OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT

Operations Management Assignment



Abstract

This assignment focuses on the operations and processes that are used in British Tobacco Company. The study of the entire process of production of the company revealed that their process is very effective and efficient. Some changes that have been suggested will benefit the company and make it more cost effective. All of the improvements that have been suggested are related to further improving the process of production in the company. The recommendations if followed will lead the company towards having a global competitive advantage which will result in increase in profits for the company.

Abstractii

Introduction1

1.Cigarettes1

2.Smokeless Snus1

3.Cigars2

4.Roll-your-own2

5.Pipe Tobacco2

Global Drive Brands2

Discussion3

Process Flow Analysis3

Process Evaluation5

Speed5

Dependability5

Flexibility5

Cost6

Quality6

Little's Law7

Improvements7

Recommendations8

References9

Operations Management

Introduction

British Tobacco Company as formed in 1902 by James Buck Duke. It was set up as a joint venture between Imperial Tobacco Company of UK and American tobacco Company. The company was formed to trade outside England and America and it has established its roots across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. The company is headquartered in London, England. British Tobacco Company is the second largest company in the world, in terms of sales. The company has the position of being a market leader in almost 50 countries and it has its operations in almost 180 countries around the world (www.bat.com).

The main products of British Tobacco Company are:

Cigarettes

British Tobacco Company produces cigarettes to many types because different people have different tastes in cigarettes.

Smokeless Snus

Snus is a grounded tobacco that is moist, it comes in tiny pouches or in loose form and it placed under the upper lip. The nicotine in snus is in equal quantity of cigarettes. Snus is widely used in Sweden and Norway and is banned in most of the countries.

Cigars

The cigars that British Tobacco Company makes are in different shapes and sizes. There are mainly two types of cigars. One is the long filler cigars that are mostly hand-made and the other is the short filler cigars that are mostly machine made and consist of large variety of tobacco strands.

Roll-your-own

The roll-your-own tobacco is also called hand-rolling tobacco and fine cut. The roll-your-own tobacco is used to make cigarette yourself. It is usually made with cigarette papers and loose tobacco.

Pipe Tobacco

The usage of people has declined with time. It constitutes to about 1 percent of the world's consumption of tobacco.

Global Drive Brands

The four Global Drive Brands of British Tobacco Company are Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall and Dunhill. They contribute more than 30 percent in the total revenues of the company. The other international brands of British tobacco Company are Viceroy, Vogue, Kool, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, John Player Gold Leaf and State Express 555.

The main process of British Tobacco Company is processing and blending tobacco with other ingredients to form the desired brands. Then this tobacco is filled in the cigarette paper to form the desired types of cigarettes.

Discussion

Process Flow Analysis

Diagram of Process of Making Cigarettes

As, the main product of British Tobacco Company is cigarette, the process that has been shown is ...