Operations Management
Introduction
A conventional “bricks and mortar” grocery does not have an online presence, only a physical one. It is built on a face-to-face customer service, and usually always has a building for their operations. A “brick and mortar” grocery has advantages and disadvantages compared to an online operation, like Theorganicgrocer.com. First of all, their major disadvantage is the overhead. The cost of property, insurance, taxes and staff is much higher for a “brick and mortar” operation than an online operation. The biggest advantage for a “brick and mortar” operation is customer security. To a customer, if a company has physical presence, it is seen as more reliable as the company is far less likely to fold overnight and disappear.
Online operations on the other hand seem to have maximum exposure and increased profits. Most people however, seem to be under the impression that running an online operation will be an easy task but it can be somewhat challenging. Online operations require less investment and more decision making. Decisions are practically the biggest investments made in the online world. Decisions on what the website should look like, how the products are going to be listed, in which way should the products be marketed would have to be made.
Theorganicgrocer.com is based on market research and they focus on dependability, reliability, timeliness, quality, and price. They offer delivery, organic produce and customer specified date and time of delivery. Apart from that, they make sure that their website is constantly updated to reflect the current price. They believe that the key to their success is the simplicity of use of their website.
Question 1
What are the comparative operational differences of a conventional “bricks and mortar” grocery to an online operation? What are the comparative value chains for each system?
Comparative Operations | Bricks and Mortar Operation | Online Operation | Display | Customers are able to physically touch and
A conventional “bricks and mortar” grocery does not have an online presence, only a physical one. It is built on a face-to-face customer service, and usually always has a building for their operations. A “brick and mortar” grocery has advantages and disadvantages compared to an online operation, like Theorganicgrocer.com. First of all, their major disadvantage is the overhead. The cost of property, insurance, taxes and staff is much higher for a “brick and mortar” operation than an online operation. The biggest advantage for a “brick and mortar” operation is customer security. To a customer, if a company has physical presence, it is seen as more reliable as the company is far less likely to fold overnight and disappear.
Online operations on the other hand seem to have maximum exposure and increased profits. Most people however, seem to be under the impression that running an online operation will be an easy task but it can be somewhat challenging. Online operations require less investment and more decision making. Decisions are practically the biggest investments made in the online world. Decisions on what the website should look like, how the products are going to be listed, in which way should the products be marketed would have to be made.
Theorganicgrocer.com is based on market research and they focus on dependability, reliability, timeliness, quality, and price. They offer delivery, organic produce and customer specified date and time of delivery. Apart from that, they make sure that their website is constantly updated to reflect the current price. They believe that the key to their success is the simplicity of use of their website.
Question 1
What are the comparative operational differences of a conventional “bricks and mortar” grocery to an online operation? What are the comparative value chains for each system?
Comparative Operations | Bricks and Mortar Operation | Online Operation | Display | Customers are able to physically touch and