Project Planning and Scheduling

Target Company

For your company, what is one example of a project? What are the tasks? Does your company use Gantt charts? What are your recommendations?
A great example of project with our firm (Target) would be when there is a promotional sale during a specific time period such as now during the holiday season. The planning portion of the project is typically made up of a team of employees and managers where goals are set and strategies are created to achieve the set goals. Managers of a Target store may set goals on a weekly basis and or monthly basis to assure that sales goals are reached. Also, all specifics of such goals or projects are documented by the management team in order to have reference points. The scheduling portion of projects at Target refers to when the goals are broken down to specifics such as how many sales each employee is required to obtain within a week or month.

When Target has to set up for a display or special promotion, like a new seasonal section, new displays, or price changes, they rely on their price and presentation team members. What this team is responsible for it updating displays and shelves. They check signs and labels for accuracy while maintaining a clean store. These team members work with charts simmilar to Gantt charts to complete these tasks.

Scheduling may be altered for employees in order to insure that sales goals are achievable.
Managers will also look at previous year sales to again create strategies that will help achieve goals. Furthermore, managers may also look at employee’s previous sales history within the firm and decide whether an employee may be positioned in a different department where he or she may be more effective for the store and its sales volume.

Target's success in these areas, indicates they are making the right decisions when it comes to managing projects. As long as team leaders continue to manage their employees properly, this method will continue to work.

Assignment 5

Target's Focus

 

The four dimensions of quality and how they apply to Target

Quality of Design – Quality of design applies to Target in the sense that Target works closely with third party firms (ones who actually manufacture Target’s branded products) to assure that it meets the specification of Targets customer base. Target’s mission is for their products along with foreign products to be sold at a cheaper price and have better quality than their competitors. Target’s Market Research department works closely with the firms they conduct business with in order to reach such specific goals. 

Quality of Conformance – Such a process is vital to Target’s success because ultimately they want their products to meet their customer’s specifications. All products sold at Target stores and online will have high quality of conformance if they are made according to specifications and low quality of conformance if they obviously do not meet specifics.

Availability, Reliability and Maintainability – Availability is vital for Target due to the simple fact that Target would much rather always carry the items they offer and not to have them available and potentially lose a sale opportunity. Target stores have a photo center where customer can go in and process their pictures or drop off a role of pictures and pick them up at a later time. Availability of the machines that process the pictures is important because if they are not available people will go elsewhere or may never return for the specific service. Second, Reliability becomes a key aspect in the sense that Target wants to sell low priced items that are reliable. This also ultimately defines the continuation of Target’s service for every customer they serve. Finally Maintainability is just as imperative because if a customer comes in to a store with a not functioning television that he or she purchased, he or she is expecting that the television is fixed quickly or given a new product as well as other products in their stores.

Field Service – This is most commonly known as customer service and where Target feels that it is an operation that they cannot afford to fail in. If a customer comes with an issue regarding a specific product, Target expects that their employees take care of the customer in the most efficient way that will make the customer return to the store and keep them satisfied.

As Target continues to expand, they understand the importance of continually improving proceedures of quality. Target and Double Procurement

In the past Target, like other companies has found itself in situations where mistakes were made due to poor quality control: Counterfiet items being sold at Target

Target can consider getting self check-outs, to faster serve their customers. They can have more employees working on the sales floor, to help customers locate specific items. They might consider ideas that their major competitors impliment such as Wal Mart. Target could have an employee working the door ie.(Greeting customers as they walk in and out of the store, and to make sure they found what they were looking for). These ideas can help Target improve on their quality.

Quality Control and Improvement

Target's Food Products and Quality

 Target Brand's Quality Promise

For the company your team has selected, what quality control methods do they currently use

Target retails several third party brands. For these companies, quality control must be taken care of internally, these companies are said to be supplier certified. Target sells their own products under the label of Archer Farms, Up &Up and Market Pantry. The major concern for Target is to provide high quality products for low prices.

Target uses product specification development, labeling and regulatory compliance, and maintaining product quality in the marketplace. They also ensure vendors meet all safty requirements.

As the second largest retail company in the United States, Target must consistantly focus their efforts on continually improving. With that being said, Target must concentrate on the most important problems and therefor must use Pareto analysis. Those who work for Target's quality contol will utilize the six sigma process.

Assignment 4

Target Stores 

-3 Elements of the service product bundle

-          The tangible service

-Value for their money, items in stock, and a clean and organized store

-          The intangible or psychological benefits

-Exceptional customer service, speed and efficiency

-          The physical goods

-Products including: personal care, cleaning, stationary, kitchen supplies, house wares, furniture, toys, electronics, grocery, and gift items

-Service Matrix Cell Target Operates in

Customer wants and needs in the service Package are highly customized with unique process sequence. Customer has great decision making power. In the operations service system process design, Target has a moderate number of process pathways. Flexible flows with some dominant paths, moderate work complexity.

-Some types of customer contact they encounter and how they respond to it. Do they use self service? Do they use technology?  Do they use focused operations? How do they support employees?

A situation where there would be interaction with a customer would be when a customer wants to know the price of an item. A customer can use one of the several price scanners throughout the store. They can also ask a sales associate for the price. In this case, they can scan the item using a PDA or scan the item at the register.  They can also check online before they go to the store. This up to date technology helps the customer find out the price of the item they are looking for. The company does use focused operations. When the customer, or sales associate scans the item for the price, the location of the item is shown, as well as how much of this item is in stock. The use of a self checker and the internet will help the employee get more work done, because self sufficient customers will use these technologies instead of continuously asking the employee the price of several items. All of these technologies show the item location, and amount in stock support employees. This is because in most occasions this will be the next question that the customer will ask.

A Service Recovery that Target offers is that in when a customer is looking for a product that is not in stock. The company would give the customer a rain check and the service recovery would be how long the customer had to wait for the product to come in, and then use the rain check to purchase the item.   Also A service recovery is incase a product is recalled Target will have available substitutes for that specific item.  Target guarantees that if a product is broken or not assembled right that the customer has a 90 window to return the product if the packaging and all the items of the product are in tact.

Assignment 3 Target

Assignment 3 Questions and Answers

 What type of product flow do they use? 

 Target style of product flow is using the batch product flow. The products that they cell are everyday products which must be are purchased and taken the same day being that they are a retail store.

What type of customer order do they process? 

Because targets products are mostly every day things Target would need to keep items on stock. This would have to mean that the way for of customer order would have to be Make to Stock. Consumer can purchase items either through the internet or shop at a local retail store. When employees pick up an online order they would have to get the products from its on stock. Consumers must order online or shop at a retail location for purchase of products.

  

Which cell does Target fall into in the process characteristics matrix?

Target falls into batch and make to order. the store will carry different product lines based on the target location . Customers in some demografic areas will demand different products. Target will only open stores with full markets or pharmacy departments if they will profit based on the demand and the competition in that area.

Preparation for Holiday Shoppers

Factors Which Influence Target's Process Selection

When deciding which type of process selection to use, Target considers what type of market they are selling to. Target chooses to use a batch process because they are a retail store. They are selling to customers which look to get value for their money. This corporation must consider the demographic of its customer depending on the area each store is opening in. There are Target Greatland stores, Super Targets, PFresh Target stores, and Urban Target stores. Depending on the model of these stores, there is either greater square footage, more third company stores inside, deli and produce sold, or the store layouts is modeled to fit in unique locations.


Target will also accommodate their process selection based on the time of year. They market seasonal products, which they only sell at a specified time slot throughout the year. Products geared towards Back to School/College, Halloween, Holiday, and Summer are sold in Target's Seasonal location inside stores. The store will only purchase these types of products to be sold during these specific times.


This Corporation must also be mindful about purchasing the right quantities of certain items. There are times of very heavy store traffic during the sales year, in which Target must order and stock the correct amount of products. Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States. Target must prepare inventory for these items which they forecast will sell well during these time of high sales.


It is essential for Target to be up to date on trends in areas from home design to clothing. They need to follow tends in entertainment and technology as well. Target must also order the correct amount of inventory for these trendy items as well as market items, which have expiration dates as well. Most importantly they must compare their selling ideas and innovations with their competitors. Target must sell and present the products their customer wants in a clean and friendly environment, keeping true to their Target Promise.


 

Can they adopt any of the mass customization methods discussed? 

 Yes, Target can adopt to two of the mass customization. According to the moduler production, Target also orders a large quantity of products to meet customers’ needs. Target has an online website where customers can order merchandises and have their products shipped to them within 2 business days. In reference to Fast Changeover, each of target products has a bar code on it, which is call the SKU number. The SKU number help identify the item and the price of the item. The SKU number also gives customers an easy and quick way to check the price of a specific item by using the "self prices checkers"  found around the store. Target can adopt to those two forms of mass customization.

Target's Inventory Managment

 

Expectations for Holiday Season

Ratio's and Returns for Target Corporation

        Target is one of the most advanced companies in inventory management. The company manages both retail stores and an online store. Inventory is managed for Target through 4 different import warehouses, there are 27 regional distribution centers, and for internet sales; 3 fulfillment centers. The company's primary focus is getting the right amount of inventory to where it needs to go, and in a timely manner. Target measures the sales volume of each store, and uses this information to sort and time their inventory. Factors such as the region's market demographic, holiday times, climate, back to school dates, and the volume of the store will effect how and when inventory is assorted. 

        In each store utilizes point of sale data. A list of what each store is derived every hour so that the shelves can be restocked immediately. The store will reorder stock based on percentage of the merchandise sold. Overnight stocking of stores in performed every night. A truckload of inventory comes daily to each store. There is about a four hour lead time from the store's order until it is received.

Company info for Target

http://www.target.com/ 

     Target opened in the early 1960's with new trendy way of marketing discount retail. The idea was to change the way consumers viewed shopping for discounted goods. Today Target has almost 1,750 stores in 49 states. They have extended to include stores which have grocery stores, photo centers, pharmacies, and food restaurants. The store is actively involved in the community. They support education, arts, and social services. The company promotes a diverse environment, encouraging innovation through suppliers, team members, and the total shopping experience. Target's mission statement is at follows: Our mission is to make Target the preferred shopping destination for our guests by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and an exceptional guest experience by consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less.^® brand promise.