Abstract
This article is a case study of LensCrafters. It focuses on operations management and technology as ways of achieving organizational success. Operations management is an important activity in organizations as it facilitates quality production.
The operations manager should come up with a strategy that the organization should adopt to produce quality goods or providing quality services. A company can utilize quality production as a competitive edge. Thus, organizations need to align their operations strategies with the competitive strategies.
The operations managers should be skilled enough to deal with the challenges they are likely to face in their operations. Technology should also be embraced in the bid to incorporate quality production in organizations.
Operations strategy and explain how the organization seeks to gain a competitive advantage in terms of sustainability
LensCrafters has attained a cutting edge in the market due to its successful operations strategy. First, the company has professional employees who are highly qualified and have sufficient knowledge about their work. This is important in that the employees are able to produce high quality eyewear to the satisfaction of every customer.
It is important to note that the human resources are always the greatest asset that each organization can have and make the operation strategy set by the management a success. This is a point that LensCrafters is well aware of and is committed to ensuring the best employees work for the firm (Collier & Evans, 2009).
Secondly, the organization ensures that it has good and reliable access to eyewear accessories. This is a strategy that ensures timely production of eyewear and increases convenience for both the organization and the customers. It is also important in accomplishing the organization’s “one hour service” and the “one stopshopping” strategy (LensCrafters, 2013).
The operations management always ensures that any accessory needed for the production activities is available on time at the right place. It also boosts quality production as the employees can fully concentrate on the production activities, instead of diverting their attention to the inconveniences that may be caused by lack of timely availability of production materials.
The other operation strategy that the organization has implemented is the installation of modern equipment for the production work. The company has embraced technology in its production. Technology has always been a booster for quality production.
It facilitates innovation and satisfaction of customers due to the high and better quality of goods produced. The modern production equipment enables the company to meet all the eyewear requirements of various customers. This is an operation strategy that has also been instrumental in ensuring the competitiveness of the company.
According to the case, the equipment that the company uses in its labs is among the most advanced in terms of technology. LensCrafters has integrated its manufacturing process into the service facility. This is meant to help in providing rapid responses for its orders and maintain the quality of its products.
It is an integration that helps the employees of LensCrafters produce eyewear according to the framework of the organization and in a manner that facilitates the accomplishment of its mission statement.
This gives it a competitive advantage against its rivals. Operations strategy should be in line with the competitive strategy of an organization to help the organization gain a competitive edge in the industry in which it operates.
LensCrafters seeks to gain a competitive advantage for sustainability in a number of ways. First, it has a mission statement that directs its activities towards the competitive advantage. The mission statement of the company is to, “provide exceptional customer services” (LensCrafters, 2013).
The company strives to attract more customers each day and maintain its current customer base. It tries to create customers for life. The company does this by offering high quality services to its customers. Customers will always be willing to go back to a place where they received quality services and attained satisfaction.
The success of an organization is dependent on the number of customers it gets. Customers dictate the amount of profits or revenues that the organization makes. This helps the firm in its sustainability in the competitive market.
Secondly, the organization focuses on creating high quality eyewear within the shortest time possible, usually within one hour (Collier & Evans, 2009). This enhances the convenience of customers as they do not have to wait for long to get their eyewear done.
Crafting an eyewear may take over 12 hours in some companies, thereby inconveniencing customers. Quality is another factor that helps LensCrafters maintain its customers. The value for one’s money is the objective of every customer that buys goods or pays for a service.
The company further delivers overall high value in a bid to meet the individual needs of customers. A competitive organization is one that has the ability to meet the needs of all its customers. It helps the organization to not only be competitive at that moment, but also in the future.
Brand image is another competitive factor that most companies, including LensCrafters, have benefited from. LensCrafters has focused on creating an optical experience guided by the motto: “See what you love, love what you see” (LensCrafters, 2013). This is a motto that helps the company create a brand that all customers are loyal to.
The company produces what the customers would like to see. In turn, the customers love what they see and buy the eyewear. In doing so, LensCrafters keeps in mind that eye care is a commitment that should be maintained for a long period.
It is, therefore, a long-life partner for its customers. Consequently, it is committed to providing the customers with the best care and protection for their eyes.
Finally, the company has its branches located strategically in areas where there are many people, like in malls. This enables the company to reach many people. LensCrafters maintains an attractive display that entices the eyes of customers and attracts them to the shops.
How operation management activities affect the customer experience
The quality of the final product is determined by the processes involved in the production of the commodity. The operations manager is the one who directs and controls the operational management. Therefore, he or she has a significant responsibility for the quality of the final product.
Customers are always willing to get the best quality, probably at the least possible amount of money possible. The quality of the products shapes the experience of the customers.
It should be noted that customer experience refers to the total experience that a customer normally gets from the seller of goods or services during the time the two relate on business purposes.
The customer may be attracted to the goods, advocate for the goods, use the goods, be aware, cultivate, or discover more about the goods as part of the experience (Greasley, 2007).
The activities of an operations manager may affect the customer experience in that the customer experience is likely to be positive if there is quality production. For instance, the customer may be attracted to the goods, advocate for the goods, or buy and use the products.
On the other hand, the customer experience will be a negative one if the activities of the operations manager lead to the production of poor quality goods (Greasley, 2007). The customer will not be willing to use the products, they may not be attracted to the products, and they will always complain in case they buy the product because it will not satisfy their needs.
Operation management challenges and probable solutions
The operations managers face a number of challenges in their work. To begin with, they are expected to manage various business practices that compete with each other. The manager is expected to get the best out of each of these practices for the purpose of quality production.
For instance, a department like the finance favors communication through emails, while the human resource may favor the use of written memos. This is a difference in communication modes and may affect the quality of production.
The operations manager is expected to align the communication modes. In dealing with this challenge, the operations manager should coordinate all the departments within the organization to ensure that all their practices are in line with one another (Greasley, 2007).
The second problem that faces operation managers is the sustainability of customers. The managers are expected to ensure production of goods that will win the loyalty of customers and lead to a sustained competitive advantage by the organization. The operations manager should ensure that production is carried out by experienced professionals and follow all the laid down procedures to deal with this challenge.
LensCrafters value chain
‘Value chain’ is a term that is used to refer to the chain of activities that are executed within organizations en route producing quality goods or services that can compete effectively in the market. LensCrafters has been phenomenal in quality production.
The primary activities that make up the value chain of LensCrafters include logistics, operations, sales, marketing, and services. The company is committed to offering top quality services to create lifelong customers. So far, the services have been effective in maximizing customer satisfaction. Its operations are always directed towards quality production.
The company focuses on producing eyewear that meets all the needs of its customers. For sales and marketing, LensCrafters has been able to adopt all the market processes that are needed for increased sales.
The company is able to reach its customers faster due to its strategic locations. These are factors that have been able to increase customer satisfaction, quality of service delivery, as well as value creation at LensCrafters.
Types of performance measurements that can be used to measure LensCrafters service-delivery system design
LensCrafters has its stores located in areas where there are a lot of people and near the target customers. One of the measures that can be used to measure its performance is management by objectives. This is where the benchmark that is used to evaluate the achievements of the service delivery system will be based on the objectives of the entire organization.
If the system leads to the organization achieving its objectives, then the system design could be considered as being successful. However, if the system design does not lead to the organization achieving its overall objectives, then the service delivery system design can be considered as a failure and should be reviewed to correct the default (Town, 2008).
The other measure that can be applied in this case is the forced ranking measure. This is where the organization is ranked against the other organizations in the same industry and in the same line of business. The achievements of the organization will be compared to those of the other organizations.
If the achievements of LensCrafters are seen to be below those of other similar organizations, then the management will come up with ways of improving the same (Town, 2008). However, if the achievements are higher than those of other organizations, then the management will come up with ways of maintaining that position.
Types of technologies applied to LensCrafters
LensCrafters is a leading advocate for technology. As a result, it has adopted the modern technology by installing the most modern and advanced technology in its laboratories. The company has hired lab technicians who have high technical abilities to make the technologies effective.
The technologies have been effective in ensuring that the organization has an effective and a strong value chain. It does this by helping the organization produce high quality eyewear and offering the best services to its customers. Technology has been considered effective in improving the operations of an organization in many instances.
The modern equipment that LensCrafters has for its production has facilitated service operations to a great extent. Generally, the ability of technology to induce quality production at LensCrafters has helped in strengthening value chain.
References
Collier, D. A., & Evans, J. R. (2009). Operations management (2nd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Greasley, A. (2007). Operations management. London, UK: SAGE Publications Ltd.
LensCrafters (2013). About LensCrafters. Retrieved from http://www.lenscrafters.com.hk/lc_en/aboutus_lenscrafters.html?from_NAV=
Town, J. S. (2008). Performance or measurement? Performance Measurement and Metrics, 1(1), 43-54.