NARSEE MONJEE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Operations Management

SUBMITTED BY:

DIVISION B GROUP 6

Raghav S - B001

Sarvesh Bhardwaj - B007

Aditya Johari - B027

Rishi Pahwa - B045

Harsha Pasari - B047

Shruti Sharma - B057

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 OBJECTIVE .................................................................................................................................. 1

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 1

3 INDUSTRY OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................. 1

4 COMPANY DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................................ 1

4.1 MISSION ............................................................................................................................... 2

4.2 VISION................................................................................................................................... 2

5 FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................................... 2

5.1 INTERVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 2

5.2 SURVEY ................................................................................................................................ 3

6 PROBLEM DESCRIPTION......................................................................................................... 5

7 SOLUTIONS .................................................................................................................................. 8

8 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 11

9 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................. 11
 Operating Activities of Tea Trails Café

1. OBJECTIVE

• To analyze the working of an organization, taking into account the, operation activities that are a

part of the organization.

• To assess the design of the organization and look upon the issues in its operations management.

2. EXECTUIVE SUMMARY

The report has a focus on the operational management of a unit called Tea Trails Café. It focuses upon

how the operational activities, affect the working of an organization. Description of the problems

associated with the café along with the methodology and analysis has been portrayed. After evaluating

different aspects of the problems, appropriate solutions have been highlighted.

3. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

Cafe industry include the companies that sell coffee drinks and other food and beverages. It varies greatly

in appearance and offerings. The variety of cuisines and service models differentiates each unit in some or

the other way. Important Operating activities for this industry includes inventory management, Location

analysis, Labor management etc.

4. COMPANY DESCRIPTION

We have chosen Tea Trails Café as the organization, to focus on the operational management issues. It is

located in Vile Parle East, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Tea Trails has company owned outlets and a franchise

network of 30 stores in 10 cities in India . It is into the business of providing food along with the focus on

ambience.
4.1 MISSION

“With passion, we give our customers a unique experience sprinkled with aroma, taste, art, music and

variety.”[1]

The mission stated has a focus on customer and consider them as their most important stakeholders. Their

value proportions is to provide good food along with great ambience.

4.2 VISION

“To spread energy, happiness and contentment through the refreshing warmth, freshness and

vitality of our gourmet offering.” [1]

Their vision is to get success using their product lines including different food items, gourmet

etc.

5. FINDINGS

5.1 INTERVIEWS:

We talked to one of the other franchise of Tea Trails Café, located at BKC. We found the following

things:

• Location played an important role there. As it was located in BKC, many people from the

working class used to visit this café.

• Also, BKC is considered to be a place with high end, quality restaurants. This image of the

location also played an important role in the success of the café.

5.2 SURVEY:

In order to get to the minds of a customers, we conducted a survey among people. The survey included a

questionnaire, that focused upon the likings and preferences of the customers. The population size was

around 100, and it included people with diverse backround.

After conducting a survey, we found that people usually look a for a place that offers good quality food,

along with a great ambience. Tea Trails café is well known about the taste and the quality of the food that

they offer, but the ambience is something that is a problem for them. The limited space and less focus on

the ambience as led to the downfall of the café.

It was also found that location plays an important role in making a café popular and successful. The fact

that it is placed in a very segregated space, near the Railway Station, does not allow the place to make a

mark of its own.

6. PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

The franchise of Tea Trails Café located at Vile Parle recently got shut down. The factors influencing are

location, Limited Services provided, Quality etc. We will be getting to the depth of these operational

problems.[2]

PROBLEMS IN OPERATIONS:

Location

The café was located near the railway tracks and therefore did not provide the environment or the

aesthetic value, that a café requires. The constant noise due to trains was eminent, even inside the café

and therefore had a negative impact on the working of the café

The customers look for a place where they can find good food and is peaceful at the same time.

The fact that the location was near the Railway Station, affected the café gravely. The constant noise

never allowed the customers to find the peace and the soothing environment they were looking for.

This is the reason why, many customers were not willing to go to this café, even though it s part of a very

established chain.
Limited Services

It had limited options when it came to food. The café used to cater to fast food category. There were

limited categories available and each category had very few options. For example, the pizza category had

only 4 options. This lead to customers getting bored of the same menu and therefore many customers

stopped going to the café. Nowadays, customers want variety and a new experience every time. The same

old menu and services led to the downfall of the café.

Coordination with marketing team

Tea trails café franchise was famous for the quality and variety of tea it offers. It has been an eminent

buyer of tea leaves from various parts of India like Darjeeling, Assam, Kerala etc. This could have been a

marketing strategy for the café as it already had its name signifying the same. The café’s name was put as

Tea Trails due to the fact, but they were not able to align their USP with their services. The limited

options for tea and more focus on only fast food, led to the deterioration of its name.

Time Constraint

One of the most important factors that can affect the working of an organization is time. Tea Trails café

used to cater to food segment and therefore it requires fast services related to food delivery and providing

quality at the same time.

Tea Trails café was not able to manage its time effectively. The time taken to prepare any dish used to

take minimum of 30 minutes, which used to annoy the customers. Also, the food segment that they used

to cater included food items that were from different parts of the world. Because of this fact, the

preparation of the food requires extensive skill and time. Being a small café, it acted as a constraint and

therefore they were not able to keep a balance of both.

Customer Service

Due to the indigenous food items present on the menu, the waiters were not able to understand the details

about the dishes and therefore were not able to cater to the questions asked by the customers.

This often left the customers confused about the dishes that were on the menu. By training the service

providers with the knowledge of the food items present on the menu, it would allow a better view of the

services provided by the café and also the customers would be willing to try and experience new dishes.

Limited Space

The café was built on an area, which was very small in terms of square feet. Therefore, it always lacked

on space for customers. When we used to enter the café, most of the time it used to be occupied. The

maximum number of customers that it could cater at a single time was around 25.

This also led to customers being craving for space, who were already sitting inside the café.

Architecture

The way the café was built was also not up to the mark. The counter used half of the space of the café and

left very less space for the customer’s dining area. This did not lead to proper utilization of space, and

thereby reducing the productivity of the café.

7. SOLUTIONS

Location Change:

Location plays an important role for any café. As we can see that the café is right in front of the railway

tracks, the noise that is a part of the environment is not suitable for any cafe. People look for a place,

which is peaceful and soothing to go. Therefore Tea Trails café should either look to shift somewhere

else, or develop the ambience in such a manner that door and walls are sound proof and therefore do not

allow the noise to penetrate the café.

Space Utilization:

The factor which is very important for a café is the space it utilizes. Tea Trails Café is built upon a limited

space and therefore cannot be used in the correct manner. Therefore the café should look upon renovating

the café and utilize the space accordingly.

Diverse Menu Items:

Given the fact that the café has limited menu items, the customers are not satisfied with the variety it

offers. Therefore the café must look forward to include different variety of cuisines and food items that

can allow the café to regain the customers, that were lost due to this limitation in service.

Marketing Strategy:

The café should now align their goals of operations with their marketing team. As the name suggests, the

café focuses on the indigenous quality of tea, they should now market their café as a the one which has an

extensive focus on this along with the food segment that it offers.
Preparedness:

In order to utilize time efficiently, the café should be able to complete the basic requirements much

before. The dishes that take longer time can be divided into different segments. Each segment must then

be prepared much early if it does not hampers the quality of the food.

Staff Training:

The people who are a part of the service team, must be trained properly, where they can learn about

different hospitality factors, and get informed about the dishes as well. This would bring out the best of

them, in terms of services they cater to the customers.

Renovation:

The problem of limited space could be solved by renovating the café. Though it is a big investment, but

the returns are higher too. By carefully utilizing the space, where going for proper architecture can really

help the café to increase the customers density and at the same time, increase the customers base.
Figure 1 and Figure 2 depict the ongoing improvements in their operating activities
8. Conclusion

In order to be among the top cafes, they must focus on the solving the problem of coordination and

limited space. These two factors are the most important ones and therefore must be taken on priority.

We also found that the solution of renovating the café and utilizing the space available, has already been

implemented by the owners.

9. References

[1] About Us, Tea Trails Café, Retrieved From http://www.teatrailsindia.com/our-journey.html

[2] Chary, SN (2007), Production and Operations Management