Ever thought about what makes some companies successful WHEREAS other companies continue to fail? In order to continue to grow and remain profitable, some companies will take a step back and assess what they are doing so that they can improve and gain future business, customers, and employees alike. Some organizations will review their current operation practices, while others will venture to improve their information systems. In a competitive market, successful organizations need to review their Operational effectiveness strategy to gain the upper hand.
The owners of Club IT, Ruben Keys and Lisa Tejada, have followed their dream and opened a nightclub in the downtown region of their city. As they have continued to develop, they have developed their mission statement to state “We, Ruben and Lisa, offer you live music, DJ’s, dance space and refreshments that suit your lifestyle. You are our friend, and we seek to build a community that meets regularly at Club IT.” Based upon their mission statement, they are not marketing a specific group or population of customers, but a broad range of people who enjoy music within their city. Pinnington (2010) explains that when organizations select the wrong clientele in difficult economic situations, the results can be magnified. Club IT will need to better define their mission statement to better target the clientele that they wish to attract.
Currently, Club IT has information resources for both the general consumer, but also their employees. The general consumer has access to their website that contains information such as upcoming music genre’s, dining menu, and merchandise that they have for sale. For the employee, there is a separate location that they have the ability to login to that provides information pertaining to human resources such as paid time off accrued, wages earned, and Club IT manuals. For the purchasing agent of Club IT, a secure area of the intranet provides information to reorder used consumables to include food, beverages, and other supplies. Additionally, information is provided similar to a dashboard to see statistics in sales and budget totals.
Club IT has several vendors that they use to reorder consumables that are needed. In order to increase operational effectiveness, the way that consumables are ordered can be immediately improved. For example, Sonic Drine-In has recently chosen a distributer to provide all of their supply service needs. They are now able to use one organization that can provide ensure that they receive their goods on time. This distributer has been said to have a “track record of operational excellence and supply chain efficiency” (“Sonic Drive-In Restaurants Chooses McLane for Food Distribution Services,” para. 3). With a distribution company with a reputation similar to that of McLane, the choice would be easy to switch to a similar organization for one-stop shopping and supply needs. To complete this improved efficiency, Club IT will need to compose a supply list of all items ordered and current costs associated with those items. When Ruben and Lisa meet with some of the supply chain companies, they will be able to compare costs and expected costs with the new companies. Often some supply chain services will offer greater discounts for volume ordering. If Ruben and Lisa know that they always order a lot of a particular item, they may show improved cost savings by ordering in bulk.
With the implementation of a one-stop resupply company, the people that are responsible for inputting the order can do some from a single website, order form, or phone call. As of now, it appears that the purchasing manager needs to visit several websites depending on what needs to be ordered. With a system similar to that of McLane that Sonic Drive-In is using, there will be more time for management focused tasks to take place for other areas of improvement.
As the needs for gaining an advantage over the competitor increases each day, so does the need for operational effectiveness. With the introduction of an information system (IS) and proper training of the IS, daily/weekly tasks will operate not only more efficiently, but also more effectively. As processes streamline, more time can now be focused on further and future improvements within the organization. This focus can then again be applied to a different area of operational effectiveness. There is always room for improvement, always time for evaluation, and always time to ensure that the organization is as operationally effective as it can possibly be.