Table of Contents
I.
Introduction and project summary. .................................................................................................... 2
II.
Analysis of the current service process ............................................................................................... 2
a.
Process mapping of the current service process ................................................................................. 3
b.
Total process time ................................................................................................................................ 4
c.
Total Costs ............................................................................................................................................ 4
d.
Summary of the findings and key concerns noted .............................................................................. 5
III.
Proposed Service Process................................................................................................................. 5
a.
Process mapping of the proposed service process ............................................................................. 7
b.
New Process time ................................................................................................................................. 7
c.
New Process Costs ................................................................................................................................ 8
d.
Summary of the recommendations and impact on time .................................................................... 8
IV.
Change Management ..................................................................................................................... 10
a.
Potential concerns and recommendations ....................................................................................... 10
b.
Communication Plan .......................................................................................................................... 10
c.
Training plan ....................................................................................................................................... 10
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I.
Introduction and project summary.
Eric Stilwell is a 22 year old Man looking to purchase an Ice-cream business from his Grandfather- Miles
Stilwell. Miles started the business 20 Years ago after his retirement as a Mechanical Engineer. The
business has 2 employees who are Miles’ friends and fellow retirees. The business operates in the summer
months of June, July and August between Noon and 8Pm for 7 days a week.
Miles has built a reputation of good customer service and is keen on sustaining that reputation when Eric
takes over the business. This however comes at a great cost of slow service which Eric sees an opportunity
to turn around the company.
This paper has been written to provide Eric with a roadmap of transforming the business to be more
efficient in serving its customers while maintaining the good reputation that his grandfather has built.
We focus our attention on the processes that the business undertakes while selling ice-cream. The paper
begins by analyzing the current process that Mr. Miles employs. We map the current process in a diagram
taking note of all steps and persons responsible under each step. The same is done on a worksheet so as
to be able to analyze the time and costs of the project. We then identify the gaps that exist in the current
process. This becomes the basis of our proposed changes which we list while noting there effects.
We thereafter map our new proposed process and analyze the time and cost of the new process. This is
accompanied by an impact assessment which demonstrates the time and cost impact of the new changes.
On change management, we then hypothesize potential challenges and concerns that may arise as Eric
implements the new process while giving recommendations on how to tackle them. We conclude by giving
a communication and training plan that Eric will use.
II.
Analysis of the current service process
As noted above the key selling point for the ice-cream business was good customer service. It was this
“small town touch” that really brought the customers to the ice cream stand over and over again. In this
section, we look at the current selling process and its time and cost. Below is a breakdown on the steps
taken in selling one ice-cream cone;
1. Customer waits in line – 10 minutes
2. Miles takes their order (and is even patient enough for the very small customers to take make up
their own mind) – 7 min
3. Miles relays the information to the ice cream to the food server (David) – 2 min
4. David puts the ice cream into the cone (who shows magic tricks at the same time) – 10 min
5. April adds sprinkles or chocolate sauce to the top – (and always ensures that even the littlest ones
pick their own toppings which takes a lot of time) – 7 min
6. April ensures that the ice cream is placed into the hands of the customer – 3 min – before she can
move onto the next order
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a. Process mapping of the current service process
Waiting Area
Start
Customer
Arrives
Taking Orders-Miles
Miles
Takes
Order
from
customer
Sprinkles-April
Take topping
order from
client
No
Order
Satisfies
customer
Wait in line
for 10 Mins
Food Server-David
Yes
David
Serves while
performing
Magic Trick
Adds sprinkles or
chocolate sauce
to the top
Place ice-cream
on the hands of
the customer
End
3|Page
b. Total process time
The table below represents the time analysis of current process. Value Added time is the time that goes
into producing the good/service that the client is paying for. Non Value Added time is the time that goes
into other activities that don’t support the production of goods and services that the client is paying for.
Based on the information provided, we categories the process time as below.
Process Item
Value Added
Time per cone
(Min)
Non Value
Added
time per
cone
(Mins)
Total Mins
-
10
7
10
7
-
2
2
10
-
10
7
-
7
17
3
22
3
39
1. Customer waits in line – 10 minutes
2.Miles takes their order – 7 min
3.Miles relays the information to the
ice cream to the food server (David)
4. David puts the ice cream into the
cone (who shows magic tricks at the
same time)
5.April adds sprinkles or chocolate
sauce to the top
6.April ensures that the ice cream is
placed into the hands of the customer
before she can move onto the next
order
Total
c. Total Costs
To estimate the process cost, we used the wage rate provided to estimate the cost of man-hours that go
into the process. Even though Miles doesn’t draw a salary, we still used the given wage rate to estimate
the cost of his time. We also used the same wage rate to estimate the Cost of the Non Value added Costs.
Below are our findings.
Process Item
1. Customer waits in line – 10 minutes
2.Miles takes their order – 7 min
3.Miles relays the information to the ice
cream to the food server (David)
4. David puts the ice cream into the cone
(who shows magic tricks at the same
time)
5.April adds sprinkles or chocolate sauce
to the top
6.April ensures that the ice cream is
placed into the hands of the customer
before she can move onto the next order
Total
Added Costs ($)
-
Non Value
Added Cost
($)
3.33
2.33
Total ($)
0.67
3.33
2.33
5.67
1.00
7.33
13.00
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d. Summary of the findings and key concerns noted
From the information provided, it takes the business about 39 minutes to serve one cone of ice-cream.
22 Minutes (about 56%) is non value added time while 17 minutes is value added time. Based on the labor
cost data provided, it takes about $13 worth of man hours to serve one cone of Ice-cream. $5.7 is Value
added while $7.3 is Non value added.
While the business prides itself as a customer service champion, it is very inefficient in its operations. The
overall time of 39 minutes per cone is too long especially given that customers wait in line for 10 minutes.
Below is a summary of our key concerns;
1. The time spent by the customer on the line is too long. Ten minutes represents 26% of the time
it takes to serve the ice-cream.
2. The time it takes for miles to take an order is too long and unnecessary. 7 minutes is too long and
becomes a big inconvenience to other customers waiting.
3. After collecting the Order, miles takes two minutes to relay the info to David. This is probably due
to a communication barrier or an inefficient mode of communication.
4. David’s service of putting the ice-cream into the cone takes a long time due to the magic tricks.
5. April ensuring that every client picks their toppings individually is inefficient and wastes a long
time.
6. April ensuring that he places the ice-cream on each client is also inefficient and wastes a long
time.
7. Miles pays a wage of $20 per hour which is very high given the low productivity of David and
Miles.
III.
Proposed Service Process
After looking at the current process in section II, we find that, while the business is giving good service to
customers, the process involves is very costly to the business due to the time it takes. We propose to Eric
to make some changes that will help the business be more efficient and serve more customers while
maintaining the good customer service that his Grandfather had set. The changes are focused on three
areas; Processes, Personnel and Structure.
Process Changes
1. Introduce an Ice-cream menu for all types of ice-creams being sold and available toppings. They
should be well displayed so that customers on the queue can see. Eric can also make some
Portable Menu brochures to give away to customers who visit. This will reduce the time it takes
for customers to make orders from 7 minutes to 1 minute.
2. Eric should get rid of the role of Miles of taking orders and allow customers to give their orders
directly to the ice-cream server. This is because they will make there choices from the menu.
3. Eric should get rid of the role of April of adding toppings and consolidate it with that of the icecream server. Since the customer will have already chosen the ice-cream and toppings, this role
can be done together with the magic show.
4. Customer should give the order for the ice-cream and for the toppings directly to the ice-cream
server. Having read the menu, they should decide what ice-cream and toppings they want before
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engaging the food server. This eliminates the need for any communication between the Ice-cream
server and any other person.
5. Reduce the Magic show from 10 minutes to 3 minutes, and restrict this to children only.
6. Introduce an Ice cream tray for placing the ice-cream after toppings have been applied. This will
ensure that the client picks the ice-cream themselves after the server has completed the service,
therefore eliminating the time for handing over the Ice-cream.
Personnel Changes1. Eric should ensure that he receives proper orientation about the business from Miles. While he
may have observed the business all his life, it is important to get a proper orientation so that he
doesn’t miss anything.
2. David and April have already expressed their willingness to leave the business. Eric should
therefore start the process of hiring new staff to replace them. So as to maintain the same level
of service that David & April offered, Eric should request them to assist him in recruiting and
training the 2 new personnel.
3. Once they have successfully recruited two new staff, they should train them in both service and
the magic show. Eric should ensure that all the skills that David, and April have are passed on to
the new employees.
4. Reduce the fixed Wage of $20 per hour and introduce a bonus reward system. This will motivate
the new employees to implement the new system.
Structural Changes1. Since the role of Miles (Taking orders) and that of April (Applying toppings) have been
consolidated into one role (Ice-cream server), Eric should introduce two new service desks for the
two new employees. This will ensure that customer queues are reduced by serving more people
at the same time.
2. Eric should introduce a desk for himself as an operations manager where he can monitor the
whole process from start to end, and assist to remove any bottlenecks that may arise in the
process.
6|Page
a. Process mapping of the proposed service process
Following the gaps identified in section II and the proposed changes above, below is a map for the new
service process.
Waiting Area
Ice-Cream Server
Start
Serves Icecream while
performing
Magic show
Customer
views the
Menu
Apply
toppings
No
Custome
r
Decides?
__
Yes
Customer relays
the information
to the Ice-cream
server
Places Ice-cream on
a Ice-cream tray for
customer to pick
End
b. New Process time
If Eric follows our recommendations, he will be able to reduce the number of processes from 6 to 4,
thereby reducing the total time required for the process from 39 minutes to 7.5 minutes. This represents
a 81% reduction. Value added time reduces from 17 minutes to 4.5 minutes which represents 74%
reduction while the non-value added time reduces from 22 minutes to 3 minutes which represents an
84% reduction. The table below shows the time required for the new process.
7|Page
Non Value
Added
Value Added time per
Time per cone cone
(Min)
(Mins)
Total Mins
3.00
Process Item
1.Customer waits in line as he/she reads the menu
2. Ice-cream server puts the ice cream into the cone
(who shows magic tricks at the same time)
3. Ice-cream server adds sprinkles or chocolate
sauce to the top
4. Ice-cream server places the Ice-cream on the tray
Total
Percentage reduction in time
4.00
-
0.50
-
4.50
-74%
3.00
-86%
7.50
-81%
c. New Process Costs
As a consequence of the reduced process time, process costs reduce from $13 to $2.5 representing an
81% reduction. Value added cost declines from $5.7 to $1.5 representing a 74% decline while Non value
added time reduces from$7.3 to $1 representing 86% reduction.
Process Item
Non
Value
Value Added Added
Time
per time per
cone ($)
cone ($)
Total ($)
1.Customer waits in line as he/she reads the
menu
2. Ice-cream server puts the ice cream into the
cone (who shows magic tricks at the same time)
3. Ice-cream server adds sprinkles or chocolate
sauce to the top
4. Ice-cream server places the Ice-cream on the
tray
Total
Percentage reduction in time
1.00
1.33
-
0.17
-
1.50
-74%
1.00
-86%
2.50
-81%
d. Summary of the recommendations and impact on time
No
Recommendation
1. Introduce an Ice-cream menu for all types
of ice-creams being sold and available
toppings. They should be well displayed so
that customers on the queue can see. Eric
can also make some Portable Menu
Impact
Measure
Reduce the time to +7 minutes
take orders from 7
minutes to zero since
customers
decide
when on the line.
8|Page
brochures to give away to customers who
visit. This will reduce the time it takes for
customers to make orders from 7 minutes
to 1 minute.
2. Eric should get rid of the role of Miles of 
taking orders and allow customers to give
their orders directly to the ice-cream
server. This is because they will make their
choices from the menu.
3. Eric should get rid of the role of April of
adding toppings and consolidate it with that
of the ice-cream server. Since the customer
will have already chosen the ice-cream and
toppings, this role can be done together
with the magic show.
Reduce the time +9 minutes
to take orders
from 7 minutes to
zero
since
customers decide
when on the line
 Eliminates
the
time used to relay
info to the icecream server
Reduce the time for +6.5 Minutes
serving Toppings from
7 minutes to 0.5
minutes since the role
is done together with
the Serving and magic
show
Reduce the time for +6.5 Minutes
serving Toppings from
7 minutes to 0.5
minutes since the role
is done together with
the Serving and magic
show
4. Customer should give the order for the icecream and for the toppings directly to the
ice-cream server. Having read the menu,
they should decide what ice-cream and
toppings they want before engaging the
food server. This eliminates the need for
any communication between the Ice-cream
server and any other person.
5. Reduce the Magic show from 10 minutes to Reduces the serving +6 Minutes
3 minutes, and restrict this to children only. time from 10 Minutes
to 4 Minutes
6.
Introduce an Ice cream tray for placing the Eliminates the time for +3 Minutes
ice-cream after toppings have been handing over the iceapplied. This will ensure that the client picks cream to the customer
the ice-cream themselves after the server
has completed the service, therefore
eliminating the time for handing over the
Ice-cream.
7.
Since the role of Miles (Taking orders) and Reduces the queuing +6 Minutes
that of April (Applying toppings) have been time for customers
consolidated into one role (Ice-cream from 10 Mins to 4
server), Eric should introduce two new Mins
service desks for the two new employees.
This will ensure that customer queues are
reduced by serving more people at the
same time.
9|Page
IV.
Change Management
a. Potential concerns and recommendations
In implementing the proposed changes discussed above, Eric will be expected to encounter several
challenges and will therefore be required to prepare plans to counter these changes. The table below list
some of the challenges and recommendations to overcome them.
Potential concerns
Recommendations on mitigating the concerns
Resistance from his grandfather Miles especially Eric will need to inform his grandfather all the
on the reduced magic time
changes before taking the business. He will need
to demonstrate that customer service will not be
compromised and that the stand will be able to
serve more customers hence more smiles on
people’s faces
David & April may refuse to transfer their skills to Once Miles is on board, Eric can use him to
the new employees after Miles leaves
convince David & April to support Eric since they
have been friends for a long time.
New Employees may take a long time to Eric should retain David and April for the complete
understand the concept.
duration of the training to ensure that the new
guys learn everything from them
Customers may be disappointed with the reduced Introduce a new incentive to ensure they don’t
magic show minutes
become too unhappy. This may come in the form
of an extra scoop of ice-cream for the kids, or extra
toppings.
b. Communication Plan
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Document the proposed new processes and share them with Miles, David and April.
Collect their feedback and incorporate it into your final plan.
Personally engage your customers to collect their views on the proposed changes.
Collect and incorporate customer feedback into your final plan.
Create an Operations manual for your employees, clearly stipulating the role of each of them. This
will serve as a reference point in case they forget something.
6. Co-ordinate all aspects of the implementation of the new plan to ensure you bridge any
communication gaps that may arise from all stakeholders
c. Training plan
1. Create an Operations manual for your employees, clearly stipulating the role of each of them. This
will serve as a reference point in case they forget something.
2. Assign David and April the role of training your employees and incentivize them well to ensure
they are well motivated to conduct the training. Since they are less incentivized by money, this
may come in the form of free ice-cream for their friends and families as well as public recognition
for the role they have played in the business.
10 | P a g e
3. Incentivize your new employees to learn as much as possible from David and April by awarding
them a learning bonus as well as commendations for new skills learnt.
11 | P a g e