By: Pulkit Sheokand 80303130043

Introduction
John Martin is the CEO of Taco Bell. The company had doubled its sales and tripled its profits by the end of 1993, after the dramatic changes initiated by John Martin in 1988. John Martin wanted Taco Bell to grow not only in fast food segment but he wanted to dominate the convenience food business.

Improvements in processes
Taco Bell used value strategy by improving the operations fundamentally and not raising the prices for five years. Points of access (POAs) increased from 3670 in 1991 to 9707 in 1993. Points of access were any point at which consumers could access Taco Bell products. Taco Bell also developed a new line of snack foods.

Improvements in management
Team-managed units (TMUs) were developed to increase the span of responsibility. TMUs were teams of crew employees trained to manage the store without a full-time manager. The titles Restaurant General Manager and Assistant Restaurant General Manager were changed to General Manager and Assistant General Manager, respectively. This change indicated that their responsibilities had expanded beyond the traditional restaurant. This gave them more decision-making authority and more accountability for restaurant performance. TMUs were the critical vehicle that permitted GMs to manage multiple POAs. General Managers focused on training and coaching team managed units (TMUs) to become more self-sufficient, thus allowing managers to increase their span of responsibility. Compensation system of Taco Bell changed. Crew members were compensated for additional responsibilities. GMs had variable pay system but it was much more leveraged. Managers base pay averaged $30000 and they were also able to earn upwards of another $30000 in bonus pay. Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction rankings steadily increased. Customer intercept program was implemented companywide. In this program, customers were asked to rate Taco Bell on the FACT (Fast, Accurate, Clean, and Temperature) criteria, quality of food, ease of access, congeniality of the crew and the quality of facilities. The company relied on customer information to correct problems immediately, to understand the impact of changes, and also to anticipate future customer needs.

New Initiatives
Superbrand: Taco Bell being referred to as superbrand was the new initiatives taken up by John Martin and employees. Taco Bell managed across three brands: brand Taco Bell, Hot-n-Now, and Chevys Mexican Restaurants. The company expanded its signature brand through Taco Bell supermarket retail and Taco Bell international. Shared Resources: It identified where to allocate either shared or dedicated resources against the companys lines of business in order to capitalize on the strengths of Taco Bells existing infrastructure. It involved utilizing its existing infrastructure, systems, processes, people, and functions across multiple business concepts.

Learning Organisation
This was developed to quickly transmit information throughout the company in ways that added value. The company believed the benefits to creating such an organisation were an increased individual awareness and collective IQ of the organisation, greater organisation flexibility, enabling of the institutionalisation of employee self-sufficiency and innovation, and increased individual and team productivity.

Information systems
To improve efficiency
TACO (Total Automation of Company Operations): An information and communication system was needed to support Taco Bell managers in their new roles. As a result, Taco Bell implemented the TACO system that linked each POS system with the headquarters. TACO provided all levels of management with better information and improved communications within the company. It had given the stores quick access to detailed data. It also automated a number of existing processes such as labour scheduling, inventory ordering, and payroll. TACO II: A more user-friendly computer system was introduced to support local crew members by allowing them to share information with each other to improve job performance.

Operations Technology
Flex Station: It was a taco assembler capable of making 900 tacos per hour without human assistance. This machine helped in reducing waste, increasing consistency and quality, and reducing kitchen labour by 16 hours per day. Dynamic Routing/ Bin Management: It would balance the workload between the two assembly lines of staging and speciality items. Customer Activated Terminal (CAT): It was a touch-screen ordering terminal positioned near the entrance of Taco Bell stores. It utilized a graphics interface and allowed customers to easily order their meals via a terminal instead of a cashier.

ISSUE
How should Taco Bell position itself to achieve its envisioned $25 billion in sales and 200,000 Points of Access (POAs) by the year 2000?

RECOMMENDATIONS
Taco Bell needs to think bigger and start thinking about Taco Bell the brand. Taco Bell needs to think about capturing more than the consumers fast food dollar. While Chevys restaurant is providing Taco Bell with a piece of the consumers full service restaurant dollar, and Taco Bell brands are showing up in supermarkets, much more can be done. Partnerships with other successful brands can increase the visibility of the Taco Bell name. Sponsorships of events and other public contests can also give Taco Bell needed exposure to grow the brand. Taco Bell has continued to innovate the products it offers to its customers. In order to reach its sales targets, it is necessary for the company to continue to deliver new and interesting products that the consumers will enjoy. This is necessary in both Taco Bells restaurants and supermarket retail sector. Taco Bell must continue to strive to be a truly global company. 200000 POAs are not enough to drive $25 billion in sales. By expanding the restaurant base, this will also open the door to expand the supermarket retail stores.