Optimizing Santa’s Christmastime Operations Essay Example

to technology contributes to Suntan's growing list of issues.

It causes greater fluctuations In product demand, a wider source pool for trend-setting, and the ability for children to learn of such shifts in an Immediate In order to Improve future Christmas, Santa needs to update the North manner. Pole's software. He also needs to develop teams of elves that he can send Into the field to generate first-hand reports based on consumer purchases and interests in plan for his manufacturing process, without outsourcing the work.

With a broader reduction schedule, Santa would be able to implement some holiday-time morale boosters to help his workers relax.

Stress leads to a whole list of work-related issues. At the North Pole, Christmas is about the children. Reminding his team of what really matters will put the spirit back into Christmas and help Santa alleviate minor concerns, allowing his team to focus on solving major problems. Recommendation/ Implementation The best solution for Santa is to upgrade his technology, diversify his product, and create his own trends among children.

New software will help elves sort incoming eaters, matching senders with their requests and their place on the naughty or nice list.

Using a search optimization program will sort, store, and help users search for children's data by categories. For example, Santa could use this program to see how many boys in America asked for Logos. He could also view past requests to better understand the likes and dislikes of each child. Having this information will help him and his team develop a more standardized production schedule by maximizing the potential of every second available through a MR.-like strategy.

Diversifying reduces

can solve a large portion of production issues.

If video games are this year's 'it' toy, the new software can pinpoint what categories are best-sellers from which Santa can recreate various games in each category and distribute them accordingly. Not every child has to have a specific game when a similar one would suit them. One thing Santa should remember is to diversify according to geographic location so that children living in the same area receive the same game. If children in England and the U.

S. Enjoy car racing games, give the children in England one game and the children in America another.

Remembering to keep similar products in one location is the only way diversifying children's gifts will be successful. The first step in implementing this plan is to upgrade the North Pole's software. From here, a team of elves can begin inputting children's wishes from the past five years, securing enough history to help Santa make future decisions.

Santa and Dexter Performers can then create a plan to keep the shop operating at maximum efficiency. Once 'standard' items are identified, the team can begin production on them right away creating a holding inventory to fulfill upcoming demands.

According to one consultant, this will "reduce capacity requirements in his busiest season without a significant increase in working capital and without taking a large inventory risk" (Nimrod, 2005, 49). Next major step will be to increase research effort among children's trends to better prepare for last-minute sensations. Diversifying products can also help offset any unexpected overloads.

If market research shows that 8-year-old girls are highly interested in Barbie, then producing Barbie's and similar dolls

will counteract any fluctuations in the seven- or nine-year-old groups.

Depending on who the children re influenced by (younger/older children, pop stars, movie stars, etc. ), their likes and dislikes will change. For this reason, Santa should begin a public relations company catering to celebrity endorsements. The head elf of his field marketing team could control which teen sensation endorses which product, creating an avenue through which Santa can retain his anonymity while promoting over-stocked products such as the Empower.

With all the Christmas magic existing at the North Pole, Santa will about setting his own trends. A popular idea in retail today is a rolling mix strategy.

One consultant commented on a Spanish clothing company and how they have implemented this into their marketing strategy. "It makes a small weekly shipment to each store, and when the clothes are gone, they're gone.

Ezra has trained consumers to come back every week to see what's new - and created urgency to buy while the item is available" Monsoons, 2005, 44). Along with his public relations company, Santa should contract deals with toy stores beginning in October to give children a 'preview of his stock. Giving kids a glance into Suntan's workshop would create mass demand for the previewed toys.