Pret a Manger
Case Study : Pret A Manger
Pret A Manger, as said on their own website, provides ”Good tasting natural food, excellent service and convenience”. Sandwiches, salads, soups and other fast food we buy in one of their shops are exactly prepared in the kitchen of the shop. From this point , Pret has something in common with McDonald’s or KFC—their shops all have their own kitchens. However,I think, having a kitchen probably is the only similarity, Pret is quite different not only in the products and services but also in its organization and strategy.
Now let’s have look at this fast food retailer:
A. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Pret A Manger organizing itself so that the individual shops make the sandwiches that they sell?
ADVANTAGES
This arrangement brings many benefits to Pret A Manger.
Save the resources.
The individual shops make their own sandwiches for sale means the company don’t have to spent time and money on discussing issues such as “Which place shall we buy or rent to build the factory to prepare the sandwiches?” or “Who is to manage the factory？” or “How should the sandwiches be shipped to the shops?” or even “Science the construction of our factory has not been finished, is it possible that we have retail shops first?”. For the hole organization, kitchens with shops are much more economic than a big plant.
Simplify the transportation.
Compared with some supermarkets which also sell sandwiches, if a Pret shop has its food prepared and ready for sale, the only thing left is to carry them from the kitchen (right in the shop) and place them on the shelf for the customer to choose. No such things as containers, trucks, scheduling or so. By this, many mistakes and delays would be prevented.
Ensure of the supply of the food for sale.
We all have such experience: we went to a restaurant or a super market wishing to eat or buy something but when we got there, the stuff told we exactly what we wanted is sold out and it
Pret A Manger, as said on their own website, provides ”Good tasting natural food, excellent service and convenience”. Sandwiches, salads, soups and other fast food we buy in one of their shops are exactly prepared in the kitchen of the shop. From this point , Pret has something in common with McDonald’s or KFC—their shops all have their own kitchens. However,I think, having a kitchen probably is the only similarity, Pret is quite different not only in the products and services but also in its organization and strategy.
Now let’s have look at this fast food retailer:
A. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Pret A Manger organizing itself so that the individual shops make the sandwiches that they sell?
ADVANTAGES
This arrangement brings many benefits to Pret A Manger.
Save the resources.
The individual shops make their own sandwiches for sale means the company don’t have to spent time and money on discussing issues such as “Which place shall we buy or rent to build the factory to prepare the sandwiches?” or “Who is to manage the factory？” or “How should the sandwiches be shipped to the shops?” or even “Science the construction of our factory has not been finished, is it possible that we have retail shops first?”. For the hole organization, kitchens with shops are much more economic than a big plant.
Simplify the transportation.
Compared with some supermarkets which also sell sandwiches, if a Pret shop has its food prepared and ready for sale, the only thing left is to carry them from the kitchen (right in the shop) and place them on the shelf for the customer to choose. No such things as containers, trucks, scheduling or so. By this, many mistakes and delays would be prevented.
Ensure of the supply of the food for sale.
We all have such experience: we went to a restaurant or a super market wishing to eat or buy something but when we got there, the stuff told we exactly what we wanted is sold out and it