Category: KFC

KFC Services Experiences

About KFC

In 1968s, the first KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) restaurant was born in Guildford, Sydney NSW, Australia. In that Time, people’s fashion were totally groovy with tight high waist jeans and cool shirts. hairstyles were flower crowns with very long hair for the lady’s!

In the history, KFC began 67 years ago in the year of 1952s in Corbin, Kentucky, United States of America with Colonel Harland Sanders concept being YUM! The company with a secret herbs list and spices scratched on the back of the door being put into his chicken until now KFC still following his successful recipes.

Now every day, Over 2 Million times per week service to KFC customers across the country at more than 650 restaurants with jobs created to more than 34,000 Australians.

What is KFC Services Vision and Mission ?

Service Vision is the Businesses Process of planned service that the company are offering, including delivery systems and procedures to achieve requirements. Service Vision Statement need the answer, Where do I see my business going?. So KFCs service vision stand for priding themselves on using quality chicken and local ingredients such as herbs and spices from trusted companies.

Service Mission means a strong commitment to achieving their business goals and need the answer why does my business exist?. So KFC mission is to sell food in a fast, friendly environment that appeals to a well priced product for people’s consciousness, health-minded customers

KFC Strategy

KFC strategy focuses on what KFC do (importantly, what can KFC do or not do), What KFC want to become in the future and how KFC plan to get there. Focusing on consistent experiences and provide quality chicken and recipes across all restaurants at an equal level of excellence and standard Provide customers/consumers quality of food at value for money, Together with quick services, cleanliness and convenience of service

KFC plan to become the leading fast food restaurant in the world so expansion is high in there plans with restaurants opening in new residential areas consistently over the years

KFC Process and Design

Larger KFC branches occupy a large space of land meaning they’re able to cater for a large amount of people with parking bays suited for all customers Immediately, When consumers walk into KFC, all consumers are able to see easily the menus all shown on screen above the counter cleary and highly visible making ordering with the staff in front of you the quickest and easiest way to order and pay.

Consumers have multiple way to receive their services as they’re able to drive in to order and sit to enjoy the meals as take away, Customers are then able to enjoy their meals at home, Outside in a park, In there car or even workplace. Standardized ordering system and fast preparation of food in a few minutes to ensure consistent experience.

Engaging and attracting customers in service organization

“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.” – Simon Sinek (Jonathan Herrick, 2019)

Staffs are the greatest asset and the soul of KFC. They are the one who will directly delivery the food, customer service and company messages to the customers. The staffs play a significant role in the overall quality service and customer satisfaction rating. To boost the productivity and service satisfaction, the manager should communicate effectively the mission and vision of the company to the employees in order to make them feel engaged and perform better to achieve the goals. Besides, KFC needs to have better employee training and development policy in place for their frontline staff to engage better with customers, such as train them how to work effectively in a team, or little things like keep smiling and present themself well at work. Otherwise, if an employee is not trained or looked after, then they’re not going to provide a great customer experience.

KFC has many different social media channels however they do not use them effectively to engage with their customers. They have great graphics and visual designs in spite of their slow responses on Social Media. This can possibly ruin KFC’s online reputation and image. They need to engage directly with their customers by answering responsively to customer requirements and feedback. This is not only help KFC build emotional connection with their customers but also make them feel valued and appreciated. Besides, listening to the customers and feedback on social media is an beneficial strategy to define the audience and predict what they want, so KFC can adjust and increase customer loyalty by improving failure points, launching different special offers and seasonal menu items that interest the customers.

Recently, KFC has launched a new KFC App with many features that allows customers to easily customize their meals; quickly save and order online, delivery, receive newest promotion, discounts and earns exclusive offers. They add more value to the customers using the App (KFC, 2019).

KFC highly promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on their digital platforms and have a public commitment to their employee and customers on providing an ethic workplace, offering more choice transparency and nutritional improvement, and sustainable practices in their business (KFC, 2019). They also should inspire and engage their customers more by sharing company’s vision and mission such as delivering consistent quality food, excellent customer service and offering job opportunities across the country on different digital channels.

The Leadership

1. The importance of leadership in organizations

The leader acts as an important part of the community. According to Berghofer (ND) “fortunes, customs, laws, governance, religion all derive from dominant leadership”. He also states that there are many leaders who reach the top of power. Leaders could be the babies at school or the elders at the most powerful councils. In addition, he claims that the quality of a society is a result from its leadership. In service organization, good leadership will benefits the business in a number of ways such as: connecting staff, having high reputation in the community, maintaining relationships with customers.

2. KFC LEADERSHIP STYLE

According to Steph (2015), there are many KFC stores around the World and each of them use a different leadership style. Namely: autocratic, democratic and laissez faire. However, Autocratic seems to be the most popular (Ghumsha & Mozaa, 2017). In their paper, Ghumsha & Mozza highlight that the power of staff is limited to ‘only to change a drink on orders’- answered by the manager. In this style of leadership, followers do not have the opportunities to make or discuss the decision. Furthermore, There are not much of gender equality in KFC leadership as well. Specularly, there is none female manager in KFC during Ghumsha & Mozza research.

3. ETHICAL ISSUE IN LEADERSHIP

Due to many ethical violations has been detected in business around the world, ethical issues in organizations has become a burning issue recently, especially ethical leadership. According to Brown & Trevino (2006) ethical leadership is one of the most important factors in the environment of organization. (cited in Ardichvili, Mitchell & Jondle 2009).

Especially in the Food industry business like KFC, Ethical issue is very important. As a result of having a good leader will lead to healthy, safe working environment. Thus, the customers will be pleased with good quality of food. For example, a bad leader may orders KFC staff to use the old, not fresh ingredients to make the food. Therefore, this affects the quality of food.

Service guarantees, service failure and service recovery

Service Guarantee

KFC have service guarantees like money guarantee return to customer when KFC product doesn’t match with prescription. This service guarantee doesn’t have in KFC policy, but it applies in real time. In my own experience, I went to KFC to order a nuggets and chips with tomatoes sauce and cheese but in busy time they give me different order. I come back in reception and they return my money back for their apologize to customer for their faults. Secondly, KFC have on their service is exchange or return money when KFC product are unsafe to consume or customer not happy with KFC product for example that customer pay a money to get a good food so when they not happy with product like soggy chicken because they cook so long before or not enough time to make it crispy so in that case customer can come to order place ask staff to replace product or money back .

Service Failure

KFC have a service failure are staff worker often are younger aged and lack of real- world experience this often leads to customers opinions employees to be lower. For KFC process, their process is come inside to order or drive thru with streamlined service. Streamlined service it mean overall steps cut down to the bare minimum one individual breading and frying the chicken in the front and staff taking order and preparing the meal the streamlined service results in the quickest possible delivery but quality often seems to lack with undercooked and accident occurring such as burns and cuts due to time pressures. Last service failure is inside order, sometimes KFC meet a slow service when it is in busy time like lunch and dinner. It’s a pressure time for staff so staff may get a wrong order and ignoring customer. moreover, I want to give few service recoveries for KFC to improve their service, take care of customer.

Service recovery

First step to improve their service is training staff. Training staff should be online, interactive and mandatory testing should be conducted. Make it easy for staff to refer back to and mandatory testing could be carried out semi-annually. After that manager of a store should be more careful when they supervisor of staff when they are working. They need to give free food and coupon can be used them as recovery strategies. Share insights on KFC’s values and ethics with the employees is equally important because KFC a franchisee must’ve subject to standardization of services .If not enough : manager should respond back and make conversation with customer have a better understanding of problems when managers have all information they are then to come with solutions it is beneficial to keep the customers in the loop in regards to the procedure an effective management would use the information and content gained due to the complaint to implement and alter strategies that might be either

Services Technology And Its Applications

KFC has been around for over 60 years and in that time technology has developed at a rapid rate, As we all know technology plays a vital role in our daily lives nowadays with everything being run on computer generated technology and smartphones.

The new trend in the restaurant business technology department is the use of smartphones in connection with the restaurant, Since a lot of of new workers are millennials they are very tech savvy and highly skilled in use of smartphone applications. KFC plans to implement a few new things to help train the staff as well as things to help better customer service.

Firstly KFC have created a voice activated training test so far in Australia and some in the United States. The training test includes a program that has Amazon Echo Show basically a video recording where you are able to speak and ask questions with the digital program, This comes in very handy for the trainee when they are learning there new tasks for instance let’s say they need to know how to wrap a twister the trainee would simply ask and a demonstration on how to wrap it would be shown on the screen.

Secondly let look at social media, More than ever social media is the key to communication and KFC have started using Yammer mostly in Australia and some in the United States a way to communicate from branch to branch but it doesn’t stop there, Using yammer you are also able to communicate to the entire market. With Yammer you can communicate with store by providing data to one another about speed of processing which creates some competition and a bit of fun to the environment which can lead to boosting team morale for the branch. You can even communicate by checking the stores stock and ask to borrow another branches stock quickly and easily.

The system had grown rapidly in recent years up over 20,000 members in the last two years

Lastly KFC are looking into QR codes a way to use your smartphone to scan to a machine that can then read the code to play a video if the employee is unsure about how to do something. Also even for customers when they place an order the employer can then read the code once scanned creating a fast and efficient operating system.

Technology in the kitchen is vital computers are the quickest and most effective way to do something implementing these things can only better the overall speed and efficiency of the company.

REFERENCES

1. Ardichvili, A, Mitchell, J & Jondle, D 2009, ’Characteristics of Ethical Business Cultures’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 85, no. 4, pp. 445-451.
2. Berghofer, D, Ethical leadership, Institute for ethical leadership, viewed 03 November 2013,
3. Ghumsha, N & Mozaa, B, Leadership style in KFC, KFC, viewed 03 November 2013,
4. KFC, 2019. Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved from https://www.kfc.com.au/corporate-social-responsibility https://www.kfc.com.au/about-us
5. KFC, 2019. KFC App. Retrieved from https://www.kfc.com.au/kfc-app
6. Jonathan Herrick, 2019. 8 Simon Sinek Quotes That Will Change The Way You Do Business. Retrieved from https://www.hatchbuck.com/blog/simon-sinek-quotes-will-change-your-business/
7. Steph S, 2015, ‘KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)’, Prezi, , viewed 20 April 2019.
8. Wikipedia, ‘KFC’, Company, , viewed 20 April 2019.
9. https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/mission-statements/kfc-mission-statement.html
10. https://educheer.com/business-plans/business-strategy-kfc-company
11. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/workforce/kfc-pushing-new-technology-its-workers

Public Relations: KFC

Organizations and companies all around the world use public relations to build beneficial relationships with members of the public to ensure a mutual co-existing between the two groups. Public relations includes a communication process that most companies, firms, organizations, and at times individuals employ to develop a strategic relationship that has mutual benefits between them. The core objectives of public relations are usually to uphold a positive status of the brand with clients, customers, the public, investors, employees, and stakeholders. Public relations works differently with advertising in that it does not involve buying ads or writing stories rather, agencies at public relations promote organizations and their brands through using editorial content that can appear on news channels, magazines, television programs, and blogs. The present essay analyzing one of the public relation cases that happened recently and discus how it affected the public.

Background and Situation

The Kentucky Fried Chicken is American based. It has over 20,000 locations around the world scattered in around 136 nations of the world. KFC was founded during the great depression when the founder Colonel Harland started selling fried chicken from the roadside near his home. With time, the first ever KFC restaurant was opened in 1952 with the place specializing in fried chicken although there were other products being sold as well. The brand was one of the initial companies in the USA to establish other restaurants outside the country to nations like Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Due to the overwhelming situation with the brand, Colonel Sanders sold the company to investors being led by John Y. Brown who still has ownership to the restaurant to date (Fekete, 2003, p. 45).

An advertisement in the United Kingdom national press as given out by one of the marketers of KFC revealed that the brand was currently at that time, chicken restaurant that has no chicken. The company went through a crisis in February 2018 where it had challenge with its supply chain forcing it to close hundreds of restaurants in the United Kingdom. After having problems with supply of chicken, the company was forced to switch delivery companies, an action that led to chicken shortage (Mcgarth, 2018). During the peak of the crisis, the poultry shortage forced the brand to close down close to 646 restaurants out of the total 900 situated in the United Kingdom. There are steps that are necessary in being effective when it comes to preventing conflicts from extending, these steps will be further discussed.

The crisis could have caused the company to lose revenues, brand damage, and get negative reviews from disgruntled customers were it not for the well-executed public relations plan that repaired the damage caused with greater speed. News about the poultry shortage of the company reached the public with hours of the initial problem. Customers became aware of the problem the company was facing and what exactly went wrong that had made the company to find itself in that scenario. The public became aware of the problem, what was being done to fix it, and what had caused it without any form of dishonesty from the management (Griffin, 2006, p. 163).

Goal objectives

As for goal objectives, everything is intended to be fact and all true information being shared with the media and world. As well as the goal to address the crisis that the company was facing promptly by not hiding the whereabouts about any complications or conflicts. To face it head on to where no one can ask any questions in addition to make it public information so that customers could know the set back the company was going through. In the end to come up with a strategy to overcome the crisis and be back to good terms and overall resolve the issue at hand.

Programming (Planning and Execution)

The media was interested in the crisis the company was going through therefore the company gave out a response labelling the crisis a “triumph.” Experts on public relations and reputation gave out a statement saying KFC’S response to the challenge it was going through was a master class in the crisis communication it had found itself into. The company recognized the mistake it had done by switching Delivery Company for poultry, and used that challenge to turn it into an advantage by using humor to describe it. Overall to be considered effective public relations, research, planning, use of communication, and measurement is necessary (Wilcox et al., 2013, p. 90). When word came around about a chicken fast food chain ran out of chicken, it definitely spread fast, but the approach from the strategy team was a picture of a bucket with the term “FCK” on it that took a humorous approach and led viewers to be more understanding of the situation and giving reasons as to why instead of brushing it off. Agenda setting that was coined by Max MCCombs and Don Shaw was used since they began to headline off not having chicken and being a public discussion allowed them to frame and shape the story and set the agenda of this crisis (Wilcox et al., 2013, p. 144)

Both the supporting communications and the advertising teams of the company were honest and geniuses. The accepted the mistake they had done and described using simple language and injecting humor. In the initial moments when the supply chain broke down, there was little knowledge on when the company would get back on its feet and at this point it could have been easier for the director of the company to hesitate concerning allowing the public to know of the crisis but this was not the case. The company thought it was best to recognize and address the common issues that were being faced by loyal customers and then from there generate a narrative as facts started unfolding.

The company responded with honesty to the public and the media thus its speed of response was determined as the core to correctly managing the crisis successfully. Due to the truth and integrity shown by the company loyal customers of KFC waited patiently until the crisis was solved. The company created fliers and pamphlets that would indicate the availability of chicken for customers so that it would be easier for them to know when there is fried chicken and when it is not available. Due to that, it was easier for the company to operate as it kept records of poultry availability and as a result customer availability as well. The supply shortage affected a large number of restaurants in the UK and not just KFC but when hungry clients took to social media to complain; only KFC came clean to address the issue at hand to make it known to everyone. For that reason, customers became even more loyal to the company thus making it emerge out of the crisis successfully (French & Crabbe, 2010, p. 30).

KFC did a tremendous job transforming a challenging crisis into an advantage and earn more out of it. One thing the company could have done it could have employed a temporary supply company for poultry even more than one to cover up for the time it was experiencing a shortage so that all the 600+ restaurants could remain functional. The problem could have come with switching delivery companies but the moment the company could have started realizing shortages, a smart choice could have been to contract a second and third delivery company. Something else the company could have done is it could try switching or integrating its products and sell some different product apart from the fried chicken so that all the closed restaurants could remain open and functional (Datamonitor 2009). Qualitative research also took place through the usage of staying valid with their facts that makes them seem trustworthy and reliable in addition to projecting to the entire location where the shortages took place to get richer insights through a more thought out process to receive a tremendous quality of results. The conflict management life cycle was used to illustrate the problem through the empty bucket and used proactive stage as to planning out prevention before it gets out of control, strategic through professional action of having media team come up with something to explain, reactive through use of crisis communication, and recovery phase through the reputation and restoring it through supply of chicken again.

Conclusion

Public relations have the capability of reducing a crisis on their terms and strategy companies use that to create good relationships with the public and when activated properly it can save a company from drowning or earn more profits. KFC learnt that the only way it could come out of its crisis victorious was by involving the public and coming clean to them. This strategy worked thus making the KFC public relation case one of the most common successful cases of PR in 2018. I would probably use the contingency continuum by going straight to the pure accommodation part of the scale and having the company concurs with its customers, changes the approaches through making compensation, and even makes a full open expression of remorse for our mistake.

References

1. Datamonitor Plc (2009). KFC Case Study: Addressing Recessionary Challenges by focusing on health and value.
2. Fekete, S. S. & Keith, L. (2003). Companies are people too, discover, develop, and grow your organization (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
3. French, P. & Crabbe, M. (2010). Fat China: How expanding Waistlines are changing a nation (Vol. 1, No. 5). New York, NY: Anthem Press.
4. Griffin, R. W. (2006). Student achievement series: Principles of management. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
5. Mcgrath, J. (2018). How KFC turned crisis to triumph. Raconteur. Retrieved by https://www.raconteur.net/business-innovation/kfc-turned-crisis-triumph
6. Wilcox, D. L., Cameron, G. T., Reber, B. H., & Shin, J. (2013). Think public relations. Boston: Pearson.

The Factors And Aspects Of KFC Marketing Strategies

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN

KFC also called Kentucky fried chicken, famous for fried chicken, headquarter located in Louisville, California. It is world’s largest restaurant after McDonald and located in 136 countries of the world. The chain subsidises of YUM BRANDS, a company which owns the Taco bell and Pizza hut. KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, starting from roadside restaurant of fried chicken and opened a first franchise in Utah in 1952. Colonel used “original recipe” with 11 herbs and spices which he doesn’t want to reveal in front of other people and ask them that he is using salt and pepper instead. This original recipe is a flour used to bread the chicken before frying.

COMPANY TARGETS

Their target marketers are customers. i.e. vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Kentucky fried chicken is approaching all people whether they eat chicken or not. For non-vegetarian people, KFC is the best option to have their meal but in opposition to that they are offering veggie burgers to the vegetarian people which is cheaper among all the restaurants of the cities. By introducing new snack deals to the customers, they are targeting every people whether they are kids or young. The deals give them a chance to enhance the versatility of their restaurant and their food deals. Kentucky fried chicken provides spicy and non-spicy meals which push a lot of spices lovers in to the restaurant. The consumer behaviour is also an ideal part as a company’s target. The politeness and the standards of approaching the customers are different among all the restaurants. They are very effective in providing good services to the customers.

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF KFC

Kentucky fried chicken competes with various franchises in which the main is Pizza hut. The marketing plan makes a way easier to promote brand name and product quality in opposition with the competitors. Both the restaurants are competing each other by providing various cheaper deals with the meals to the consumers. The marketing plan of Kentucky fried chicken are based on Promotion, Plan, Price and Product.

IMC-Coordination of all forms of marketing communications into a unified program that maximizes impact on intended target audience

IMC TOOLS of KFC

• Advertising
• Newspapers

Some advantages of ads on newspapers are:

1. The newspapers allow the advertisement to reach a huge people in Special area. (Wakolbinger et al, 2009)
2. The ad size and design of ad and also the placement of ad have a big flexibility in publishing in a newspaper (burns et al, 2006)
3. The advertisement could be as long as desired by the organization.
4. The exposure to ad is not restricted: readers can go back to your message again and again if so desired (Kumar, 2011)
5. The speed of advertisement publishing is very high. If you decide for an ad today. It could be in customers’ hands in one or two days after that (Gallacher et al, 2001)

Radio:

Some of the advantages of radio advertisements are:

1. Radio is a universal medium and people listen to the radio at home or work or during travel. It can access a large number of people (Leong, 1998)
2. The enormous range of radio formats offers to effectively target to your desired segment of the population (Hackley. 2005)
3. Help to create your brand name by different campaigns Gallacher et al 2001)
4. The creative help is mostly freely available in the radio station
5. The price of ads could be negotiated, as there are very few people involved in this process (Wu et al 2003)

Promotion

Kentucky Fried Chicken promotes their brand name and quality of food they are serving with the help of online surveys from the customers and offering cheaper deals to the customers. They are focusing on telling each buyer to do the survey and get in return free small popcorn chicken worth $7 or one strawberry swirl cheesecake worth $2. This strategy results in to look forward their service and improve it with the help of customer’s reviews. Moreover, they offer MIAM (make it a meal) deals which is perfect for serving bigger families. With the help of online advertisements of their deals, they gather a plethora of customers to serve daily as their deals are more convenient than other restaurants.

Television

1. The television advertisement reaches to a large numbers of people on international national or regional level in a very short period of time (Cartere. 2009)
2. The new cable and Independent stations offer new chances to local audiences (0arterre 2009
3. Television as an image-building and visual medium offers the ability to deliver your message with sight sound and motion (Kumar 2011)

Internet:

Internet is broader than any other medium of advertisement. The advantages of online advertisements are

1. The usage of internet is growing day-by-day (Vurro, 2009)
2. The appreciation of online advertisement is 5.2 % higher as compared to other mediums of advertisement (Vurro, 2009)
3. The advertisement on internet is mostly for the young segment of population. (Chi et al. 2012)

Marketing Objectives

KFC is the leading food chain in the world, which is going to spread its business in various other countries. This food chain industry wants to provide such facilities to its clients with the provision of fresh and healthy food, which can meet their requirements and also take less time to serve them.

Segmentation, targeting, positioning in the Marketing strategy of KFC

KFC (Kentucky Fried chicken) uses demographic segmentation to serve the market as per the customer needs & wants. The consumers of KFC are the young as well as young adults.

It used to serve the same menu all around the world which means that it was using undifferentiated targeting strategy. However, in recent times, following McDonald’s example, KFC has started localizing its menu, giving it better acceptability in the market. Moreover it has transformed its positioning strategy from product based to value based in recent times.

KFC is strongly positioned in the minds of consumers for its Chicken menu. There are very few outlets which serve anything in vegetarian. But when it comes to non-vegetarian, KFC is just superb. Its chicken wings, and chicken bucket is a favorite with everyone. This excellent targeting technique is the reason that most non vegetarian lovers flock at KFC.

I think strategy of KFC will succeed in achieving objectives because they are following Shotgun strategy to target all age customer helps to focus on one segment where target audience of the business is too diverse.

As per our research we think that the advertising strategies which the KFC is using right now are not enough so, we will advertise on magazine too to attract more customers. we will also make a KFC application for the phone users which will attract the customers more towards KFC and in that app there will be promotional codes and discounts to the loyal customers of KFC and all customers will get chance to earn points through that application.

History

Under armour is a genuinely youthful organization. In 1995, the unique group’s commander for the University of Maryland’s football crew, Kevin Plank, saw that the cotton T-shirts that the group wore underneath their cushions and other rigging were splashed with sweat before the finish of a game or practice. After he graduated, he was resolved to build up a T-shirt that would remain light during outrageous warmth.

Online Advertising

After he built up a model, he gave the examples to a couple of his companions who had proceeded to play in the NFL. After he got some criticism, he returned to take a shot at his T-shirt and delivered a shirt that was made of microfiber that would retain dampness while keeping the competitors cool, light, and dry. He at that point continued to max out his Visas and start-up his business in his grandma’s business in Washington, DC. Following a time of creation, he made his first group deal to Georgia Tech. Word immediately spread about the new brand, and various NFL groups bought from Plank. Before long, the organization moved their central station to South Baltimore where they kept on building up their well-known lines of apparatus. Today, Under Armour makes the most inventive sportswear clothing and footwear. (Brown, 2013)

Television Brand Integration/Product Placement in Movies

Under armour does a lot of internet showcasing. On Under Armour’s Facebook page, you will discover notices about new items that have been discharged and even deals for those items. They additionally post forthcoming occasions that the organization is putting on, incorporating deals on the web and in stores. Under Armour’s site likewise does a lot of showcasing. At the point when you go to their site, you are in a split second eye to eye with strong hues and text styles. This pulls in the peruse and makes you need to explore all through the site. For instance, there is right now a free dispatching advancement going on. The standard advertisement for this is a neon-green shading with dark text style. Because of the striking hues, it was the main thing that grabbed my attention. In conclusion, Under armour does a lot of promoting on sports clothing destinations, for example, Dick’s Sporting Goods. At the point when you go to the ‘top brands’ area under ‘attire’, under armour is the second recorded. When you get to Under Armour’s page, you quickly observe pictures of individuals playing different games. This shows the brand covers everybody’s needs. (Brown, 2013)

Under armours does the greater part of their incorporation and item positions in sports-related TV shows and films. In the wake of doing some burrowing, I found that Under Armour does a lot of coordination with the prevalent TV show Friday Night Lights. In a scene disclosed in 2009, there was an Under Armour agent selling gear. He was depicted like a decent, accommodating man. By the agent being pleasant, individuals would get the feeling that all Under Armour salesmen are on the whole like that. This would get individuals into their stores and purchase their items.

Sports Teams

Under armour does a lot of showcasing with sports groups. They even have a site where mentors can jump on and structure their group’s uniform! By permitting secondary school groups, proficient groups, and even club sports groups to utilize their items, it gives the brand a constructive notoriety and shows individuals that the brand can be trusted. Under armour have exceptionally particular advertisements on TV. More often than not they are intense, yet persuasive and interesting. They generally highlight some popular competitor and at times don’t make reference to the name of the competitor. By doing this, individuals are spurred to get out and remain dynamic. The following is a video for one of Under Armour’s running/preparing shoes. They support sports groups, place their items in TV shows, and make items for everybody. So next time you are hoping to purchase increasingly athletic attire, consider Under armour.

References

1. Cartere, J. Y. (2009) 7V, fod Markenng and Childhood Obesity. New York: Nova Science Publisher
2. Kumar. S. (2011) Advertiseents. [Available online at] http://advertisementsinalimedia.blogspot com/2011/05/advantages-of-advertisements.html
3. https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-of-kfc/
4. Brown, C. (2013, June 11). Insight 10: Under Armour’s Integrated Marketing Communication. Retrieved from https://chrisbrown30.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/insight-10-under-armours-integrated-marketing-communication/.

Brief History Of KFC

KFC, conjointly referred to as Kentucky Fried Chicken is an American fast-food restaurant headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that makes a speciality of deep-fried chicken. It’s the world’s second-largest chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald’s, with 22,621 locations globally in 136 countries as of Dec 2018. The chain is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that conjointly owns the pizza Hut, Taco Bell and WingStreet chains.

KFC was once centered by way of Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who commenced selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, throughout the Great Depression. Sanders recognized the viable of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’ franchise opened in Utah in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market via challenging the established dominance of the hamburger.

By branding himself as ‘Colonel Sanders’, Harland grew to become a distinguished figure of American cultural history, and his picture stays widely used in KFC advertising to this day. However, the company’s speedy expansion overwhelmed the getting old Sanders, and he sold it to a group of buyers led through John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey in 1964.

KFC was one of the first American quick food chains to enlarge internationally, opening stores in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Jamaica via the mid-1960s.

The Target Market

KFC target groups such as teenagers, young adults and families. For teenagers, they love the smell of chicken overall and in case some of them are vegetarian, KFC has menus that cater for them as well. Moreover, young adults who are coming from work tired and don’t have the time to prepare a meal can just stop at KFC and get a fast and ready meal that can satisfy them. This is why KFC is always packed in the nights especially on weekends.

Over the years the company desired itself to be perceived as a family restaurant and has been running campaigns communicating the same. Many families have a culture where they can go out to spend time with each other while having a good meal whether once a week or once a month. KFC is famous for there Fried chickens. In addition to, KFC has affordable prices which consumers can buy whether rich or poor.

Product

KFC is one of the most famous fast food joints in the world, with an exceptional burgers’ specialty. KFC is synonymous with fried chicken, challenging the hamburger fast food market that has been installed. The exclusive service is fried chicken flavoured with eleven ingredients secret seasoning. Extra Crispy Chicken, home-style sides and buttermilk biscuits are other KFC specialties. KFC expanded its menu in 1990, selling other chicken recipes such as chicken fillet burgers and wraps, salads, potato fries, desserts and drinks. KFC has tailored its regional and demand-based brand choices.

As a part of its promotional mix brand plan, KFC has over 300 exclusive menus in different areas around the world. Hot and Crispy Chicken, Fiery Grilled bucket options, Chicken Zinger Burger, Rice Bowls have been introduced in India. The chicken eaten in the Middle East and Islamic countries is halal. KFC has a long association with McCormic Company for the essential components of products such as sauces, marinades and seasonings. Since it had association with PepsiCo, on the other hand, most of the liquids served in KFC are from Pepsi, in some geographies there are exceptions.

Price

KFC’s menu is presented at low-cost prices and inventive strategies have been adopted to compete in one-of – a-kind markets. KFC’s revenue was $23 billion in 2013. KFC’s parent brand is on Fortunes ‘ 201th listing position with revenue in excess of $13 billion. The target section for KFC is higher-class or middle-class families of young people in an urban and semi-urban area.

The costs were higher when it entered the market, which was later gradually reduced to target lower income groups. Therefore, the rate is similar to the competitors. KFC presents pricing differentials. As well as sets or packages, the products are available as individuals. In contrast to the combined charge of all products, the price of bundles is lower. In rate-sensitive markets such as India, it is particularly rewarding.

Place

KFC’s founder recognized the importance of franchising, and in 1952 he opened the first KFC restaurant in Utah. The world’s outlets were later opened in the 1960s in Canada, the Us, Mexico, and Jamaica. KFC headquarters is located in Kentucky, Louisville. Today KFC is present with over 20,500 outlets in 125 nations worldwide, reflecting its strong marketing mix position strategy. In 1987, It was the first Western Restaurant to open in China, and there it remains sturdy.

Usual day-to-day average outlet orders are 250, many of which are fulfilled for peak hours. For some of the world’s places, such as multicultural country Malaysia, promotional offers are launched on unique occasions such as the Chinese New Year. KFC’s selected locations are state of the art and are selected following a lot of deliberation.

Promotion

KFC has a website as properly as the presence on social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. It has also relied on the development of mass media. The KFC advertisements are as stunning as the broadcast media in print. Print media is made up of newspapers, magazines with tempting KFC offers shows, unique offers and prices. It also uses marketing posters and hoardings as beautifully as highways on inner-city roads for advertisements. It is well known for its taglines like ‘ Finger Lickin Good, ‘ ‘ Nobody Does Chicken Like KFC ‘ and ‘ So Good ‘ and they are always used in promotional activities.

It has been estimated that, with the help of 185 million viewers, KFC industrial is seen at least once a week. In India, they have recently added a 5 in 1 meal box that provides more products than competitors. Through Mumbai well-known Dabbawallas, they launched this activity. The box provided through this was also able to offer mobile charging.

References

1. MBASkool. (2019). KFC Marketing Mix (4Ps) Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.mbaskool.com/: https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/services/17502-kfc.html
2. Wikipedia. (2019, October 21). KFC. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC

KFC Chicken Crisis In The UK

Abstract

KFC is world’s second largest fast food restaurant chain, which mainly focus on fried chicken industry. In 2018, KFC faced a major crisis in UK. KFC UK has run out of chicken in most of its stores. Since, chicken was basic need for any KFC store to run its operations, this shortage resulted in the closure of various KFC stores in UK. Apart from this, KFC has got hit in terms of brand reputation as customers were very agitated by this closure of stores. The primary reason for these troubles was inefficacy of the logistics network. KFC contracted DHL to deliver the chicken but DHL was not able to deliver the chicken in time to KFC stores. To improve the situation, KFC has gone back to DHL’s predecessor i.e. Bidvest Logistics and issue various slogan on social media to improve its brand image.

Introduction

KFC’s full form is Kentucky Fried Chicken. KFC is an American fast food restaurant chain which has headquarter in Louisville, Kentucky and which specializes in fried chicken. As of Dec’2018, KFC is world’s second-largest fast food restaurant chain (based on sales) after McDonald’s, with 22,621 locations globally in 136 countries. KFC is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a company that also owns the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and WingStreet chains. KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, who started selling fried in his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’ franchise opened in Utah in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger.

As of May’2019, the total sales of the company was $26.2Bn and the company has a brand value of $8.5Bn.

Problem

In February’2018, most of KFC UK’s outlets were running out of chicken. As a fried chicken company, this shortage of chicken has forced those stores to close. The underlying reason for these problems was the change of transportation contract. KFC UK has changed its transporter from Bidvest Logistics to DHL.

DHL was one of the biggest names in home deliveries and it won the tender of KFC for handling KFC’s distribution. There were basically two problems with the DHL:

1. At the start of the contact, DHL’s new distribution network, i.e. new warehouse it has opened for only KFC, was not ready to handle the KFC’s distribution needs. Firstly, DHL had no prior experience in delivering the chilled foods, so its workers were not capable to handle such needs. Secondly, DHL’s technology and storage were not equipped to handle bloodless cold storage.
2. KFC’s structure (or network) of the distribution system was completely different from the its predecessor Bidvest logistics. Bidvest has 6 distribution centers to cater the needs of 900 KFC restaurant and on the other DHL was planning to cater all these needs by only one distribution center. Although, keeping only one distribution center significantly lowers the cost but having only one location reduces redundancy in terms of humans and equipment, and reduces coordination. This model imposes additional risk on the whole supply chain, i.e. if it fails to perform then there is no backup which complete failure. By having a number of locations, if one location fails you can cater the needs from the other location on temporarily basis atleast. As we have seen, in case of Amazon, having various distribution centers increase the inventory but on the other hand decrease the transportation cost and transit time. Since, KFC was operating on JIT model, it should have investigated this aspect and should have gone for a partner with various distribution centers.

In KFC’s case, a collection of accidents in the surrounding roadways brought on trucks carrying in the fresh chicken to be caught in traffic, and delayed outgoing trucks. Without a secondary distribution middle to divert the trucks, the lone distribution core was once in trouble. As KFC was operating on Just-In-Time shipping model, i.e. retailers usually acquired the poultry delivery inside 24 hrs of order placement, so they have been just carrying inventory for one day, within a week of this swap a destroy down in the furnish chain grew to be evident as many KFC outlets commenced strolling out of hen products. Very shortly it emerged that DHL was working out of only one warehouse in Rugby, which had been purpose built to deal with the KFC contract. Apart from this, there were additionally 500 hen farmers imparting clean poultry on everyday basis. So, the chicken was available, but DHL was unable to deliver it to the KFC restaurants.

Because of this problem, in the beginning week itself 540 out of 900 of the retail outlets had closed. Some restaurants were only able to offer a ‘limited menu’ and even the restaurants have reduced their operating hours. Obviously, KFC customers were very upset and angry. Customers have even called police to report the shutdown of various KFC restaurants. Even KFC has also admitted that there would be losses with a total of 900 KFC restaurants were closed. Apart from all this, it also impacted KFC’s brand image, which can be seen in the below chart:

Starting from Feb’18, KFC’s brand image starting to deteriorate reaching its peak by Apr’18.

Solutions and Results

At this KFC was facing too difficulties, first is how to manage the deliveries? And second is how to improve its brand image?

KFC adopted different strategies to tackle both the problems, which are as follows:

1. To handle the delivery issues: KFC has gone back to its previous distributor even at a higher cost. KFC didn’t innovate in the field of supply chain management. It simply gone back to Bidvest but kept DHL to supply for only one location, where DHL’s warehouse location.
2. To improve the company reputation: KFC was kind enough to accept its mistake and apologize to the customers. KFC even changed the name on its bucket from KFC to FCK to make people laugh. Everyone knows that a simple laugher can go to a long way in building trust. KFC followed the same approach and furiously used the social media platform to bring its message across to the customers. The few other slogans used by KFC are shown in the picture below:

They measured the success of their solutions by measuring the company’s image index as shown above and the availability of ingredients in its restaurants.

The results for these solutions were great. Within few months, KFC was able to reach normality in its operations and brand reputation.

Analysis and Recommendation

In my belief, the solutions implemented by KFC were adequate in terms to time sensitivity. But these solutions not only defeated the purpose of whole supply chain management i.e. getting the right product at right place at right time at right cost, but also there are some consequences, such as the distributor may no longer have the capacity or capability to handle your business. In this case Bidvest laid-off 255 employees. It is difficult to add these employees back quickly. By going back to Bidvest Logistics, KFC has lost its negotiating power, increasing the cost of deliveries and shown their vulnerability to the vendors, which is never good sign for any company. Moreover, KFC has not planned anything for future i.e. any innovations to improve the future logistics operation. I think that KFC should have devised a plan to cater the future needs.

Few things KFC should have kept in my mind while making changes to its logistics partner:

1. Risk Matrix: KFC should have used the risk matrix to identify the various risks involved with the supplier decision going forward.
2. Inventory Management: KFC should have instructed its stores to have a stock for at least one week or so before making these changes.

If KFC had done all of this, they would not have seen such a disaster. Going forward, KFC should devise a plan to do the cost reduction without hampering its operations. Cost reduction in logistics is one of main aspect in supply chain management field. In this competitive and customer focused world, if a company doesn’t reduce its cost to mitigate the competition then they will no longer be in business. In my opinion, KFC should explore the following possibilities:

• Vendor Managed Inventory: VMI is an approach developed by Walmart. In this, the suppliers are fully responsible to fill out the inventory with clear visibility of the stocks at the stores. KFC should explore the option of VMI by entering strategic partnerships with its chicken supplying farms, which are generally located locally.
• Dual Delivering capabilities: KFC should decrease its dependency on its sole distribution partner. It should engage some other logistics partners or create its own fleet to cater the future needs and avoid any such circumstances in future.
• Technology: KFC should implement tracking technologies to have better control over its logistics operation. With these technologies, KFC can predict the possibility of happening of any such event before its real time occurring.

KFC should keep a check on its cost (biggest risk) while implementing the above suggestions. KFC should measure its performance after the implementation of above recommendations. The performance can be measured in various ways such as KPIs, Spend management analysis, Cost Analysis, Distributor performance analysis, Inventory Analysis (number of stock-outs) etc.

References

1. https://www.forbes.com/companies/kfc/#6d12615c44ee
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC
3. http://www.campaignasia.com/agencyportfolio/CaseStudyCampaign/448479,kfc-a-very-fcking-clever-campaign.aspx#.Xe5z7uhKiUk
4. https://ebea.org.uk/2018-journal-posts/the-great-kfc-chicken-shortage-2018
5. https://blog.crowdcontrolhq.com/kfc-a-masterclass-in-crispy-chicken-crisis-management
6. https://digitalglue.agency/kfc-chicken-crisis/
7. http://blog.brandigo.com/brandigo-thinking/crisis-response-lessons-from-kfcs-chicken-shortage
8. https://ominthenews.com/supply-chain-failure-kfcs-chicken-shortage/

KFC vs. Popeyes

Popeyes had around 1000 domestic restaurants at the end of 2018, says Danny Klein from QRS Magazine in March 2019. KFC had around 5500. The question now becomes: which fried chicken chain is better? Popeyes is much better because of its drumsticks, sides and value. Holis Johnson, from Business Insider, compares both these fast food chains’ food in December 2015.

First is the battle of the drumsticks. KFC’s drumsticks aren’t crispy, although they do have an excellent flavor: peppery, savory, and just a little bit buttery. However, the meat is greasy and stringy. Popeyes, on the other hand, has about the same amount of flavor as KFC. However, the meat is much juicier and there’s a lot more meat. Also, Popeyes’ crust is salty and as crunchy as potato chips, which means that it all won’t come off when you take a bite, unlike KFC. Here, Popeyes definitively takes the win.

Next, she looks at the sides. KFC’s mashed potatoes are quote on quote, “disgusting.” It’s bland and the gravy is the same consistency as the potato, adding no new texture to the dish. Popeye’s mashed potatoes are much firmer and seem real, unlike KFC’s processed ones. The gravy also has a nice flavor to it, even though it’s gray. She then examines the coleslaw. KFC’s is sweet, but that’s the only flavor, making it one-dimensional. Popeyes, though, has a coleslaw that is just as sweet but also has a tang, creating depth of flavor. In both these battles, Popeyes is one again the winner.

Finally, Sarah Digregorio from the Village Voice compares the price of both these chains’ thighs in February 2010 . KFC’s cost $1.99 for a 4-ounce thigh and Popeyes’ 4-ounce thigh costs $1.49. And while 50 cents may not seem like a big deal, Sharon Epperson from CNBC explains why it is. Saving just 50 cents a day over a year will allow you to obtain over 40 percent of an emergency fund. Therefore, Popeyes is also a better value and eating there instead of KFC can have potentially life-saving impacts.

However, some people may argue that KFC’s biscuit is much better than Popeyes. Lissa Rodgers from Extra Crispy ranks 9 fast food biscuits in February 2018. Popeyes is fourth place, but KFC is second place, two up on the list. She describes KFC’s biscuit as, “golden and flaky on the outside, with an interior that’s moist and crumbly.” Meanwhile, Popeyes biscuit is “salty, hard, and has a strange fake butter taste.” Nevertheless, Popeyes wins over KFC in every other category. Also, fried chicken is the most important dish to look at, and Popeyes’ chicken is much better than KFC’s. Not only that, the quality of a biscuit is nothing compared to being able to save up for an emergency fund.

All in all, Popeyes is superior to KFC due to the quality of its fried chicken and sides as well as its ability to save money. While some people may argue that Popeyes’ biscuit is inferior to KFC’s, the benefits of eating at Popeyes outweigh this one potential harm. The next time you want to eat fried chicken, drive past your local KFC and travel the extra mile to Popeyes.

KFC Operational Problem In The United Kingdom

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report provides research and analysis of an operational problem that KFC faced in the UK in February, 2018. KFC is the second largest fast food restaurant in the UK. The company is well known for serving fresh chicken worldwide. KFC is also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, the US- owned brand has over 22,000 restaurants and franchises in more than 135 countries. The brand has been in the UK for over 30 successful years, continuing to please customers with serving fresh chicken.

The supply chain issue caused KFC outlets all around the UK to run out of chicken. The cause of this was due to multiple problems in their supply chain. Bidvest, is a UK based food logistical company that is partnered with other popular fast food chains. Bidvest Logistics was KFC’s previous logistical partner. Bidvest was replaced by DHL, who are the largest international distributing company that specializes in delivering parcels all around the world. Whilst Bidvest was replaced by DHL the supply chain issue started to follow. DHL was dealing with teething problems, this short-term issue in the supply chain caused KFC to shut down hundreds of their branches as there were no chicken delivered. DHL was also lack of staff and they made mistakes with chicken orders due to not knowing how to use the new software, which led to late deliveries of fresh chicken.

The fault in the supply chain led to an operational issue that caused KFC customers being sent home from the restaurants as there was no chicken to serve. Furthermore, the operational issue had generated a loss in profit for KFC, which affected KFC’s income as they made a loss of at least £920,000 each day. Moreover, KFC led to having a bad reputation as angered customers complained on social media by criticizing KFC stores. Correspondingly, in this report there will be recommendations for the management of KFC in regards to dealing with the fault in the supply chain more efficiently in the future. Also, there will be methods suggested such as training DHL before approving contracts which KFC could consider in order to avoid the supply chain issues. Additionally, there will be suggestions on how KFC could avoid operational problem occurring in the first place. These proposals will help KFC and their supply chain attempt to prepare for future operational threats and to develop on providing a better service for their customer to improve the company’s reputation.

INTRODUCTION

This report will seek to analyze the operational issue KFC faced in the UK due to their supply chain. KFC which is also known as ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’ (KFC, 2018) is a US – owned fast food brand that specializes in serving chicken worldwide. KFC commenced in the UK in 1965 and since then the firm has expanded rapidly, with KFC restaurants in 850 locations in the UK alone. (KFC, 2018) It has been reported that KFC ‘is the world’s second largest restaurant chain after McDonald’s measured by sales.’ (Franchising.com, 2018)

Although, KFC is the UK’s most admired chicken brand, throughout February 2018 there had been a large amount of chicken shortages which was caused by a severe delivery issue that lead to shutting 562 KFC restaurants. (Weaver, 2018) KFC specified on their social media pages, websites and posters outside their restaurants that their new logistics partners DHL had ‘teething problems.’ (Weaver, 2018) KFC new logistics partners DHL is an international logistics company that ships parcel’s globally, the logistics company ‘connects people in over 220 countries and territories worldwide’. (Anon, 2018) Likewise, ‘DHL is the worlds largest logistics company with over 360,000 employees.’ (Anon, 2018) DHL has invented the international air express and specializes in shipping and delivering parcels worldwide. (Anon, 2018)

KFC operational issue’s occurred when ‘KFC switched its deliveries from Bidvest Logistics to DHL.’ (Weaver, 2018) Bidvest also known as Best Food Logistics is a food logistics company, which has been ‘delivering great food and supply chain solutions’ (Best Food Logistics, 2018) since 1999. The company is specialized in delivering food in the UK to popular fast food restaurants such as Pizza Express, Burger King, Nando’s, TGI Fridays and more. (Best Food Logistics, 2018) When KFC replaced Bidvest to DHL there had been a fault in the supply chain due DHL developing problems in delivering chicken to KFC outlets. The problem in the supply chain caused an operational issue for KFC. The mission of this report is to provide recommendations and solutions for KFC so they can avoid the supply chain problem which caused an operational issue that affected so many consumers and the reputation of KFC.

OPERATIONAL PROBLEM

Supply chain problem

KFC’s supply chain is responsible for the operational problem that the company faced. On 17th February 2018 KFC announced the restaurants ran out of chicken due to new delivery contractors DHL having ‘teething problems’. (Evening Standard, 2018) KFC had brought new delivery contracts replacing Bidvest Logistics to DHL, the new delivery contractors DHL ‘was struggling to cope with supplying 900’ (Allen and Allen, 2018) KFC stores. Therefore, this lead to KFC having no choice but to close down over ‘500 KFC stores’ (Evening Standard, 2018) which lead to frustrated KFC customers that had showed up to closed KFC branches. This lead customer to make complaints on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The social media comments escalated leading to KFC reputation being damaged as the company ran out of chicken in the UK. (Evening Standard, 2018)

Furthermore, the KFC outlets that were open had limited menus to offer, this continued to cause problems within the KFC stores as employees of KFC and customers argued about the limited menu. According to an article, reports found that KFC done a dreadful mistake taking on DHL as labor union officials cautioned KFC that bringing on DHL will be a disaster as DHL has limited experience in food distribution. (Supply Management, 2018) DHL, who is KFC’s new logistics partner caused a short –term supply interruption which caused KFC’s operational issue. The supply chain, DHL operates worldwide in over 200 countries distributing parcels internationally. DHL is under pressure working with a fast food company, as DHL lack in experience with distributing fresh meat. Comparing to KFC’s old logistics, Bidvest has more experience in delivering fresh food to busy fast food companies. Bidvest logistics supplies other popular fast food brands such as Pizza hut, Burger King, Pizza express and more.

Metro UK reported that not only DHL found it difficult to deliver the chicken but also was struggling with the lack of DHL lorry drivers they had. The lorry drivers that were on duty was stuck in traffic, when they tried to deliver large amount of products to their distributors this led to the wrong items being delivered to the wrong outlets. Unfortunately, for KFC it was too late to change their food supply chain as they approved the contract with DHL. DHL is not experienced in food supply chain this has affected KFC restaurants not being able receive fresh chicken for a few days and some KFC outlets waited weeks. The fault in the supply chain was also due to DHL having access to only one warehouse in Rugby which was a major problem for DHL as they did not have the space for their supplies. Also, the one warehouse was too far to some KFC outlets therefore this is the reason when drivers got stuck in traffic the chicken deliveries were late. Comparing to KFC’s old logistics, Bidvest had over six warehouses which made it easier for them to be more organised with their products to supply KFC.

In addition to this, the supply chain had got affected as a new software system was introduced by a third party called QSL that DHL had to quickly adapt using the new software. According to ‘technology analyst Chris Green’ he stated that DHL failed to collect the right data from KFC’s order, the reason for this is due to DHL not knowing how to use the the new software. This led to DHL making mistakes on KFC chicken orders and communication between the two partners were not clear, this caused a problem for KFC’s supply chain. Although, DHL has apologized for the operational problem they still negatively affected KFC making profit as the operational issue had an outcome of the fast food chain having a ‘revenue loss of at least £920,000 per day.’ (boulton and Marketing, 2018) This loss has not been made by KFC since 2016 therefore it affected KFC income a lot.

Moreover, the reason KFC supply chain was in trouble was due to KFC replacing Bidvest which is a well known and experienced logistics for DHL which is a low experienced food distributor. This mistake should have been avoided as KFC is a successful business so they should invest more money to having the best logistical partners. In comparison to other successful fast food restaurants in the UK such as Burger King has never had a problem with their supply chain as they have contracts with reliable logistical company that is Bidvest logistics.

Also, KFC’s supply chain issue’s had an outcome of KFC operational issue increasing by receiving negative comments on social media and angry consumers who mocked KFC’s services and menu. Social media posts about KFC shortages of chicken had been ‘shared 219,138,216 times on social media and KFC had 796,709,795’ (Campaignlive.co.uk, 2018) editorial coverage due to the lack of chicken in the UK restaurants. The outcome of the operational issue’s caused KFC to be on the page front of newspapers such as Metro and Sun which caused KFC’s bad reputation.

KFC OPERATIONAL SOLUTION

Logistical supply chain solution

Although, KFC has dealt with this situation it is vital that this situation does not occur again in the future. The reason why KFC supply chain had a fault was due to KFC having the lack of knowledge of DHL. Before any contracts being approved KFC should have done their checks of what DHL has experience in and how this will affect the fast food chain. KFC should have taken a different approach in dealing with the problem in the supply chain. For instance, it is recommended that KFC managers should invest more money in training their logistical partners as this will help prepare the distributors to know what they are doing and what KFC expects to be done. In relation to DHL, if KFC trained DHL to use the new software system, orders would have not been mistaken. Which would have led to KFC restaurants receiving their chicken on time to serve customers. Also, training will help DHL learn more about KFC and discover how fast KFC wants their chicken be delivered. This will create DHL to be more organised and prepared to hire more delivery drivers to distribute to KFC restaurants.

Successful fast food chains such as McDonalds has trained different logistical partners for one whole day to show the delivery drivers where supplies need to be placed and how to confirm orders. This has helped McDonalds avoid supply chain problems and their suppliers to understand how McDonalds would want their deliveries being. Furthermore, manager of KFC should consider preparing trials with DHL for example, KFC can carry out 7 days of trials to identify how fast DHL delivers the chicken to the KFC outlets in the UK. Also, the trials can help KFC recognize if DHL can adapt quickly using the new software.

The 7 days’ trial is enough days for KFC to find out if they are satisfied with their logistical company or not before they go ahead with the contracts. An example of other fast food companies that has carried out trials for their supply chain is McDonalds. McDonalds, goes through many stages of trials by identifying how fast it takes for the delivery to come before signing contract with logistics. (O’Connor, 2018) In addition to this, McDonalds are constantly tracking their logistical partners by using a Kiosk software to find out the amount of orders confirmed to avoid mistakes.

It is important that the management of KFC is more aware that there are more that 850 stores in the UK and one warehouse of DHL is not going to be always efficient to deliver fresh meat in all KFC destinations around the UK. Therefore, due to this issue of having one warehouse it has caused deliveries being late or not being made at all as delivery drivers are stuck in traffic. Managers has to recover from this issue by searching for a new logistical company that has more warehouses for the products to be distributed faster. If KFC would like to keep DHL as their distribution partner, they could possibly consider DHL distributing to KFC restaurants within 10 miles of their warehouse and searching for new channels of local chicken suppliers within 10 miles of other KFC stores, this will avoid delivery drivers being stuck in traffic. It will also create less pressure on one specific supplier. In relation to this, having more logistical partners has worked for McDonalds who are the most popular fast food restaurants in the world. They have the best supply chain as for each region where there’s a McDonalds restaurant they have different logistical partners to support their franchisees. (T1 2016 MPK732 Marketing Management (Cluster B), 2018) Consequently, the company constantly uses selective distribution channels which KFC managers should try. The benefit of this is the suppliers are closer to the outlets which cost cheaper as the journey time will be less, this will be a win win for the supplier and KFC.

The solution strategy for KFC management to practice to improve on the bad reputation that is upon the company is to improve their services with their customers by making sure no KFC outlet is out of chicken. Also, as an apology KFC should bring new recipe out for customers to try and purchase, this will help bring their reputation up. Also, using social media as a tool to continue bringing more services to their customers and to act on the feedback customers give.

CONCLUISON

The analysis of this report concluded KFC cause of operational issue in the UK in 2018, was the fault in the supply chain that was DHL. The fast food firm operational problem created multiple of issues that needs to be rectified. Subsequently, there many things KFC needs to improve on such as maintaining a good logistics company that has enough experience in order to be in control of delivering fresh chicken on time to every KFC restaurant in the UK. Also, this report discovered that KFC management needs to improve on building up their reputation by showing their customers that KFC is loyal to provide a better service to make up for the week of distraught customers.

REFERENCES

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KFC Reputation In The United Kingdom

INTRODUCTION

KFC UK is a bit of Yum! Brands, similarly, as Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Around the world, the Yum! Brands framework has 43,000 restaurants in 135 nations (Yum China Launches Taco Bell Brand In China, 2017) with 842 of them in the UK and opens more than six new restaurants for each day by and large, making it a pioneer in worldwide retail advancement. Yet KFC UK was facing a significant challenge for the shortage of fried chicken on 13 Feb 2018 because of delivery contract changed to DHL, which is blamed operational issues for supply disruption which cause to shutdown of around 70% KFC restaurants which led the customer to a bitter taste. All most, every year there is 10% of supply chain gets disruption due to high demand of KFC in UK

CONTENT

KFC UK is suffering from failure supply of goods in terms of time, quality and quantity resulting in incomplete orders which became a good time for social network and news media to cover and kill time by showing KFC with no chicken continuously. Due to high interconnectedness of the supply chain failure of one form does not fail one form it also effects the upstream and downstream. Nothing best explains this but KFC’s recent chicken shortage. The supply chain between KFC and DHL came together on 13 February. But DHL operates the physical warehouse with QSL services where they use its I.T system for demand planning and workflow management. KFC UK chooses DHL because of cost cut measure used by KFC to lower its operational costs due and labour costs and another reason was to improve space utilisation as DHL and QSL plan to maximise the operation of the warehouse and keep inventory visible with the help of software. On 13 February, KFC faced risks in informational and physical sub-chains. QSL’s software issues accident in the warehouse vicinity on which causes a traffic concession as the truck departed from the warehouse. In a result, due to a disruption in KFC’s upstream supply chain, it incurred high operational cost as KFC failed to fulfill orders. It follows a disruption in supply of chicken shortage followed by the gravy shortage which in results closure of almost 70% of KFC restaurants and lost revenue of up to 1 million pounds a day and an estimated of 4.2millon pounds a week. It became a important topic for the people of UK that how the supply chain companies really work and are eagerly waiting for fresh chicken from farms to stores. This situation has proven a reality of modern business and dream for KFC chicken to get back in their restaurants.

Due to the decision was made by the KFC to lower logistic expense until 12 February, KFC’s chicken was delivered by South African-owned distribution group Bidvest, which describes itself as ‘the leading supplier of logistical and supply chain solutions to the UK hospitality and restaurant sector’ (Chicken chaos as KFC closes outlets, 2018). But after the change in the contract, many of the food giant’s outlets began running out of chicken products.

We’ve brought a new delivery partner on board, but they have had a couple of teething problems – getting fresh chicken out to 900 restaurants across the country is pretty complex,” it said, adding: “We

Would not compromise on quality, so no deliveries have meant some of our restaurants are closed and others are operating a limited menu, or shortened hours.” (Holdingson, 2018). They needed to upgrade their systems to achieve operational and business benefits.

This KFC closures have led to complaints and ridicule from customers. YouTube user The BigPac recorded a video of his frustration after finding “three or four” KFC closed in the Manchester. He said: “I cannot believe KFC … we’re going to hit a MacDonald’s up. That is shit mate. We like our chicken.” He added: “I am proper wounded that no KFC is open. Not one. You need to know about the KFC situation.” (https://youtu.be/D8Ww0-rrhzc). The KFC supply breakdown has had a serious impact on many people: the franchisees, the employees as well as the brand as a whole. Immediate lost revenues, huge amounts of management time, damaged shareholder value and a large group of regular customers who tried a different fast food outlet. So, lessons need to be learned (wilding, 2018).

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

A KFC without chicken resemble a bar with no beer. A general shortage of distribution staff coupled with software problems is comprehended to have caused issues at DHL depot, prompts to lack age in KFC’s chicken. This staff shortage was a general problem that was only going to get worse and find themselves in bad situations to KFC (green, 2018). He said senior management at KFC would want to know why DHL, which is not specialised in food delivery, was appointed over previous supplier Bidvest which is ‘Heads will roll on both sides because of this,’ Here’s some recommendation to avoid such problems when choosing a new logistics provider.

1. Do legal requirements- They need to work on three conditions. Firstly, find the organisation or supplier is financially strong enough and not likely to have a difficulty of money to tackle such shortage distribution staff or truck. Secondly, the company must be commercially strong enough check the other contracts and relationship they had? Try to understand their working conditions, how they have worked and the issues they are suffering from? What is their market reputation within the other organisation with high reputation like Burger King, and Taco bell? At last, Operational, what kind of nature they have such as infrastructure, facilities, cold storage, trucks and fleet? Be a viewer to view these all conditions of finance, commercial and operational to get the best outsource by having a trial period for large contracts and check how it goes?
2. Weigh up the risks – usually, logistic operations cost organizations somewhere in the range of between 4-10% of their business value. Along these lines, regardless of whether a 10% money saving advantage is accomplished by changing contractor, this represent 0.4-1.0% of sales. KFC’s loss of sales will in all respects rapidly oppose those advantages.’
3. Contingency planning and Get the contract right ‘We would always insist on detailed planning, rigorous management of the preparation and operations set up, and of course, close communication between both parties well before the long-term contract start. To have a long-term agreement, a face to face communication is crucial to build trust between a company and a distributor to create a trust fair environment. This creates a trust build environment to decrease a non-cooperative behaviour “Ideally, the agreement would determine the conditions in which KFC would feel unable to open a restaurant following a distribution failure and sets out concurred solution for each day that this happens. Contiguous planning as risk assessment to part time at higher cost. Delay to cost may cause the quality by chain disruption but also leads to trade loss.

Information sharing is one of the major mysteries to have a supply chain efficiency and take into consideration in effective decision-making. The quality of the shared information matters in effective information sharing. Integrating information helps the managing in a timely manner and shorten the time needed in tackling supply chain disruptions to have a better collaborate firm project with its partners. Trade-offs should be considered to have a assessment to the solutions.

To conclude, the shutdown of 750 restaurants because of shortage of fried chicken will lead to make the KFC reputation worse in between their customer due to new delivery partner on board. I recommend that KFC should do care about the legal requirements taking in account of financial, commercial and operations such that the new delivery contracts should ensure KFC that there are detailed schedules covering the on and off or transfer activities. If still a new contract fails to deliver their best, KFC should make a planning such that contract should set out the steps to be taken after a failure, recovery steps and ensuring that there are investigations and reports to assure that lessons can be learned. Spectacular failures are virtually never deliberate and damage all of the parties – a true measure of all parties is how they resolve the issues and manage the potential reputation to their brand.

References

1. (2018). Chicken chaos as KFC closes outlets. bbc news. retrieved from http://www.bbc.com: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-43110910
2. Green, w. (2018, 02 23). five lessons from kfc chicken crisis. Retrieved from https://www.cips.org: https://www.cips.org/en/supply-management/analysis/2018/february/five-lessons-from-the-kfc-chicken-crisis/
3. Holdingson, m. (2018). KFC closes most of its UK stores due to chicken shortage. bbc. retrieved from http://www.bbc.com: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-43110910
4. Wilding, r. (2018). kfc: an important mba case study. risk supply chain. retrieved from https://www.cips.org:http://www.cips.org/en/supply-management/analysis/2018/february/five-lessons-from-the-kfc-chicken-crisis/

Leadership And Organizational Culture Of KFC

The vision statement of KFC is brief and direct. This implies the organization has not utilized long tongues and exchanges to conveys its opinion promotion position to the general population and relevant partners. The vision explanation ought to be brief and extensive – it ought to convey the essence of the business, and its future arrangements to enable the partners to comprehend its business theory and business technique (Altaf 2011).

Three degrees of organizational culture

Qualities inside the KFC’s organizational culture

The KFC’s fundamental beliefs are the common objectives, standards and principles. These fundamental beliefs are responsibility, decent variety, quality, joint effort, enthusiasm, honesty and administration. The KFC the board comprehends the significance of imparting the basic beliefs with the goal that every representative could acknowledge and change the conduct in like manner.

Assumptions inside the KFC’s organizational culture

Assumptions are profoundly installed belief systems and methods of reasoning and give the establishment to the KFC’s hierarchical culture. Workers for the most part stay uninformed of these basic presumptions, yet they assume a significant function in plan of fundamental beliefs and visible practices.

Artefacts of KFC’s organizational culture

The artefact are the tangible and visible aspects parts of the KFC’s organizational culture. A few instances of the artefacts are-open entryway strategy, office format and authority clothing regulation for the workers. The social artefacts of the KFC are effectively recognizable by the world.

Leadership

The behaviour of a leader is significant on the grounds that it can impact his/her presentation and that of his/her youngsters. On account of KFC the leaders who head the branches and offices are individuals who show serious extent of trustworthiness and devotion. This is an essential component to KFC, taking into account that this association has a mystery formula that ought to never be uncovered to anybody (Orlando 2008).

A leader ought to be the good example of his/her subjects since that is the thing that deserves admiration towards him/her.

A decent leader ought to be brave and remain steadfast in any event, when things are not filling in true to form. This suggests when extreme choices must be made the leader needs to remain on his ground in any event, when every other person imagines that his/her technique won’t prevail with regards to accomplishing the association’s crucial (Richard 2007). By taking a firm stand the youngsters will be in a situation to put stock in him/her.

KFC has food outlets in various areas, and this implies each branch faces various difficulties subsequently the leader of these branches must be dynamic in their considerations with the goal that they can defeat the difficulties before them.

On the off chance that the leader of groups lose centre during troublesome circumstances the teams will loseconfidence and they feel that if the leader can’t withstand difficulties they are not outstanding. This further proposes the leader ought to be on the forefront in executing choices as opposed to driving from in the background.

Taking everything into account, a leader ought to never disregard situation from youngsters in light of the fact that regardless of whether they are not instructed than him/her they may know some things about an issue. What’s more, a pioneer ought to be unassuming while at the same time interfacing with his/her youngsters since that is the thing that will make them regard him/her (Foti & Hauenstein 2007).

Be that as it may, a leader should set restrictions of his/her connections without sounding presumptuous. Being pomposity will make a correspondence boundary between the pioneer and his/her youngsters and along these lines if there are any undertakings that requires joined endeavors they may not be cultivated in light of the fact that the youngsters may utilize that chance to disrupt the endeavours of their leader (George 2006).