Operations Plan

You must pull together each of the tasks detailed below into one document. The structure of the Operations Plan is:

• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Overview (drawn from mini paper 1)
• Transformation including resources and environmental factors (drawn from mini paper 2)
• Supply chain management and processes (drawn from mini paper 3)
• Recommendations (facility layout etc) (drawn from mini paper 4)
• Inventory management and any associated recommendations (drawn from mini paper 5)
• Conclusion / summary
• Reference list

Task one:
Instructions: For this activity, you will apply the concepts of operations management to real world situations. You will use this unit to

begin developing an operation management plan. You may wish to develop a business such as a retail sales operation, an online service like

tutoring, or maybe a personal service such as lawn care or pet grooming as your business. In writing your paper, you should research and

consider at least 4 scholarly sources (i.e. textbooks, scholarly articles from a peer reviewed journal, etc.) As you write the paper, make

sure to address the following topics:
• Will the company be business-to-consumer or business-to-business?
• Will the business manufacture a product, deliver a service, broker information, offer 
goods for sale, or distribute goods for others?
• Will the business offer one product or service, or a range of products and services?
• Will the company have a bricks-and-mortar presence, or sell strictly over the Web?
• Will the firm be a large company, a medium-sized enterprise, or a small business?
• How will you provide /transport the service or product to the consumer?
• Will there be a need for inventory storage?
• Purchasing procedures: Identify the necessary input (raw materials necessary to generate the output, or product). Who will or can you

buy the raw materials from? If you are providing a service, what supplies will you need to begin and where will they be purchased from?
• What accounting and/or purchasing system(s) will you need to accomplish buying either a product line or a service-based business?
• Quality control procedures: Identify what quality control measures you will use in order to make sure the product or service meets

consumer standards.
• For example, if your business concept was to open a bed and breakfast, to answer question 1, you will want to estimate how many rooms

you will need; how many guests [on average] you intend to host; and where you will obtain your groceries, paper items, soap, and other

guest necessities? Will you shop at a grocery store, use a shopping club like Costco or Sam’s Club, or obtain your inputs through some

other means?
• Question 2 would include a review of accounting software or systems such as: Sage Peachtree Accounting, Quickbook or Netsuite Financials

(or another you may feel comfortable with). Identify why you chose this system or software for your particular business in order to

justify its applicability.
• Question 3 would need a similar discussion as you identify your quality
• assurance/control measures that you intend to use to help minimize defects or errors as you produce a product or provide a service. Your

review of quality control measures will
• include a discussion such as: Will there be a quality control manager named for your business? Why, or why not? Will your business use

Six Sigma processes in its operation? Why, or why not? Is there a need to utilize ISO 9000 quality standards?
• Why, or why not?
• Be specific in your essay. It may be helpful to “brainstorm your needs” on a separate sheet of paper and once done, create an outline

for this section (numbers 1, 2, and 3), using topical headings. Then, note how you will address each requirement of these sections with

specific content.

Task two:

Instructions: You will continue on with your Operations Management plan. In this section of the activity, you will incorporate the

Transformation Model., and determine how this model will assist you in setting strategy for the operation of your company whether it be a

service or manufacturing based organisation.

For this activity, you will write a 4-6 page paper describing the ways in which your company will utilize logistics to help promote

aspects of the “informal economy” (i.e. job creation/growth, salaries/wages or economic benefits to the local and/or surrounding

communities). Use at least 4 scholarly sources to answer the following questions as you compose your paper:

1. How might the current economic situation with the job market, wage rate, or other economic factor impact your organization in a

positive or negative sense?
2. Will current economic conditions impact the ways in which you will transform your initial operations to reach the overall operation

management plan goal? For example, will economic conditions require you to change your source of supply? The criteria you desire for

hiring employees? Or even the market you intend to serve?

Then consider how your operations processes can help to generate “value” in the mind of the consumer. You may want to think like a

marketer here as you can discuss the quality products you use to create the end item or the high level of dedication your organization’s

employees display as they provide customer service. The use of technology can also be included in this discussion. For example, you may

discuss a filmed tour of the manufacturing process or your service training as part of your advertising campaign. Use at least 4 scholarly

sources to research and write about the methodologies that you use to manage your organization’s productive resources.

In your paper, make sure that you address the following:
• Identify and assess any specific resources that will help support your operation management plan (i.e. employees, equipment or cash

reserves your organization may have, etc.).
• Discuss promotional techniques you can use that will help create value in the consumer’s mind (i.e. you can talk about the durability of

your product or any specialized customer service you put your employees through).
• Explain how any potential partnerships or other business relationships gives your product an edge of the competition (i.e. Tide

partnered with Febreze to add their product to Tide’s laundry detergent to give clothes a fresh, clean scent added to the cleaning power

of the detergent).

Task three:

Using the same format of a 4 – 6 page paper, using references, discuss the goal of supply chain management and its application in a

variety of organizational settings.

Instructions:
Continue the operations management plan by writing a 2-3 page paper that discusses the role of the supply chain in your operations. It is

okay if some of the information overlaps with your purchasing activities. Use at least 4 scholarly sources to write about how supply chain

management applies to your organization and answer the following questions:

1. What are the goals of supply chain management in terms of your operations? How will these goals affect your operations?
2. Discuss if

you will need to implement a global supply chain management strategy. Why or why not?
3. Identify any suppliers or vendors you plan to utilize and why.
4. Discuss how you will address shortages of supply whether it is equipment or employees as you propose developing this business.
5.

Discuss if you will attempt to acquire a supplier or vendor in order to have a greater span of control over the supply chain process.
4. Leadership: Who will serve in management/leadership positions, and why? What qualities do these leaders and managers exhibit in order

to enhance the business?
5. Strategic Planning: Give a brief overview of how you intend to use strategic planning as part of your operations management process.
6. Customer Focus: What demographic(s) are you intending to sell your product or service to, and why?
7. Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management: What training or systems (i.e. performance appraisals, drug testing, etc.) will you

implement in your business to help ensure that work is being performed at the level of quality you expect?
8. Workforce Focus: Where do you expect to recruit a workforce from? How will you go about you recruiting process?
9. Operations Focus: Here, you want to offer a detailed description as to how the operations process will flow within your organization’s

structure (i.e. how will you use your people, equipment, or other assets you have as your core competencies in terms of helping to ensure

quality will be established and/or maintained within your organization)?
10. Results: This criterion will require you to make a forecast, or estimation, as you will not know how well the organization performs

until it has been put into operation. This section is optional to complete.

Focus on how your operations plan will help to create and/or generate process improvement as you manufacture your product or provide your

service (i.e. what things can you do along the way to help make your operations create a better product or service?). You do not need to

complete item 10 (optional, you may attempt to if you desire) of the criteria items as your plan will not provide you with measurable

results at this point.

Make sure to also address the following in your paper:
1. Identify and assess whether or not your business will utilize continuous improvement processes or procedures. Why or why not?
2. Discuss any continuous process improvement techniques other organizations are using that you would use with your operations plan, and

explain why.
3. Using the “Fishbone Diagram” as a reference, choose three elements to address in your paper.

Task four:

Using the same format of a 4 – 6 page paper, using references, apply basic design principles to determine appropriate facility location

and layout.

Identify where you will operate your business venture (i.e. in a particular part of town, a certain city, or geographical region of the

country), and explain your choice.

Discuss any specific layout plans you have for your facility (i.e. where you place your equipment, storage, etc. within the facility and

why). If you are doing a service, you will discuss warehouse and storage facilities. Assess how the product or service you intend to

provide impacts your facility design or location on the basis of: volume, weight of items to be produced, or amount of quantity you need

to sell to be profitable.

Then, complete the following:
* Industry analysis: Use the following market research website* to help you research the industy/market your business intends to serve.
• Mission statement: Your business will need a mission statement and the following link for Fast Company Magazine* will help you in

composing an effective statement for your organization.
• Business goals: These are specific interim or ultimate time-based measurements to be achieved by implementing strategies in pursuit of

the company’s objectives, for example, to achieve sales of 3 million dollars in three years. Goals should be quantifiable, consistent,

realistic, and achievable. They can relate to factors like market (sizes and shares), products, finances, profitability, utilization, and

efficiency.
• Project objectives: State the business’s objectives in terms of the results it needs/wants to achieve in the medium/long term. Aside

from presumably indicating a necessity to achieve regular profits (expressed as return on shareholders’ funds), objectives should relate

to the expectations and requirements of all the major stakeholders, including employees, and should reflect the underlying reasons for

running the business. These objectives could cover growth, profitability, technology, offerings, and markets.
• Value proposition: The Kinesis Company provides information on how to write a value proposition. Using the company website,* you will

find information you may use as a guide to identify your company’s value proposition.
• Products and services: You may refer to “Developing Your Brand”* points 1-7 as a guide. A one or two line response per element that

addresses what you intend to do with your business specifically.
Task Five:

Using the same format of a 4 – 6 page paper, using references, apply basic design principles to determine appropriate facility location

and layout.
Identify the operational processes in the your own organization.

Use at least 4 scholarly sources to write a paper that identifies operational processes in your own business plan and reflects on what you

have learned so far. Make sure to address the following:
1. Identify the learning you feel you have achieved up to this point regarding
operations management with the company you are creating.

2. What items, if any, would you add to this plan and why? What would you remove and why?

The operations plan will conclude with a discussion of how you intend to receive, catalog, and store the inventory necessary for the

operation of your organization. Write a 2-3 page paper that summarizes your plans for inventory control for your organization. In your

operations management plan you should address all aspects of how you intend to acquire, control, and account for your inventory. Make sure

that you address the following:
1. Identify the challenges you assume you will face in receiving your inventory (i.e. shipping delays, lack of capital, change in consumer

demand, etc.).
2. Explain whether or not you will implement a cataloging system with your inventory or a work schedule to effective place employees in

departments that relate to their skills and abilities?
3. Discuss the ways in which you will store your inventory to ensure you have proper levels to meet consumer needs or if you can authorize

employees to obtain additional supply (if needed)?
A final reflection (do not include this in your operational plan, only in your fifth mini paper):
1. What changes or challenges did you experience as you developed your plan?