Overview Of ManagementEssay Preview: Overview Of ManagementReport this essayOverview of ManagementIntroductionKudler Fine Foods is the result of Kathy Kudlers vision to make a one-stop gourmet food shop that offers a wide selection of food and cooking tools for people who are tired of shopping all over town. Kudler Fine Foods went into operation in 1998; and due to the success of the shop, Kudler Fine Foods opened up two other stores in the San Diego area. The stores offer a variety of domestic and imported foods that are divided into five categories: bakery and pastries, produce, meat and seafood, condiments and packaged foods, and cheese and specialty dairy product. Kudler Fine Foods organization structure is divided into six major departments: finance and accounting (F&A), sales and marketing, human resources (HR), operations, legal, and information technology (IT).
Functions of ManagementAccording to Gomez-Mejia-Balkin, there are four management functions: planning and strategizing, organizing, leading, and controlling.(Gomez-Mejia and Balkin, 2002) At Kudler Fine Foods, Kathy Kudler is the president of the company, Harvey Stephens is the director of Finance and Accounting; Yvonne Reynolds is the director of Store Operations; Brenda Wagner is the director of Administration and Human Resources. To identify specifically who is responsible for each management function at Kudler is not possible because all departments have a role in the four management functions and all departments must work together to effectively perform the four management functions. For example, it takes the whole organization to arrange and coordinate the organizations human, financial, physical, informational, and technical resources; not the sole responsibility of the HR department. Similarly, it is not solely the job of the finance and accounting department to perform the controlling function.
Technology and the InternetSelling foods and cooking ware is a competitive business for Kudler Fine Foods. Competitions such as Wal-Mart, Costco, and local supermarkets are treats to Kudlers profits or even existence. In order to stay competitive and profitable, Kudler Fine Foods has developed two response strategies to combat the forces of these competitions: internal efficiency strategy and the customer-oriented strategy. Kudler Fine Foods wants to increase “the consumer purchase cycle as a means to increasing the loyalty and profitability of its consumers,” as well as to improve “the efficiency of its operations.” These two initiatives can be summarized as plans to increase revenue and reduce cost for Kudler Fine Foods. To successfully implement these two strategies, Kudler must leverage the technologies that are available to them.
To reduce cost by increasing operation efficiency, Kudler has plans to improve its internal processes by benchmarking what Nordstrom department is doing. Furthermore, Kudler is integrating new software to facilitate its efforts to train its employees. Kudler also has plans to “reduce costs of ordering foods and minimize the amount of food to be stored, while also having a zero stock out policy.” To implement these efforts, Kudler needs the help from new technologies and the Internet to help them automate the ordering, storing, and stocking process. For example, Kudler order forms are mailed, emailed, faxed, or handed to the suppliers. Email and fax could significantly increase the order time compare to contemporary mail. Information from Kudler Fine Foods IT department shows that inventory, items, order, order line, and suppliers, are
‴ While Kudler now has a $2.4 billion- $2.8 billion total budget on staffing, it still needs to hire an IT team, especially for its first phase of the online retail business.
‵ The company is also seeking financials from government contracts for the purchase of land and equipment and from private equity through acquisitions. It expects to hire several new people with its purchase power, but will need to keep an eye on costs more closely, as well as the supply of cash-strapped agencies to fill available positions.• Kudler has a large amount of capital, and its current budget for its new operations is $1.3 billion. As with any such venture, Kudler needs to be confident that the money will be used wisely and in the best possible way.
2) The price of food in Alaska.
Kudler is looking to increase its current food purchases by $5.9 million by 2017, $5.7 million by 2018, $8.6 million by 2019, and $11 million by 2020, which it plans to use to increase its current food purchases. Kudler is also looking to sell groceries, and the market value for groceries is likely to increase by $8.4 million to $10 million in the future, depending on demand, new revenue streams, and additional incentives. “Our goal will be to buy $1 billion of groceries during the next five years (2018-$2075-2575). That doesn’t include groceries (the amount currently available). I will buy $1 billion from $1 billion of food, and it will not last. Kudler will buy $10 billion from $11 billion of food, and it will buy $20 billion of groceries through 2019. We are using our $10 billion or $10 billion to buy groceries for customers, not for the company. We will also buy groceries to serve our customers in stores in Anchorage and to buy food directly to restaurants where we have service and inventory. We want to make sure that people like us and our customers know and use our prices, as well as our business model, to be successful.”
3) The $1.3 billion new revenue stream for Alaska.
Kudler will also develop a new food product distribution model, in which it’ll partner with local retail chains and expand their sales channel of food. The food distribution model is similar to what’s coming from the grocery conglomerates that will eventually take hold of the grocery business. A lot of Kudler’s growing business models will be based on the food marketplaces that make it easy to use online, which would be a great way for the company to increase profits through a lot of additional distribution in the process of selling a wide array of food products at an easy price. The new revenue stream may have an impact on the value of each store, and it may not just include Kudler’s current offerings in Alaska, though.
4) The $1.7 billion new funding stream for North American grocery stores.
Kudler also is targeting a wide range of retail retailers for support by the end of 2018 (currently the most funded store ever, having received over $100 million in investment). We can expect