All firms that offer goods and services have operations activities. However, depending on how a firm is structured, some companies may have discrete operations functions. In this context, operations strategy is defined as a collection of decisions that are critical in shaping the overall functions of an organization and the general strategy (Thompson, Strickland & Gamble 2015). This strategic management approach helps firms to achieve their business goals since it reconciles market needs with resources (Adamides 2015). Based on this definition, the competitive priorities of Coca-Cola can be stated as low cost, service, high quality, ease of delivery of goods, and flexibility. Operations strategy also relies on order qualifiers that relate to needs for the success of products in the market. These priorities may vary from one firm to another, but they reflect how customers feel about their demands being met.
Coca-Cola involves its customers to produce beverages that meet their requirements. This approach has ensured that the firm proactively delivers customized solutions to market segments to achieve a competitive advantage in the short and long run (Cheptegei & Yabs 2016). Customers of this company such as small businesses and retailers have particular demands since they also have to satisfy the requirements of their consumers (individuals) (Adamides 2015). If the requirements of customers are not met, then the requirements of consumers would also not be satisfied.
Geographical areas of firms influence their performance outcomes. Coca-Cola locates its manufacturing plants in areas that are closer to their main markets, implying that lower costs are incurred to transport finished products to customers (Kayabaº, Boyraz & Derdiyok 2017). A process is a collection of interrelated procedures that require resources such as energy, money, and employee time to turn inputs such as data and parts into anticipated outputs (Cheptegei & Yabs 2016). Process in Coca-Cola is typified by the continuous flow approach to manufacturing. In this context, beverages are made in a continuous process, which high levels of automation. In addition, the company ensures that it delivers high-quality products to its customers by adopting standardized procedures in the manufacturing process. Therefore, it is evident that Coca-Cola utilizes a unique operations strategy to produce high-quality goods in large quantities.
The firm takes several steps to produce beverages in its plants that are spread across the world (Kayabaº, Boyraz & Derdiyok 2017). Each production level is important to achieve organizational objectives. That notwithstanding, it can be stated that filling of bottles is a tedious process as it consumes much time of the company. However, this bottleneck may be handled by the introduction of more automated systems to do the filling.
The operations strategy of Coca-Cola also supports the quality capability which is geared toward improving the quality of beverages as well as reducing production costs (Thompson, Strickland & Gamble 2015). The firm’s executive team assesses the quality of products by verifying occasional onsite audits that are conducted by the company or third parties. These verifications are done at several steps of the manufacturing process such as when disinfecting, filtering, purifying, and monitoring equipment. The quality standards adopted by the firm are essential in guaranteeing the set standards of safety and quality (Gong 2015). Moreover, the organization measures its important product quality attributes by concentrating on ingredients and equipment and monitoring manufacturing processes, bottling, and delivery of beverages to markets. Finally, Coca-Cola adopts current regulations in the industry and consistently re-evaluates its demands throughout the general supply chain.
Reference List
Adamides, ED 2015, ‘Linking operations strategy to the corporate strategy process: a practice perspective’, Business Process Management Journal, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 267-287.
Cheptegei, DK & Yabs, J 2016, ‘Foreign market entry strategies used by multinational corporations in Kenya: a case of Coca Cola Kenya Ltd’, European Journal of Business and Strategic Management, vol. 1, no. 2, pp.71-85.
Gong, Y 2015, Global operations strategy, Springer, New York, NY.
Kayabaº, TD., Boyraz, G & Derdiyok, R, 2017, ‘Examining Coca-Cola and Pepsi brands under the basis of globalisation and multinational companies’, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7, no. 12, pp.351-358.
Thompson, A, Strickland, AJ & Gamble, J 2015, Crafting and executing strategy: concepts and readings, McGraw-Hill Education, New York, NY.