Projects

Current Projects

A project our company is currently undergoing is the Simplification project.  We have gone over this during our presentation to the class.  The simplification project is a way to help Wegmans cut costs and become more organized. 

The system works off of a checklist, rather than net diagrams and the sort.  Each department in the store has monthly inspections to make sure they are following the standard protocols.  The departments are tallied out of twenty based upon such things as the organization of the department, ease of access to tools and utilities and safety violations. 

A score of twenty means the department passed the simplification walkthrough. A score of seventeen and up is acceptable but we strive to have each department become a twenty.

Other Projects

Other projects Wegmans focuses on include promotional advertising projects, employee appreciation projects and coordinated city event planning projects.

These projects are very self explanitory and show that Wegmans cares about thier employees and their community in which the business operates.

Quality Management

Since Wegmans does not make their own products, they rely heavily on others for quality management.  As stated in the previous posts are some examples of how well Wegmans puts quality into their products. 

Quality of conformance

The quality of conformance with Wegmans products is that of high standards.  Wegmans guarantees all of its products meet or exceed the standards set by the FDA.

Availability

Products are always available due to the intercompany shipping system in place.  If a store runs out of products, another store may ship that product to prevent any unavailabilities.

Reliability

Wegmans sells mostly food products and the reliablity of said products is very high.  You are very unlikely to find a piece of meat that is expired or a cereal box with holes in the bag.  Wegmans wouldn't even accept the shipment the order came in if one bag was damaged.

Maintainability

Maintainability doesn't play a part in Wegmans products.  They due not require servicing because they are food based products.  Shelf life is always gauranteed or the customer is entitiled to a full refund.

There is no real need for any updates with their quality management because Wegmans doesnt manufacture their own products as previously stated.  They rely on others to maintain good quality products.

Quality Control Management

Since Wegmans is not a manufacturer of goods but relies heavily on the services aspect of sales marketing, relating quality control methods is not an easy thing to do. Wegmans themselves receive products only after they have been inspected by the manufacturer for defects and after they have been inspected by an outside source such as the F.D.A. Wegmans will also do their own inspection upon receipt of the goods and will refuse any goods or products that do not meet their standards.

Quality control at its finest

Wegmans closest form of quality control management they use would be simlilar to pareto analysis. Wegmans sometimes receives shipments of products with defects and will track that problem back to the source. Whether the defect was caused by a mishap in the packaging of the product or it was banged around during shipping are some of the key aspects Wegmans looks for during their quality control inspection review.

A chef checking fresh products

Wegmans is good in terms of how they handle "bad" products. These products are immediately removed from the shelves or usual never make it to the shelves. They are packaged back up and sent back to the manufacturer for inspection. Wegmans slogan on every product is "Your quality or freshness is always guranteed, or your money back," and they stand by that mark.

Customers inspecting products for quality

As for how often inspection occurs, a simple answer is every day! Every product Wegmans receives are inspected prior to being unloaded from one of the main warehouses. Once the local stores receive the goods, they are again inspected before being put on the shelf. You are almost never likely to see a ding in a can or a tear in a bag due to the high standards Wegmans gives to their products.

Exercise 4

Three elements of service- product bundle:

A.) Tangible service- The tangible service of Wegmans food store is that customers always have available to them what they are looking for. The shelves are always stocked so items are always there.

B.) Intangible or Psychological benefits of the service- At Wegmans the on tangible benefits of the store are people feeling welcomed and enjoying their shopping experience: the benefits include being able to find what they need.

C.) The physical goods- The physical goods at Wegmans are all of the groceries that are in the store available to customers. Wegmans also offers a deli where you can purchase food that is made to order.

Interaction of Wegmans Customers

Which cell does Wegmans operate in on the service matrix?

The cell that Wegmans food store operates in on the service matrix is the co- routed service. This grocery store offers a moderate amount of choices to the customers to choose from. When a customer comes in the store and they are looking for pasta, they have many types of pasta to choose from, such as spaghetti, ziti, linguini and so on. Customers also have the option to choose which brand of pasta they prefer.



Wegmans Customer Service Associate


Do they use self service? Do they use technology? Do they use focused operations? How do they support employees?

The type of customer contract at Wegmans is high contact because employees help customers when they are done shopping by ringing them, up at cash registers. Employees must be friendly and willing to help out the best that they can . Also, customers are helped at the deli section in Wegmans or if they have a question about something they cant find in the store , there is always someone around who is willing to help. 

Customers interested in Wegmans Products and Services



What types of service recovery and guarantees do they offer?

The type of service recovery and guarantees that Wegmans offers is the opportunity to return items to the store, if customers are not satisfied. For instance, if a customer purchased milk at Wegmans and were not satisfied, they can bring it back and exchange the milk for a different one, or just get their money back . This works for any other items in the store. Rain checks are also a guarantee that Wegmans offers. Rain checks are a way for customers to get the product they need at a lower price if the store runs out of a sale item.

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Assignment: Comment on “What Amazon Fears Most: Diapers”

VERSUS

                            

When we look at Quidsi, parent company of Diapers.com there are a few things that stick out that we covered in class thus far; their product flow, their approach to order fulfillment, and their independent demand inventory.

Product Flow

The product flow process that Diapers.com uses is job shops under the batch flow system. They are not actually making diapers and other products but the batches or small lots represent customer’s specific orders. They have about 50,000 different products they provide for their very specific customer base which are mothers. So the available of their very specific products and the delivery of these goods, are the services and product they provide for their customers. 

Order Fulfillment

Diapers.com’s approach to order fulfillment is make-to-stock. They specify their product line as baby products. The customer then request a product from their inventory and the product is delivered to the customer. They have a strong commitment when it comes to shipping, continuously striving to provide customers with quicker shipping times and from a company standpoint they’ve created a software system to help them save on shipping cost.

Independent Demand Inventory

Diapers and other baby product are independent demand products. Other products don’t influence their demand, babies do. When we look at their management of their inventory, they appear to use the continuous review system, because the article stated, they like to keep more than enough inventory. Quidsi has a 1,250,000-square-foot warehouse to house their massive inventory with room to spare. The CEO, Marc Lore, developed an algorithm for figuring when and how much stock to reorder for a particular item. Their goal was to find a good medium between having enough room and not spending too much on the inventory.

Exercise 3 PROCESS SELECTION

This blog post deals with the process selection decision making policy of Wegmans.  This policy does not directly correlate to all stores under the Wegmans name.  The store interviewed and studied is Wegmans of Woodbridge, NJ.

Question 1:

The product flow that Wegmans uses is a batch flow which is when they make products by the bundle.  In a food distribution store it is always good to have more than less so you never run out.  In a batch flow you order by the bundle and mass produce products so they are enough for the customers.  A batch flow is also a product that is made to order, in which food products are.

Question 2:

The type of customer order that Wegmans processes is Made-To_Stock (MTS). This option is beneficial to Wegmans because it is a supermarket so things are ordered through inventory to fulfill customers demands. Wegmans always keeps items stocked up on the shelves and in storage so that they do not run out. The other options for customer orders would not work very well for Wegmans.

Customers selecting their products

Question 3:

The Process Characteristics Matrix
Because Wegmans provide more than just groceries, it falls into 2 cells in the process characteristics matrix:
• Batch Flow/Job Shops
• Project.
In the batch flow/job shops cell, products are produced in batches or lots and the labor is more skilled and flexible in its ability to make different products. When we look at Wegmans specialty shops this comes to mind. They make different products in batches; like in the French Pastry Shop they make a variety of pastries in batches. But we also see the project cell in operation as well. In the project form of operations, products are unique and highly customized. For example, in the Cappuccino Bar and Cheese Shops, products are made to order and customized by the customer’s specific needs. Customers can order a coffee exactly how they like it and get a cheese platter made with the specific cheeses they know their guest would love.

Question 4:

Since wegmans caters to consumers as customers, their process selection depends upon what the current locals food tastes are. Wegmans has so many different brands and types of food products that it is able to cater to all peoples different tastes. Specific locations may offer foods known only to that area and may allow other stores in different locations to sell the product as well to introduce new locations to these products. The two main factors affecting process selection would include customer based selection and available food based selection.

Warehouse distribution center

Question 5:

No, the economies of scope process does not apply to Wegmans, or any supermarket for that matter. Wegmans carries a wide variety of products already to meet customer demands. Very rarely are customer requests put in for specific consumer items, however Wegmans does have a product request service. If Wegmans was to sell very few specific items I'm sure there would be some way to adopt a mass customization method however since Wegmans sells such a vast amount of different products, there is no need for an economy of scope service.

Wegmans Inventory Policy

Wegmans Supermarket

Wegmans inventory policy is a simplified procedure.  There is no basic formula for handling inventory.  Inventory is managed based upon the current sale rate of a specific item and the current market value.  Wegmans used to keep backstock on all of their items however to cut carrying costs and to make more room in the back warehouse, they no longer keep back up inventory.  This is benificial by allowing wegmans to manage what is on the shelf and when to order when the product is low. 

Example of a Wegmans Market Warehouse

                                             
This process is very similar to the Continuous Review System but different by not keeping a safety stock.  Wegmans has orders come in every  day and everything that comes in is put right on the shelf for sale.  This is an example of an off the truck, ready to go procedure.  This policy works for a high sale rate store but smaller stores that do not move products frequently would not be benificial with this policy.  As an example, take for instance Wegmans is having a sale on WEGMANS soup.  This product being that it is on sale is going to move quick.  It is monitored hourly to maintain the availability of the soup.  If the soup is running low, Wegmans checks the sale rate of the soup and if it is moving fast, an order is placed for the next day delivery.  This ensures that there is always enough soup on the shelf.  There are also other factors that Wegmans considers such as anticipation for upcoming events/holidays and forecasted weather events.

Wegmans during a busy shopping day

                                          
Should a weather event not happen, the extra stock will still be available on the shelf and the reorder rate for it would not be as frequent.  Once again this type of inventory policy is good for a fast paced high selling store.  Wegmans policy helps maintain inventory costs by almost eliminating carrying cost except for the transportation cost which are still minimal due to interstore purchasing and product shipping.

Wegmans grocery transportation truck

For more information please visit:

Wegmans.com

or contact Wegmans directly

Wegmans.com/contact

Team 2 Wegmans

Wegmans is a supermarket chain with more than 75 stores spread throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Wegmans is a unique supermarket because it is a lot bigger than most other supermarkets. They offer a very large variety of foods and in many stores, there is a sit in Market Cafe to eat in. Wegmans has appeared in a magazine's "100 best companies to work for" list and has been in the top 10 for the past eight years. Wegmans supermarkets have everything you need on your shopping list all in one stop and at great prices!