Operations Management Report: Analyzing Boots UK's Processes

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of operations management, focusing on the practices of Boots UK, a prominent health pharmacy company. It begins with an executive summary highlighting the importance of operations management and how organizations can optimize their processes. The report delves into the core aspects of operations management, process management, and lean management, illustrating how Boots UK implements these strategies. A process chart is included to visualize the development of processes and inventory management within Boots. Furthermore, the report assesses capacity management, examining the potential of the health pharmacy. The role of the operations manager is also analyzed, along with the challenges faced. Finally, the report concludes with recommendations for Boots to enhance its operational processes, making it a valuable resource for students on Desklib.

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Operations management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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Executive summary
The focus of the report is on the importance of operations management and actions taken by
business organisations can take control of its processes by implementing the operational
process at its organisation. The focus is on Boots UK, one of the most popular health
pharmacy company located in the United Kingdom. The report analyses the operations
management of a company and the role played by the operations manager. A process chart is
provided that helps in understanding the development of the process at Boots and the
inventory process it undertakes. Along with this, the implementation of the lean management
of the health pharmacy is taken into consideration, which highlights the development of the
health pharmacy. Capacity management is analysed that talks about the potential of the health
pharmacy. At the same time, recommendations are provided for Boots to continue with its
process development.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Part A.........................................................................................................................................4
i) Operations management......................................................................................................4
ii) Process management..........................................................................................................8
iii) Lean management...........................................................................................................13
Part B........................................................................................................................................17
i) Capacity management.......................................................................................................17
Part C........................................................................................................................................20
Conclusion and recommendation.........................................................................................20
Reference..................................................................................................................................23

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Introduction
According to Rosemann and vom Brocke (2015), most business organisations lay
emphasis is on the marketing and development of products based on the needs and
requirements of the customers. Hence, the role of the operations management in such
organisations is for ensuring that an alignment of business operations can be maintained with
that of the demands of the customers. Operations management is organisations comprise of
three levels, which include strategic, tactical and operational levels. Stark (2015) stated that
in the modern day, the process is dependent on the capacity of the operations managers in
trying to integrate the operations of various departments like finance, marketing, human
resource as well as the procurement of supply chain management.
López-Pintado et al. (2017) is of the opinion that the role of the operations mangers in
the business organisations in integrating the different operational areas is the ultimate
streamline required for the operations of an entire organisation to meet the needs and
demands of the customers. The needs of the customers are dynamic with the nature and it
keeps on fluctuating. Alignment of the operations is not feasible for any organisation based
on customer needs. However, a gap between the two variables that is the customer needs and
organisational operations may have impacts that may determine the success of the business.
García-Holgado et al. (2015) stated that the senior management bodies in large
companies undertake the employment of the operations management. It is usually done in
consultation with the requirements of an organisation and its industry standards. The
evaluation reveals degrees based on which every organisation remain concerned with the
needs of the customers.

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According to Hammer (2015), it is a fact that the standards of the industry constitute
the standards of the operations, which are followed by the leading companies based on
particular industry. For this research, the current operations management of a company is in
focus and is matched against the industry standards. The company in focus is Boots, a health
pharmacy retail company that is located in Nottingham.
The purpose of the research is to explore the importance and implementation of
operational management in large companies that leads to the satisfaction of the customers
based on the products manufactured and served. The research comprises of identifying the
operational management related with Boots along with its lean management practise that is
adopted. A process management diagram is provided that highlights the manufacturing and
serving process that is adopted by Boots. At the same time, the capacity of Boots is analysed
and recommendations are provided highlighting the changes that are to be maintained.
Boots UK is a health pharmacy company that is headquartered in United Kingdom.
The health pharmacy is merged with Alliance UniChem in 2006 for forming Alliance Boots.
John Boot was the founder of the health pharmacy in 1849 (Boots.com 2019). Apart from the
UK, Boots is also located in Ireland, Thailand, South Korea and the Bahamas (Boots.com
2019). Across UK and Ireland, Boots consist of 57,900 employees in total. The subsidiaries
of the health pharmacy include Boots Opticians and Boots Retail, Ireland (Boots.com 2019).
Part A
i) Operations management
Boots is one of the biggest boots retailers in the world and thus, the operating
functions of health pharmacy need to be based on the recent changes that exist in the business
world. The operations functions adopted by Boots can be attributed to the fact that the health

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pharmacy plays an important role in the development of its business process and for the
expansion of its product line (Boots.com 2019). One of the biggest operating functions that
are undertaken by Boots is the fact that the health pharmacy tries to maintain its finances in a
proper manner (Boots.com 2019). The maintenance of the finances of Boots can be attributed
to the fact that the health pharmacy ensures that proper revenue is managed so that innovative
strategies can be applied in health pharmacy (Boots.com 2019).
At the same time, it can be seen that the current practise of Boots is based on the
manufacturing of proper and usage health equipments that can help in the development and
promotion of the health pharmacy (Boots.com 2019). Unlike in its earlier days, Boots has
managed to improve its business prowess and have expanded in various countries all across
the world (Boots.com 2019). Therefore, the current operational practise undertaken by Boots
can be attributed to the fact that the health pharmacy manages to manufacture products based
on the cultural requirements of the people (Boots.com 2019). The demands and desires of
every person need to be fulfilled and thus it is the duty of Boots to continue with the
development of the health equipments that highlights the cultural considerations of the people
(Boots.com 2019).
Hence, it can be said that the operations function of Boots comprise of understanding
the needs and requirements of the clients and contemplating the next strategy that can help in
its development (Boots.com 2019). In the case of Domingues, Sampaio and Arezes (2016)
customer satisfaction can be considered as one of the most important factors that can help in
the growth of an organisation. In the case of Boots, demands of the clients from across the
world need to be fulfilled in order to gain satisfaction (Boots.com 2019).
Thus, proper financial management need to be undertaken so that the health pharmacy
can continue to develop its operations in the market by planning and controlling the activities

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related to manufacturing. Therefore, it can be said that for Boots to gain success, the
development of the raw materials for manufacturing the health facility equipments can be
considered as a valuable goods and service (Boots.com 2019).
In this regard, an analysis can be made about the role played by the operations
manager in trying to link the current practise with that of the standard practise that is adopted
by an organisation. The role of the operations manager includes:
Oversee the financial information: This can be considered as an important role for
the operations manager mainly because the monitoring of the financial conditions as well as
the curtailing of the departments from overspending suggests good attributes for leaders.
Therefore, as stated by Chang (2016) it can be said that the financial information related to
business need to be manages based on the fact that cost benefit analysis need to be developed
for managing the processes in an organisation. Thus, for Boots the knowledge of the financial
information is considered as an important role for the managers (Boots.com 2019).
Resolve conflicts: According to Noe et al. (2017), the managers need to resolve any
type of conflicts that may exist in the departments of an organisation. For Boots the
operations managers manage to maintain a unity among the various departments and stores of
Boots so that conflict of interest does not take place (Boots.com 2019). This is particularly
useful since the health pharmacy deals with its various stores across different countries and
different cultural backgrounds.
Supervise the inventory and supply chain: The supervision of the inventory and the
supply chain need to be done based on the tracking and monitoring of the inventories within
health pharmacy. For Boots, the development of the inventory needs to be maintained for the
steady supply chain management and based on the supply chain management the health
pharmacy can continue to develop its practises (Boots.com 2019).

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Workflow and staff: The management of the employees and the flow of work need to
be based on the staffing requirements of an organisation. The operations manager
collaborates with the HR managers in recruiting and managing the employees so that steady
workflow process can be implemented. For Boots, the workflow and staff process helps in
development of the operations (Boots.com 2019).
Provide a big picture perspective: The mangers are responsible for the overall
wellbeing of the operations of a company. Therefore, the big picture perspective comes into
play owing to meet the demands and expectations of the clients. The managers think critically
to analyse the situations that are currently faced so that the decisions taken are for the best
interest of the companies (Slack and Brandon-Jones 2018).
Supervise the entire process: According to Oliva (2016), the supervision of the entire
operations process needs to be maintained so that failure in any of the process or department
does not exist in an organisation. In the words of Harmon (2019) the operations manager
undergoes the development of the inventory and ensures that the distribution to the clients is
completed in a successful manner. The employees are only specified in one process, the
managers need to be accountable for the entire operations process.
Based on the analysis of the role of the operations manager, the key issues that Boots
may face can be analysed. It can be said that one of the issues that may be faced is the fact
that supervising the entire operations process can be difficult since each department is usually
dependent on one another. Hence, undertaking the duties of the supervision can be considered
as a huge issue for the development of Boots (Boots.com 2019).

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Clients purchase from Boots
UK pharmacy centre
Direct interaction between
the practitioners and the
clients
Care facilities provides
information about the clients
Client requirements are analysed
N
YN
Proper supply of medicines
as per prescription and
disease
Requirements of the
clients are provided to
the doctors
Price set by the
manufacturers of the
medicines at Boots
UK
Gather client details for proper treatment
Manage the clients
Storage
Order placed to the pharmacy
The doctors are consulted to provide the clien
Doctors provide approval to the patients
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OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
ii) Process management

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Figure: Process chart of Boots
(Source: Boots.com 2019)
Process analysis and improvement: Based on the analysis of the process chart, it can
be said that for Boots to continue with its business process, it is necessary that the health
pharmacy continue to develop its practises in health pharmacy by analysing and improving its
health equipments on a regular basis (Boots.com 2019). Wheelen et al. (2017) provided
thoughts about the way by which process analysis can be done on a regular basis, so that
Boots can make changes related to the manner by which it can change its supply chain
process or the manufacturing process.
Hence, improvement can be made to ensure that Boots continue with the development
of its process based on the flaws identified (Boots.com 2019). For example, checking the
inventory can be a challenging factor for Boots and thus, the improvement of the process of
checking with the inventory can be made. This can be done by maintaining a proper checklist
of record of the items that are to be sold so that Boots can ensure that the requirements of the
clients are met (Boots.com 2019).
For example, it is necessary that Boots analyses the rate at which the inventory is
checked so that the production of the health equipments are done as per the specifications of
the clients (Boots.com 2019). It is necessary that Boots continue to develop its composure in
the business process while trying to improve the monitoring process for making the process
chart more flexible (Boots.com 2019). The analysis needs to be done by the operations
manager and the managers of Boots can embark on a quest to satisfy the demands of the
clients (Boots.com 2019).
Customer service strategies: The customer service strategies refer to the plan of
action that is undertaken to ensure that the clients remain satisfied. For Boots, the customer

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satisfaction is one of the important factors that are undertaken by the health pharmacy and it
helps in the development of profit as well as recognition among the clients (Boots.com 2019).
As observed by Hopkinson (2017) the strategies that are undertaken by Boots to help in its
development include:
Select the right tools: It is necessary to ensure that the right tools and techniques are
used for the development of proper customer services. Boots can implement people in every
corner of the department stores so that proper guidance can be provided related to the
characteristics of the health equipments and facilities (Boots.com 2019).
Provide personalised experience: Kumar et al. (2016) stated that it is essential to
ensure that the clients be provided with a personalised experience so that the loyalty can be
maintained. The personal experience of the clients could be maintained by ensuring that
every client is provided with emails or notifications in the case of any new health equipments
that been manufactured. Boots can call the clients personally or send them text messages to
convey the similar information (Boots.com 2019).
Conduct an optimal raining programme: Carayannis, Sindakis and Walter (2015)
is of the opinion that proper training needs to be provided to the employees so that they can
behave properly with the clients and create a sense of effective bonding with the clients. As
stated by Clarke (2018) the satisfaction of the clients are mostly dependent on the services
provided by a company in terms of health equipments provided and the service provided.
Inventory management: Inventory management is the supervision that consists of the
non-capitalised assets such as the inventory and the stock items. Rahimi, Møller and Hvam
(2016) provided evidence that the inventory management is considered as an important
component of supply chain management and it helps in the supervision of the flow of goods
from the manufacturers to the warehouses. In the case of Boots, the inventory management of

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the health pharmacy can be seen as critical from the analysis of the process chart (Boots.com
2019). One of the key functions of inventory management is the fact that detailed record is
kept for all the materials that exist at the inventory (Boots.com 2019).
In this regard, it can be said that the inventory management of Boots can be
considered as important for the benefit of the health pharmacy and comply with the fact that
Boots can continue to develop its inventory based on the fact that customer requirements are
to be met by the implementation of a proper inventory management (Boots.com 2019).
The inventory management process that needs to be undertaken by Boots can be the
basic process that focuses plainly on the recording and the maintenance of the manufactured
goods and services (Boots.com 2019). In the case of Boots, the inventory is delivered in the
receiving area of the warehouse so that excessive transfer of the stocks can take place
(Boots.com 2019). According to Handfield et al. (2015), the finished goods can return to the
stock areas and the shipment can be made directly for the benefit of the clients. Therefore, it
can be said that the inventory management of Boots can be considered as an important
process for the development of its relation with the clients (Boots.com 2019).
Scheduling operations: Kerzner (2019) stated that scheduling pertains to the
establishment of timing and the use of resources that an organisation possesses. The process
undertaken can help in the scheduling of the operation functions; need to be based on the
equipments and facilities that are required for the proper scheduling of the activities
undertaken by health pharmacy (Müller et al. 2016). In the case of Boots, the scheduling
operations need to be based on the fact that issues related to the development of the process
chart be mitigated and at the same time allow the health pharmacy to continue with its
development (Boots.com 2019).