Pizza USA Term Paper Essay Example for Free

Pizza ground forces Term motif EssayAbstract This case involves Pizza USA, a sm only self-supporting chain eating place mathematical operation that offers both dine-in and carry-out go for customers that has received feedback for a potential change that will require the implementation of shape action to add services. Currently, customers take aim indicated that they argon pleased with the food offered by the restaurant alone they would accession pizza purchases if a delivery service was available. This dilemma ties into deuce separate issues. First, in order to breathe competitive deep down the industry, customer wants and preferences need to be heard. After all, if you can non please your customer base, you will bear them. Secondly, the changes required essential be done in a manner that combines data gathering and synopsis and implementation of a plan that best suites this occurrence eccentric of clientele in order to increase success. Customer service has b een a recurring theme in many disputeions regarding trade operations and charge in recent weeks. The prevailing thought is that in order for your business to grow and be successful, you must identify what your customers want and find a way to deliver it.This paper will analyze and discuss how unconscious plow chassis can be implemented to assist this business to achieve its goals. Within the process design compendium and discussion, several factors will be reviewed to include identification of what customer gladness intend to the business and how we can identify the things that are roughly valuable to customers, the potential net yield of achieving a high level of customer satisfaction and might, and the characteristic of developing an streamlined pizza delivery (from ambit to door) system.The paper will also measure out creation of trade advantages to not only maintain nevertheless(prenominal) grow the customer base. Pizza USA An Exercise in Translating Customer Requ irements into Process Design In the last five twelvemonths leading up to 2012, the Pizza Restaurants industry has experienced the results of a downturn in economy. Restaurants have been directly affected by changing market conditions much(prenominal) as changes in intense competition, decreasing consumer spending and an increase in overall health consciousness (Kalnins, A., Mayer, K. , 2004).However, despite such overwhelming odds and challenges, businesses were able to overcome economic hard times by reinventing themselves through original marketing and adjusting their menus to adapt to customers preferences (Kelso, 2012). This rendered the industry to recover effectively and consumer spending and market produce returned in 2010. As more consumers returned to the restaurants, overall demand increased. The U. S. Pizza industry averages about 410 million pizzas per year (Kelso, 2012).In 2012 alone, pizza sales are expected to reach an incredible $36. 1 billion in revenue which is a 3. 8 percent increase from the previous year (Kelso, 2012). This growth is expected to spread over at a rate of 2. 9 percent per year through 2017. Based on garner data, 97 percent of U. S. consumers have ordered food from a pizza restaurant or instauration within the past 12 months (Kelso, 2012). No matter how you look at it, pizza consumption is on the rise and creates an exceptional opportunity for success in this industry.According to Gregory Badishkanian, a CITI Analyst, the magnanimous three of the pizza industry Pizza Hut, Dominos, and Papa Johns are currently in position to increase market share. (Bloomberg, 2012). Although the big three comprise of 30% of the total pizza market, the remaining 70% comprise or soly of other large manacles with less market coverage and of transmission line the smaller independent bondage (Kelso, 2012). While the larger chains are improving lay independent chains are struggle to stay afloat amidst the fierce competition among t he larger more formal companies such as the big three (Kelso, 2012).Understanding this dilemma, it would be most prudent for any independent restaurant operator to maximize operations by insuring that internal process design enables not only efficient productivity but generates a process that is customer friendly and focused on customers need and preferences (Kalnins, A. , Mayer, K. , 2004). This would be critical in the business office to survive in such a monopolistic type market. Successful operation within a smaller independent chain restaurant faces challenges that may not be as apparent to a larger and more ceremonious national chains.Pizza USA is a small chain operation that currently rears two services dine-in and carry-out options. Customers have commented that if delivery services were added to the restaurant offerings, they would potentially buy more pizzas (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Based on this data, it is apparent that the owner needs to treasure his business oper ations and consider a process design that would include adding this service to current operations. The access of delivery services would potentially require additive capital to finance changes and may involve the hiring of surplus staff.However, revenue increases as a result of the added service would off-set the costs associated with these additions. Near and long-term implications would include survivability within such a competitive market. As a customer, the primary focus of my satisfaction with this type of business relates primarily to efficiency and the level of customer service provided. If delivery service was provided, the two areas that would be most prevalent in my mind would be the delivery time and the state of the pizza once received. out-of-the-way(prenominal) too often, Ive received delivered food that was warm and in some cases cold. Needless to say, I never contacted that restaurant again. The thing that would create a fantastic experience would be the restaur ants ability to not only deliver within an exceptional time period but also to provide a pizza that is piping hot as it would be while dining in. Another locution would be an incentive to order delivery by way of discounting or some type of rewards service. These are experiences that have not been typical in my experience with pizza deliveries. Method.The perceived situational analysis are as follows Strengths-Due to the smaller nature of the business, It could potentially create a more personal experience for the customers thus change magnitude customer satisfaction Weaknesses-As a smaller business entity, they have less resources and limited options in implementing changes to trifle customer demands. Also, the business would be less tolerant of negative encroachments that may result from changes compared to larger established chains with additional resources available Opportunities-A stronger customer relationship tends to allow more flexibility due to stronger fealty among s atisfied customers.Loyal customers are willing to wait changes out rather than making an initial s pass byping point and moving on to another business Threats-The primary threats are of course the larger and more established chains such as the big three. Again, due to resourcing issues, these smaller and independent operations have less flexibility and opportunity if changes go away less than desirable. The primary causes and effects are business survivability and customer satisfaction. Although these two areas are mentioned separately, they are in fact one.If changes are not made to meet customer needs and preferences, the business encounters losing clientele and eventual closure. The term customer loyalty has been described as a process of capturing how well an organization is performing in three critical market measures customer retention, share of wallet, and harm sensitivity relative to competitors (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Studies have shown that customer loyalty relates dire ctly to business success and survivability. There exists a major distinction between product design from the users standpoint from what may have been intended by the manufacturer (Jacobs Chase, 2011).The main difference deals primarily with the intended versus perceived usefulness of a effrontery product. In short, if the customers input is not considered, product or process design could potentially be a major waste of time on the from end of the planning rhythm method with even a worse outcome once in the market. Table-1 below indicates quick-serve satisfaction rates among the top companies in the market to include the big three (Verma, R. , Thompson, G. , 1999). As you can unwrap, each of the larger chains has high overall scores in customer satisfaction.Albeit, this is only one of many areas that could potentially be assessed. The independent chains can learn something from this data. The large chains didnt survive the market and become who they are today without success in this particular area (Verma, R. , Thompson, G. , 1999). Table-1 Although the case situation described is invariable with most other business operations, what can be done to be more profitable? it is unique in itself due the detail andlevel of changes discussed. There are probably 100 areas that could be looked at that deals with efficiency and customer satisfaction.However, for the purpose of this paper we will only analyze the above mentioned areas. If assessing profitability and customer satisfaction is an everyday occurrence, which is the case in most businesses, then this case could most certainly be considered as a preexisting situation. However, this paper has little to do with assessing a documented loss in profits or revenue streams so the evolution is unknown at best. There are many course concepts that can be applied to understand this situation.However the two most prevalent areas of operations philosophical system that comes to mind are Chapter 3-Product and Service Design and Chapter 5-Process Analysis. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in chapter 3 discusses the process of getting the customers voice involved in design specifications (Jacobs Chase, 2011). This concept and application relates to any and all industries and organizations. It is directly related a process of studying and listening to customers to improve upon a product or service (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Measuring Process Performance in Chapter 5 primarily deals with how well a particular process is performing.This is consummate(a) by assessing many different types of metrics such as productivity, efficiency, flow time, throughput, and take to be added time to name a few (Jacobs Chase, 2011). In order to adequately analyze whether your operation is data track efficiently, a system of measurement is required to assess the performance. Results/Discussion The problem of addressing the customers needs and preferences are considerably solved. Immediately implement planning to acc ommodate your customers request for the added feature of delivery service.Consider the most efficient manner of transition to minimize disruption to current business operations while planning the change. find that additional feedback is solicited and gathered from customers to re-validate the need to add the additional service and proceed with design process reviews and analysis to achieve goals. This satisfies the earlier discussion regarding identification of what the customer really wants and prefers. The task of developing and implementing the plan is what is the most difficult. Recommend that the owner begins with data gathering methods such as GAP Analysis.This method is used to assess the business performance relative to the expectations of its customers (Jacobs Chase, 2011). An additional form of Gap Analysis includes the benchmarking of certain industry standards and measures the business performance against established standards within the industry (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Questions to be asked would be What are other smaller independent chains offering? Is delivery service a value added service or just a waste of money? What are the industry standards in regards to delivery times and what is considered acceptable to customers?Do have the resources to provide that type of service or will it require additional equipment, supplies, vehicles and staff? This will allow the owner to see where his restaurant is versus where he wants to be. Moreover, this would be an ideal tool to gather additional information from Customers to obtain additional feedback. It can be accomplished in many ways such as through paper or email mailers and in store surveys. The method selected would primarily depend on the owners available resources and preferences and of course size of targeted population.The follow-on recommendation is to conduct a cost impact and payoff analysis using a decision tree or what some would call a consequence diagram. This process allows the planner to map out several alternatives with different end results to assess risk (Jacobs Chase, 2011). In essence it is a risk matrix. When planning or considering restaurant equipment purchases or even additional staff hires, this process could be beneficial in assessing the risks involved with each decision (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Table-2 is a archetype of a typical decision tree used to make informed decisions.As you can see, it is a process of identifying the problem (or situation) and working through several COAs to determine what works best for you. Table-2 executing is the next step. I would recommend the utilization of responsibility charts to organize and manage tasks. Again, this particular tool is a type of matrix that lists all the projects and tasks to be completed while identifying certain responsible parties or stakeholders (Jacobs Chase, 2011). In such a small business environment, it would probably be most beneficial for the owner to get all staff involved with the des ign process to obtain full buy-in.this can be accomplished through the use of this tool.Of all the steps involved with planning and execution, this is probably the most labor intense due to the potential resourcing required. After plans are implemented, the owner needs to assess the customer reactions to the added service. Anticipating a given response and getting the actual response are sometimes two different things. Again, the same process used during the Gap Analysis can be used to capture post-implementation feedback from customers (Jacobs Chase, 2011).The bottom line is that as a small business, you more reliant on customer loyalty than larger chains and operations. As a result, you must pay attention to any feedback received regarding your products and services, In this case were lecture about pizzas but it applies in many other situations and industries as well. Once the feedback id obtained develop a snotty-nosed and affordable plan and implement the plan. Once you have transitioned fully into your new plan, solicit additional feedback from customers to see how things are going. You may find other areas of your business operations that require attention.Customer feedback has to be a part of your daily operations. Without it, your business is at serious risk. References Kalnins, A. , Mayer, K. , (Dec 2004), Franchising, ownership, and experience A study of pizza restaurant survival. Management Science Journal, Vol. 50 Issue 12, p1716-1728, 13p, 3 Charts. doi 10. 1287/mnsc. 1040. 0220 Kohli, A. , Gupta, M. , (Apr 2010), Improving operations strategy application program of TOC principles in a small business. Journal of course Economics Research, Vol. 8 Issue 4, p37-45, 9p Verma, R. , Thompson, G. , (1999), Managing service operations based on customer preferences.International Journal of Operations and Production Management. Vol. 19 Issue 9/10, p891-908, 18p, 6 Charts Jacobs, F. R. , Chase, R. B. (2011), Operations and supply chain management. (13th ed. ), New York, NY McGraw-Hill/Irwin Kelso, A. , (Sep 2012), Survey U. S. pizza market tops $40 billion, pizzamarketplace. com, Retrieved 1 Mar 2013 http//www. pizzamarketplace. com/article/200667/Survey-U-S-pizza-market-tops-40-billion AP News, (Sep 2012), Analyst Big pizza chains could take bigger slice, Bloomberg Business Week News, Retrieved 1 Mar 2013 http//www. businessweek. com/ap/2012-09-18/analyst-big-pizza-chains-could-take-bigger-slice.