Abstract

Introduction

Background study

Theoretical Knowledge
Operations management systems

OMS is a way in which the organization manages their everyday activities efficiently.
This includes:

 Process management
 Performance management
 Resource Allocation
 Quality Management system
 Risk management
  Technology management
 Enterprise Resource Planning
 Supply chain management systems

Process management is the practice of identifying and understanding the

organizations process. While improving, monitoring and optimizing the process. The
main purpose of process management is to reduce waste, manages workflows,
ensures quality and reduce costs.

Performance management is a setting goal to achieve in either long term or long

term. It also involves employee training and performance evaluations and reviews for
better improvement. Managing performance enables the organization to remain
productive and effective. Improving employee performance.

Resource allocation is the process of assigning and managing inventory such as:
raw materials and equipment. It identifies the availability of resources and allocate
them according to their level of importance to customers.

Quality management is a systematic approach that ensures that product or services

meet customer expectations. Theoretically quality management includes quality
planning, quality control, quality assurance, quality improvement, and total quality
control which is required to enable the organization to stay competitive in the market
world. Some of the quality gurus such as W. Edwards Deming uses 14 points to
implement quality ( Heizer , Render, & Munson, 2017).

Risk management is a systematic process where the organization identifies potential

risks and prioritize to fix these risks before they become major problems that can
affect the organizations productivity.

Enterprise resource planning is the use of software to help the organization manage
their business processes.

Supply chain management is the management of activities involved in producing and

delivering of products and services to customers.

Technology management is the use technological tools to achieve the organizations

goals.

The use of OMS

The use of operations management allows the organization be more efficient and
productive allowing them to remain relevant with the current changes of the world
trends by being ahead of their competitors. They are able to understand their
customers and ensures customer satisfactions. It helps the organization runs
smoothly, achieve their goals and becomes successful.

Operations management systems on pick and pay

As pick and pay is one of the leading south African retailer. Their challenges are as
high as ever as they have intense competition in the market world, and constant
changes of customer’s behaviors. They have to apply the operations management
system to stay relevant. By implementing an effective and efficient OMS pick and
pay is able to ensure their customer satisfactions and still be competitive. They can
develop a robust and effective operations management system ensuring their
sustainability.

Application of knowledge

Pick n pay is one of the south African leading companies that aim to optimize
processes, ensuring quality , managing performance and meeting the customer
satisfaction .In order for pick n pay to be successful ,innovative and also stay in the
market’s competition , they effectively apply the operation management system.
The implementation of the operations management system helps them to manage
their performance , optimize process and also help then to unsure quality .

Pick n pay effectively apply the process management in improving their process.
They document all the step that they do when it comes to managing their inventory.
They receive a large amount of product in the warehouse, Before the products can
be labbled and distributed, they are inspected to check if they are not damage , they
are in good condition for consumption . They ensure that everyone in the process
knows and understand the procedure of documentation. Process mapping is one of
the tools that they use to create a visual representation of their inventory
management.
Another operation management system that pick n pay effectively implement is the
performance management, they implement this system by checking the employees
performance this apply in both warehouse and also in the pick n pay store . pick n
pay managers makes sure that all the employees undergo the regular performance
reviews to check this progress. Pick n pay has implements this to check the areas
where performance is needed and when they find gaps training is provided .The tool
that the company use id the Key performance indicators ,they tract their progress
towards the goals that they have set for themselves .

Allocating the resources to effectively meet the demand of the customer and
checking the stock level to reduce wastage is part of the resource allocation one of
the operation management systems that pick n pay implement . They monitor the
level of the stock in the warehouse and in the store. They do this by regularly
counting the level of the stock to insure that there is enough stock for the customers ,
They also check the movement of their stock by doing a barcode scanning . Pick n
pay work with their supplies closely to make sure that they do not run out of stock .

Quality Management systems is the operation system that have is essential to the
organisation. A contributing factor to the Quality management system is the quality
planning. pick n pay apply Quality planning by identifying the customers’
requirements it is done by conducting surveys ,Asking customer certain question
about their product and also by doing instore product testing customers can review
their product and provide feedback . The feedback is used to define a clear quality
objective for the product .One of the objectives of the product is the freshness and
the safety of the product . Another factor that pick n pay implement is the Quality
control . When there is a defect in the product or when the product does not meet the
standard quality an action of correction is taken . Pick n pay make sure that the
product with defect is immediately removed from the shelfs and they don’t just
remove the product they investigate the root course of the defect and come with
way to prevent such occurrences .

Retail risk management strategies applied at pick n pay

Theft of items from the store

At pick n pay there are several methods that management can apply to reduce theft
of items in the store by shoplifters. This includes the installation of security systems
such as video-recording equipment or cctv, sensor-based product tags on clothes,
locked display cases for mobile devices that can be stolen easier and alarms that go
off when thiefs enter the store at night. Securities and floor managers are trained to
identify signs thiefs that might enter the shop in large numbers, try ti distract
employees or switching price tags of items\ changing boxes to buy expensive items
in a lower price. The store also has property and inventory insurances that covers
losses that might occur due to theft, fires or natural dissasters that can result in loss
of stock.

Data breaches and digital theft

Customers can be targeted online by cybercriminals on the shopping applications.

Pick and pay has a contract with cyber security companies to protect customer
information such as debit card details on the pick n pay asap application. Cyber
securities help by continuously replacing and updating systems that are outdated by
auditing the software.

Inventory management

The store can face risk of loosing items or money because of overstocking which
might lead to food getting spoiled or expires, to prevent that the manager monitors
stock that is coming into the store and the stock that gets purchased by using real-
time inventory tracking and the stock gets ordered automatically when a certain item
in the store reaches a certain level. There is also barcode scanning that helps in
stock counting and updates on remaining inventory level and reduces errors that can
be made if counting was done manually.

Technology management at pick n pay

At pick n pay most workers use devices to perform their job effectively. Workers who
are responsible for stock packing are given barcode scanners to make sure they put
correct items on the correct shelf with the correct price, the cashiers work with
computers to sign out items that a customer purchases, securities are always in the
camera room to keep watch of people so they do not shove items in their pockets
and they have long range walkie talkie for effective communication and protection.
All the these technological devices helps to make their jobs better. The computers
get maintained on a regular basis to prevent them from freezing which might cause
bottlenecks, phones(walkie talkie) are left on the chargers so they do not run out of
batteries during the day and barcode scanners also get maintained at a constant
period when there is no new stock intake.

Enterprise resource planning

Enterprise resource planning systems are software that helps organisations manage
everyday activities. Retails stores uses systems such as Microsoft dynamics 365
business central, SAP business one professional to manage large scales of
inventories and operarions and other systems. These software at pick n pay helps in
customer relationship management by providing them with accurate customer data
and preferences that will improve customer loyalty. Through this system they are
able to make forecast demand of products that are preferred by customers at the
right time, it also helps in stocking items that will not remain idle in the store reducing
wasted time and money.

Supply chain management systems

Retail stores have contract with distributions companies that help in delivering stocks
on time. Pick n pay places order based on forecasting of the demanded products
from suppliers to the warehouse, making sure that products are available all the time
when customers needs them. Since it produce some of its brand(no name),
benchmarking is used to compare the quality of their products with the competitors to
improve the quality and reliability of their products. The final product gets delivered
through reliable suppliers. Products then gets inspected after arrival at the shop
before they put them on the shelf, those with defects(broken) they are returned back
to the factory

Illustrations, Findings and interpretation

- Employee training and skill development to increase productivity while maintaining
quality standards.
- Reward systems to motivate employees to meet targets, resulting in increased
sales and profit.

- Process optimization to eliminate bottlenecks and reduce temporary staff

shortages.

- Regular maintenance checks to ensure equipment runs smoothly, creating a safe

working environment.

- Improved inventory management to control stock levels, reduce overstocking, and

prevent expired goods.

- Quality assurance to meet and exceed customer expectations, with a focus on

high-quality products.

- Enhanced communication between departments to share ideas and improve

efficiency.

- Minimized waste and eliminated unnecessary processes to increase profit and

reduce prices.

- Maintenance Management: Ensures resources are used optimally, minimizing costs

and downtime.

- Scheduling: Plans and controls production processes, ensuring efficient use of

resources and meeting customer demand.

- Quality Management: Systematically ensures products meet customer

expectations, reducing waste and improving satisfaction.

- Forecasting: Predicts future events, enabling informed decision-making, IIplanning,

and resource allocation.

- Inventory Management: Optimizes inventory levels, minimizing risks and costs

associated with excess or insufficient stock.
The operations management system has had a significant impact on the company's
performance, leading to:

These components are interconnected and crucial for achieving operational

excellence. By implementing effective operations management strategies,
organizations can:

- Improve efficiency and productivity

- Enhance customer satisfaction

- Reduce costs and waste

- Increase competitiveness

- Achieve strategic objectives

- Increased sales and profit

- Reduced waste and unnecessary processes

- Better quality products and services

Process of making bread.

1. Mixing: Combine flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and water in a large bowl. Mix until a
shaggy dough forms.

2. Kneading: Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes until it becomes smooth and
elastic.

3. Fermentation: Place the dough in a warm, draft-free area and let it rise for 1-2
hours, or until it has doubled in size.
4. Shaping: Punch down the dough and shape it into the desired form (e.g., loaf,
baguette, etc.).

5. Proofing: Let the shaped dough rise for another 30-60 minutes, or until it has
doubled in size again.

6. Baking: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake the bread for 20-40 minutes, or
until it's golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

7. Cooling: Let the bread cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Findings
Employee productivity is one of the major problems faced by operations managers.
Every manager’s goal is to ensure that employees perform their job in an effective
and efficient way. How can employees work faster and be more productive while
ensuring that the products meet the quality standards. By the assistance of an
effective and efficient operations management system the operations manager has
ensured that employees a highly trained to increase their skills and ability to preform
the job faster while ensuring that quality standards are met. Workers can work under
intense pressure; management also came up with an idea to reward employees
every month when they reach specific targets that are set for that month. In the past
3 months there’s been a significant increase in sales and profit.

Process optimization has been used effectively to reduce and eliminate bottlenecks
in certain departments at the organization on their everyday processes. The
department of maintenance ensures that it does regular maintenance checks,
auditing, inspection and ensures that equipment and machines are running smoothly,
this has created a safe working environment and there are low chances of machine
and equipment failure or breakdown. This has helped reduce temporary bottlenecks
which have happened in the past where there would be staff shortage due to the
breakdown of machinery. Customers would complain due to long and slow queues
on busy days due to machine being slow and network not being stable operations
systems have helped the company to reduce such complains customers are more
satisfied because machines are operating well, and they are helped quicker.

Inventory management is a process of storing, using, ordering and using of inventory

in the organization, at this retail organization inventory is a valuable asset but there
was a problem of ineffective inventory management this has caused a loss and
damage to certain products due to large inventory the retail company was forced to
sell other products as clearances this caused loss in profits. Operations
management system has helped the management to control inventory well stock
counting is well executed this has helped management to not overstock, to know
when to restock and to stock enough products and raw materials also correct pricing
that yields enough profit is being executed. Replenishing of goods is being done
well, no expired goods are found on the shelves lack of well replenishment causes
about 70% to 90% out of stock problems in retail businesses.

Quality assurance has ensured that goods and services meet and exceed the
customers expectations, in the department of baking management has ensured that
the final product is of high quality and the taste of the bread, cakes and scones
catches the eye of customers leftovers of pap, rice, pies and meat are prohibited
from being sold the following day at 17:00 they are sold at a reduce price. The
operations manager ensures that there is continuous improvement in the quality of
goods and services offered by the retail company.

Operations systems have increased the level of communication between the

supervisors of the different departments they share ideas on how they can improve
efficiency in their respective departments. It has minimized the level of waste in the
organization. Employees working with raw materials are highly skilled and due to the
training, they get they are very effective and productive. Complexity in operations is
eliminated all unnecessary processes that waste money, labor and company
resources are removed the organization yields more profit than before prices of
products are reduced and these helps the retail company to have an increase in
sales.
Illustration

process of how bread is baked.

Recommendation

Conclusion

Reference
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