StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Business Operations and Systems - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay discusses the ‘Parcel Delivery Conundrum’ which was an article by Andrew Bomford, published in the BBC News magazine. It focused on the problem faced by consumers regarding the delivery of parcels and letters by the courier companies. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER99% of users find it useful
Business Operations and Systems
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Business Operations and Systems"

 The ‘Parcel Delivery Conundrum’ was an article by Andrew Bomford, published in the BBC News magazine. It focused on the problem faced by consumers regarding the delivery of parcels and letters by the courier companies. People all over the UK claimed that the courier service seemed very disappointing. As the majority of the population goes out to work, the postman either used to leave a message in the post box directing the recipient to collect the parcel from the local post office or the parcel was claimed to be delivered. (Bomford, 2012a). The article received various responses from all over the UK. People reported horrific incidents like parcels being thrown past the main gate or dumped in a bin near the recipient’s house (Bomford, 2012b). The courier service companies focused severely on the operational costs that a missed mail would incur. They hardly cared about the efficient service that they should be providing to the customers. In the UK, 12% of deliveries fail during the first visit, costing the industry an estimate of £1bn for re-delivery (Bomford, 2012a). Further, the readers were astonished when the article reported that a London courier company was happy to track down the customers with phone calls and make repeated attempts to deliver the mail, if the customer cashed in some extra money (Bomford, 2012a). Opinions came flooding in, suggesting that the courier companies should develop software which could enable them to track down the customer’s current location and deliver the mail at the right time, right place and to the right person. Blackbay, a company providing services to courier firms, has developed a Smartphone application which enables the delivery firms to track the current location of its customers (Bomford, 2012a). This would not only enhance the ability of the courier companies to make more 'first time' deliveries but also reduce the number of complaints from the consumers. Apart from focusing on the IT service providers, bankers and advertising agencies, the company should also focus on the logistics department, as logistics is considered to be an integral part of the company. As per a survey, the companies in the UK which performed an in-house logistics to reduce cost levels was in a saturation state compared to the companies which outsourced logistics services. Retail companies with large and complex networks had to depend on third party Logistics Company, which not only focused on delivering products on time but also aimed at providing good service. (Fernie, 2009, p. 55-56). Two important concepts of Soft Systems Methodology are “CATWOE” and “ROOT”. These help the companies to locate defects in their production and operational process. The definitions are explained below in the table: CATWOE Definition ROOT Definition 1. C-customers on the receiving end and their cause of worry. 1. What measure will the company take to solve the problem? 2. A- “Actors” who will carry out the task and their problem in carrying out the task. 2. How the problem will be dealt with and what measures shall be taken to eradicate the problem? 3. T-Transformation process. Conversion of inputs to outputs. Focus is laid on the process of transformation 3. What is the current solution to the problem? Is it appropriate? W-Worldview. What is the real problem? What is the bigger picture? The root definition focuses on the root cause of the problem and measurements to deal with it. O- Owner of the process of changing. Can they provide a solution to the current process? E-Environmental constraints. What are the ethical limits, the laws, financial constraints, limitations and regulations? Apart from the above Soft System Methodology concepts, there are other methodologies which can be instrumental for providing solutions to the company. Let’s take an example of a retail company like “As You See on Screen” (ASOS). ASOS is a UK based online fashion and beauty retail company .The company offers over 50,000 brands and its own label products (ASOS, 2013).The target segment of the company is generally the 18 to 34 year olds and it attracts around16.6 million unique visitors every month and is the second most visited retail website in the UK. The site introduces at least 5000 new items per week (Heinemann and Schwarzl, 2010, p. 190). The Unique Selling Proposition of ASOS is its one-to-one market selling and marketing strategies like weekly newsletters for registered users. This has made ASOS, one of the most coveted online fashion stores (Heinemann and Schwarzl, 2010, p. 190). ASOS performs one-to-one market selling, so it heavily relies on logistics company Unipart, who has maintained good track records for ASOS (BBC News, 2010). Unipart is an innovative logistics provider, utilizing lean methodology for adding value to its customers. Apart from lean methodology, the company believes in workplace-based learning centre. It believes that its world class achievement is due to the accumulated knowledge which it imparts to the employees through extensive training. It has established “Unipart Advanced Learning System” which provides extensive knowledge to the employees (Wilson, 2005, p. 95). The main focus of Unipart and ASOS would be time management. Suggestions for efficient time management would be 1) Prioritization – Products which are ordered first should be given first priority and so on, and 2) Scheduling – To plan the time and sequencing of the product delivery. The company can also rely on the Action Priority Matrix – which identifies the priority of each project and decides on the elimination of unwanted constraints which are nothing but hindrance to the process of the organization (Vargas, 2008, p. 50). Do the project right away - the projects are determined as urgent are given high priority. Important Projects but not urgent - These projects need to be given priority after the urgent projects. Fill In - To delegate and prioritize the urgent tasks on first-come first-served basis. Discard - These jobs are a waste and require unwanted time and energy. So they should be dumped immediately. Source: (University of California, 2012). The Action Priority Matrix is very simple and helpful for the company to determine important tasks and eliminating unwanted resources. ASOS can use this matrix as an important tool for enhancing time management. References ASOS, 2013. About US. [online] Available at: http://www.asos.com/infopages/pgeaboutus.aspx [Accessed 06 February 2013]. BBC News, 2010. Jobs Created As Online Store, ASOS, Moves To Barnsley. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10285674> [Accessed 06 February 2013]. Bomford A., 2012a. The Parcel Conundrum, [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18709348. [Accessed 06 February 2013]. Bomford A., 2012b. Readers' Parcel Delivery Nightmares, [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18811961. [Accessed 06 February 2013]. Fernie, J., 2009. Logistics and Retail Management Emerging Issues and New Challenges in the Retail Supply Chain. London: Kogan Page. Heinemann, G., and Schwarzl, C., 2010. New Online Retailing. . Berlin: Springer Verlag. University of California, 2012. Action Priority Matrix [pdf] Available at: http://deanofstudents.ucsc.edu/pdf/action-matrix-info.pdf [Accessed 06 February 2013]. Vargas, R. V., 2008. Practical Guide to Project Planning. United Kingdom: Taylor and Francis. Wilson, J., 2005. Human Resource Development: Learning and Training for Individuals and Organizations. London: Kogan Page. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Business Operations and Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Business Operations and Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/business/1467068-business-operations-and-systems
(Business Operations and Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
Business Operations and Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/business/1467068-business-operations-and-systems.
“Business Operations and Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/business/1467068-business-operations-and-systems.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Business Operations and Systems

Business Operations Management By Tesco

hellip; The current paper presents the essential components for effective business operations management; business process management and systems approach; importance of external environment in business operations management.... BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT and systems APPROACH: In order to understand the business process management, first it is important to comprehend what is meant by the process.... Business process management is all about improving the overall operations and processes of the organisation by optimising the resources available and minimising the impacts of different external and internal elements on the output and productivity (Barlow, 2005)....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Systems and Operations Management - Atokowa Advantage Company

hellip; The report also analyzes the issues associated with the Business Operations and Systems.... The report analyzes how the organization run its operations and systems using various business models like, input-process-output, the 4Vs typology, business processing mapping, decision making hierarchy, systems levels and pareto analysis.... Based on the analysis, the report gives recommendations to solve the problems affecting Atokowa's operations and systems....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Limitations of Balanced Scorecard

It is vital for every organization to ensure that the strategy is supported by effective Business Operations and Systems; hence, it is important that the organization has to ensure that proper mechanisms are in place so that everything is appropriately placed.... The company has to manage the strategies for its survival and growth and it can respond to the environmental changes only by operations management.... The scorecard is found to have strategic importance as the card is developed in linkage with the vision and goals of the organization and adequate awareness is created within the organization so that every stakeholder is well-aware of the importance of its implementation in the business activities....
12 Pages (3000 words) Term Paper

Social Networks to Maximise the Competitive Advantage of a Company

hellip; Expensive trading and transactions offshore is now replaced with a global village exchanging and interacting 24 hours within seven days, thus changing the landscape of Business Operations and Systems.... Module name and code Title of your project Name Student ID Wordcount- 5,061 Executive Summary/Abstract Social media and network is in a revolution that alters the relation of peoples and business operations.... What used to be a belaboured business management can now happen within a touch of a key or within just a finger tips....
20 Pages (5000 words) Dissertation

Business Operations - A Systems View

When faced with rising costs and slumping sales, Aramex's management would tend to look within examine existing operations and reversing the trend.... business operations - A Systems View Name: Institution: business operations - A SYSTEMS VIEW Introduction Aramex is aware of various challenges facing their organization in uncertain and difficult times.... What is new, concerns viewing their company as collective of systems, creating a whole, whereas also examining the relations between the individual systems in order to determine their effect on the whole system....
8 Pages (2000 words) Assignment

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development Name of the student University Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Corporate Social Responsibility 4 Sustainable Management Solutions of Saipem 5 Results of the Initiative by Saipem 8 Triple Bottom Line Theory & its Impact 9 Introduction: World business Council for Sustainable Development World business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global association which constitutes of more than 200 international companies (WBSCD, 2013b)....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study

Types of Intellectual Properties

According to the nature of Business Operations and Systems intellectual property rights have been classified to address a specific area of concern.... Organizations in various sectors have their own operational edge over there competitors for keeping their business aloft.... ntellectual property rights is now used extensively as a business parameter due to competition, product differentiation and process flow gaining much importance in running a business entity....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Driving Change Through Diversity and Globalization

Globalization refers to the process of international linkages and integration brought about by the interchange of word products, views, ideas and even cultures.... Globalization is a continual process and aims at linking people, neighborhoods, regions and cities across the globe… Globalization has made people all over the world to have their lives intertwined with each....
12 Pages (3000 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us