Operation Management (Mba-502)
Operation Management
Introduction
Kudler Fine Foods has several important issues in terms of its operation management. Kudler made the decision to start contracting with local growers of organic produce. Continuing to find new ways to increase business and gain an edge over the competition is important in the market. Developments may include merger and acquisition activity involving continuing price competition, growth of take-away food products and services, change in operations and continuing consumer concerns about food safety and ethics (Shears &Hillier, 2000). This paper will identify those business processes at Kudler that could be affected by this change in the operation. It will also discuss Kudler supply chain, quality control tools and performance standards that Kudler would need to put in place to ensure the effectiveness of its operations. Once Kudler has identified the above categories for change, create internal planning teams to address each issue and find solutions for implement.
Supply Chain "The idea of supply chain management is to apply a total systems approach to managing the entire flow of information, materials, and services from raw materials suppliers through factories and warehouses to the end customer" (Chase-Jacobs-Aquilano, 2005). Kudler makes every effort to provide customers with total satisfaction. They offer a varied selection of gourmet foods and plan to offer organic products by local growers. She does this by monitoring gourmet food stores, going to conventions and visiting the competitor 's websites. Once she finds new and interesting items, Kathy introduces them to the staff during her operations review meetings and allows her managers to give their opinions of the new product. Then the best decision will be made that Kudler can achieve a significant competitive advantage by the way they configure and manage their supply chain operations. The department managers can measure supply chain performance such as
Introduction
Kudler Fine Foods has several important issues in terms of its operation management. Kudler made the decision to start contracting with local growers of organic produce. Continuing to find new ways to increase business and gain an edge over the competition is important in the market. Developments may include merger and acquisition activity involving continuing price competition, growth of take-away food products and services, change in operations and continuing consumer concerns about food safety and ethics (Shears &Hillier, 2000). This paper will identify those business processes at Kudler that could be affected by this change in the operation. It will also discuss Kudler supply chain, quality control tools and performance standards that Kudler would need to put in place to ensure the effectiveness of its operations. Once Kudler has identified the above categories for change, create internal planning teams to address each issue and find solutions for implement.
Supply Chain "The idea of supply chain management is to apply a total systems approach to managing the entire flow of information, materials, and services from raw materials suppliers through factories and warehouses to the end customer" (Chase-Jacobs-Aquilano, 2005). Kudler makes every effort to provide customers with total satisfaction. They offer a varied selection of gourmet foods and plan to offer organic products by local growers. She does this by monitoring gourmet food stores, going to conventions and visiting the competitor 's websites. Once she finds new and interesting items, Kathy introduces them to the staff during her operations review meetings and allows her managers to give their opinions of the new product. Then the best decision will be made that Kudler can achieve a significant competitive advantage by the way they configure and manage their supply chain operations. The department managers can measure supply chain performance such as
References: Gomez-Mejia-Balkin (2002). Management and its evolution: Retrieved on October 20, 2007 From University of Phoenix, Resource, Management (8th Edition) Ch 15. Chase-Jacobs-Aquilano (2005). Operations Management for Competitive Advantage 11th Edition: Retrieved on October 21, 2007 from Ch 5 and 10. Virtual Organization Portal: Kudler Fine Foods (2005), Retrieved on October 20, 2007 from www.phoenix.edu.