Gate Gourmet Swot Analysis

approach gastronome organise AnalysisI choose cater gastronome as an system for use as case study. It is headquartered at Zurich-Airport, Switzerland and is the worlds second largest flight path cater company, providing catering operate to umteen of the worlds major air ducts, such as British Air routes, Swissair, United Air origins, Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific to name moreover a few. The scale and labyrinthineity of the provide foodie trading operations is mel first uddered and it hold ups in global environment in an industry that is highly belligerent and cost sensitive. This gives an opport social unit of measurement of measurementy to evaluate the macro and micro environment in line with the strategical options that ad missionary cypher foodie has.trade union movement1 (B)There are some(prenominal) practices that are employ for strategic planning in the industry like a shot and the choice of these are dealn by eventors such as pillow slip of industry, market realities, competitive pressures, size of the pedigree and of course the culture and respect equal to(p) practices of the arranging. Planning horizons run done with(predicate) now considerably shortened considering the dynamic constitution of demarcation of the 21st century. The horizons have now become 2-3 years. There are however several best practices that have emerged from what is ob coiffed crossways industries corrupt goals are an imperative to make strategic thinking more out(a) of the boxPlanning processes are now regarded as evolving and flexible and it is to the organisations acknowledgment how quickly it peck course correct.With the netherstanding of immenseness of s expressholder acquire in and jut out in that location is an emphasis on conversation in the strategic plan. This is an integral part of the select planning in the strategic planning. expand plans are now created to tie the objectives to activities and outc omes.An organisations competitiveness is now take cared by a fix up interconnected core competencies and not by a single core power. This has emerged from the agreement that there are various organisational aspects that go into building a competitive gain.In addition to the best practices menti championd in a higher place, there are some theories and frame sues that support the strategic planningSWOT synopsis for environmental analysisPorters 5 forces theory for environmental analysis dodging as an ecology to understand the competitionBalanced Scorecard forward motionMcKinseys 7-S model to understand how the organisational factors dish out buzz transfer its operation schemaAns saturnines hyaloplasm to define the service or ingathering strategyBCG and McKinsey matrix to go over the crossing portfolioValue range of mountains analysis as to how the organisation is adding assess and interacting with its ecosystemCore Competency approach for deciding diverseiation ap proach aggrandisement down or bottom up approach for participation and communicationStrategic narratives that help in framing and analysis of strategic options occupation 1(C)For logic gate gastronome to formulate its strategy, we must intent the followingenvironmental analysis and the position of portal epicurean relative to its environment. I would advocate using Porters 5 forces and SWOT as it pull up stakes help us understand both the macro and micro environment and link it with the gate Gourmets position in the competitive landscape.Since the industry of inflight catering is defined largely by operational excellence, we drop use the 4-V analysis to understand the areas of operational excellence that dirty dog be used to differentiate, not merely to drive operational efficiency, but likewise to compass competitive advantage.The SWOT exit also then help us understand the core competency of provide Gourmet and if that fits with the differentiation strategy that ord ain help it contact competitive advantage.From the core competencies, the balanced scored card contribute be used to outline the subscriber line objectives that give help leverage the core competencies and come through competitive advantage. These objectives leave behind be defined across financial, customer, human resources and fri dismissship focusing aspects of the organisation. task 1(D)Relevant theories for the marketing plan for adit Gourmet are product Life cycle management using Ansoffs matrix and BCG matrix, service marketing strategy and intent establish marketing strategy. aspect at the product life cycle of the inflight catering parentage, we understand that the business is a mature business and therefore will hire innovation and service differentiation counseling to compete.Also, BCG matrix will help entre Gourmet evaluate the run and geographies that commode be dropped from its portfolios and the ones that select to be fused and invested in. Ansoff s matrix will help introduction Gourmet to reconcile the innovation strategy through overbold product launch. This will help improve its utilization of the supply chain resources and the investments and thus help garnish its per unit cost.Task 2(A)There are 2 general strategic options that are avail fitted to approach Gourmet Cost Leadership and Differentiation. permit us look at the relative advantages and disadvantagesCost Leadership entrance Gourmets business drives the quest for it to be increasingly efficient as its air duct customers face heightened cost pressures collectable to the changing business and economic scenario. It operates in a business which is low margin and increasingly coming under further squeeze. Hence Cost lead is a requirement for business in this industry in the in flight catering business. It cannot be a source of competitive advantage.Differentiation Given that efficiency focus is a requirement or a qualifying measuring stick in the industry of penetration Gourmet, what can lead to a competitive advantage is through a differentiation strategy. superior and flexibility are areas that can help Gate Gourmet differentiate itself to its competition. However, focus on attribute and flexibility will lead to overheads that can act against the cost leadership requirement. hence Gate Gourmet will also need to have a robust operational strategy to drive the quality and flexibility differentiation with cost leadership.Task 2(B)The following are Gate Gourmets discover stakeholdersEmployees and contractors The strategy of flexibility and consolidation will impact the employees as Gate Gourmet will have to resort to lay offs for its permanent employees and look at flexible hiring model to suit its operations.Raw Material Suppliers Gate Gourmet will have to look at creating a deeper conjunction and teaching sharing to implement its strategy of flexibility and quality focus. This will happen though further integration of their s ystems and through real age information sharing. For cost leadership, Gate Gourmet will need to circumvent into lasting term contracts and choose strategic suppliers that can liberty chit it intermit unit prices.Supply Chain/Logistics partners Gate Gourmet will need to have more integration and alignment with its supply chain partners to mystify in place a quality and flexibility strategy. It will need to agree with them on standard quality practices to stop up consistent quality fetch creating the competitive advantage that Gate Gourmet is spirit at.Airlines flexibleness and cost leadership will require Gate Gourmet to beget information from its respiratory tract customers in real time. Gate Gourmet will also need to haveTask 2(C)The following are the recognize areas that need to be paid special attention to by the management team implementing the strategy discourseThe communication of the strategy, its objectives and the rationale behind that unavoidably to be clearly articulated and communicated to the employees. This is infallible to create the appropriate buy in from them.The communication also needs to be planned to the customers of the organisation to share with them how the organisation is changing for the better and aligning to the market and competitive requirementsThe partners of the organisation also need to be informed and aline with the changes so that they too can change their work practices to align with the organisational strategy.Organisation blueprintThe organisations structure needs to support the new strategy and ensure that the proceeding is supported by the new organisationThis will also ensure resources are allocated efficiently and minimise the waste train and developmentTraining programs need to be implemented for the new and existing employees to close the information and skill gap required to execute the new strategyInvestments into Systems and desegregationFor close integration with the partners and customers of t he organisation systems need to be put in place to support this. The organisation will need to invest in infrastructure and work practices to put these systems in placeContractual strategy Serviced Based and Strategic partnersThe contractual relationships with the partners whitethorn need to be revisited and consolidated in view with the new strategyAlso existing partners may have to revisit the service directs and scope of the contractual relationships.Task 2(D )CommunicationOrganisation designTraining and developmentTask 3 come vision, mission, objectives and quantitys of theseTask 3(A)Vision statement articulates how the organisation sees itself in the future, in fact it is the long term goal for the organisation which it strives to get hold of. Ideally this goal should be such that it can never be achieved by the organisation and it should serve as the drive for the organisation.A mission statement is more of a goal statement for a fixed tenure of time and is normally deriv ed from the Vision statement. From the mission statement the organisational objectives year on year can be derived.Value of the organisation defines the principles and ethics that the organisation abides by and holds dear. These could be targeted at doing business in a specific way, or enceinte high consideration to employees and customers. These are principles that are considered to be above the business objectives and are the fundamentals on which the company envisions its future.There are many ways in which these can be measured. A representative way of doing this is evaluating how customers and employees believe the organisation is doing business keeping in mind the vision, mission and set. Also, employees can be interviewed to determine how their individual values are aligned to organisational values and if they hold the latter close and let it ricochet in their running(a). The prevailing organisational culture also reflects how the vision, mission and values are cloaked b y the different stakeholders of the organisation.An different way of measuring the effectiveness is to determine how the organisations surgical process management system is aligned to the mission and goals that have been set and how these are supported by the training, development, mentoring and coaching in the organisation.Task 3(B)Gate Gourmet abides a set of brand values and that drives its vision of its business. The Gate group was established as a master brand to reflect the growing diversity of the business. The shapes making up the outline of a sense experience in the logo symbolize Gate groups individual companies and their vast throw away of capabilities.The points on the star represent the brand values with which we make ein truth effort to serve our customersQUALITY We deliver best-in-class products and services.INTEGRITY We pledge an good and trustworthy relationship.RELIABILITY On-time and with a clear focus on safety. entertain Optimizing value for you througho ut the supply chain.FLEXIBILITY One size does not fit all. We are attuned to your needs.PASSION We lead through innovation and inspiration. celebrate We celebrate the diversity of cultures among our employees and customers.RESPONSIBILITY We strive to protect the environment and to be a good corporate citizen in our communities.The companys website gives the following information on its mission statement Customers prefer us because passion shines through everything we do. We measure our success by the success our customers enjoy. (Refer Source 2)Task 3(C)The organisations cultural and honest environment provides a mean for realising its vision and mission. These are execution ingredients that it requires to achieve the vision and mission that it has set for itself. The culture and ethical conditions are set by how the employees and partners of the organisation have adopted and aligned with the vision, mission and strategy. It is pregnant to note that without these supporting factors, even the most well crafted vision, mission and strategy cannot be implemented.The stakeholders need to align with these and the McKinseys 7-S model reflects how these factors interact with each other and determine how vision, mission and strategy get implemented.Task 3(D)Gate Gourmet operations can be described as extremely complex requiring optimized efficiencies and responsiveness at the selfsame(prenominal) time, where it must be able to achieve very stringent operational objectives in an extremely competitive, dynamic business environment. Some of its operations objectives are listed and evaluated below along with relative importance of criteria selected for evaluation, conflicts with other objectives and how Gate Gourmet accommodates these changesDriving lower be through economies and processes Due to the nature of the competition in the industry, and where customers are always looking drive costs lower to increase their profit superpower, the cost per meal that Gat e Gourmet charges to its customers would directly impact the step of business that it is able to start out from its existing and new customers.Flexibility, responsiveness to changing customer needs and mogul to operate in an dynamic environment Though the company has to offer very competitive pricing, it is also very essential that the company that it is very flexible to the constantly changing customer requirements and is able to deliver the product and service that are closely aligned with customer expectations. As can be seen from the case, the final requirement for a particular flight is not known till hours before the flight and even that could change collectable to last minute cancellations or new booking, due to which they have to operate in a just in time fashion, of being able to come up with delivery at the moment the customer requires it. keep of highest quality standards As Gate Gourmets customers are airlines that are extremely assured of offering the best to th eir passengers and also ensuring that they have good branding as a company offering the highest quality experience, they would want to ensure that the fare that is served on their flights is of the highest standards and that various processes are followed for maintaining quality and consistency. Critical success factors for Inflight ply services not bad(p) of Singapore Airport Terminal Services practices as management benchmarks , flake Article, consequence study, Author(s) Zeph Yun Chang, Wee Yong Yeong, Lawrence Loh, Source The TQM Magazine Volume 9 get it on 4 1997Reliability and service guarantee In addition to the above discussed factors, a very important operational objective for the company to achieve would be the ensure very high reliability in the services that it provides and also providing very high service levels that would ensure its customers business work as smoothly as possible. Critical success factors for Inflight Catering services Singapore Airport Terminal Services practices as management benchmarks , Type Article, Case study, Author(s) Zeph Yun Chang, Wee Yong Yeong, Lawrence Loh, Source The TQM Magazine Volume 9 Issue 4 1997Seamless communication and working with a vast array of partners in a global supply chain As discussed above, the operation of the company, due to the scale at which it operates is very complex where it has to coordinate multiple aspects and work with multiple partners and customers to deliver the required level of service, it is a very important operational objective that there is a very high amount of information sharing and close working together across the constitutional value chain that would allow for planned service delivery. This is again an important objective and is aligned with the other objectives that ensure that the company is able to deliver.Task 4Explore the implications of changes in the general and marketing environment for organisationsTask 4(A)Let us start by analysing the typology of Gate Gourmet which will then set the context for relevant objectives for Gate Gourmet. This is the make to understanding operations and any gaps in their performanceVolume Clearly Gate Gourmet acquits a high volume of daily transactions across its supply chain with 534 thousand meals a day worldwide, on fairish 195 million every year. It has 115 flight kitchens in 30 different countries, in locations as diverse as Hawaii, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, New York, Madrid, London, Bangkok, Sydney and Tokyo. Also, it emphasises working in unison with cleaning stave, baggage handlers and maintenance crews to ensure that the aircraft are fain quickly for departure.Variety Gourmet Gate faces anatomy across its airline customers and also within its customers due to the geographical spread of the airline operations, the customer needs differ. Creating a high variety situation for Gate Gourmet. To add we the following drivers for varietyGeo disperses airline organisationGeo dispersed send away customersCustomizations of the end product required based on airline/geoVariation in demand Gate Gourmet faces mediocre variation in demand that typically emerges from the change in booking emplacement of passengers which is the nature of the airline industry. While demand variation can be high during indispensableness situations as had been the case during the aftermath of September 2001.Visibility The Gate Gourmet operations are not customer facing while they supply a product and service that impacts the end customer experience for their airline customers.Task 4(B)Give the 4 V analysis, we need to look at the implications for Gate GourmetHigh transaction volume would mean capital intensive operations for Gate Gourmet which will help it drive high repeatability and lower its unit costs as the volumes increases and economies of scope gripe in. Gate Gourmet will also pay attention to say specialisation in its operations and allocated its resources as per the areas of specialisa tion these will be in terms of the geographic operation of the airlines and the airline itself.High variety in its business would mean Gate Gourmet operations to be flexible and aimed to meet the customer needs. The complexity that this introduces in the operations increases the unit costs.Variation in demand is though mediocre, but the Gate Gourmet needs to be in touch with demand and have the ability to anticipate the demand fluctuations and flexibility to cater to these demand variation. Capacity verbiage may not be crucial as there is no regular high variation in the demand. This factor also drives the unit costs upwards.Visibility of operations for Gate Gourmet is low for the end customer, therefore is a delay between the production and consumption of the product of Gate Gourmet. This allows for higher standardisation and staffing with resources with low contact skills. This allows high staff utilisation and centralisation of production therefore impetuous the unit costs dow n.The analysis and implications leads us to the objectives that will be key for meeting Gate Gourmets customers and end customer expectationsDependency of delivery vow Qualifying stepSpeed of response Order Qualifying criterionCost Order Qualifying criterionQuality Focus Order Winning criterionFlexibility- Order Winning criterionWhile the high volume and low visibility of the operations help Gate Gourmet standardise the operations and resourcing driving down the unit costs through economies of scope. They have also reduced the number flight kitchens by 10% from 115, when the case was create, to 97 currently and also their daily volumes have gone up by 10% hinting at strong economies of scope driving their unit costs lower. While the need for high variety and medium variation require its operations be flexible and integrate with the customer demand scenario. This drives the unit costs upwards and creates a challenge for gate Gourmet in this low margin and low cost business.Ta sk 4(C),(D)Organisation somaGate Gourmet advocates the concept that the organisational structure should reflect the core processes undertaken by the business, with a animal trainer given responsibility for each process. Under the tralatitious structure, if there is a problem with servicing a flight, no one manager would be responsible-the fault might lie with the purchasing manager for not ordering supplies, the equipment manager for not having the right equipment, the production manager, or the transportation manager. So, some caterers have now organised their production units based on core processes. Gate Gourmet in Geneva (Emad, 1997) determine these as Equipment Handling, Customer Management, and Goods Supply and PreparationSpeed of ResponseGate Gourmet integrates tightly with its upstream and downstream supply chain partners through transparent and real time information sharing through the SCALA and e-gatematrix ensuring that the same information is available to all the par tners at the same time demonstrating converse and forward integration for creating competitive advantage. They have integrated the SC partners bragging(a) the last mile reliability to their end-customers, though they function as different organisations the information sharing couples then tightly and helping them reach cursorily to changes in their environment. It has created standardised menus in SCALA to ensure consistency and repeatability in its menus.Quality FocusFor quality Gate Gourmets global team of talented and accredit chefs is ready to serve your catering needs and deliver on your vision. (Source http//gategourmet.gategroupmember.com/index.php/culinary)Gate Gourmet has instituted a total quality management initiative that is aimed at inculcating process quality than relying on inspection quality. This initiative is called Airline Catering On The Move Global Service Excellence and has been implemented internationally across its network of operations. This program was d eveloped through the expert support of Dr. Donald Fisher, a globally-acknowledged expert in the quality management field. Dr. Fisher, of the Mid-South Quality productiveness Center (MSQPC). Dr. Fisher has been acting as an external consultant and has been submissive in this initiative by bringing in his global experience and expertise. This alliance has been particularly valuable as Gate Gourmet operates in an international context as well. (Source http//www.msqpc.com/Newsletters/Spring2003.pdf)(Source Title High flyer Author(s) Bettye come up Miller Journal Managing Service Quality)FlexibilityCustomer requirements of Gate Gourmet are such that it needs to assemble meals as per the specific road map provided. Also, the packing and loading onto the service trolleys are as per specification. These service trolleys are loaded onto huge coolers and into loader trucks to send to the aircraft galleys just before the take off. Gate gourmet operates nearly 1700 of these vehicles and many of these are already weaponed with cooling systems, cameras and state of the art engines to meet with the strict FDA regulations and also adopt with the environmental guidelines.Cost FocusGate Gourmet also follows offensive HR policies to manage its human resources and ramping down based on changes in its customer demand. It also got into union issues due to these practices in the UK in 2005. (Source http//www.itfglobal.org/solidarity/gategourmet.cfm) Gate Gourmet is also looking at moving from permanent employee base to flexible staffing practices again in an attempt to be flexible and responsive. (Source http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4153366.stm) It is reported to making losses globally and nerve-racking to revamp its operations to stay profitable. (Source http//www.nytimes.com/2005/08/15/business/worldbusiness/15iht-gate.html?_r=1)Gate Gourmet is consolidating its partnerships and acquiring logistics companies to allow it to backward integrate focussing on driving its un it operational costs lower. It is also looking at longer term contracts with it customers to assure a business volume over time.It is also innovating and getting into new lines of business to improve utilisation of its supply chain reduce its cost of operations and also drive top line growth. Gate Gourmet has entered into an alliance with ARINC Inc. (leader in onboard retail management). They are working together to promote on board sales programs for the worlds airlines and rail systems as well. This is helping Gate Gourmet improve utilization of its resources and reduce stagnate time. (Refer http//www.arinc.com/news/2008/04-30-08.html)Gate Gourmet has also diversified into non-airline catering where it can use its existing supply chain to service on-land and train passengers as well e.g it has teamed up with Starbucks and railways in Portugal. (Source http//gategourmet.gategroupmember.com/index.php/culinary/non-airline-catering)(Source Title Developing new products and services in flight catering Author(s) Peter JonesJournal internationalist Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management)Task 5Plan for the carrying out of a general or marketing strategy.Task 5(A)The mission and goals will help determine the business objectives that the organisation needs to achieve. Also, timelines for achieving these objectives can be set based on the mission and macro environmental factors of the organisation.The objectives and the opportuneness can then be broken down into lower level objectives and activities with shorter timelines. Each of these activities will be assigned to individuals with responsibilities and also resources required to complete these activities. Each of these activities will have outcomes outlined and linked to the key performance indicators. These can then be established as milestones and linked to the key performance indicators that can be used to review the milestones and activity status.Therefore the timetable will consist of the following k ey elementsHigh Level objectives let loose Level ObjectivesLow Level ActivitiesEstimated duration of completionMilestonesResponsible individuals and departmentsResources required to complete the activitiesDesired outcomesKPIs to be used to evaluate milestone statusTask 5(B)Task 5(C)While crafting a strategy, key performance indicators can be determined at the time of planning. A balanced posting typically helps determine the required KPIs along the different areas of strategic importance. Also, targeted values for these KPIs can be established during the planning process and how these need to be re-visited with time.The data required for these KPIs can be collected regularly and published as per a pre-determined schedule. These KPIs can then be compared to the target and a root cause analysis be done for those KPIs that are off the targets. Corrective action can then planned based on the root causes determined.Task 5(D)Post the difficulties that the customer airlines of Gate Gourme t were facing, Gate Gourmet unflinching to go with an approach of flexibility and to be able to match its cost structure with the changing financial situation of its customers. It decided to model its workforce requirement to this strategy as well and put off workers in UK and US. However, there was an immediate backlash of these lay off specially in the UK leading to major business disruptions in Heathrow aerodrome leading to grounding and delay of several flights prominent airlines. This had not been factored in by gate Gourmet management and they had to go for significant ill-treat control measures post this fiasco. This indicates why Gate Gourmet should have monitored proactively the set up of its flexible strategy.The decision of the Coca Cola company to expand its operations in India as ap art of its Asian strategy was faced with issues when its blowup in Southern India was faced with stiff resistance from the local universe and community on the detrimental effects of the factories on the ground wet table. This again demonstrated the need to the company to monitor and factor in the community aspects of a strategy.