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.