McDonalds Made-for-You System - Essay Example

McDonald’s Made-for-You System Video Summary McDonald’s Global Restaurant has been in business since 1954. McDonald has aloyal following because of its philosophy of quality, services, cleanliness and value. Its brand identity stands out among the rest in the world. The company’s global success has, for many years, been based on its fast and friendly service. Its kitchen was the best and fastest growing in business. In the late 1980s, the business started changing, not even its successful system could handle the challenges. People started being more dynamic, always on the road, changing customer taste and complex menus affected McDonalds’ ability to consistently deliver quality, service and value. Customers had to wait longer for special orders and they could notice changes in the standard originally set by McDonald. In response to these challenges, McDonald designed and implemented its new just-in-time kitchen system named ‘Made-for-You’. This kitchen is technically an overhaul of its previous kitchen designed to improve food quality, allows more menu items to be easily introduced and provide superior customer service. ‘Made-for-you’ mean whatever the customers have ordered is made just for them after they have ordered it. Nothing is prepared before the customer arrives. However, some components are prepared in advance. Its new system is based on five major criteria to succeed. First is service, which would take ninety seconds or less from ordering to delivery. Quality, which is second, is achieved by meeting high customer standards and food safety requirements. Third is food preparation, which should be easier to do right than wrong. Fourth are people. There should be increased job satisfaction, and finally profitability by reducing cost yet increasing customer satisfaction. New technology and extensive market research helped McDonalds developed a kitchen system that encompasses all of these operational and customer requirements. The company spent number of years exploring cooking technology, and holding technology where a component should be prepared in advance and kept in warming environment where it holds its temperature and moisture. McDonald’s ‘made-for-you’ kitchen system enables faster service to the customer. For example, when a customer places an order for a hamburger, it will show up on a screen and that would signal the crew to take a ban, put it through a special toaster up to 150 degree in eleven seconds. At that point, in time, the product is put on a rap various items added and finally meat is added from a special meat holding cabinet, and the product is rapped and presented to the customer. McDonald’s heated cabinet, called universal cabinet, was specifically designed for the made-for-you system. It enables them to handle all meat products for all of its sandwiches at temperatures that will be very much as if they have just come off the grills. In its new system, it also had a rapid speed toaster, which toast bans in only eleven seconds compared to twenty four seconds in the previous system. When an order is made, it is relayed to the kitchen and appears on the kitchen video monitor that is visible to the whole crew. Prior to the order, its computer system monitors customers’ traffic all the time in attempt to determine the flow orders. Computer can then detect times when business would increase and the types of food items ordered during these times. The computer then generates orders for the best selling items creating a buffer of items that are ordered in quick times this helps employees get a head during a rush. The computer also monitors employees output. Personal Opinion Changes in customers tastes and behaviors did bring challenges that initiated research carried out by McDonalds. These challenges might have brought negative impact to the business for sometime but in the end, it was an opportunity to conquer the world with new technologies. Several years of service gave it an edge over its competitors and through that it was able to maintain its customers with consistent and quality service. JIT system has really helped McDonalds by reducing inventory record keeping and enables them adapt to changing demands in a better way. Reasons why McDonalds changed its efficient food Preparation System There were several changes among customers as regard to eating at their preferred restaurants. Customers began to prefer variety of food items rather than fewer that were on offer, so there was need to meet this new dimension. Customers also began to be more mobile than before thus affecting their eating habits. McDonalds had to respond in line to the new habits. Acquisition of new equipments required accompaniment changes to the way foods are prepared for effective use of such equipments. There was an upsurge in the number of people streaming into the restaurant and that would require faster service delivery to accommodate each and every one of them. With old system, total cost of holding inventory and ordering were high and there was a need to reduce it. Meaning of ‘Made for You’ at McDonalds ‘Made-for-You’ means that after the customer has made an order, the food item presented to the customer is just made for that particular customer after the order. The success of this system is based on five criteria namely: service, quality, food preparation, people, and profitability. Its service was meant to take minimum time possible, which it put at ninety seconds or less from order to delivery. Quality targeted at meeting high customer standards and food safety requirements. McDonalds set its food preparation methods easier to follow to enable kitchen crew achieve high level of standard required. It also ensured that employees are satisfied with whatever they are doing. In any business venture, making profit is usually the ultimate goal. MacDonald’s used cost reduction measures and at the same time enhancing customer satisfaction. How it achieved Made-for-You system It made an overhaul of its entire kitchen system. New equipments were brought in for the new system to succeed. It bought rapid speed toaster, which toast ban for 11 seconds and universal holding cabinet to keep meat component warm for the next ordered item. McDonalds also deployed use of computer system to monitor customer traffic for faster service delivery. The computers are also able monitor the output of an employee and that ensure full commitment of an employee. McDonalds made changes in the way it made hamburgers. It prepared some components in advance to be added to the item as soon as the order was made. It used technology in different ways to ensure success of the system. It used screens to relay information of order made to crew in the kitchen. It also used technology (universal holding cabinet) in maintaining meat temperatures and moisture. It applied computer in creating buffer items that sell in high number during busy hours. McDonalds JIT components used Preparation of hamburger components in advance, which ensures faster delivery. Preparation of buffer items for busy hours enables them have constant supply of items. It also used signaling devices (monitors) to place ordered items for preparation. In addition the company also used kanbans, cashier machine for taking customer’s order and screen monitor to notify kitchen personnel to begin preparation of the order. Read More