retail stores want to garb more
money without even focusing on the quality that it is serving to customers (Brook, 2018).
The poor customer service case also comes in front of the public when women news
got viral. Customer has attended the store by having a security tag on the tracksuit pants that
she had purchased few weeks ago. She went to the counter for removing the tag and a
problem arose. From the staff member, one person asked that why she has wear the tracksuit.
The women was feeling very embarrassed as all the people in crowd were taking the women
as thief. The women shouted right at the staff by saying before knowing about the things, it is
not good to treat any person as thief. This women has also posted the poor customer service

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case of Kmart on the social media. From this posting, it has also achieved many likes as well
as comments on the side of people (Backhouse, 2017). All these things show the poor quality
of customer service at the Kmart store. Due to its improper management, customers also have
to wait for long time in queue. It does not have speedy checkout process due to which
customers are facing this issue. This made the customers to stand in long lines and some
people are telling this as waste of time. It is true that in today’s time no customer will stand in
longer lines if other firms are making payment in only little time with the help of automated
technologies (Wong, Liu & Tjosvold, 2015).
In order to avoid the problem of customers for waiting in long time, it can take the
initiative of automated store. Same as Amazon Go, it can also start this technique in its store
for providing easy convenience to its customers. It can make the store automated in order to
improve the customer service. By adopting this strategy, it can eliminate the problem of
waiting for long time in queues. By taking the assistance of automated technology like sensor
fusion, computer vision and deep leaning, it can improve the customer service. It can also
improve the shopping experience of customer with the help of this strategy. It is true that
customers much value their time and cannot wait stand for too long time in queues. This
technological shift will achieve the various positive reviews and feedback on part of
customers (Wiengarten, Gimenez, Fynes & Ferdows, 2015). In recent time, the habit of
customer is also changing frequently that force the retail supermarket to improve the
customer experience. If the adoption of this technique will take long time, then it can make
the line feel short for the customers by taking various initiatives. By playing the background
music, customers can enjoy and forget that they are standing for too long time in queue.
Besides this, staff members can also interact with the customers who are standing in queue.
During interaction, they can discuss regarding any product of the store, as well as ask any
frequent question with the customer. This will lead to the friendly environment and help the
customer in reducing the stress by standing for long in the queue (Pezzini, 2017).
In addition to this, it is also seen that Kmart is facing the issue in its poor quality.
Therefore, for reducing this, it can use the Total Quality Management and strategic Planning
(Ross, 2017). BY using this tool, it can gain the competition advantage among all the
competitors in the marketplace. By using this strategy properly, it can focus on the quality
and can meet the needs of the customer. As compare to this, the Kmart can also use strategic
planning (Bryson, 2018). This strategy will help the company in prioritizing the efforts of the

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company in implementation of the approach of Total Quality Management. Through the
controlling processes, TQM approach will assist the firm in solving the problem of bad
quality. However, this approach requires the support of each member in the organization.
Team of quality improvement, as well as process control are some areas that require the
improvement. Kmart can make the strict charge of checking quality on one expert that will
check all the products before moving them in the store for sale (Alpenberg & Karlsson,
2018). This will help the company to remove the bad quality or damaged product in the initial
phase only. In addition of this, building the strategic planning process in the Total quality
management approach of company will help the Kmart to evaluate the needs of customers for
determining the best approach. Goals and final product of the organization can create the
value for the customers. Kmart must make quality a top priority in the organization from the
top-level management to the lower workers for building the product. Priority matrix also
delivers a method to evaluate the quality options that will satisfy the customers. Additionally,
organization can also use the tools such as matrix diagram, tree diagram or process decision
tool for determining the best approach in order to satisfy the customers (Kelchner, 2018).
Kmart can also use six-sigma approach. A quality management methodology can be
used to help the companies in improving their current processes, services, or products by
eliminating as well as discovering the defects. The goal of six sigma is to control the quality
in business process and manufacturing. The adoption of this approach will increase the
customer satisfaction as well as profitability by improving the bad quality in every process of
the organization. With the assistance of sig-sigma, businesses can easily and better strategize
the action plan and drive the reduction in cost, increment in revenue as well as improvement
in process (Marzagão & Carvalho, 2016). Besides this, Kmart can also create the proper
vision that will be free from defects and provide the positive environment in the organization.
It is also essential for the organizations to set the benchmark in the organization. Whenever,
the process metrics achieve the stability, it can sue the sig sigma method again for improving
the newly process metrics (Fu, Chou, Chen & Wang, 2015). Six sigma methodology can also
assist the Kmart in keeping a strict objective for the company and work toward it for
achieving that goal. By using the methodology in right manner, organization can achieve the
goals. In this way, the use of this strategy can help the Kmart to remove the defect in its
product due to which it is getting negative reviews. From the report, it is founded that sig
sigma methodology DMADV is designed for creating a new process that will result
improvement of product as well as service quality. The project with the name DMADV is

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segmented into define, measure, analyse, design and verify. Usually this approach was
developed for creative a quality product in factory. However, other than this, it can also apply
for getting the product from supplier to the shelves of store (Lopresti, 2018). Among all the
concepts, lean management is also getting popular in the business world. The lean method is
to deliver the value to the customers. Besides this, it also helps in eliminating the wastage by
doing the continuous improvement (Alhuraish, Robledo & Kobi, 2017). It has been seen that
Kmart is facing the several issues due to its faulty product. Therefore, the adoption of this
concept will help it in offering only those products that the customer feels worth to pay for. It
is true that company needs to add the value in the product for making customers to buy those
products (Jacobs, Swink & Linderman, 2015). After the identification of value, Kmart can
take the value stream mapping as the second step. After identifying the value of the team, it is
essential to envisage the way to the customers. It can also focus on those steps that add value
in the products. Occasionally, it is also significant to correct as the process evolves. After
following this step, the third step that can be used is creating the flow. In this step, it can set
the target of ensuring the proper delivery pf the order to the final consumer. Top-level
management can take the responsibility of the flow by properly watching the progress of
tasks throughout the flow of work. In the next step, it can establish a pull system. It can start
the new work whenever any demand arises. Kmart can also set the goal to produce only those
values that are needed by the customers actually and avoiding the overproduction. In this
way, the principle of lean is closely related with the continuous improvement that is integral
part of the management. Kmart can set the goal to regularly improving each process in the
team by emphasis on the enhancement of those activities that generate the highest value for
the customers with removing the wastage activities (Kanbanize, 2019).
In addition to the poor quality products, it is also facing the issues of poor customer
service. This requires the Kmart to put emphasis and improve it. Enhancement of the
customer service strategy is the essential strategy that can help the company. Therefore,
Kmart can take the full advantage of all the social media sites and write responses whenever
customer will post anything on the page. This will show to the customers that company is
also working on the behalf of customers. Besides this, it can also meet in personal with the
customers whenever it is possible. This will help in building the trust of customers and
reminds that company also exist other than the social media. There are times when customers
do not like the customer service that it is serving to the customers. For removing this issue, it
can start taking some interviews with the customers or can also run the surveys for getting the

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ideas for better customer service. In recent time, customer relationship management holds a
strong position in the business (Topalović, 2015).It will help in keeping the unhappy
customers happy in several ways. If any wrong customer service will be given, it is essential
for the company to apologize for that. It will help in building the trust of customer that
company also think about them.
A strong customer service team is also required for the strengthening of service
performance. Kmart can train its staff members with the right skills that are beneficial for the
customers. It is essential for the company to hire the individuals with the right skills. The
staff members must use good communication skills. It should teach its customers how to deal
with customers in a positive way. It must make the policies for the employees to never
communicate with negative manner that will leave the customer dissatisfied (Katzenbach &
Smith, 2015). By knowing the outcomes of policy, staff members will also deal with
customers in effective manner. It can also add some benefits if customers will appreciate the
service of its staff members. This will motivate the staff members to perform well. Besides
this, it should only make customer service representative to those who have total knowledge
regarding all the products, services as well as prices of those. This will help it in improving
its customer service and satisfy the customer at the end. For getting the effective results, it
can track the performance of customer service representative. If any staff is lacking in
providing the best services to its customers, it can train them for improving in those areas
where they are lacking. Training is also a form of strategy that can help the members can
learn the various aspects of product and services. In this way, by taking the proper training,
employees will come to know about the changes in needs of the customer (Sloman, 2017).
This will lead to better customer service in the organization when staff members will come to
know how to deal effectively.
In the limelight of above discussion, it can be concluded that Kmart is the first
discount and profitable departmental store of Australia. However, due to its poor quality
products or services, it is getting various negative reviews from the customers. Especially, it
is facing issues by serving the poor quality or damaged products to its customers. Many
customers are pointing out the bad quality of many of its products. Besides this, poor
customer service experience also hitting the image of Kmart in Australia. Various customers
are also pointing out the rude behaviour of its staff members. Therefore, in order to remove

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these issues, it can take adopt various strategies such as total quality management, lean
management and training in its management.

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