MANAGING OPERATIONS

Managing Operations



Managing Operations

Introduction

Operations management is one of the three major functions of any organization along with marketing and finance. The operations function is comprised of a significant percentage of all employees and physical assets in most organizations (Thomas, 2005). Operations management determines what should go into an operating system such as equipment, labor, tools, facilities, materials, energy, and information and how these inputs can best be obtained and used to satisfy the requirements of the market place

Operations Management: Health Water Bottling Company, Nova, KSA

Since its inception in 1973, HWB has always distinguished itself from its competitors by maintaining its quest to create innovations with the bottled water market. Capitalizing upon over 25 years of experience, HWB has become renowned as being the premier provider of bottled water in the Kingdom and beyond, despite being faced with immense competition. Its main competitors include a Saudi company, Al Hada, and the international brand names, Nestle and Aquafina. HWB takes immense pride in being the first company to have been awarded the prestigious "Quality Mark" by the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization.

Upon launching the new brand “Nova” water in 2002, it was positioned as a premium product. Marketing strategies were directed straight to the consumers, using the slogan “Good for you”. It addressed the health benefits of drinking water. “Nova” always relates to the goodness of water. “Nova” was always image driven in its campaigns which kept it on a different level from local products associated with international brands and are price driven. Development on the product gives “Nova” an edge over big players who are known to focus on limited stock keeping units in their market penetration strategy. (Chase, 2007)

It takes a true leader to establish traditions that others will follow. Such qualities are prevalent in all aspects of Health Water Bottling Co. (HWB). Health Water Bottling Co. Ltd. (HWB) is a privately owned company which started in 1973 and is situated in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. It's main line of business is the manufacturing and filling of bottled drinking water since over 25 years and is considered a pioneer in this field. The company produces and sells its product of bottled water under the “nova” brand name which is widely available throughout the Kingdom. In the year 2001, (Chase, 2007) the company moved location to a new site 100Km east of Riyadh into a newly built modern Plant with a state of the art production lines and machinery. The new Plant sits on a rich source of water that is pumped from two underground deep wells. The company is ISO 9001-2000 certified. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is composed of national standards bodies from over 75 countries. It is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards.

The Plant implements the highest international standards of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) and is yearly inspected and certified by international inspection organizations such as NSF (National Sanitization Foundation), ABWA (Asian Bottled Water Association) and also local Health ...