Business Process Management at Burger King - Case Study Example

Operations Management The organization under review for the analysis of business process management is Burger King. Burger King is a chain of burger fast food restaurants. The company is incorporated in Miami, Florida and was founded in 1954. It has its stores world wide and uses franchising as a strategy to expand over the seven continents of the world. On its menu it sells burgers, hamburgers, French fries, soft drinks, desserts, sandwiches and salads etc. The main idea behind this start up was to implement the assembly line kind of production system to cook. Operations of Burger King From a scratch Burger King has grown today to be more than 11000 restaurants world wide in around 58 countries over the world. Out of these 90-92% of the outlets are franchised operations which are handled by independent franchises. An important aspect of operational excellence of Burger King is embedded in its customer service. The customers are not merely customers, but they are called guests and are also served the value as one would serve to their guests. The operation excellence achieved by Burger King comes from its trained team of workers at each and every restaurant. The top management boasts about serving their customers well with the best burgers, cooked on an open fire and also have a clear vision and guiding values to take its people along. Burger King is divided into different operating divisions which are headed each by independent vice presidents who report to the senior vice presidents of each franchised divisional zone. These leaders hold strong values, leadership skills and thus result in producing great results. All divisions are supported by cross functional team from all critical areas that is human resources, marketing, finance, technology, research and development etc. When the customers who step into the Burger King outlet he or she first experiences the ambience and the dcor of the place, filed with the hot smell of the burgers with fries. On the counter as the customer places the order, the order is forwarded into the kitchen, where the process begins. To analyze a simple process of how it works, we have a simple process flow represented by the diagram as under: Burger King uses conveyor belts similar to an assembly line, which are highly specialized piece of equipment. The process starts with the worker placing the raw burger patty on one end of the moving conveyor belt which proceeds under the broiler. In the broiler hamburgers are cooked from top and bottom both. And at the same time burger buns are placed which also move on to the broiler and are roasted. These are cooked for a specified time period. After the bun and the raw meat are broiled for the standard set time, both of these assemble and in the sandwich assembly add-ons are inserted which include tomatoes, condiments, cheese, sauces etc. Burgers at this stage are almost prepared and ready to be served; they are then placed in the microwave oven and then served fresh. Burger Making Process at Burger King Process Improvement at Burger King We have explained the process that is used at Burger King to make the burgers, the process is quick in terms of speed of delivery until the ordered menu is very customized, but still at Burger King it is made sure that work in process inventory is maintained and replenished in an ordered manner. This work in process inventory helps catered well and quickly to the individual customer needs and requirements as it reduces the preparing time to a relatively short interval. The strength of the burger making process at Burger King lies in its ability to make made-to-order burgers and meals, to attract individual who prefer to eat their own way and style. But the inherent weakness that arises from the assembly type production method at Burger King is its lack of flexibility. Since the raw material that is buns and patty move on the conveyor belt and get processes using the standard and set cooking time of 90 seconds, hence the size, shape and other specifications such as thickness etc. cannot be varied. If there are any variations such as if the burger patty is thick then it will not be cooked properly and will stay raw. On the other hand, if the patty is too thin then cooking them for a longer time will result in them being overcooked and burned. Today, companies cannot afford to achieve a trade off between the different sources of core competencies, instead all companies including Burger King should strive on to achieve a higher learning curve not the movement on the same curve by achieving trade off between speed of delivery and flexibility as the case is here. No doubt, the assembly like process lets the cutting of cost and increasing speed etc. but at the same time if flexibility is not achieved then it might be difficult to cater to the quality also. Tools and Equipments used at Burger King Burger King uses the electrical kitchen with broiling equipments that are also electrical in nature; using the electrical equipment Burger King has increased its bottom line considerably well; crew members now find it easier to cook and enjoy their work and on the same hand, customers can't see any difference. And making use of electric boiler has also resulted in cutting of costs as maintenance associated costs are pretty much lower. At Burger King the taste is kept fresh as if from a flamed grill using the state of the art technology that is patented for food holdings. This is necessary to ensure that the frozen food does not deteriorate quality or taste in any matter and the freshly cooked food quality is preserved. Besides, cooking time, broiling time, holding time and all sequence is timed through computers so that consistency is ensured every time a burger is prepared or fries are served. To prevent any kind of food odor diffusing into other such as chicken, fish, meat etc. separate cooling areas are maintained according to their own preserving standards. Inventory Management at Burger King At Burger King when the hamburgers are cooked, they are place on rolls and then stored in a steamed cabinet as work in process inventory. This inventory is used to replenish the finished goods inventory that is held in holding bins. This inventory is then used to product assembled to order type of burgers. Controlling systems at Burger King Burger King in most of its outlet locations use the computerized food service management system, which is known for its flexibility. The system is used to enhance the purchasing efficiency, recipe management, this is simply done to enhance management exposure and to reduce the unnecessary expenses. The Burger King uses the Holy Grail communication system; this system fully integrates the whole organization and to make communication effective. All back office including inventory handling, finance, procurement and other administrative and support functions are linked to the point of sales points where customer orders are places and initial entries are made. When an item is sold the then inventory is debited, reorders to replenish the inventory are triggered and the items are themselves again adjusted to reflect that they have been sold out. Service orientation at Burger King Burger King's slogan "your way, the right way" is reflected in the company philosophies; it allows customers to order their tailored burgers according to individual requirements. As the customer places the order to one employee, it is then passed on to the other employee who gets busy preparing the burger accordingly and meanwhile customers get their own drinks instead of waiting to be served thus avoiding a feeling that their time has been wasted because of unnecessary delays. Relaxing music in the outlet also helps to soothe the customer. In all ways the customer is required to be communicated, for effective feedback employees communicate customer's order to avoid any after serving mistake. Not only employees are involved but also the top management keeps themselves busy serving the customer to show that there is total involvement and commitment to serve the customer better. Burger King's location as a source of competence All Burger King's restaurants have a forefront location with innovative dining concept and lifestyle. Restaurants are located in areas where there is huge traffic and where there is huge demand, Burger King outlets are also found in clusters in a particular location. Major criterion for opening up a Burger King restaurant is the targeting of the gentry of people whose lifestyle demands entertainment. Layout and facility design A practical and efficient layout can have a great effect on the sales of a restaurant especially. The new facility design at Burger King includes freshly made-to-order cooking system with new broiler design, bright and colorfully planned outlets, and also the dedicated kitchen for the servicing of customers better. Self service beverage dispensers, multiple station drive thru etc. are also an important element of the well designed layout. Sources of competence Markets: to penetrate deeper into untapped markets where there is huge potential and growing demand and trend, Burger King uses franchising as a strategy to expand across the globe, where it thinks further opportunities exist. Financial: Due to higher restaurants' profitability, Burger King can afford to have latest and practical facility designed by professional engineers and architects. By utilizing efficient equipments and layouts that help being efficient and fast, Burger King has higher return on investments and also serve a high capacity of customers. People: Another source of advantage comes from the highly trained personnel of Burger King management. Not only, the top but also the middle and the lower management includes people who are best at their work and are passionate about serving the customers well, in all the way they can. Burger King train its personnel and franchises by providing them with both on site and off the job training. All experience of running and working at the restaurant is provided providing the pure practical and also the theoretical view of the job. The area that is importantly taught and emphasized is customer focus. Customer Relationship Management Burger King now needs to move more towards Customer Relationship Management as is the business trend today. It is very difficult for businesses like restaurants to develop such customer relations as literally what the term customer relationship management really means. This sometimes requires changing the focus from the products to the customers. According to some customer relationship management requires development of infrastructure which involves communication and other systems that help delineate and increase customer value. This is not only beneficial for the customer but is beneficial for both customer and the company at the same time. Burger King can make use of smart and loyalty cards and can give customers redeemable points on some frequent number of purchases. The data about customers' purchases should be maintained and track the customer purchase patterns and provide them with their tailored needs. For a service oriented business where customers encounter is also an important element therefore, Burger King needs to focus on contact management, sales people management and also with the growing age of information maintenance of sales information according to individual customers' needs becomes an integral part of customer relationship management process. Business Process Improvements No doubt Burger King has a strong market position and is the second largest hamburger chain the world over and specializing in burgers and French fries. It strives hard to maintain its brand image which it has developed over the years since 1954 from its inception., Its popular brands include Whopper Sandwich, the Tender Crisp Chicken sandwich, etc. With these brands it is popularly known the world over. And the best advantage that Burger King has achieved is due to its franchised outlets, by giving out franchises it has shared some of its risk and also earns a huge amount of loyalty. Some of the areas where Burger King needs to improve itself to avoid competition form different fronts and which is a source of major weaknesses for Burger King includes market concentration and this has also resulted in Burger King's weak operating performance. Some areas of business improvements include developing new products, setting up smaller restaurants, and penetrating more into Chinese and Asian markets. Burger King should focus on product enhancement and also focus on catering to the tastes of individual markets more and more. The smaller restaurants in size can help Burger King reduce its cost relative to the large sized retail restaurants that it has so far been building. More and more trend is moving towards drive thru systems and according to studies Burger King lags behind in drive thru services compared to others. So it is high time that Burger King start doing it as quick and as soon as it can. References www.burgerking.com/global Davis, M, Aquilano, N, & Chase, R Fundamentals of Operations Management. McGraw Hill. Heizer, J, & Render, B Operations Management. http://www.htmagazine.com/archive/June2002/June2002_7.html Foster, F. Find Articles.com Accessed from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_20_34/ai_62554882 http://www.franchise-uk.co.uk/opportunities/burger-king.htm Read More