Unilever UK: Operations and Quality Management Theory Application

This report provides an in-depth analysis of operations and quality management at Unilever UK. It explores the company's operational strategies, quality control measures, and the application of relevant theories and best practices within different business contexts. The report highlights Unilever UK's focus on customer satisfaction, supply chain management, and the challenges faced due to globalization and events like the Covid-19 pandemic. It also discusses the importance of maintaining strong customer relationships and adopting strategies like Total Quality Management and Six Sigma to improve productivity and address operational issues. Recommendations are provided to enhance Unilever's operational efficiency, quality control, and overall business performance. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide range of study resources including past papers and solved assignments.

Individual report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Operations and quality management information .......................................................................3
Overview of Unilever UK............................................................................................................4
Application of appropriate operations and quality management theory and best practice in
different business contexts...........................................................................................................5
Scope and purpose of operations and quality management theory..............................................7
Recommendations .......................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Operations management refers to the administration of the business practices in order to
increase the efficiency of the operations of the company. It is associated with the converting the
raw materials into finished goods and deliver in the market in order to maximize the
productivity of the organisation(Kumar, Mookerjee, and Shubham, 2018). The professional
involved in the operations departments aims at maximising the profits of the company by
balancing the cost and revenue. The operations management of the company utilises the
resources , raw materials and equipments and manufacture the products and deliver the finished
products in the market. The main purpose of the operations management is to utilise the raw
materials and ensure that there is minimum wastage of the resources(Choi, and et.al., 2018).
The present study is based on Unilever UK . The report also covers the operations and quality
management information of the chosen project and various issues faced in context of the
operations and quality management.
MAIN BODY
Operations and quality management information
Operations management refers to the direction of the business practices in order to attain
high level efficiency in the company. It is basically associated with the converting the raw
materials and labour into finished goods and services. The professionals working in the
operations department ensures that there is balance between the cost and revenue that results in
increase in the profits of the organisation and also accomplish the goals of the project. The role
of the operations management is to manage the various strategic issues that arise that includes
determining the size of the project management methods and also implementation of the
structure of information technology networks etc(Tortorella, and et.al., 2021). It also refers to
the set of the process and procedures as well as policies which are require for the planning the
development, production and services within the organization. The operational management of
Unilever UK has the responsibility to keep high quality as it is one of the leading company that
deals with consumer goods. The operational management performance is connected with the
financial performance of the company(Pambreni, and et.al., 2019). The operational managers of
the company develop the process and procedures that supports in achieving the higher

performance and productivity of the company. In addition to this it is necessary for the company
to make various strategic decisions that focus on improving the productivity of the
company(Saville, and McElwee, 2021). In order to stay competitive and productive , the
operations management approaches of the company keep on changing which contributes in the
achieving the objectives of the company.
Furthermore, quality management is considered one of the major aspect in the project. It
is the act of the managing the activities and task in order to maintain the quality of the product.
It includes determination of the quality policy by creating and execution of the quality planning
and assurance and also improvement of the quality. The main purpose of the quality
management is that all the stakeholders together work and contribute in the improvement of the
products and services and also the culture of the company. While taking various strategic
decision the operational managers of the organisation focus on satisfying the customer
expectations and focus on the quality of the product(Kumar, and Mishra, 2019). The operational
process of the Unilever UK includes the process that satisfy the requirements of the consumers.
It has also observed that in order to maintain the high quality of the products, the management
has to comply with the local and corporate standards for their product lines in order to provide
assistance for development strategies of the company.
Overview of Unilever UK
Unilever plc is one the British multinational organisation that deals in the consumer
goods headquartered in London , United Kingdom. The organisation has wide product line that
includes food, condiments , ice-creams , vitamins , minerals , beauty care and personal care
products. It is one of the largest producer of the soap in the world. The company has expanded its
business across the globe in 190 countries. The company was founded on 2 September with the
merger with British soap maker Lever Brothers and the Dutch margarine producer. The
company owns over 400 brands and the products of the company is divided into three divisions
i.e. Home care, beauty and personal care(Hepsomali, and Groeger, 2021) . Recently the
company has diversified its business from manufacturing the products that is made from oil and
fats and has also expanded its operations globally. The company is a holding company which has
Anglo- Dutch structure but in 2018 announced its intentional to change and simplifying the
structure.

The business model of Unilever UK begins with the customer insight and focus on brand
innovation and has leading supply chain and also invested in the efficiency and eco -production.
The company is centralising its operations with the network of the global Ultra Logistics control
towers in order to improve the customers service and also helps in reducing the cost and is also
environment friendly. Apart from this the company also uses various marketing platforms in
order to promote the products and services offered by the organisation and also ensures that
quality products are delivered in the market(Sachs, and et.al., 2021). Furthermore the company
is also engaged in various corporate social responsibility activities and is connected with the
society . It also contributes in the strength of the brands of the consumer goods. The stakeholder
of the company involves consumers, employees, investors , suppliers and various communities.
The social corporate strategy of the company emphasis on the stakeholders as they are
considered as important component which helps in increasing the profitability of the company.
Application of appropriate operations and quality management theory and best practice in
different business contexts
The main purpose of the company is to manufacture the products that is of high quality
and which satisfy the requirements of the customers. It depends upon the operational
management of the company to understand the activities and process in its management which
helps in reducing and balancing the cost and also provide quality products. Unilever UK being a
leading company and deals in consumer products have to ensure that the quality of the product is
maintained and also the productivity of the company by taking various strategic decisions. In
order to balance this it is necessary for the company make various changes and modifications in
its operation management and laity management(Zhang, and et.al., 2020). On the other hand
there the situation arise when company faces various challenges related to the operations and
quality which can have impact on the company and its profitability.
It is necessary for the company to analyse the current progress of the company and make
decision accordingly. It is necessary for the company to evaluate the areas and find best practices
in order to overcome this situation and challenges faced by the company. It requires planning and
effective use of strategies and resources which can be helpful in overcoming the problems that is
faced by the company. As the company deals in the consumer products it is necessary for the
company to build effective customer relationship which helps in understanding the demands and
preferences of the customers and deliver the products accordingly in the market.

Operational management is considered as an important part of the company as it helps in
administration of the business practices that is executed by the company in order to attain high
level of efficiency. The issues in the operation management can have impact on the overall
business as it is connected to every department of the company. On the major issue faced in the
operation in the Unilever UK is the customers relationship which can a risk for the company.
Unilever UK operates in very competitive environment as it sells branded products to the
various different supermarkets that includes Tesco , Sainsbury. The company also have various
competitors that can be problem for the company and in order to overcome this it is necessary for
the company to maintain healthy relationship with their customers so that they are aware about
the preferences and demand of the products in the market.
The customers plays very important role and contributes in the growth of the company
which can be possible through maintaining effective level of communication with the customer.
The company is expanded in various countries so it is necessary for the company to know the
demands of the products in the countries which helps in analysing the present conditions of the
company(Gupta, Modgil, and Gunasekaran, 2020). On the other hand the company also faced
losses due to the emergence of Covid-19 where the demands of the customers was more but the
company failed to fulfil as there were restrictions that was imposed by the government which
restricted the company to manufacture products but due to unavailability of the raw materials and
import and export of the products and services. The main focus of Unilever is that maintaining
healthy relationship with customer helps in building the brand image and also improve the
operational management of the company.
Globalisation has benefited the manufacturing industries and it has helped the company to
expand its business where the cost of production is low and where there is availability of raw
material and workforce .But it has also led to supply chain issues and Unilever faced labour and
stated that it was due to low wages paid by the company or excess working hours and
unfavourable working conditions. In order to improve this the company has to focused on total
quality management which is defined as new set of principles that observes the changing
situation in the environment and help in making innovations and improvements by making
various changes or addition of new features in the product and offer to the customer(Anitah,
2019). The company can use the Six Sigma theory which a quality management methodology
that help the business to make improvement in the current process, products and services and

also various challenges faced by Unilever which helps in eliminating the defects and overcome
the issues. The theory is based on five phases:
 The first stage is the defining the problem and the problems can be related to the
customer and may be supply chain issues that is faced by the organisation.
 The Next stage is the measuring the current progress of the company by collecting the
data that helps in determining the root cause of the problem.
 The other is analysing the root cause of the problem and framing the strategy and
compare it with the former strategy in order to overcome the issue highlighted.
 This stage is the improvement stage where implementation of the plan is done in order to
solve the problem.
 The last stage is the controlling stage where various precautions are taken which help in
reducing the risk involved.
It is necessary for the company to focus on the customer and understand their references.
Furthermore, the company is required to adopt effective technology in its system in order to
increase the productivity of the company (Yu, and et.al., 2021). It is necessary for Unilever to
take strategic approach in order to maintain the quality of the product and improve the
productivity of the company and compete in the market.
Scope and purpose of operations and quality management theory
With the help of effective quality management theory help in overseeing the activities of
the company and plan the strategies accordingly in order to achieve the goals and objectives of
the company .Unilever has faced with the issues such as customer relationship which is very
important if the the company is dealing with the consumer goods (Chaitanya, and et.al.,
2018).Furthermore, the company should communicate with the customers in order to understand
their preferences and requirements. With the application of quality management theory helps in
measuring and analysing the root cause of the problem faced by the company and and helps in
find effective ways to overcome the issues(Erdil, and Erbıyık, 2019). With the help of total
quality management it provides assurance to the customer will get what they expect and by
getting feedback from the customers which help to make improvements in the areas where the
management is lacking and plan effective strategies in order to resolve the problem.

Unilever has taken various measures in order to strengthen the steps taken in order to
maintain high level of the products and services and ensure that quality products are offered to
the customers(Wilson, 2018).From the research it has been observed that the company has
introduced various total quality management programs in various subsidiaries. It included
changes that is made by the company i.e. construction of the organisational culture ,
improvements in the human resource management. The company has also adopted various
technology in order to improve the transportation and logistics which is considered as important
part of the Total quality management .
Recommendations
Unilever being the leading company that deals in the consumer products and services it is
very important for the management of the company to continuously evaluate the changes that are
taking place in the environment. It is also necessary for the company to focus on the operational
and quality control management and make strategic decisions after evaluating the situation.
 It is recommended to the effectively plan the business strategies and implement in order
to get positive outcome and results into effective operational management and quality
management of the company.
 Customer is considered as major stakeholder of the company and its is necessary for the
management to understand the preferences and requirements of the customer and deliver
quality products in the market. It is also suggested to monitor the quality control
management in order to avoid problems such as supply chain problems by using
effective quality management approaches in the company.
 Furthermore, it is recommended to build favourable corporate culture which lays stress
on the quality management and concentrating on maintaining the manufacturing
machines and equipments and also by regularly inspecting the work (de Jesus Pacheco,
and et.al., 2018). On the other hand the company should lay emphasis on the training
programs should be implemented which focuses on the significance of the quality control
which can help in contributing in the success of the organization.
 Unilever is one of the biggest brand that deals in more than 400 products and has
expanded its business in various other countries should lay more stress on building
effective relationship with the customers by suing various social media platforms and

receive feedback which will help in evaluating the progress of the company and further
plan the strategies accordingly.

CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that the operational management and quality
management plays very important role as it is necessary for the company to maintain quality of
the products that is to be delivered to the customer in the market. The present study summarize
importance of operational management and quality management in effectively operating the
business, overview of the chosen company i.e. Unilever UK which is British multinational
company that deals in consumer products and services. The report has reflected on the challenges
that is faced by the company associated with the operations and quality management and theory
related to the quality control management that helps in taking effective decisions in order to
improve the quality of the goods and also help in overcoming the challenges faced by the
company.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
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