Improving Starbucks Operations: Alternative Approaches and Benefits

This report analyzes the operations of Starbucks, focusing on potential areas for improvement and strategic growth. The student argues that Starbucks could enhance its market position by diversifying its product offerings, specifically by expanding into bakery items and flavored coffee products to cater to a broader customer base. The report suggests alternative approaches, such as purchasing bakeries or forming partnerships, to meet customer needs and increase profitability. It also examines the strategic implications of these changes, emphasizing the need for revised strategies, increased resources, and adjustments to operational processes. The author substantiates the recommendations by highlighting the changing business environment and the need for Starbucks to adapt to remain competitive, referencing the company's recent performance and the success of competitors with broader product lines. The report provides a comprehensive overview of operations management, offering practical insights into business development and strategic planning for the coffee industry.

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 1
Operations Management
Student’s Name
Institution
Date

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 2
1. How can the Operations of your chosen organization improve? What are the
benefits?
The operations at Starbucks can improve if the company is able to promote diversity in its
operations. Starbucks is dealing with a different market, and it should know that at times, there is
a need to change. The company only sells coffee and lets other organizations that sell products
that go along coffee to benefit. For example, some people who take coffee in the morning do it
with a snack and mostly a cake. Therefore, it means that when a customer buys coffee from
Starbucks towards school or work, the customer has high chances of passing through another
place to get a snack. The operations of an organization have an effect on the products that the
company manufactures (Heizer, Render, Munson, & Sachan, 2017). In this case, it is advisable
for Starbucks to expand its operations and start baking for the customers who might need
something to eat together with the coffee.
Starbucks can also expand its operations by bringing in new products that are associated with
coffee. Innovations have been made in the modern world of business, and this has left many
organizations with opportunities and chances to grow. Flavored cold coffee is one of the
products that are selling in the market. The frustration of taking processed sugars and soft drinks
is promoted in many parts of the world, and therefore, customers are starting to use products that
have health benefits (Heizer et al. 2017). Coffee has a lot of benefits, and it cannot be compared
with soft drinks. Starbucks should make sure that it processes some of the products that are
embraced in the market. The concentration on one product is one of the reasons why the
company has been facing challenges in increasing its profits. The company should learn from
companies like Apple Inc. and Samsung. These are organizations that manufacture more than ten
types of different products.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 3
2. What alternative approaches would you use?
An alternative approach would be to purchase bakeries in bulk and package them at
Starbucks. In this case, the company will be meeting the need of the customers and at the same
time making profits (Hill & Hill, 2017). The second alternative would be a partnership with
another organization that is well known and sells bakeries. The strategy is likely to work, and
this is because it has been tested in a different industry, and it has worked. Toyota had partnered
with Total Oil Company to have its depots in the company's premises, and that meant that the
customers would access the services of Toyota at any Total gas filling station. The company can
bring in another company that would be selling snacks to the customers to make sure that the
needs of the customers are met (Uhl, & Gollenia, 2016). In line with the expansion of the variety
of coffee products, the company can choose to outsource skills from some of the professionals
out there who are processing flavored coffee.
Machine Leadership
Lack of advanced machines Lack of innovative leadership
Lack of information Lack of training
Holding back information Lack of skilled labor
Information Human Resource
3. What strategic implications are there for Operations and the organization in using
these alternative approaches?
Concentration on
one product

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The company will be forced to revise strategy, and this is because it will need to
accommodate new processes. The introduction of the alternatives will need more money,
machines, time, and human resource. Therefore, the strategic plan will need to be revised to
make sure that it accommodates the new changes (Hill & Hill, 2017). The number of activities
will increase, and this means that the operational processes of the company will be forced to
increase. Therefore, there is no choice to look into different ways of fitting the changes in the
daily operations of the company. A strategy helps to oversee the interventions that are in place.
When the interventions are increased, it is imperative to revise the strategy to make sure that the
interventions are accommodated in the strategy (Hill & Hill, 2017). Failing to revise the strategy
can affect the implementation of the solution because there will be nothing to guide the solution.
4. Substantiate and justify your recommendations
The recommendations that have been made have been based on the problem at hand.
Starbucks has been an organization that provides good products to the customers. The company
has been effective, and it has been opening new branches (Hill & Hill, 2017). However, the
business environment is changing, and there is a need to change with it. For the last few years,
the company has not been reporting good results in terms of sales and profits, and this can be
associated with its limited operations (Hill & Hill, 2017). Many coffee businesses have been
opened, and they offer more services than Starbuck. Coffee is a product that can be taken with
another product, and organizations that are providing an accompaniment are benefiting. In this
case, it is evident that Starbucks has no other choice than to change with times, and that is proof
that the recommendations are suitable for the case at hand.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 5
Increasing the operations of an organization is the same as increasing activities that increase
sales. The recommendation is aimed at providing a solution. Using the current structure and
processes, it has been proven that Starbucks is not doing well. The quality of the products has not
decreased (Choi, Chan, & Yue, 2016). It, therefore, means that the problem is not in the quality,
but it is in the products that the company has not started to manufacture yet. In this case, it is
logical to recommend the expansion of the operations and the inclusion of new processes to
make sure that the company has more to offer than it is offering right now (Reid & Sanders,
2015). A recommendation becomes justifiable if it is able to present a solution effectively. In the
case of the recommendation that has been provided, it is evident that it is bringing a solution to
the company.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 6
References
Choi, T. M., Chan, H. K., & Yue, X. (2016). Recent development in big data analytics for
business operations and risk management. IEEE transactions on cybernetics, 47(1), 81
92
Heizer, J., Render, B., Munson, C., & Sachan, A. (2017). Operations management: sustainability
and supply chain management, 12/e. New York: Pearson Education.
Hill, A., & Hill, T. (2017). Essential Operations Management (2nd ed.). S.l.: PALGRAVE.
Reid, R. D., & Sanders, N. R. (2015). Operations Management, Binder Ready Version: An
Integrated Approach. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Uhl, A., & Gollenia, L. A. (Eds.). (2016). A handbook of business transformation management
methodology. London: Routledge.