Global Process Standardization: A Case Study

Abstract

and Kate Vitasek Supply Chain VisionsIn the age of globalization, improving a company's operational competitive advantage has become a priority for many companies. One of the ways to achieve this objective is through internal global process management and standardization.Standardization is not a new concept; it has been a key ingredient for success for many firms. McDonald's seeks to serve its customers with the same quality product and experience, whether that restaurant is located in Moscow, Idaho or Moscow, Russia. This requires standardized processes and similar quality ingredients.However, no firm can operate without taking into account various cultural or geographic differences. For instance, the menu in a McDonald's in Tokyo is different than the offerings in Paris, France or in the U.S. These issues are not the sole challenge of restaurants. Increasingly, as firms become more global, their expectation is that their suppliers will be able to support them in the same consistent manner that they did in the domestic market. This, in short, is the dilemma facing firms today: How can processes be globally standardized to meet the needs of a global market, while still taking into account various cultural and geographic dimensions?Using a case study, the research looks at process management of a global third party provider and focuses on a systemic method for implementing and managing a broad scale and on-going process management improvement project. The case study provides a method for understanding what aspects of a process can be modified to the local market without impacting the robustness of the global process and provides a method for continuous improvement.The purpose of this exploratory study is two-fold. First, it is to describe the process used by a transnational firm to identify their most critical processes, based primarily on how they provided value to their business partner. Second, the article will describe how the firm standardized key processes across their global operations.

The Effects of Institutional Distance and Headquarters’ Financial Performance on the Generation of Environmental Standards in Multinational Companies

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The impact of process standardization on business process outsourcing success

“…It seems a safe bet to say that process standardization is desirable (Lee and Kim 1997;Manrodt and Vitasek 2004) and, particularly in service industries, offers technical interchangeability, compliance with regulations, and improved customer confidence (de Vries 1999). Also, many expect that standardized business processes are better to outsource and there are empirical indications that business process standardization reduces the risks of business process outsourcing (BPO; Wüllenweber and Weitzel 2007).…”

The Contribution of Environmental and Social Standards Towards Ensuring Legitimacy in Supply Chain Governance

“…Standardization can be associated with the generic term ''unification'', allowing a reduction of complexity (Köhl et al, 2000;Manrodt and Vitasek, 2004). Numerous standard initiatives exist which vary in their issues addressed, commitment, content and how they are audited (for example O' Rourke, 2000;Power, 1996Power, , 1997.…”