final8

November 18, 2018

Introduction

The Walmart Chicken Bite business has been a success ever since its launch and has continued to gather more customers such that it has begun monopolizing the fast food system in the two opened locations. However, every business, big, small successful or startup always seems to have some level of challenges along the way even if it has the largest market share. Therefore, this tasks the company management to develop an outline of how the company has been progressing and the future cycle of the business. This is a mandatory set in every business if it aims at achieving success or backing out while it is still successful as a means of avoiding loses.

Consequently, it is that point in the Chicken Bite business where the lifecycle must be developed as a future map work on the possible opportunities, new companies and potential challenges. As a result of that, this study will be peering through some of the means by which the organization can increase its profits by cutting out some of the unnecessary expenditures. The document will also entail some of the products that will seize to be produced and offered by the company as a means of reducing costs, attracting more clients and opening room for a new venture. All this information will be dependent on the inventories offered by the suppliers but made understandable by looking at the expense the company incurs on the supplier in comparison to cutting out the supplier. The data will also be derived from the customer demand of the Chicken bite fast foods.

Life-Cycle

Many at times you might have heard of the words “my baby” being used to refer to a company, an industry or an invention. This is very true as a company does uphold a similar life structure to that of a human being. That is, a company has stages of life, or rather, a company has trends and cycles in which it falls under. Similar to the growth of a newborn child, they also go through various stages/ cycles throughout their journey in life. Thus, for the Chicken bite fast food "baby" below are the various cycles in which it has gone through and those it will have to go through, along with the changes that must be made to see its succession.

1. Startup

The Chicken Bite business saw its operationalization sometime around 20th of October to 3rd of November 2018. This was a very challenging time as the business was faced with several challenges such as entering the market late and only coming in with one product. However, since the original company, Walmart has been around for several decades now, the companies' stature, client base and financial muscle all aided a successful startup of the Chicken Bite Company. Partnerships with equinox and the present suppliers of the farm produce also made the startup of the new business very smooth and somewhat easy since everything including premises was available. The startup of the business had a total budget cost of $6,000,000, whereby the sum of money was divided equally into two stores.

2. Growth

Growth is the second stage of the company and happens to be the current stage in which the Walmart Chicken Bite business is in at the moment. It is clear to see the company has done wonders as far as the months have passed as it has managed to surprise the expectations of having a slow pickup. Thanks to the strategic timing of the startup (towards the end of the year and festive season) the company has gained popularity as many people are winding up the year. The demand is constant since the conception of the business, and this can be proved by the inventories as seen below.

From the data chart above we can see throughout the first four months of the business, there has been a steady rise on the sales as well as the money spent on adding the supplies needed to make the chicken bite product. From these two variables, we can tell that the business is gradually progressing in the number of customers at a fast rate while the expenses spent are at a minimal amount. None the less, this information is a reflection of only one store owned by Walmart located in the high-end location.

Thus, this shows an open-minded appreciation of the commodity being offered as it is of a much healthier standard as compared to the rest of the fast foods being provided around the globe. Referencing from the inventories in the production planning document, the items that are in use at the business are also gradually reducing as the cooks, chef and sales staff are putting more hours as weeks go by.

3. Maturity

Walmart’s Chicken Bite is far from reaching its maturity level as it has not fully expanded into new markets, nor has it developed new ideas or products. However, considering the growth rate and foundation is stands tall on, the business promises to be very fruitful. None the less, for the continued success of the business, the following need to be put in focus as a future guide:

· Regular check and monitoring of the company’s finances.

· Allocate a team to be managing the business as a separate entity from the rest of Walmart.

· Develop a company policy for the fast food subsidiary.

· Consider expanding to the remaining Walmart outlets at a rate of 20 outlets a year

As the maturity rate kicks in, Walmart has to make sure to use the firm stand on healthy foods and snacks as well as standby it cost leadership tactics. Throughout the growth towards the maturity level, Walmart has a target of attaining ten more products in its menu with a new induction of drinks as well as light snacks. These products and slogan shall turn into a ‘cash cow" by the time growth begin to subsidies. However, this might not be the case as Walmart is expanding as a retail enterprise which also means the fast food business has a milestone ahead.

4. Renewal/Decline

As the government and state governments of the US seem to be standing against unhealthy foods, Walmart has an incredible chance of bypassing all competition as they are the first fast-food company to adhere to the healthy fast food products (Pomeranz, Wilde, Huang, Micha & Mozaffarian, 2018). Therefore, as the government prepares itself to increase the taxes on unhealthy fast food products and companies, Walmart can easily re-invest in its chicken bite business. The primary target will be refreshing its menu, look and prices, this will win over all the remaining clients who would have opted to leave the taxed products to save their money and enjoy a nice healthy and tasty fast food meal. Walmart will also look into buying out some of the fast food companies by offering to buy off the businesses from them as it will seem like the only secure and simple thing for them to do to avoid loses. This move will mean more market space and assets for Walmart fast food business.

Profit Generation and Cost-Saving Opportunities

In the company's lifecycle, all seems to be merry and wealthy as the statistical data appears to lean on the upside of the company. However, this is not entirely the case as the company is also running some meaningless expenses that can easily be reduced to improve on the growth of the company regarding customer base and savings. Therefore, some of the things that need to be eradicated to ensure the company saves more money are:

· Cut out the middlemen: The one middle party that seems to be costing Walmart unnecessary expenses appears to be the suppliers of the farm produce that is used on the production of the chicken bite snack. To ensure that the business maximizes on profits (as it is business), a team will be elected to venture out in search of farmers who grow the necessary produce and the type of poultry used for chicken bite production. Having a one on one meeting with the producers will make it possible to increase profits for the farmers and reduce increased costs on the company as a whole (Aitken, 2017).

· Transportation: The best way to reduce the struggles of paying shipping companies will be searching for a local based product that can easily be fetched by the company's transport unit (Aitken, 2017).

In the long run, profit can also be improved by putting a plan to implement the following strategies:

· Developing offers that will tie Walmart as a retailer and Walmart's chicken bite. A proposal such as; “purchase a family pack meal and get a coupon or a secret, terrific gift". Such advertisements and offers are bound to improve the firm's image and improve its customer company relation which translates into more profits.

· Introduction of new products in the market will also promote the company an increased number of consumers as they will come back for more and out of curiosity of what is new on the menu.

· Lastly, since the company is across 27 countries, it is advisable to use this opportunity to expand the company and spread it into these new markets. Opening the production and selling of the commodity to other nations will also run the competition down as Walmart is more than famous at being a cost leader in every state it opens up a new store.

Supply Chain Management

Walking through the company’s cycle, and unnecessary expenses, the fast food system needs to improve its supply chain and centers as this is also an additional liability. It is more so important to develop the system as the company will now be shipping its commodities from farms and original manufactures. Thus, cutting out the middleman increases the tasks of the supply chain department and a union of it to another department as well. Here are some of the technologies the fast food business and Walmart as a whole can profit from.

· Cloud-Based Commerce Networks

Since Walmart uses a cloud service system, it is only wise to maximize on the service they are already paying for. As mentioned in the first documentation of the business plan, Walmart will assist the Fast Food section plan on the sales and production as they will be able to have a one on one feed from the tracks conveying the produce as well as the farmers. This base system will also link all the shops into one network where the supply can be monitored, and in case of uneven distribution, changes can easily be made on time (Ferris, 2017).

· Radio Technology

As Walmart has taken upon themselves to transport their commodities from producers, every item or cooling tray will be fitted with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) which will point out the location and condition of the product in transit (Gilbert-Rolfe, 2017). Therefore, in the case of any unplanned shifts or changes, the supply chain team will notice at one and using the cloud-based system, they can quickly shut down the vehicle's engine remotely and send in a distress signal to the police in that particular region.

Phase-Out Plan

‘Man must eat’, this is a famous line used to explain why man enjoys food so much or why man does not get without feeling hungry. It is also a line used by many movies and advertisements. From this statement, we can derive two aspects, the first aspect is that literally, man does have to eat and the second scope, humanity thrives on food as we enjoy food especially in diverse forms (Peters, 2015). Therefore, using the first aspect of the famous statement, Walmart Chicken Bite will never go unwanted as people will always have hunger and this will pull them towards the fast food joint they see. Hence it is imperative for Walmart to expand its territory. On the other hand, the second stand educates the management team on the importance of motivation (Peters, 2015).

Since the company is currently offering chicken bites with buns and tortillas, the management needs to understand the motivational point of the consumer. Basically, since the startup of the business, the sales of the bread has not been as successful as that of the tortilla on a weekly basis. A study was conducted, and the following feedback was achieved:

1. Many parents motivate their children to try eating something new.

2. Burgers/buns are associated with unhealthy meals.

3. Buns are ordinary and present in every fast food shop

4. Bread does not offer any exotic feel nor any sense of adventure.

5. Buns appear bulky and are assumed to be more than one can eat.

The above findings were derived from customers who were questioned as to why they prefer the indigenous tortilla to buns. The study was also done on a set of orders done in the high-end store that saw many parents order tortillas for their children. This was also the same case in the sub-urban region where many people wanted to try newer things. Therefore, these findings bring to a close the production and supply of the buns and the advertisement of them. The bun product will be phased-out where a new commodity will be introduced as the new findings have determined that people enjoy more unique things. Using statistical data on the use of the flour used in making of buns and tortillas, it is clear to see that the buns started strong but began to reduce in demand in the onset of the second weak at a very extreme speed.

This goes to show that the company has made the right choice in stopping the burger fest product as it is more of an expense than it is of benefit to the whole enterprise. None the less, this has also opened doors to the company in bringing other cultures into Walmart’s Fast Food adventure, meaning Walmart has a new project idea at heart.

References

Aitken, R. (2017). IBM & Walmart launching blockchain food safety alliance in China with Fortune 500’s JD. com.

Ferris, J. M. (2017). U.S. Patent No. 9,842,004. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Gilbert-Rolfe, C. (2017). Radio-Frequency Identification. In Digital Identity Management (pp.81-90). Routledge.

Halling, M., Yu, J., & Zechner, J. (2016). Leverage dynamics over the business cycle. Journal of Financial Economics, 122(1), 21-41.

Kaplan, R. S., & Atkinson, A. A. (2015). Advanced management accounting. PHI Learning.

Peters, R. S. (2015). The concept of motivation. Routledge.

Pomeranz, J. L., Wilde, P., Huang, Y., Micha, R., & Mozaffarian, D. (2018). Legal and administrative feasibility of a federal junk food and sugar-sweetened beverage tax to improve diet. American journal of public health, 108(2), 203-209.

Use of Flour

Growth of the Chicken Bite Business