Efficient business,operations planning.
Due to the high competition facing businesses in our modern world,efficiency in running the business is more often than not the difference between thriving and foreclosure.This is where operations planning comes in,how do you run your business processes?How do you run your production,distribution and marketing activities with an aim of maximizing the returns on your investment?These are questions I will endeavor to answer in summary in this brief article on the wide area of operations planning.We will compare good practice with the activities of Mambalian fresh and crispy,a business in Nairobi Kenya,for a real life example.
Mambalian fresh and crispy is a young business selling four different products,namely honey,pea nut butter,deep fried omena and buns.It’s a simple business model,where the company has positioned itself as a more efficient marketer and distributor than the producers,and as a less risky business than the outlets,the shops it sells through.For all it’s products,,the company gets them from the producers in cash,taking the full business risk,and packages them before distributing them to a network of 60 shops in Nairobi,on credit.This is the general business model of our featured business.
The business owns the brands under which it sells it’s products.The raw products are collected and processed at one location,which also serves as the distribution center.The whole operation is carried out by a team of five individuals,spread from production to distribution and accounting.This is a very efficient business,with no idle time.
An efficient business maximizes on it’s resources,concentrating effort where it’s most needed,and for our featured business,the greatest need is for investment capital to serve the growing demand for their products.The business uses the just in time policy of production,saving money that would have been needed for holding large stocks of raw materials,as well as for expanded storage space.To ensure that the supply is efficient,the company sources from several producers,giving a quota to each.All distribution is done by the same person,while there is one person each for marketing and accounting.
A close knit team is always desirable,but there is great risk for downtime if one of the members is unavailable for whatever reason.A better approach is lack of specialization when a team is small,so that the same individual can multi task,lowering the risk of down time.Another alternative is part time employees,for when there is a great workload.If you are running a small business,take into account this tried and tested advise.
For marketing it’s more than selling,infact a more ideal name is marketing support,and includes engaging the market continuously to better position yourself.The best way to run a small business is through tactical strategies,which are really three month period plans.They help a lot in bench-marking and pushing for growth.Then you must ensure product quality is maintained at top quality,as this is how your brand curves a market niche for itself.Your business team should also be experts in their area of concentration,so that your human resource can be high value.In Kenya today,it’s possible to get an expert at any field at a reasonable fee.For some services like accounting,you can think of outsourcing to an accounting firm,which because of economies of scale are able to ask for a lower fee than hiring an accountant in the traditional sense.
Indeed when a business is young,you want to outsource those services that you can to players with the advantages of economies of scale.For marketing,instead of hiring a marketer on a salary you can hire a marketing agency being paid a commission on salesThis motivates them to work harder,and pushes your sales volume.One of the advisable marketing agencies used by Mambalian fresh and crispy is Ramsap agencies,and you can contact the company on the promotion given below to get in touch with Ramsap agencies.
In conclusion,before you think of operations planning,you need to have a good understanding of your business,and to start small so as to learn from mistakes.Mambalian fresh and crispy started with only one weight of the deep fried omena as it’s flagship products,then slowly grew to the four products.The proprietor or shareholders of a business need to have clarity on the direction they intend for the business to take ,which is vision,and to believe in it.Operations planning requires a lot of management expertise,and you should be willing to research on the subject.An accounting firm would be one place to look for expertise on operations planning.
Author: Lion Mambo.
Published and distributed by:Fortune Money Publishing House.
(Publishing,Distribution and Marketing)
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