Process Design, Managing Quality, Quality Control and Improvement

Process Design:

Out of the three service product bundles, Starbucks would fall into the physical (facilitating) category because they provide mainly goods. Starbucks is primarily a goods provider because they offer one of the widest varieties of coffee among other goods such as sandwiches, breakfast foods, and other snacks suited for people on the go. On the service matrix, would be considered semi customized because you have face to face communication and they are semi flexible. Their employees have to be trained and supported, there is always an opportunity for selling other goods, and there is also some self service because customers touch and choose which products they want or prepare their coffee a certain way. Starbucks offers its customers a total brand experience that extends beyond their products. This experience includes a broad range of premium quality products, excellent customer service, elegant looking stores, unique drink names, the company’s ideals and its dedication to social responsibility and exceptional treatment of its employees.

Managing Quality:

Starbucks is committed to paying the higher prices that premium-quality coffee commands. This means our approach to pricing (meaning the amount we pay for coffee) is largely based on quality. In fact, when Starbucks work closely with people throughout coffee supply chain – farmers, millers, exporters and importers – quality is always stressed as the best, most sustainable driver of higher prices. For Starbucks, quality is the most important factor when it comes to pricing. Other contributors include the cost of production and the prevailing market conditions, which vary from country to country and even from region to region. Social and environmental practices on the farm are considered too, based on information gathered through C.A.F.E. Practices or through certification systems like Fair Trade and Certified Organic.

Quality Control and Improvement:

The guidelines are structured to verify that produced cocoa meets environmental and social performance at each stage of the supply chain - from the tree to the point of shipment. Environmental and social issues are assessed at the farm and at buying centers operated by producer organizations and/or private suppliers. Economic accountability is required throughout the entire cocoa supply chain. The key issues of economic accountability are financial transparency (how much did participants in the cocoa supply chain get paid for their efforts) and equity of financial benefit (did participants in the cocoa supply chain receive an equitable proportion of the total payment enabling the participant to cover the cost of production and make a profit).