Food Production: New Venture Tips #45

Why Operational Plan is Important for Food Production Facilities?
By *Ameen Ahsan Strategy Consulting*

An operational plan is a document that lays out the basic structures and practices of a business. It may exist as an independent document or as part of a larger business plan. Be it a Food manufacturing business or any other manufacturing business, an operational plan is absolutely vital because operations are intrinsically complex and detail-intensive. To successfully outline the operations of a manufacturing business, an operational plan must address several key items.

Facilities and Equipment
An operational plan for a manufacturing company should detail the metrics and operational status of all company facilities and equipment. It should take into account geographical locations, floor space, operational purposes and floor plans of the facilities. It should also describe the various types of manufacturing equipment that the facilities employ, giving information regarding their purpose and their state of repair.

Supply Chain
A supply chain is the total organization that a company utilizes to acquire items from suppliers. Manufacturing companies tend to employ very complex supply chains because they often need a wide array of materials and components from various suppliers. Due to the intrinsic complexity of such arrangements, a food manufacturing company's operational plan should include information on the supply chain and how the company plans on managing it.

Labor Structure
The labor structure section of a manufacturing company's operational plan should take into account the various employees that work for the company and what they do. It should also lay out the organizational structure of the company, especially when it comes to hierarchy, showing which managers are in charge of which aspects of the business. This section should stipulate who is the responsible party in every aspect of production.

Production Process
While the labor structure section details the structure of the workforce from the prospective of human capital, the production process section details the specifics of manufacturing from the prospective of components and materials moving down the production line. It should lay out the steps of production and give numerical details, such as production capacity.

Storage and Distribution
To allow for quick responsiveness to orders, a food manufacturing company must create a certain amount of a product and store it as inventory. This inventory must have a detailed and logical system of storage to allow for ease of access. The operational plan should explain this system. It should also explain the methods that the company will use to distribute its products after production, whether it plans to do so by purchasing its own vehicles or by contracting with transportation firms.

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