Comparison between Jimmy Jazz and Marks and Spencer Business - Case Study Example

Table of Contents

Analysis of Jimmy Jazz

Introduction

An operation system is often defined as a system wherein a number of activities are carried out so that a complete set of input can be transformed into a useful output by the help of a transformation process (Galloway, 1996). The inputs and outputs of these operations systems can vary based on the operation being carried out. Now, if we look into the definition of operation management, we see that it an approach that addresses the problem of the transformation process in a systematic manner and helps in the conversion of inputs into outputs that are useful and help in the generation of revenues. Hence, four aspects of operation managements can be extracted from the definition; the first being that the operations managements is a systematic approach, it is involved in dealing with the problems that any company deals with, the process that transforms input to output are essential for an operation system and that the basic aim of operation management is to make sure that expenditure is kept to a minimum whereas the revenues generated are in excess and this is achieved by proper planning (Mahadevan, 2009).

Analysis of Case Study

Introduction to the companyJimmy Jazz is a small company that owns about 250 employees and specializes in a number of printing and press technology. Its aim is to become one of the leading companies that is involved in the provision of a number of corporate services. Production of greeting cards is its main functions. Hence, in order to achieve their aims Jimmy Jazz had a chance to get orders from one of the largest corporates in the world Marks and Spencer. But, in order to do so they had to change and alter some of their specifications to meet M&S requirement which is somewhat a difficult task to achieve.

Marks and Spencer on the other hand is one of the top most retail stores in UK and has more than 1,330 stores all around the world. Their aim is to deliver sustainable, high quality products. M&S is known for its two types of products; food and the general merchandise. M&S also operates on an international sale and also has an online website with the help of which its customers can enjoy the quality of its products anytime and anywhere just by the click of a button. Because of its new initiative Plan A, it aims to reduce waste and help the communities through its operation practices ("M&S Today", 2015).

Comparison between Existing Business and M&S Business

An important function of operation management is the analysis and comparison of the market. For this purpose, it is important to analyze the order winners and order qualifiers of the market. When comparing or analyzing the markets, the first that should be kept in mind is what the customers wants versus what they actually want. The difference between order winners and qualifiers is that of the size of the customer order. Identifying the current and future markets is also important so that the organization may know which customers will last for a long time (Hill, 2005). A product or service that meets the needs of the customer lead to customer satisfaction and it is these products that meet the needs of the customer better than its competitive market that captures the market shares (Galloway, Rowbotham, &Azhashemi, 2000).

A number of organizations analyze the customers’ needs when making a deal with the customer. The marketing section of the organization is usually responsible for dealing with the needs of the customer which is then passed on to the rest of the departments. The entire organization then decides as to whether they can meets the needs of the customers or not, this usually involves the manufacturing or production team, the purchase department, suppliers etc. The various departments then also give their inputs as to how they can modify their own department to fit the need of the customer and whether it is actually achievable or not (Khanna, 2015).

An order qualifier is the character of a product or service that is essential for the customer before he considers buying; this is also referred to as an order loser. The customer uses this character to evaluate the products for further analysis (Wilson & Hill, 2014). An order winner is a criterion helps in the differentiation of the product and service of one company from another (Krajewski, Ritzman, & Malhotra, 2007). On the contrary an order winner is that significant characteristic of the product or service that drastically affects the decision process of the buyer (Wilson & Hill, 2014).

Jimmy Jazz, is a company that that is among the top companies that are known for producing quality products and are the leaders in technological developments. Jimmy Jazz is the recommended supplier for many companies and offers the printing of a number of card designs. This served as the order winner for the Jimmy Jazz and this was the main reason behind the fact the M&S approached Jimmy Jazz and mentioned their requirements of the order.

The greeting cards that Marks and Spencer wanted were different from the standard card size that Jimmy Jazz had. Jimmy Jazz printed their cards in standard size of 175 x 125mm or 720 x 1020mm and each sheet of paper had 12 to 16 cards printed on it. However M&S specification wanted the cards to be printed on smaller sheets of paper such that there was no wastage of paper. The delivery requirement of Marks and Spencer was also over several weeks whereas Jimmy Jazz delivers in single orders.

The huge amount of orders required the production department to work overtime and the supplier was ready to give the special papers required for the M&S orders, the production was ready to up its capacity. Another new supplier would be needed for the metallic ink and the gold blocking because this was relatively new for Jimmy Jazz and they did not have much experience with it. Jimmy Jazz would also have to outsource this because they didn’t have the proper equipment for this. But the Order qualifier for Jimmy Jazz in this case was the fact that the quality was not being compromised although it had increased its production and capacity and their willingness to modify their production facilities to suit the likings of M&S

Performance Objectives

The concept of performance objectives was proposed by Slack, Chambers and Johnston in the year 2004. A performance objective consists of five components and is applicable to all types of operations. These five performance objectives are Quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and price. The five of these performance objectives affect both the internal and external factors and are both interdependent on one another. When any organization utilizes these five components of performance objectives, they can easily define their aims and also measure these performance objectives over time. The performance objectives should be designed by keeping in mind the needs of the customers.

The first performance objective is quality which refers to the practices of performing the operations of the company in the right way or the manner in which the products and services conforms to the specification. If looking at Quality from an external perspective, we can say that quality is something that leads to customer satisfaction and from an internal perspective; we know that higher quality leads to increased dependability and reduced costs.

Speed is that component of performance management which points at the short lead time for delivery or the time that it takes from a company to deliver its products or services to its rightful owner. On external basis, speed means that product and services are delivered to the customers in a short time whereas on an internal note, a speedy delivery results in reduction in the need for inventory and hence lead to the reduction of risks.

Dependability is defined as the fact that the delivery of the required services and products reaches the customer at the pre-defined location and time. On external note, dependability results in the increment of trust that customers have on the operation and satisfaction whereas on an internal note, those operations that have a higher ratio of dependability results in time saving, cost saving and an increased level of mutual trust.

Flexibility is defines as the willingness of the organization to change its operation so that it favors the customer’s needs and requirement. Flexibility may be in terms of product or services, flexibility of volume, flexibility of volume and a combination of all which is referred to as mix flexibility.

Cost is defined as the investment that is required to produce the product and services that is according to the customers’ needs and wants. All of these performance objective require some sort of measurement so that the improvement can be prerequisite based on systematic or controlled factor.(Kossmann, 2006). One such way to analyze the performance objectives includes a polar representation of all five components of the performance objectives (Slack, Brandon-Jones, & Johnston, 2013).

One of the ways to analyze the polar diagram is to see the lines, the closer the lines are to the origin, the less important that component of performance objective is to the operation of the organization. The current polar diagram shows that the quality of the product being produced at jimmy jazz is already of the best quality that is available in the market, this is the reason why a number of organizations chose Jimmy Jazz as its main supplier. The speed of the production on an average is 6000 sheets/ hour, 4000 sheets/hour on average for the guillotines whereas about 24,000 cards/ hour, this is the normal speed of the company. The company is dependable enough which is quite evident by the fact that it is one of the leading suppliers of the organization. The cost of the company is not mentioned in the case study, but since the company produces its products and services on time then the cost or profit attained is minimal, the company is flexible enough to allow changes in its production and it also produces a number of products and services for other companies.

The requirement for Marks and spencer’s order will require Jimmy Jazz to double up all the components of the performance objectives. The quality of the products won’t require significant changes since the in process checks of the cards after every 500 sheets are checked by the supervisor and the cards are matched to the standard samples and this will ensure that the products being sent out by the company conform to the specifications. The current speed will have to be increased in such a way that the employees will be required to work extra shifts on Saturdays and Sundays. Jimmy Jazz is known for its dependability and hence there is not much change to meet the customer’s requirement and same goes for cost. The company will have to greatly increase its flexibility since some of the inks and gold blocks are not available in the company, hence the company will require outsourcing these functions of production. However, this shows the extent of flexibility that the company will have to go through in order to meet the requirements of M&S.

Process Design Analysis

Process design is defined as the activities that are performed within the organization. Process design is especially applicable in companies where a number of products are being manufactured. By the help of an appropriate process design, there lies a possibility that the companies can properly manage the flow of products and their respective deployment within the organization (Schroeder, Goldstein, &Rungtusanatham, 2011). A successful process design is one in which all things are taken into consideration and the appropriateness of the overall process of the objective of organization is kept in mind. Process designs want the organization to have a broader rather than a narrow outlook and the entire process should be able to deliver value to the product.

Although the process design of Jimmy Jazz is up to mark and is running in a smooth process, meeting the customer’s requirement. However, there are certain points that need to be fulfilled in order to obtain a more efficient process that will reduce the cost and improve the quality. First of all, Jimmy Jazz should focus on reducing the outsourcing of its products and try to manufacture all its products under its own roof. Jimmy Jazz should try automated processes since those give out less rejection, less wastage and reduces lag time in production. Automation is one of the recent developments that significantly and positively affect the process designs of organizations. Regular checks should be carried out at various points during the manufacturing and printing of cards, this will increase the quality of the end product and will eventually lead to a satisfied customer.

Conclusion

Jimmy Jazz is one of the leading companies that provides the customers with the type of products and services they need and is the first choice for many. This is the reason that it enjoys a favorable position among its competitors. Jimmy Jazz is an example of all the function of operations management from its process design to the production objectives, it complies with all. The flexibility, speed, dependability, all are in favor of Jimmy Jazz, their flexibility allows any type of orders to be made in least time possible. The order winner in the case of Jimmy Jazz was the fact that it was one of the most reputable organizations that had a tendency of giving its orders on time and the order qualifier was the quality of the end product which was achieved because of the in process checks that were being performed during the printing of the greeting cards. However, the organization can use some tips and techniques that can help it attain its production activities with much better end results and all at a lesser cost than its competitors. It is companies like these that score big contracts from big booming companies like Marks and Spencer’s which eventually gave the contract of Christmas cards to Jimmy Jazz.

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