Page 8 - CIMA OCS August 2018 Day 2 Suggested Solutions

CIMA AUGUST 2018 – OPERATIONAL CASE STUDY

The various operations within the company, from creating the each blend recipe through to
distribution and sales, are working well together to successfully attain high product quality
standards. In terms of improvement, capacity appears to be somewhat restricted so there could
be scope for investment in further facilities. In addition to this, the Head of Production (Steve
Gomez) is responsible for 70 staff. The company should evaluate whether this is too wide a span
of control for him to manage in the most efficient way.
Outbound logistics

The company holds limited inventory of finished goods. Once completed, our tea bags are boxed
and then shrink wrapped onto pallets for despatch to customers.

An external logistics business is used for onward delivery of our tea bags to customers. This could
be an area to look at in terms of cost inefficiencies.

Marketing and sales
Thomas Fine Teas has traditionally targeted the end consumer through traditional marketing
methods, including television and media advertising.
The company’s approach to marketing has led to strong brand recognition but there is so much
more that can be done to engage both new and loyal customers.

It is important for customers to appreciate not only the quality of our products but also our
approach to ethics. We can promote the fact that we seek to be an ethical purchaser, always
seeking to pay a fair price to tea plantations and factories. There is scope to engage with
customers via an integrated marketing approach, coupling traditional events and press formats
with extensive use of digital and social media marketing.

After sales service
As with other food and drink manufacturers, consumers have the opportunity to provide feedback
to a member of our staff responsible for customer service issues/ complaints.
This adds value in terms of us aiming to prevent the issue recurring.

Thomas Fine Tea’s support activities
Infrastructure
These are a company's support systems, and the functions that allow it to maintain daily
operations. Accounting, legal, administrative, and general management are examples of
necessary infrastructure that businesses can use to their advantage. Thomas Fine Teas has well-
organised teams in each department which appear to complement each other and the company
appears to have a dedicated team of employees.

Human resource management
Our committed workforce is considered a key attribute in the company’s success and growth over
the years. Staff are well-trained and efficient. The company currently has 124 employees, all
based in Deeland. Of these, 42 are direct production employees.

The company’s Managing Director and Product Director have worked in the business for 47 years
and 30 years respectively. The remainder of the senior management team has changed
significantly over the past few years. The current team is relatively young, enthusiastic and
engenders a culture of creativity and innovation throughout the organisation and brings previous
experience of the fine tea industry to the company.
Overall, human resources within the company are currently adding value. In order to add greater
value to the human resources, the company could stake steps to further improve workforce

64 KAPLAN PUBLISHING