For Rey Writer

Rage Energy Drink

Operation, Technology and Management Plan

Tamico Little

BUS599 Strategic Management

Strayer University

Dr. Sandra Bryant

December 1, 2015

Operation, Technology and Management Plan

Operation Plan

The operations plan will cover all the aspects regarding how the business will be running its operations. To begin with, the operation plan will cover the workflow that will be dealt with in the company to make the ideas turn into a reality. Here, the aspects that will be covered will include the following elements. One of the elements that will be covered will be supply chain and this one will include the individual that will be supplying the company with materials that will be used in the manufacturing process of the energy drink. The metal cans for packaging the drinks will be supplied by the Ardagh Group. Water will be obtained from the city’s water system and this will be recycled. The recycling process will go a long way in ensuring that the company does not spend a lot of money on water considering that the manufacturing process will require a lot of water. This will greatly reduce the operation costs.

The inventory of the company will be operated in the offices located within the manufacturing plant. The close proximity to the manufacturing plant will make it easy for the top management to oversee the operations of the plant easily. With regards to the personnel, the company will employee a total of 200 employees. Even though the company is investing in the use of modern technology, there is still need for human labor to take care of certain tasks that so as to provide more employment opportunities for the people Virginia Beach. The staff will be well structured with each production line having a supervisor that will be reporting to the production manager. The production manager will in turn report to the senior vice president who will then report to the CEO.

Minimal operation costs is one of the aspects that the company will be focusing on as its competitive advantage. This is because taking other methods such as price wars can be a very ineffective method especially when one considers the fact that other players such as Red Bull have been in the game long enough and they therefore have the ability to engage in a price war and still be able to make profits. Taking that step will only mean losses for Rage as a company. However, focusing reducing the cost of production and operation will ensure that the company enhances its efficiency by producing at lower costs that will attract lower prices. Also the facility will be rented by the company and over time as business grow, the company will be able to develop its own manufacturing plant. This will also go a long way in saving on the costs that will be incurred in financing construction. The money can be used to finance to other activities such as purchasing vats and refrigerators that will be used for storing the drinks.

The company will distribute the products through retailers such as grocery stores and super markets that reach out to the customers directly. There will also be an online platforms that will enable customers to order for the drink and the company will ship the drink to their places. Shipment will depend on the location, (Dumas, 2013). Those individuals within Virginia Beach will receive shipment for free while those further away will have to incur the standard shipment costs. The company is also focusing on coming up with more brands so as to be able to keep up with the market developments. Even though the company does not have a new product in development, we are anticipating to come up with a new project based on customer feedback.

The company will also engage in research and development activities that will see it through that the company develops new and high quality variety of products. The research will include conducting questionnaires to get to know the new brands that they would prefer from the company, (Waxman, 2013). This will be benefit the company by growing its product line thus increasing the revenue streams.

Technology Plan

The company will be embracing the use of technology so as to reduce operation costs as much as possible. The technology will provide an efficient and convenient way for the company to manage its employees as well as run its daily operations. To begin with, the company will use advanced employee management systems that will be used to manage employee in the manufacturing plant. The system will see it thought that the plant is divided into different sections and employees will be able to access the various levels based on their clearance levels. The different sections will be accessed using employees cards that will also be serving as their access card. This will be an effective way of reducing unnecessary movements within the organization thus greatly increasing their productivity and efficiently to the benefit of the organization as a whole, (Waxman, 2013).

The company will also use cloud system that will enable employees from different departments within the company to access important information regarding their duties and responsibilities such as customer information. This move will be very important for the company because it will not only reduce the amount of paper work but also create a system where employees can access real time information within the shortest time possible. Each employee will be register in the system and they will be able to create their unique password. Just like the different sections of the manufacturing plant, the cloud system will also be based on the clearance level of the employees. This will see it that only the employee who have the clearance to access a particular set of information access them. As a result, the company will not risk the chance of critical information falling into the wrong hands.

Orders will be taken and the information will be recorded into the company’s system, specifically the sub domain of the sales department. The team will therefore be able to view the order that are active and those that have been submitted. This will go a long way in helping the company come up with an effective sales strategy based on the analysis of the information regarding the quantity and value of their orders. The orders will be assigned specific numbers in the systems and this will be the reference number that will also appear on the fiscal receipt. In case of any problems with an order, the number can be used to track it to determine its problem or even its status. The system will also help in managing inventory in the sense that the products will be recorded based on the specific numbers and these numbers will determine those that leave the warehouse first, (Dumas, 2013). The first drinks to enter the warehouse will be the first one to leave when a sale is made.

The company will utilize the use of the internet and social media to enhance communication between employees. There are different types of platforms that can be used by the company for communication within the company. There will be groups on Facebook and Twitter that will be used a communication channel. There will also be an email platform that will be used for passing important information regarding meetings and those events that are taking place in the company. In addition to social media and the internet, the company will also use telephones to inform employees on urgent issues. With regards to the customers, the company will develop a customer care department that will be charged with communicating and handling employee issues regarding the product, (Nieuwenhuizen, Rossouw, & Badenhorst, 2008).

Management Plan

The company will be a middle level company and the most effective management structure will be the functional organizational structure. This is best structure for the company because it will divide the company into different departments that that have different functions that are aimed at achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. This structure will ensure that the company is able to focus on getting the targeted market, (Nieuwenhuizen, Rossouw & Badenhorst, 2008). In all the department, each employee reports to the employee who is above him or her. For instance, if the production process has a problem such as an issue of replacement of one of the machines, there will be a supervisor who will be reporting to the production manager, the production manager will then be able to reach out to the Accounting and Purchasing department. The production manager will give a proposal the accounting office and the accounting office will forward the reviewed proposal to the vice president for approval.

The management style that will be used by the company is the affiliate management style. This is a style that will see it through that the organization is able to maintain harmony among the employee from the top level management to the lowest level employees. The style is based on the people first, task second idea and this will ensure that conflict and avoided and managed effectively in the organization. The style will motivate the employees by making them happy and as a result they will develop job satisfaction.

Reference

Dumas, M. (2013). Fundamentals of business process management. Berlin: Springer.

Nieuwenhuizen, C., Rossouw, D., & Badenhorst, J. A. (2008). Business management: A contemporary approach. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta.

Waxman, K. T. (2013). Financial and business management for the doctor of nursing practice.