Discuss about the Operations Management in a Petrol Station for Production.
Operations management can be defined as the process by which an operations manager plans, organizes the process of production and manufacturing. The responsibilities of the manager is to ensure that the business process is efficient and the functions of the business can be performed with the use of as much less resources possible (Heizer 2016). The manager in this case takes care of the process of converting the inputs into outputs in the most feasible way possible. Operations management is one of the most important functions of a business. The manager has to take a number of decisions in the process of operations management which include, operations strategy, design of the product, designing the process, quality management, planning the production and inventory control (Krajewski, Ritzman and Malhotra 2013).
This report is a discussion regarding the operations management process in a petrol station. The discussion will be regarding the various processes and aspects of managing the operations in a petrol station from the point of view of the manager of a petrol station (Khanna 2015).
The responsibilities of a petrol station has modified a lot from the duties they had before. In the early time the duty of a petrol station manager was only to fill the petrol, diesel or gas and that was all. On the other hand, in today’s environment the manager has to take care of a lot more duties (Brown et al. 2013).
(a) The petrol stations usually have less employees. Many petrol stations are self service, but the operations manager in this case has to take care or activate the pumps from inside their units and also process credit card transactions. The managers also need to check the IDs of the customers if needed (Bell et al. 2012).
(b) In the recent times the petrol stations sell a lot of other products including snacks, beverages, cigarettes. The managers have the duty to count the products and merchandise that are there for sale and accordingly place orders for the same. The managers always need to keep a check that the products do not go out-of-stock as this can cause a huge loss to the company (Mahadevan 2015). Presently, the systems of tracking stocks has been automated and the managers need to keep a check on the reports made by the automated systems (Hill and Hill 2012).
(c) The petrol station managers have other duties which include merchandising. This refers to the preparation of displays which will feature high selling items, promotional banners. Managers can also give these duties to their subordinates, but it is the responsibility of the manager to keep a check of the progress of their work (Rosendahl 2012).
(d) Another duty of a petrol station manager includes supervising their employees. The manager has the duty to hire and train the employees regarding the various operations in a petrol station. It is the responsibility of the manager to make sure that the employees working under him are properly regarding the various processes as well as the safety procedures of the station (Brown, Bessant and Lamming 2013).
(e) Operations managers in a petrol station are also responsible for increasing sales and also managing expenses for the company. The managers can apply the process of suggestive selling to increase sales and also build strong relationship with the customers so that the customers return to the same station (Evans and Lindsay 2013).
In the recent times, fuel industry has become a low margin and sales volume based business. It is important for the operations manager to have a clear view of their retail forecourt. This helps the operations manager of a petrol pump to manage all the aspects of petrol management. Gilberco Veeder-Root’s Retail Solutions have been designed to look after the security, performance and efficiency of the petrol station forecourt (Gilbarco.com 2017). These solutions help in establishing connections with different aspects of the operations of a petrol station which include dispensers, tank gauges, card payment systems and supplier systems. The different solution models designed are, Passport, POS, BOS, PSS 5000, Delivery Information System.
(a)Passport – This system helps in the analysis of historical data of the station. The structure of the Passport system suggests that the station needs to purchase the resources which are required at that point of time and expand the purchase as the business grows. The solution enables easy maintenance and helps in managing stock levels and stock orders. The Passport interface has superior touch screen facility and easy user interface which reduces the time required for training the employees. This helps the system to connect easily with all the different components of the petrol station. Management of retail stock and order generation for stock has been made easier with the use of this solution. The fuel stock can also be managed with the help of this software. Multiple payment options are also provided by this solution to make the modes of payment secure and more easier. Congestion in the forecourt of the petrol station is also reduced as this solutions provides the facility to deal with six transactions on one dispenser. Communication also improves with the help of this solution. Additional business can be achieved with the help of promotional activities and enhancement of the customer experience.
(b)POS – POS or Point of Sale solution is an user-friendly and highly efficient sales product or tool. This solution takes care of both fuel and shop sales of the petrol station to simplify the process of selling. The retail POS is used by the petrol stations to provide high level of performance, security and efficiency in the forecourt transactions. This system provides with tools required for business growth which includes discounting fuel prices, merchandises and promotional activities. This solution provides flawless integration of all the systems, the power to increase revenue from sales and this is the reason why the POS system is considered to the most important part of a petrol station forecourt. The system has an easy to use interface. It is affordable for the stations. It requires a minimum amount of training for the employees to use this interface. The system is built to tailor the business needs of the particular organization for which it is built.
(c)BOS – BOS or Back Office System is a system which is built for low end automation purposes as well as for high end solutions with the instructions from the forecourts or petrol stations. This system is an powerful and easy to use interface which provides solutions for site automation, management of stock and editing the promotion purposes of the petrol stations. This system is adaptable to the needs of the petrol stations and their customers. The technology used is always up to date. The BOS system works on a centralized database and does nit require any further checking. The system is flexible and efficient. The reports provided by this system is mostly accurate. The promotional activities of the station can be monitored centrally the manager of the station.
(d)PSS 5000 – The PSS 5000 provides the petrol station with ability to mix Point of sale system and forecourt components of any brand. It helps the station to increase its connectivity. This solution reduces the difference between the forecourt of the petrol station and the retail environment. All types of forecourt equipment can be controlled centrally.
(e)Delivery Information System(DIS) – The DIS solution helps in increasing flexibility of deliveries. This saves time and money for the organization. This system provides accurate information to the drivers about the level of the fuel tank. This helps in reducing the chances of delivering the wrong product into the tank (Gilbarco.com 2017).
Conclusion
The retail solutions are developed to increase automation in the system of the petrol stations and also increase accuracy and flexibility in the systems. This helps in the fruitful interaction and collaboration within the forecourt equipments and retail management. This in turn is a helpful system for the operations manager of the petrol station. The manager has to supervise the automated systems and keep a track on the functions of these systems. This makes it easier for the manager to provide training to the employees and reduces the time and costs associated with the same. This also helps the manager to easily track the sales, inventories, stocks and all other aspects of the retail forecourt of the petrol station.
References
Bell, D., Wilson, G., Mcbride, P. and Cairns, N., 2012. Managing quality. Routledge.
Brown, S., Bessant, J.R. and Lamming, R., 2013. Strategic operations management. Routledge.
Brown, S., Blackmon, K., Cousins, P. and Maylor, H., 2013. Operations management: policy, practice and performance improvement. Routledge.
Evans, J.R. and Lindsay, W.M., 2013. Managing for quality and performance excellence. Cengage Learning.
Gilbarco.com. (2017). EPOS Solutions, POS Integration | Gilbarco Veeder-Root Europe. [online] Available at: https://www.gilbarco.com/eu/products/forecourt-control/POS [Accessed 20 Sep. 2017].
Gilbarco.com. (2017). Petrol Station Forecourt Management and Control Systems | Gilbarco Veeder-Root Europe. [online] Available at: https://www.gilbarco.com/eu/products/forecourt-control [Accessed 20 Sep. 2017].
Heizer, J., 2016. Operations Management, 11/e. Pearson Education India.
Hill, A. and Hill, T., 2012. Operations management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Khanna, R.B., 2015. Production and operations management. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Krajewski, L.J., Ritzman, L.P. and Malhotra, M.K., 2013. Operations management: processes and supply chains (Vol. 1). New York, NY: Pearson.
Mahadevan, B., 2015. Operations management: Theory and practice. Pearson Education India.
Rosendahl, T. ed., 2012. Integrated Operations in the Oil and Gas Industry: Sustainability and Capability Development: Sustainability and Capability Development. IGI Global.
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