INTRODUCTION
Costco, being the second largest retailer in the world, always intends to improve the work process. The purpose is to make the world efficiency and lucrative for a long run. There are many process improvement concepts, which have been applied by the management of the biggest retailer, and as a result, it has gained the success and sustained the business in the competitive retail market. The elaboration of the process improvement concepts is as under:
TAKT TIME
The Costco company management always looks forward to improving the process in the production. When making the products and conducting the sales in the market, the company sets the average time rate to produce or sell the products respectively. Obviously, the company intends to reduce the time of producing a product and save the time and cost. The Takt time is leading the company towards lower prices of the products in the presence of the intense competition. There is a pertinent process improvement process, and the company must have to sustain it for overall business sustainability in the retail market (Fitzpatrick).
HEIJUNKA / LEVELING THE WORKLOAD
Another concept that has been applied to this company is Heijunka. In sales, inventory, supply chain, production and many other departments in the Costco, the management wants the leveled outputs. In the work process at Costco, the unevenness and wastage have been reduced by applying this process improvement concept. As mentioned, the company has immense demands of the customers, and the spike usually occurs. Accordingly, the demand and production leveling comes into the limelight. For Instance, the Costco Company makes the segments in the operational process to keep the flow of the products pertinent. Each retail product is to be passed with the same pattern, and accordingly, it is quite similar to all other product categories. The leveling process is helping the company to meet the demands of the customers in an effective and lucrative manner. Costco Company has a demand from the customers for the particular brand or product line, the most important thing for the company to make the small phases for both, the sales and the production. Finally, this concept for the process improvement is leading the company towards the sustainability in both, the production and the sales (Llopis).
PDCA (PLAN, DO, CHECK, ACT)
The PDCA process improvement concept is also triggered by the Costco Company. The main aspects of the concept are the Plan, Do, Check and Act. Normally, this has been observed that the company has always planned the pertinent goals to attain something, which it intends in the retail market. For Instance, when developing the new products or promoting the existing one in the different stores, the company sets the target regarding the sales. In the next phase, the management executes the strategies with the appropriate implementation process. After making the acting process happen, the company measures and analyze the process to justify the new process. In analyzing and measuring process, the company monitors the process with the perspective of both, the company and the customers. In the end, the Act process comes into the life, as in this process, the company identifies the different loopholes, which are pertinent to the retail market (Mcardle).
CONCLUSION
In the end, this is to conclude that the Costco has successfully applied the process improvement concepts. Three most prominent concepts are Takt Time, Heijunka, and PDCA. The process improvement in the retail industry is imperative for sustainability, and the customer response and the Costco Company are quite up to it.
Work Cited
Fitzpatrick, Hayley. “Brad Pitt has a major grievance with Costco.” Busniess Insider. Business Insider, 21 July 2015. Web. 12 November 2017. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/brad-pitt-asks-costco-to-stop-selling-eggs-from-caged-hens-2015-7. 12 Novemeber 2017.
Llopis, Glenn. “The Costco Factor: To Win The Business Game, You Need to Change How You Think.” Forbes. Forbes, 31 January 2011. Web. 12 November 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2011/01/31/the-costco-factor-to-win-the-business-game-you-need-to-change-how-you-think/#71055b90626d. 12 November 2017.
Mcardle, Megan. “Why Wal-Mart Will Never Pay Like Costco.” Bloomberg. Bloomberg, 27 August 2013. Web. 12 November 2017. https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2013-08-27/why-walmart-will-never-pay-like-costco. 12 November 2017.
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