Creating an eCommerce Business

Creating an eCommerce Business- Feasibility Analysis

Introduction

QuikTrip is a series of convenient stores that were first started in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the year 1958 by two ex-military men. The company first started as a grocery store before devolving into a convenient store that now has over 700 stores across several US states. Most of the founding staff had served in the military. The convenience store expanded to a small town but later closed down operations in small markets due to the limited revenues. The founders opted for more significant metropolitan markets with populations of over a million. QuikTrip’s exponential growth is, in part, attributed to their culture of investing in their employees, making it one of the best companies to work for as according to Forbes magazine (Gorham,1999). QuikTrip has also adopted measures to improve customer experience, such as ensuring they provide friendly fast services in a thoroughly clean family environment. QuikTrip employees are also neat, presentable, and well trained for their jobs. QuikTrip has also developed innovative ways of keeping their customer secure from financial fraudsters, thus maintaining a very loyal customer base. The company targets to open more stores while also maintaining customer convenience.

Question One: Evaluate QuikTrip operations strategy and explain how the organization seeks to gain a competitive advantage in terms of sustainability.

QuikTrip has, for a long time, been listed on Forbes as one of the best companies to work for. Part as to why it is a dream workplace too many people is because of their superior operations strategy. QuikTrip’s operations strategy is centered on investing in their employees (Ton, 2012). To begin with, QuikTrip puts a lot of resources in the hiring and training process of its workers. The company, to ensure that it ends up with high performing workers, has invested in studies that help in identifying indicators of high reforming workers, like, level of education, previous experience, and service in the military. Employees of the organization are well rewarded, promotion opportunities from within, receive health insurance, receive paid vacations, among other benefits. The company has invested in developing its employees because it also expects them to be leaders of the organization. As a result of investing in their employees, customers often receive a consistently high-quality experience of friendly fast services and a thoroughly clean family shopping environment. To maintain superior work and superior customer service ethic, the company has adopted a culture that operates around standardized policies about sales, monitoring, and evaluating employees’ performance, maintaining discipline among workers, among other strategies.

One of QuikTrip’s managers is reported saying that the company is excellent at many things. Still, there are two things the company is even better at that is selecting people and locations. The company is seeking to grow their competitive advantage by continuing to open at least ten stores in a year and importing their culture to the new stores by ensuring that 50% of the staff in the new stores are from the companies store in other areas. By so doing, QuikTrip basis able to maintain its culture of offering friendly fast services through its clean and presentable employees in a thoroughly clean family environment. Consequently, the company can create a loyal customer base because their stores have the same layout and are also consistent in the services delivered and the nature of their environment. As a result, the loyal customer base due to the superior operations strategy, QuikTrip, can have an edge over its competitors.

Question Two: Analyze how operation management activities affect the customer experience. Select two (2) operation management challenges and provide the solutions for confronting them.

Operations management involves making plans, schedules, and controlling activities that have an impact on the end services. Operations managers are, therefore, mandated with formulating strategies, programs, and mitigating measures to help improve customer experience, among other things. The layout of a facility is one of the challenges that might affect a client’s experience. QuikTrip has, however, developed a similar design for all their stores to assist customers in finding products most easily and quickly possible. The company has also developed a system known as “Three to one standard” that ensures that there should not be more than three clients being served by one employee in a cash register. Employees without responsibilities are supposed to help in cash registers with more than three customers. This policy helps in ensuring that customers are served within the shortest time possible. To assist in maintaining a consistent experience for customers, QuikTrip, for instance, developed the Daily Activity Worksheet and the Mystery Shopper Visits. The Daily Activity Worksheet helped in ensuring that work got done in all shifts. The worksheet indicates the available work that needs to be done, and employees can inversely note once they have done the available jobs. Data from the sheet helped in scheduling staff either on the register, tasks, and upkeep duties in a store. The other strategy was Mystery Shopper Visits. The mystery shopper strategy is used to evaluate customer service standards and consequently helps in the improvement of customer experience (Ton, 2012).

Operation Managing is susceptible to several challenges in QuikTrip; for example, has their QuikTrip kitchens operate below the capacity they were built for. Despite being built to serve a more significant volume, The QuikTrip Kitchens have not yet met the amount of production they were built for and, as a result, make a lot of losses.

Such a loss can be mitigated through developing food delivery services to extend the customer base for the company’s fresh food wing. Many people are opting for online deliveries since they are quite convenient and is time savings. Adopting such a measure would probably help to bridge the gaps in the expected production volumes and thus reduce losses for the company.

Another operational challenge being faced by the company is that of keeping up with the pace, especially for new employees and finishing all wok allocated for experienced employees. This, as a result, made many employees feel overburdened, and new employees who could not keep up found themselves exiting.

There is a need for managers who draw the Daily Activity Worksheet to be a little considerate in their allocations and make room for flexibility in the work schedules to avert this challenge. Overburdened employees are likely to be affected in their service delivery.

Question Three: Examine the QuikTrip value chain and evaluate its effectiveness in operations in terms of quality, value, creation, and customer satisfaction.

The value chain plays a crucial role in every business, and this is because the value chain helps determines the quality of a product or service delivered to a customer and also helps in shaping a company’s set up for success. QuikTrip, for instance, had to close stores that were not in a position to pump gasoline when it entered into the business in 1971. It took more than twenty years for the company to build a reputation for selling high-quality gasoline at low prices. To improve the quality of their gas, the company had to invest millions of dollars into the gas business. Also, in the same period, QuikTrip developed an aggressive advertisement campaign. The campaign involved issuing free gas coupons, giving customers free floor mats, and fixing any problems caused by gasoline from QuikTrip. Through a lot of hard work, QuikTrip has been in a position to get improved value chain advantage, bending, quality, and prices and, as a result, become a leading gasoline seller. QuikTrip is famous for its quality and low priced gasoline, which is valued by Audi and BMW.

Question Four: Determine the different types of performance measurements that can be used to measure QuikTrip service-delivery system design. Select at least two (2) models that can be applied and provide justifications for the selection.

Several performance frameworks can be used to measure a company’s service delivery. Some of these frameworks include the Value chain framework, The Service profit chain, The Du Pont model, and the Balanced scorecard method. The Value Chain and Balanced scorecard models are quite famous and effective and can be used to measure the service delivery system. The service delivery system entails business layout, facility location, job design, service process organizational structure, and technology. QuikTrip can adopt the Value chain framework in its service delivery system design because it helps in connecting with customers, aids in ensuring customers are provided with high-quality products. Additionally, it breaks down every process in the business and helps in indicating potential opportunities for innovation. If adopted, it can help transform business through increasing connections and ensuring quality while also giving a company a competitive edge over their competitors.

The Balanced Scorecard approach is also another practical approach that can be used to measure service delivery systems. The method operates by analyzing the internal business processes to look out for any gaps, challenges, and even delays (Kaplan & Norton, 2017). It also evaluates the feedbacks of customer indoor to gauge the level of customer satisfaction. It also reflects on the growth perspective and financial information of a business. Economic data is vital in understanding the financial performance of a business. The Balanced Scorecard approach is appropriate for QuikTrip because it covers a wide area and thus would examine the broad performance of the system. During reviewing the service-delivery systems, factors like service safety, the quality of services and products, delivery time, the environment of service are all considered.

Question Five: Examine the different types of technologies applied to QuikTrip service operations and evaluate how the technologies strengthen the value chain.

The 21^st century is characterized primarily by the significant technological milestones that have taken place. Some of the technological developments have been of help to humankind, while some people have developed technologies to steal from unsuspecting persons. Criminals have, for instance, developed skimmer devices that they install on gasoline pumps and illegally got details of credit and debit cards of innocent persons. To avert this problem, QuikTrip has developed Pump Shield a silent alarm security that notifies the headquarter in case a person tries to install a skimmer device on their pumps. Such innovation helps in keeping QuikTrip’s customers safe; thus, attracting customers who could face the challenge.

Another innovation by QuikTrip is the employee’s automated performance; this system helps in monitoring the status of an employee’s work. Due to the development, employees are more responsible and know that they are answerable for what they do. QuikTrip also developed automated digital assistance to help in the verification of inventory records in their stores. The system is essential since it provides for quick inventory checking and also helps in determining the availability of stock for customers.

Technology has revolutionized many sectors. In businesses, it has played a significant role in strengthening the value chain. The automated digital assistants, for instance, helps in keeping track of the status of the deliveries. Managers are, therefore, in a position to reach out for restocking from the distributors efficiently and promptly. And, as a result, ensure that customers’ needs are regularly taken care of. Technology also helps in creating a sense of security for the customer while getting products like gasoline because of innovations like Pump Shield.

Conclusion.

QuikTrip has employed many strategies to remain competitive. They have invested in their employees who are in a position to ensure quality delivery of services. However, customer experience and business operations may be affected by issues like poor quality delivery due to overburdened staff and even losses. Challenges faced by businesses liken QuikTrip, and their customers can be solved thanks to technological innovations like Pump Shield

Sources

Gorham, J. (1999). QuikTrip, quick profits: The convenience-store chain is the envy of an industry. FORBES, 163, 66-69.

Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2017). The balanced scorecard—measures that drive performance. Havard Bus Rev.

Ton, Z. (2012). Some companies are investing in their workers and reaping healthy profits. Harvard Business Review, 124-131.

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