The product design outlines the features of a product or service. To maximize the potential for success, top-notch companies focus only on a few products and then concentrate on those products. At Mcdonald’s, special care is taken to bring customers the best product and outstanding service. Mcdonald’s is why product and services design is considered an essential operations strategy.
At Mcdonald’s, the top management makes strategies and decisions and then passes them on to its branches globally. The company provides both physical goods and insubstantial services, which are homogenous worldwide. McDonald’s products progress from an idea to a functional definition and then perhaps a design. The management then decides if further product development is required or the statement can be terminated (Arndt, 2007).
Mcdonald’s is known for its transition from development to production. The order is displayed if the product design is well up to the management’s standard. If it’s not, they ask for more development on the product design. Thus we see that product design holds importance at Mcdonald’s and is applied in the organization’s decision-making. Each outlet gets its raw materials from specified suppliers to ensure that a burger purchased in New York tastes the same as one purchased in Tokyo.
Every organization which is offering a product or service has a product lifecycle. At Mcdonald’s, market research is the basis for providing customers with the product they want most (McDonald’s, 2008). However, customers’ choices may fade away with time. What is attractive to customers today might be redundant tomorrow, so the emphasis is laid on Mcdonald’s product life cycle.
Each product passes through the four phases of its life cycle: introductory, growth maturity, and decline. To match changing customer preferences, Mcdonald’s has brought new products to its menu over time and removed older ones from the list (McDonald, 2008). However, special care is taken that the sales of an existing product are not put in danger by introducing a new option. Mcdonald’s Knows that the sales of its development will vary at different stages of its lifecycle. The product life cycle gives Mcdonald’s a hint on when to introduce a new product and phase out an old one.
Continuous new product development strategies are McDonald’s key to success. Mcdonald’s firmly believes that product development may well determine not only product success but also the firm’s future. In 1991, the company spent a lot on new products, but after a series of flops, the company announced that burger was their expertise and they will extend that line only instead of wandering in so many directions (Arndt, 2007). After this, the management opened new stores instead of making new products and squeezing more from existing stores by making them 24/7. New kitchen systems are introduced from time to time for the addition of more unique, delicious items on the menu. The management and researchers continuously survey customers to find their preferences and then put the feedback to functional ideas.
References
- McDonalds Corporation. 2008. Marketing at McDonalds. Web.
- Arndt, M. 2007. McDonald’s 24/7. Web.