Abstract
MBA FPX 5016 Assessment 1 Wild Dog Coffee Company, as a single unit, locally owned coffee shop business, offers a range of espresso drinks, breakfast and lunch fare, and a reduced evening meal menu. An expansion to another location is in the works. New menu items can be sampled at the new location but will be made no differently. For ensuring consistency, there is a process improvement plan which is created as it describes the espresso beverage making process and presents a detailed breakdown with the objective of enhancing this process before new locations are added.
Process Improvement Plan
Procedure
At Wild Dog Coffee Company, we value excellence and efficient processes, and through this, we are able to sustain our success. Growing and opening new locations, which we are soon going to do, demands that customer satisfaction is guaranteed to create a loyal customer base. To achieve this, we have detailed the process of preparing espresso.
Metrics
Metrics are quantitative measures used by businesses to track, observe, and ascertain the success or failure of a variety of processes. The primary reason for business metric measurement is cost control; however, their overall purpose is to report the progress of a business towards long- and short-term goals (Rouse, 2015). For Wild Dog Coffee Company, the following metrics will be pivotal in ascertaining the new process:
•Sales Revenue: The measurement will be monitored by tracking sales data for each month to verify the efficiency of the new process and make necessary adjustments to ensure higher revenue. As the company is selling seasonal drinks, customers’ preferences might change during different months and affect revenue accordingly.
• Customer Satisfaction: A simple survey with the question, “Were you satisfied with our service today?” will be given after each order to determine customer satisfaction. High customer satisfaction is key to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth, which can attract new customers.
• Order Fulfillment Time: The system of timing will monitor all the orders from the time they are submitted until they are delivered and give feedback on where the time is being lost in this process. Order fulfillment is designed to satisfy a customer’s needs within 3-5 minutes.
Espresso Beverage Preparation Process
MBA FPX 5016 Assessment 1 Espresso is a highly concentrated coffee which comes in the form of a little shot and provides the basis of most of the coffee drinks. Espresso is extracted from the same beans that the regular coffee but has more intense flavor as well as increased content of caffeine (Goodwin, 2020). Some coffeehouse drinks may be produced by using espresso and they include:
• Café Americano: mixed hot water plus one espresso shot.
• Red-eye: Filtered coffee with one shot of espresso.
• Café latte: Two shots of espresso topped with steamed milk.
• Cappuccino: One shot of espresso topped with frothed and steamed milk.
The process of preparing espresso takes a number of steps, starting with submitting orders. Staff submit the order and changes, make payment, and give customers a receipt. Once the order has been completed, the barista takes the following steps to prepare the espresso (Ifinca, 2018):
MBA FPX 5016 Assessment 1 Process Improvement Plan
• Warm the cup by rinsing it with hot water to preserve beverage temperature.
• Check the porta filter handle is dry and clean.
• Fill ground coffee into the porta filter using a calibrated grinder.
• Tap the porta filter handle onto the tamp mat to spread out the coffee grounds evenly.
• Press down the grounds with a tamper, forcing out air pockets and producing an even surface.
• Shine the surface of the ground coffee by turning the tamper around on top of the puck.
• Discard any excess dry coffee from the porta filter.
• Rinse the group head to remove any leftover coffee.
• Place the porta filter in the group head and start brewing (takes 25 seconds).
• Serve the espresso to the customer.
• Pull out the porta filter and knock the coffee puck out.
• Rinse and clean the handle for the next shot.
• Rinse and brush the group head.
• Replace the porta filter back to the group head for reuse.
The entire process from taking orders to delivery must take 2-3 minutes, depending on customer specifications. But if it goes beyond this time, then the focus is to maintain the pattern of steps to avoid mistakes. If a pattern of rhythm is maintained while preparing, customers will get their orders in the same duration on each visit. Efficiency is assured with the right barista training.
Purpose
The slow service is the primary complaint of customers.
In an environment with more than six waiting patrons, customers would feel that the line is slow if they wait more than six minutes.
MBA FPX 5016 Assessment 1 The Espresso Beverage Preparation Process was designed to make processes efficient and maintain low wait times. Efficient processes and meeting customer expectations are required in having a good customer experience. This is a step-by-step guide on how to prepare the perfect espresso in new stores. Secondly, by minimizing waiting times, we aim to enhance customer satisfaction, linking internal processes with effective business strategies.
Data Analysis
Wild Dog Coffee Company is in sight of their objective, since baristas complete each beverage in just over two minutes. At 2.47 minutes average preparation time, there is concern since anything beyond two minutes is problematic.
Reduction of time and achieving an even two-minute average is facilitated by having two to three baristas during rush hours, when one takes orders while others prepare drinks.
The ongoing standard deviation has been calculated as 0.5903 minutes. Having this fact established, the process is sure to meet the 3 Sigma criteria, meaning efficient operations which produce quality output (Kenton, 2019). Below calculations are necessary to determine the same (clarified in Appendix A):
• Calculate the mean of the observed data = 2.47 minutes.
• Calculate the variance of the sample = 0.3485 minutes.
• Calculate the standard deviation = 0.5903 minutes.
• Calculate three-sigma = 1.77 minutes plus and minus the mean.
Since data collected falls within the three-sigma range, the company is already operating efficiently and under statistical control.
Process Variance Analysis Cause and Effect
It is crucial to identify the variances that can be causing inefficiencies in the preparation and delivery processes of the espresso. The variances can be caused by four primary areas:
MBA FPX 5016 Assessment 1 Process Improvement Plan
Recommendation
To enable Wild Dog Coffee Company to expand, it is recommended that every new shop is adequately staffed, particularly during peak morning hours. With multiple baristas working, wait times will be minimized, and one can man the register while others prepare drinks. The company has already demonstrated good teamwork, and by continuing to enhance the quality of services, it can achieve long-term growth and success.
Appendix A
References
Goodwin, L. (2020, March 4). What is Espresso? Retrieved from The Spruce Eats: https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-espresso-765702 Ifinca. (2018, January 29). Barista Basics: How to Make an Espresso in 14 Steps. Retrieved from Perfect Daily https://perfectdailygrind.com/2018/01/barista-basics-how-to-make-an-espresso-in-14-steps/
MBA FPX 5016 Assessment 1 Process Improvement Plan
Kenton, W. (2019, May 5). Three-Sigma Limits. Retrieved from Investopedia: https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-espresso-765702 asp Rouse, M. (2015, June). Metric. Retrieved from Tech Target: https://searchcustomerexperience.techtarget.com/definition/business-metric
