Can they adopt any of the mass customization methods discussed?

Yes, starbucks can adopt to the mass customization method because it provides a lot of their coffee and in this category, customization refers to making different kinds of coffee such as different flavors as what the customer may want. Starbucks has leveraged mass customization principles which allows the consumer to create their own beverages and choose what they like.

What are some of the factors influencing their process selection?

Some of the factors influencing their coffee is the stability of the countries in which starbucks purchases the coffee and other raw goods. They are environmentally friendly, with that they have to know how to protect the brand in everything they do.

Which cell do they fall into in the process characteristics matrix?

The Cell that Starbucks falls into is more to the right of the scale on the Product-process matrix because Starbucks has grown in the last couple of years to selling more than just coffee. Starbucks not only sells coffee but raw goods. They have wi-fi available to use and this company has expanded all over the world. Their signs and logo are in more things than just a cup of coffee.

What type of customer order do they process?

The Starbucks use the process of make to stock, which can provide fast service to customers by delivering orders from available stock and at a low cost. Once the order is received, the customer pays for the product and the cycle is completed.

What type of product flow do they use?

Starbucks uses the continuous/assemble line which are low flexibility, mass market, high value, low-skilled labor and specific equipment. According to the research, Starbucks is a worldwide coffeehouse with 17133 stores in 49 countries with about 100 cups of coffee sold per hour, which means the way of mass market. Most of the workers are working as a part time job in the Starbucks and some of them are teenagers or students with low skills, so they are low-pay labors.

Technology

Starbucks uses technology in many ways. they use Information Technology, Wi-Fi, and all their business done both internally and externally. A big part of being a great leader for a Starbucks is the employees ability to recognize when they need the right tools to do their jobs correctly and efficiently. Technology has allowed Starbucks to plan, lead, control, organize employees, costs, and supply link. Starbucks has utilized technology to its fullest potential. Starbucks has accomplished this in two ways, strategic and operational plans. Planning is used in the hiring, opening a new store, and even in the creation of new organizations. Technology is what makes Starbucks thrive in a very large competitive world. Starbucks uses the internet to advertise when they are in need of new managers and employees.

Types of customer contact

Mail Contact

Internet: Email, Twitter, Facebook , Starbucks official site

Phone Contact

Face to Face

Starbucks V2V

Service matrix

The Managers at Starbucks put tremendous attention into hiring good people with great customer service. Starbucks' service matrix is providing a good product accompanied by customer friendly service and attractive ambience. The caselet speaks about the kind of customer relations Starbucks followed, which was one of the reasons that so many consumers of Starbucks went in for repeat purchases. The caselet also indicates how Starbucks developed goodwill among the pulic by bonding with the local community. And starbucks helps its current cusyomers by helping them to make decisions about beans, grind, and coffee /espresso machines, as well as giving some home brewing tips.

Service-product bundle

Bundling is the act of building an added-value package around the products and services you sell. When you offer customers a bundle, you are giving them more reasons to come back to do business with your company. Every time a customer uses and is satisfied with one of the benefits in the bundle, he or she comes another step closer to becoming a customer for life.

Starbucks is a coffeehouse or a coffee shop shares some of the characteristics of a bar and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on providing coffee and tea. Food choices range from pastries and muffins to soups and sandwiches. The Starbucks combine them together, in Starbucks you can also buy the sandwiches as well as cakes. This idea is convenience for the office workers. And Starbucks also sell instant coffee in their shops or to some supermarkets. This are all their Service-product bundle.

Inventory Management

Inventory management is among the most important operations management responsibilities because inventory requires a great deal of capital and affects the delivery of goods to customers. Inventory management affects all business functions, including operations, marketing, accounting, information systems, and finance. Decisions related to managing inventory can be improved through the use of basic tools, such as bar coding, Ratio-frequency identification(RFID).

In retail, good service is paramount for customer loyalty. But when a supplier is knocking at the back door with a delivery during business hours, sometimes a retail clerk has to momentarily neglect a customer to receive it.

For the omnipresent coffeehouse chain Starbucks Corp., radio-frequency identification technology could help address those types of dilemmas. Sean Dettloff, manager for partner and asset protection at Starbucks, told attendees at the national Cargo Security Council Radio Frequency Identification conference Monday in Long Beach, Calif., that the company is considering using Radio-frequency identification technology RFID to help with deliveries.

But there are challenges with this new delivery process, including managing physical security and inventory control, so that delivery people "don't walk out with as much stuff as they dropped off," Dettloff says. "So we envision an RFID license-plate signature," he says, that a supplier would use to deliver goods. Using a card, the supplier would gain access to an RFID-enabled system that records the time, disables the alarm, and confirms a supplier's identity before it unlocks the door and lets the person in. Ideally, the system also would record the inventory that's being delivered. "That's not going to happen tomorrow," Dettloff says. "But you can't get the projects going until you develop these ideas."

Besides, it is also important to realize how Starbucks records their inventory on their consolidated financial statements. Since they sell products, not services, they have a large inventory, which they record at the lower of cost or market. It is also crucial how a firm records and depreciates its inventory, and can give investors wrong information if not done correctly.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/RFID/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=54800648

Introduction

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee. Starbucks is the largest Coffeehouse Company in the world. It is also a coffeehouse chain. There are 17,133 stores in about 49 countries, which include about 11,068 in the United States, more than 800 in Japan and about 1,000 in Canada. Starbucks sells espresso based hot drinks, brewed coffee, coffee beans, other hot and cold drinks, salads, hot and cold sandwiches and Panini, pastries, and other nacks. They also sell items such as mugs and tumblers. The company also markets books, music, and film through the Starbucks Entertainment division. Many of the products that are sold in the company are seasonal or specific depending on the location of the store. They also offer coffee and Starbucks ice-cream at grocery stores.