Internship International Business Lennart Luten
Student number: 1228757 Supervisor: Mr. drs. L. Pries Manager Quality & Customer Care Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply
Supervisor: Mr. drs. D.J. Schaap
Department of Management Information Systems Supervisor: Mr. W.W. Wijnbeek
Department of Law University of Groningen
Groningen / Joure, December of 2004
Customer focus at Douwe Egberts CT&S
Striving for Customer Delight!
Sara Lee|Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply Leeuwarderweg 1 8501 ZD Joure The Netherlands University of Groningen
Faculty of Management and Organization Postbox 800
9700 AV Groningen The Netherlands
Lennart Luten
Groningen / Joure, December of 2004
All rights reserved.
No part of this report may be reproduced and/or published in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the holder of the copyrights.
Copyrights © 2004
The copyrights of the published report are owned exclusively by Lennart Luten and Sara Lee|Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply in Joure, The Netherlands.
Customer focus at Douwe Egberts CT&S
-
Striving for Customer Delight!
Summary
Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply (DE CT&S) is part of the Coffee & Tea Division of the Sara Lee|DE Corporation. The organization is a coffee supply centre, located in Joure, that produces instant coffee (soluble coffee) and liquid coffee (pure coffee extract) for the export companies and intercompanies of Sara Lee|DE, also called Operating Companies.
Well-known premium brands that DE CT&S produces are: Douwe Egberts Moccona (instant) and Cafitesse (liquid).
Motivation
Since 2000, CT&S has been monitoring the customer satisfaction of its OPCO’s to make sure that a constant level of service and product quality is guaranteed and that customers are kept satisfied. At the moment CT&S is in the process of moving from a product-oriented (or functional) towards a process-oriented organization. At the same time CT&S wants to increase its customer focus. CT&S management has also posed a need to get an in-depth insight in the potential of CT&S InSite, the ‘Knowledge Area’ of CT&S on the Sara Lee|DE Intranet, in increasing the level of customization of CT&S. This research entails a (follow-up) customer satisfaction- and an InSite-specific research that are aimed at increasing the customer focus at CT&S and so contribute to the current shift towards a customized organization.
Problem
The desire at CT&S was actually threefold: (1) the customer satisfaction had to be measured and compared to the outcome of 2002 to see if new improvement programmes are needed, (2) the potential of CT&S InSite in better serving the OPCO’s had to be assessed and (3) recommendations regarding how to improve the customer focus at CT&S had to be provided so that CT&S can become a Supply Centre of Excellence with a strong customer orientation.
Objective
The overall objective of this ‘customer focus research’ was thus to provide the CT&S management team with useful recommendations regarding the (future) customization level of CT&S, based on the customer satisfaction- and InSite-specific research.
Methods
For conducting the research the choice was made to adapt and improve the customer satisfaction questionnaires of 2002 and incorporate an additional dimension that captured information regarding CT&S InSite. A questionnaire has been developed for each of the four front-office departments that participated in this research. The questionnaires were inspired on the Servqual-model for measuring the level of service quality. In the Servqual-model the service quality is brought about in the difference between the expected and the experienced level of service quality. For this research a somewhat different approach has been taken (initiated in 2000); instead of measuring the expectations and experiences of the customers, the choice was made to measure on the one hand the importance attached to certain statements and on the other hand the experience with these statements. Both the CT&S employees and the customers have completed the questionnaires. The employees were asked to indicate what they expected that the customers would score and the customers were asked what they actually experienced. This way an in-depth insight into the expected and experienced customer satisfaction could be gained. Through the creation of a new dimension called ‘InSite accessibility’ I have been able to (1) measure the customer satisfaction on this dimension and (2) to gather additional information regarding the potential of CT&S InSite in increasing the customization level of CT&S.
Results
From the research it appeared that the customers are somewhat less satisfied with CT&S compared to two years ago. For 2004, the overall satisfaction grade is a __ and the average
reporting grade is a __. This level of satisfaction is consistent with the expectation of the front-office of CT&S. The lower average satisfaction grade also means that CT&S overall does not meet the in 2002 proposed satisfaction norm value of a __.
Just as in 2002, the Instants category of the customers scores remarkably higher than the Liquids category, with satisfaction grades of respectively a __ and a __. Overall it seems that __% of the customers are satisfied with CT&S, __% are reasonably satisfied and __% are dissatisfied.
The customers indicate that they would like to make more use of CT&S InSite if the usage of this Knowledge Area is enhanced first. Also the customers think that CT&S could take the next step in customization through CT&S InSite. With respect to the customization level of the departments within CT&S it appears that not all departments know exactly what the customers actually perceive to be important.
Conclusions
With respect to the customer satisfaction it appears that CT&S overall only exceeds the norm value of a __ on three dimensions, being ‘politeness’, ‘approachability’ and ‘credibility’. The other dimensions all score a __ or lower. Based on these scores it can be concluded that the customers perceive Douwe Egberts CT&S to be a credible organization with front-office employees that are in general very polite and easy to approach, but occasionally work to slow and thereby lack to fully understand the situation of the customers.
With respect to CT&S Insite, as much as __% of the customers indicate to be non-users.
Only __% of the customers indicates to be fun user and approximately __% of all customers indicate to be casual users. __% of the customers indicate to be heavy users and __% of the customers have not indicated with which user behaviour group they can identify themselves best. Overall it can be concluded that the Marketing and Quality departments of the OPCO’s make more use of CT&S InSite than the Planning and Logistics and Finance &
Administration departments.
With respect to customization it can be concluded that not all departments know what the customers actually perceive to be important and that these departments thus have the wrong priorities (regardless of the current customer satisfaction with these departments).
Recommendations
With respect to increasing the customer satisfaction with and the customization level of CT&S I recommend that every department should focus on the specific dimensions and aspects that are either perceived to be most important by the customers or that score below the norm value of a __. Follow-up research could clarify the root causes of the least satisfied customers per department. Additionally I recommend that every department should seriously examine the possibilities for developing and introducing specific service designs and standards that are focused on the dimensions and aspects that are perceived to be most important to the customer. In my opinion a new customer satisfaction research should be conducted in 2006 to measure whether or not the customer satisfaction has (positively) changed compared to the current situation.
With respect to CT&S InSite I recommend that a sequence of five activities is indispensable in achieving customization through CT&S InSite. Follow-up research could possibly provide a range of additional relevant information of how exactly to tailor the presented information to the needs of the customers. Furthermore I recommend that CT&S should either implicitly or (much rather) explicitly make use of a CRM-system aimed at continually taking the customers’ needs as a starting point. This CRM-system could form the counterpart of the new environment within CT&S aimed at operational excellence.
Preface
Coffee is the second most traded product in the world. In the Netherlands as much as 85% of the population consumes coffee on a daily basis. In 2003, the Dutch people consumed on average 142 liters of coffee per capita, which puts The Netherlands on the seventh place in the list of worldwide coffee consuming countries. Whether you prefer to drink cappuccino or just plain black coffee, people can choose from a wide range of coffee variations and blends to cater for their needs. Statistics indicate that the worldwide coffee consumption is on the increase and this reaffirms the thought that the coffee business is one of the most attractive businesses to be in.
Since 1978, Sara Lee|DE has been the market leader in coffee in The Netherlands. To be able to maintain strong worldwide positions on the coffee market, Sara Lee|DE has to continue delivering the highest added value to her customers, because the customers form the real capital of the organization. Just this year, Sara Lee|DE built a brand new production location in the USA that will provide in the growing need for liquid coffee. Insight in customer satisfaction is also a crucial instrument to continue meeting the customers’ needs and distinguish the organization from its competitors.
The coffee supply centre Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply is well-aware of the importance of customer satisfaction and has been monitoring the satisfaction of its customers since 2000. However, the need for a more process-oriented and customer- oriented organization has become increasingly important in the highly competitive context in which Douwe Egberts CT&S operates.
During my internship at Douwe Egberts CT&S, I have, with the greatest pleasure and interest, spent the past 7 months conducting a research that plays an important role in the shift towards a customized organization. For the personal supervision during the past period I would like to thank the gentlemen L. Pries of Douwe Egberts and D. Schaap and W.
Wijnbeek of the University of Groningen for their useful ideas and suggestions for my research. Also I would like to thank my friends and family for their support.
I hope that the result of this research report has contributed to a more customized organization and a higher customer satisfaction with Douwe Egberts CT&S in Joure. This report presents the final outcome of the research and I wish you much pleasure in reading it.
Lennart Luten
Groningen / Joure, December of 2004
Table of contents
Summary………...I Preface………...III Table of contents………..IV
Chapter 1. Introduction to Douwe Egberts CT&S………..6
1.1 Company background………7
1.2 Research motivation………..9
1.3 Structure of the report………..11
Chapter 2. Research plan………...12
2.1 Problem statement………...13
2.2 Research methodology………15
2.3 Conceptual model……….21
2.4 Research context………..22
Chapter 3. Literature……….………24
3.1 Quality………….….………...25
3.2 SERVQUAL……….………...30
3.3 Customization………33
3.4 Summary………...38
Chapter 4. Customer satisfaction……….39
4.1 Internal research………40
4.2 External research………...48
4.3 Summary………...64
Chapter 5. CT&S InSite………...66
5.1 Internal research……….………...67
5.2 External research……….………...72
5.3 Summary……….………….77
Chapter 6. Customization………...79
6.1 Internal research………...79
6.2 External research………..84
6.3 Summary……….………91
Chapter 7. Main conclusions………..93
7.1 Conclusions research methods………...94
7.2 Conclusions customer satisfaction……….……….96
7.3 Conclusions CT&S InSite………...100
7.4 Conclusions customization……….………101
7.5 Conclusions SERVQUAL………...103
Chapter 8. Recommendations……….105
8.1 Research methods………..106
8.2 Customization………..108
8.3 Prospect………112
Acknowledgements………113 Literature………...114
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 2.1 INTERNAL QUESTIONNAIRES APPENDIX 2.2 EXTERNAL QUESTIONNAIRES
APPENDIX 2.3 OPERATIONALISATION QUESTIONNAIRES APPENDIX 2.4 CALCULATION SATISFACTION GRADE APPENDIX 2.5 ROUTING STATEMENTS
APPENDIX 2.6 PLANNING SCHEDULE
APPENDIX 3.1 OPERATIONALISATION SATISFACTION INDICATORS APPENDIX 3.2 SERVQUAL-MODEL
APPENDIX 3.3 SERVICE PROCESSES
APPENDIX 4.1 INTERNAL SATISFACTION SCORES APPENDIX 4.2 RESPONSE RATES
APPENDIX 4.3 EXTERNAL SATISFACTION SCORES APPENDIX 6.1 GLOBAL INSITE ACCESS
APPENDIX 8.1 QUESTIONNAIRE 2006
Chapter 1
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Introduction to Douwe Egberts CT&S
Ch 1. Introduction
Ch 2. Research plan
Ch 3. Literature
Ch 4. Customer satisfaction
Ch 5. CT&S InSite
Ch 6. Customization
Ch 7. Main conclusions
Ch 8. Recommendations Part (I)
Preliminary research
Part (II) Actual research
Part (III) Conclusions
Chapter 1. Introduction
In this introductory chapter, the general perspective within which this report is written will be presented. In paragraph 1.1 the company background of Douwe Egberts CT&S will be described. The mission of DE CT&S and the position within the Sara Lee Corporation will also be presented here. In paragraph 1.2 the motivation for the research will be revealed.
Also the entities ‘customer’, ‘customer satisfaction’ and ‘customization’ will be shortly defined as these are central entities within this research. In paragraph 1.3 the structure of the report will be explained.
1.1 Company background
1.1.1 Douwe Egberts and Sara Lee|DE
In 1753, Egbert Douwes started to sell coffee, tea and tobacco in a small grocery store in Joure. He was the founder of a company and a brand name that later became internationally known as Douwe Egberts. Since 1978 Douwe Egberts has been part of the Sara Lee Corporation as Sara Lee|DE; a globally operating company that focuses on the marketing and sales of brands in various product categories.
Sara Lee|DE headquarters is located in Utrecht en consists of two divisions: (1) Household &
Body Care and (2) Coffee & Tea. Both divisions produce and sell well-known premium brands throughout the world. Some succesful brands are Sanex, Delial, Ambi Pur, Pickwick Tea and of course Douwe Egberts. With these brands Sara Lee|DE has achieved leading positions on a global scale both on the market for household and body care as on the coffee and tea market. The Household & Body Care division is also in charge of the Direct Selling activities (primarily the direct selling of cosmetics and body care products to consumers). To be able to maintain and strengthen these strong positions, the company consists of a large number of production, marketing and sales companies that are spread out over the world.
1.1.2 Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply
This report focuses on the Coffee & Tea division of Sara Lee|DE and specifically on the coffee supply centre Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply (from now: DE CT&S or CT&S), located in Joure, The Netherlands. This organization produces instant coffee (for the consumer market) and liquid coffee (for the coffee systems market). The instant coffee is also known as soluble coffee and the liquid coffee is a pure coffee extract that can be turned into coffee by a vending machine. Well-known premium brands that DE CT&S produces are:
Douwe Egberts Moccona (instant coffee) and Cafitesse (liquid coffee). DE CT&S directly sells these types of coffee to the marketing and sales companies of Sara Lee|DE, also known as the Operating Companies (OPCO’s). Each OPCO is led by a Regional Vice President (RVP). These companies in turn serve the final customers in the different country- markets1. The final customers consist of retailers, out-of-home markets (restaurants and organizations) and the consumer market. Besides supplying to the OPCO’s, DE CT&S also supplies coffee to the export department in Utrecht that in turn delivers the coffee to distributors in countries where Sara Lee|DE does not have sales offices. Figure 1.1 shows which place DE CT&S takes within the Sara Lee Corporation. It also shows how the value chain runs from DE CT&S to the final customers. The value chain is briefly presented here to clarify the sequence of value-adding activities from CT&S to the final customers. Over the financial year of 2004, DE CT&S has produced approximately __ million kilograms of instant coffee and __ million liters of liquid coffee.
1 Countries in which OPCO’s of Sara Lee are located are among others: Australia, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Thailand and the UK.
Sara Lee Corporation USA
VALUE
CHAIN
Figure 1.1 Douwe Egberts CT&S within the Sara Lee Corporation
1.1.3 Quality & Customer Care
The Quality & Customer Care department has recently (towards the end of 2003) been created to focus on the marketing and quality (assurance and control) of the products that are supplied and the way the customers of CT&S are being approached and served. This
‘customer focus’ research has been conducted specifically for this department. Quality &
Customer Care consists of the Marketing & Traffic Management department and the Quality department. See also the organigram of DE CT&S in Figure 1.2 on the next page.
1.1.4 Mission statement
Sara Lee's mission is “to feed, clothe and care for consumers and their families the world over”. She focuses her efforts on building leadership brands in three global businesses: Food and Beverage, Branded Apparel and Household Products2. Sara Lee|DE is with her coffee products a premium supplier that wants to be the coffee authority in the area of marketing and sales of coffee concepts that come in different shapes using the various distribution channels. DE CT&S Joure supports this mission by following its own mission:
“CT&S is an instant and liquid coffee specialist, that will actively support customers and supply against the lowest possible production costs whilst meeting the specified quality requirements, volumes and delivery times.”3
To achieve this, DE CT&S employs close to 350 employees, divided in approximately six work areas: Finance & Administration, Production, Planning & Logistics, Quality & Customer Care, Technology and Human Resources (see Figure 1.2 on the next page).
2 Source: Sara Lee|DE corporate website 2004
3 Source: DE CT&S Information brochure 2004
Sara Lee|DE Utrecht Sara Lee Chicago
Coffee & Tea Household & Body Care Meat & Bakery Personal Products
Operating Companies Sara Lee|DE Worldwide
Final customers:
Retailers, out-of-home market and consumer market
Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply Joure:
Production and supply of instant and liquid coffee
1.2 Research motivation
Four years ago, DE CT&S first decided to develop (and conduct) a customer satisfaction research for its OPCO’s. This research was part of a bigger project named SPIRIT (the letters represented in Dutch: Samenwerking – Procesbeheersing – Integer werken – Resultaatgericht – Imago – Toekomstgericht). When this research had been conducted and the results were analyzed, the main conclusion was that the overall satisfaction with CT&S was not high enough. Therefore, management started several improvement programmes that would target the areas that, according to the research, needed improvement. It was also decided that in 2002 a new satisfaction research, based on the first one, had to be conducted to monitor the effects of the improvement programmes. This 2002 research was part of the project SCOREN 05 (which represented: Spirit handhaven – Communicatie – Opleiding – Rendementen beheersen – Efficiency door gestructureerd werken – Nieuwe ISO certificering). It appeared that improvement programmes had a positive effect and that customer satisfaction with CT&S had significantly increased. As a managerial recommendation it was argued that DE CT&S should conduct a customer satisfaction research every two years in order to maintain a high level of service quality and satisfied customers.
The customer satisfaction research I have conducted is not specifically part of a bigger project but can be placed in the line of follow-up customer satisfaction researches that contribute to a higher customization level of DE CT&S. Besides this research, management posed a need to get a better insight in the growing role of InSite, the Intranet of Sara Lee. DE CT&S has a specific ‘Knowledge Area’ on InSite under the heading Coffee Treatment &
Supply called: CT&S InSite. This Knowledge Area provides detailed information on for example product assortment, contact persons, quality requirements and sales volumes and is specifically meant for the OPCO’s. At the moment, most information that is provided by this Area does not need constant updating. Basically it functions as an information/document source for CT&S employees, employees of the OPCO’s and interested persons. An Intranet however could also function as a medium to share job-supporting knowledge and feedback online. One could imagine that CT&S InSite could be used as a good alternative for the telephone to contact foreign colleagues. But this would require the OPCO employees to realize that they can actually use CT&S InSite for job-supporting information and that management information can be shared on InSite. The InSite-specific research that I have
Plant Director
Management Team
Secretary Human
Resources
Finance &
Administration
Production Planning &
Logistics
Quality &
Customer Care
Technology
- Accounting - Planning &
Control - Materials
Management - IT
- Administration
- Technical Department - Manufacturing - Packing department
- Quality Assurance - Sensorical department - Laboratory - Marketing & Traffic Management
Figure 1.2 Organigram Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply (Source: DE CT&S Joure) - Production
Planning - Customer Service - Outsourcing - Projects & Systems
conducted in combination with the customer satisfaction research is aimed at making an initial assessment of the potential of CT&S InSite in increasing the customization level of CT&S.
This report focuses on three interrelated topics, being (1) customer satisfaction, (2) CT&S InSite and (3) customization at Douwe Egberts CT&S. The higher goal of this report is to provide the CT&S management team with useful recommendations regarding the (future) customization level of DE CT&S. With this report I hope to assist CT&S in the current shift from a functional to a process-oriented, but especially a customer-oriented Supply Centre of Excellence.
1.2.1 The Customer
A customer satisfaction research starts by identifying the customer. Obviously, it would be difficult to examine the satisfaction when the customer is unknown. The ‘customers of DE CT&S’ in this research are defined as:
Marketing, sales and export companies of Sara Lee|DE worldwide that purchase instant and/or liquid coffee from DE CT&S to serve their final customers in a certain sales region.
DE CT&S fulfils the role of coffee producer and supplier within Sara Lee|DE, which means that the organization does not engage in sales activities to final customers. It only produces and supplies coffee products to the OPCO’s. Because these OPCO’s are all part of Sara Lee|DE, these companies could be referred to as internal customers. Yet, in this research these companies will be referred to as external customers because they are the direct buyers from DE CT&S and not part of the actual supply centre in Joure. In this research, the internal customers are the employees of DE CT&S that provide each other with products and services within the organization. The external customers also form the primary target group for CT&S InSite. Throughout this report, the terms ‘OPCO’, ‘customer’ and ‘respondent’ will sometimes be used interchangeably.
1.2.2 Customer satisfaction
The customer satisfaction of the OPCO’s is one of the central themes of this research and therefore a definition is practical. Inspired on Jorissen (2002) I have defined customer satisfaction at DE CT&S as:
The customers’ perception of the extent to which the overall level of service quality of DE CT&S meets the demands of the customers and meets their needs and expectations (expressed as a satisfaction grade on a scale from 1-10).
1.2.3 Customization
The topic of customization gets more and more attention within DE CT&S. Since the first customer satisfaction research was part of the SPIRIT-project in 2000, management has internalized the topic of customization to the extent that a customer satisfaction research should be conducted every two years upon which will be accordingly acted (through improvement programmes). According to Jorissen (2002)4, organizations are dependent of their customers and thus have to meet the demands of the customers and other stakeholders. So an organization has to know and understand the needs and expectations of its customers. In theory, this can be achieved by:
a management team constantly acting upon customization;
effective communication with the customer and;
measuring and improving customer satisfaction.
4 Jorissen, H.J., “Handleiding Kwaliteitsmanagement”, LEMMA BV, Utrecht, 2002.
For CT&S, the level of customization can be defined and illustrated as:
The extent to which DE CT&S pro-actively provides in the specific individual needs and expectations of the customers.
Figure 1.3 Customization in the value chain of Douwe Egberts CT&S (inspired on Jorissen, 2002) Throughout this report I will sometimes use the terms ‘customization’, ‘customer focus’ and
‘customer orientation’ interchangeably. Although these terms do not exactly have the identical definition, all terms implicitly refer to a view that takes the customer as the central point of attention and that is what matters here. It is difficult to explicitly measure ‘the extent’
to which CT&S pro-actively provides in the specific individual needs and expectations of the customers, but this report certainly tries to operationalise customization to the fullest extent.
The following chapters will elaborate on this.
1.3 Structure of the report
This report consists of three main parts and eight chapters. Part (I) forms the preliminary research and includes the first three chapters. Chapter 1 functions as an introduction to Douwe Egberts CT&S. In Chapter 2, I will present the research plan. This research plan describes among other things: the problem statement, the main research objectives and questions, the methodology used, a conceptual model and the research context. Chapter 3 will be devoted to the literature and theories that will be used throughout the research. Part (II) of the report forms the actual research conducted and consists of Chapters 4, 5 and 6.
Chapters 4 and 5 will elaborate on (the characteristics of) respectively the customer satisfaction research and the InSite-specific research. Chapter 6 will analyze the main results and outcomes with respect to customization at CT&S. Part (III), the final part of the report, forms the main conclusions of the research. In Chapter 7, the most important research results are evaluated and the main conclusions will be drawn. Finally, Chapter 8 will present the managerial recommendations that can be done based on the research results. These recommendations will be particularly relevant for the near future (the coming two years) of DE CT&S. The structure of the report and the sequence of the chapters are shown in the research model that is presented at the beginning of each chapter.
Quality of (custom- tailored) commitment
Quality of individual needs and expectations
Communication Level of (pro-active) service Supply Centre:
Douwe Egberts CT&S
Customers:
Operating Companies
Chapter 2
-
Research plan
Ch 1. Introduction
Ch 2. Research plan
Ch 3. Literature
Ch 4. Customer satisfaction
Ch 5. CT&S InSite
Ch 6. Customization
Ch 7. Main conclusions
Ch 8. Recommendations Part (I)
Preliminary research
Part (II) Actual research
Part (III) Conclusions
Chapter 2. Research plan
In this chapter the research plan is presented. For accurately conducting the customer satisfaction- and InSite-specific research it is necessary to make a research plan. This plan will consist of four parts: (1) a problem statement, (2) the methodology that is used to design the research, (3) a conceptual model and (4) the research context. The problem statement captures the ‘root problem’ at DE CT&S. In this case it is not so much a problem, but more a desire. The problem statement will also describe the main objectives and questions of the research. Two sorts of objectives can be distinguished here: the specific objective that I (the researcher) have within the research (what will be researched) and the objective of the research itself (what managerial purpose the research has). A conceptual model will clarify how I perceive the relations between the various aspects within my research. The conceptual model will serve as a red line throughout the research. Finally, I will present the research context that shows how I perceive the context and role of this research.
2.1 Problem statement
According to De Leeuw (2001), a problem statement is a careful overview of (1) the questions that the research tries to answer, (2) the reasons why the answers are important and (3) the conditions and limitations of the research5. The desire at DE CT&S is to gain insight in the customer satisfaction of the OPCO’s with DE CT&S and to compare the outcome of the customer satisfaction research with the outcome of two years ago. This way, management will be able to see if there is a need to start new improvement programmes.
Also, management wants to gain better insight in the role and potential of CT&S InSite, the Knowledge Area of CT&S for the OPCO and DE CT&S employees. The customer satisfaction research and the InSite-specific research play an important role in determining the current level of customization of CT&S. So, the overall question of the research itself is:
The following main stakeholders of the research can be identified: the CT&S management team (including the Plant Director), Leo Pries (Quality & Customer Care), the OPCO’s, the employees of DE CT&S (especially those that maintain customer contacts) and myself.
2.1.1 Main research objectives
The following three main research objectives can be formulated. The first objective is the most important objective within the research but it contains also elements of the objective of the research itself. The second objective is relevant within the research and the third objective is purely one of the research itself.
1. To conduct a customer satisfaction- and InSite-specific research under the OPCO’s of DE CT&S which will provide insight in (1) the satisfaction of the customers (compared to two years ago), (2) the current customization level of CT&S, (3) the need and urgency to start new department-specific improvement programmes and (4) the potential of CT&S InSite regarding the future customization level of CT&S.
5 De Leeuw, A.C.J., Bedrijfskundige methodologie: management van onderzoek, Van Gorcum, 4de druk, Assen, 2001.
To what extent, based on the customer satisfaction research and the InSite- specific research, can the CT&S management team be provided with useful recommendations regarding the (future) customization level of Douwe Egberts CT&S?
2. To maximize the relevancy and usefulness of the questionnaires and research methodology so to obtain reliable, relevant and representative data.
3. To provide useful managerial recommendations regarding the (future) customization level of DE CT&S.
2.1.2 Main research questions
In order to achieve the abovementioned objectives, the following main research questions can be formulated.
Customer satisfaction:
1. What are the expectations and feelings among the employees with customer contacts within DE CT&S with respect to the customer satisfaction?
2. How satisfied are the customers with DE CT&S and what causes are considered responsible for this level of satisfaction?
These questions will be answered in Chapter 4 of the report: Customer satisfaction. This chapter will elaborate on all the specifics of the customer satisfaction research.
CT&S InSite:
3. What are the expectations and feelings among the employees with customer contacts within DE CT&S with respect to the customer satisfaction regarding CT&S InSite and to what extent do the CT&S employees make use of CT&S InSite?
4. How satisfied are the customers with CT&S InSite and to what extent do the customers make use of CT&S InSite?
These questions will be answered in Chapter 5 of the report: CT&S InSite. This chapter will elaborate on most of the characteristics of the InSite-specific research.
Customization:
5. What are the expectations and feelings among the employees with customer contacts within DE CT&S with respect to the dimensions, aspects and areas that can be of crucial importance in the customization level of DE CT&S?
6. Which specific dimensions, aspects and areas do the customers consider to be of crucial importance in the customization level of DE CT&S?
These questions will be answered in Chapter 6 of the report: Customization. This chapter will elaborate on the most important outcomes with respect to customization that will form the input for recommendations with respect to the customization level of CT&S.
Conclusions and managerial recommendations:
7. Which main conclusions can be drawn with respect to the overall research?
8. Which managerial recommendations can be done based on the research?
These questions will be answered in Chapters 7 and 8 of the report: Main conclusions and Recommendations.
2.1.3 Research conditions
According to De Leeuw (2001), the research conditions include conditions regarding (1) the research product and (2) the research process. For this research, the research product faces the following conditions:
The nature of the research product has to be comparative; the research outcomes should be compared to the research of 2002 and the research has to fit within the line of follow-up researches that monitor the customer satisfaction with CT&S.
The research product must be reliable, relevant and useful so that the management team can use it for (strategic) decision-making and follow-up research.
The research process faces the following conditions:
The research has to be conducted within approximately 7 months from the start in May 2004. This means that the research will come to an end in November or December.
The research process must be reliable, effective and useful so to improve the quality of the research product.
During the research I will be spending on average 3-4 days at the location of CT&S in Joure.
The following paragraph will describe the research methodology used and in the paragraph after that a conceptual model will clarify the relationships between the research objectives and questions and the methodology.
2.2 Research methodology The research consists of three parts:
Part (I): Preliminary research Part (II): Actual research Part (III): Conclusions
Each part serves as input for the following part of the research.
Part I Preliminary research
The research will start with extensive desk research, during which as much information as possible will be collected about the previous two customer satisfaction researches, about Douwe Egberts Coffee Treatment & Supply and about CT&S InSite. In this part, the research plan that will form the basis for the actual research is also presented. Also, all the relevant literature and scientific theories will be examined that could be used during the research.
Part II Actual research
In the second part of the research the actual research will be conducted.
Consequently the results and outcomes with respect to customer satisfaction, CT&S InSite and customization will be analyzed and diagnosed.
Part III Conclusions
In the third and final part of the report, the main conclusions from the research will be presented. Based on these conclusions, management can be provided with useful recommendations. In this part, the focus will also be on the future perspective regarding the customization level of DE CT&S and on possible improvement programmes.
The next paragraphs will elaborate on the research methodology that is used. Figure 2.1 is inspired on De Leeuw (2001) and illustrates how the different topics relate to each other within the research methodology.
Figure 2.1 Coherence between research methodology topics (Source: De Leeuw, 2001) 2.2.1 Research methods
2.2.1.1 Quantitative research
For the first two customer satisfaction researches, questionnaires were used to get insight in the satisfaction of the OPCO’s. This research is a follow-up research and has a comparative character; therefore questionnaires will again be used to conduct the research. With these questionnaires mostly quantitative data will be gathered. The quantitative data will be collected through closed statements and open questions. An often-mentioned advantage of using questionnaires is that it enables one to collect a large quantity of information in a relatively short period (De Leeuw, 2001). With a customer focus research (customer satisfaction and InSite) DE CT&S also shows interest in her customers, which gives off a positive signal. A disadvantage of using a questionnaire can be that the possibilities for giving feedback are insignificant. For this research however the possibility existed that I could use additional open questions and that I could personally call customers that have provided me with interesting data.
2.2.1.2 Questionnaire
The complete questionnaire package consists of (1) an introductory letter, (2) an instruction for the questionnaire and (3) department-specific questionnaires. This package is sent to the __ OPCO’s that participate in this research. Now each part of the questionnaire package will be described:
1. Introductory letter: for reaching an optimal response rate, the introductory letter has been personalized. This way it is hoped that the affection of the receiving person towards the questionnaires is increased. The questionnaires are sent by post and are signed by the Plant Director of DE CT&S. This way, the questionnaires get a higher priority which in turn should lead to a higher response rate.
2. Instruction: the instruction clearly explains how the questionnaires need to be filled in. A detailed example has been included. The instruction also informs the customer about the time needed to complete the questionnaire.
3. Questionnaires: One of the conditions for this research is that the outcomes of the customer satisfaction research can be compared with the outcomes of 2002.
Therefore the standard questionnaires of two years ago form the basis for this research. However I think that these questionnaires could be made more specific Research
methods
Problem statement
Methods of analysis
Information sources Conceptual
model
Measuring and observation
methods
and subtle and thus more accurate. That is why I have chosen to slightly change the closed statements without causing significant differences in the comparability of the outcomes. I will also examine the role and potential of CT&S InSite for the employees of the OPCO’s and DE CT&S and therefore I have chosen to incorporate questions about this topic into the already existing questionnaires.
This will not change the comparability of the outcomes but only increases the questionnaire size. The nature of the questionnaires becomes more qualitative and through adding additional open questions I hope to collect more in-depth information about the CT&S InSite. Questionnaires are made for the four departments that maintain contact with the OPCO’s: (1) Marketing & Traffic Management, (2) Finance & Administration, (3) Planning & Logistics and (4) Quality. These questionnaires slightly differ in the contents of the questions but the overall structure remains identical. The statements are subdivided into ten dimensions, with the newly formed tenth dimension being ‘InSite accessibility’.
These dimensions are the same for all the questionnaires which will enable ad- hoc comparability. See appendices 2.1 and 2.2 for respectively the internal and external questionnaires that have been used for this research.
2.2.1.3 Composition
Operationalisation satisfaction dimensions
To be able to produce concrete satisfaction statistics, it is necessary to operationalise the entity customer satisfaction. According to Baarda and de Goede (2000)6, when using complex and/or abstract entities you should first closely define the entity you would like to use. Then you should operationalise this definition in a number of questions or statements.
The entity customer satisfaction is first divided into ten dimensions and these dimensions are subdivided into 30 relevant statements (the original 25 customer satisfaction statements plus the 5 statements of the InSite dimension). See Appendix 2.3 for the operationalisation of the questionnaires for the departments. All perceptions of the customers about the statements lead to an average satisfaction grade for a certain department. For the exact calculation of the satisfaction scores see Appendix 2.4.
Structuring the questionnaire Parallel translation
The OPCO’s that DE CT&S supplies are located all over the world. The corporate language is therefore English. For the research of 2000 the questionnaires were translated into English. This was done using a professional translation agency to ensure that the Dutch statements mean exactly the same as the English statements.
These statements are almost completely copied in this research. For the additional statements and open questions that I formulate, close collaboration with involved persons within DE CT&S is in my opinion sufficient to create reliable and unambiguous translations. Several feedback moments eliminate the chance of incorrectly translated statements and questions.
Formulating questions and background variables
The customer satisfaction is measured by valuing the answers to the statements. The customers have to fill in the importance that they attach to a certain statement and their experience with this statement. Using two six-point scales and the formula for the calculation of the total customer satisfaction, a customer satisfaction grade can be calculated. Furthermore, customers are asked to give a reporting grade to the department regarding their overall satisfaction with that department. Also, it is asked if
6 Baarda, D.B. & M.P.M. de Goede, Basisboek Methoden en technieken, Stenfert Kroese, 2de herziene druk, zesde oplage, Houten, 2000.
the satisfaction with that department compared to 2002 has decreased, increased or stayed the same. Consequently, customers are asked to motivate their arguments or indicate what should be done to increase their satisfaction. Regarding the InSite- specific part, I have chosen (besides the five additional statements) to formulate open questions that ask for detailed information. The motivation of the answers is stressed so to be able to create an in-depth insight in interdependent aspects regarding CT&S InSite. I have tried to keep the questions as short and concise as possible so not to discourage the customers from answering. On the last page of the questionnaires customers can choose in which of the four quadrants they best fit regarding their CT&S InSite user behaviour. The ‘user behaviour quadrant’ can help me among other things establish the importance I should attach to the answers on the preceding InSite questions. Finally the customers are asked to indicate for which subsidiary and in which department they work. This enables me to say something about the characteristics of the respondents. Although it could benefit the comparability of the outcomes, I do not ask the respondents to fill in their name. Respondents might then feel hesitant to answer the questions in an honest and spontaneous way. After all, I am interested in real results and not in socially desirable answers. Customers are also allowed to write down their comments and suggestions regarding the questionnaire. This information can be used to modify the questionnaires for follow-up research.
Formulating answers
As mentioned above, for each statement the respondents are asked to fill in two answering scales that together represent the satisfaction for that statement. This method has been adopted from the ‘Service Quality model’ of Parasuraman7, Zeithaml and Berry8. To clarify the answering formulation, three components will be highlighted:
Scaling technique:
A valuation method that can be perfectly used for measuring attitudes and opinions is Likert’s scaling technique9. This frequently used technique requires the respondents to indicate their satisfaction with certain statements. The answering possibilities correspond with values or scores. This way the respondents can value a certain statement that reflects their satisfaction with the statement. By averaging all these values it is possible to create a reliable image of the overall satisfaction of the customers with a department. The satisfaction is based on two valuation scales: the importance the customers attach to the statement and the experience that the customers have with the statement.
Value judgement
For both aspects the respondents can choose from a six-point scale. A six-point scale is chosen instead of a five- or seven-point scale to prevent respondents from scoring a ‘safe’ middle position. For the importance scale, the scale varies from ‘very important’ to ‘totally unimportant’, and for the experience scale, the scale varies from
‘very good’ to ‘very bad’. Furthermore, the scales are supported by small illustrations that are well recognizable internationally. If a respondent has no experience with a certain statement, he/she can fill in the circle ‘no experience’.
7 Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L., in: Journal of Retailing, SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality, 1st Edition 1988.
8 Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L., in: Journal of Retailing, Refinement and Reassessment of the SERVQUAL-Scale, Fall 1991.
9 Zwart, P.S., Methoden van Marktonderzoek, Educatieve Partners Nederland BV, 4de druk, Houten, 1996.
Satisfaction grade
Appendix 2.4 shows how the importance and experience scores result in a customer satisfaction grade using a complex formula. The customer satisfaction grade is a combined score composed of the importance and experience scores. The calculation mechanism has been formed so that a very low importance score, even combined with a high experience score, cannot lead to a high satisfaction grade. A high experience score, combined with a high importance score, however leads to a very high satisfaction grade. So the experience with a certain statement is being corrected for the importance that is attached to that statement. The argumentation for this is that good experiences with relatively unimportant aspects contribute little to the overall satisfaction of the customer and DE CT&S should in turn attach a low importance to these aspects.
Questioning sequence
To trouble the respondents as little as possible in filling in the questionnaire, a special routing is developed within the questionnaire (see also Appendix 2.5). This enables the respondents to easily identify with the specific statements. The routing is developed using three steps that occur when contacting the front-office of DE CT&S:
- Step 1 = establishing contact with an employee of DE CT&S - Step 2 = requesting the DE CT&S employee for information - Step 3 = DE CT&S employee providing the requested information
The statements regarding CT&S InSite are not part of this routing process because these are considered statements in general which do not particularly follow a certain routing.
2.2.1.4 Internal research
The internal research strongly resembles the external research. The only major difference is that the DE CT&S employees have to indicate what they expect that the OPCO employees will score (compared to two years ago). Also they need to indicate which causes can be identified for lower or higher satisfaction with a certain department and what could possibly be done to increase this satisfaction. The DE CT&S employees are also asked for their experiences and ideas regarding CT&S InSite. This part is almost exactly the same as in the external questionnaires and thus enables very good ad-hoc comparability. Chapter will further elaborate on the difference between the internal and external research.
2.2.1.5 Methods of data-collection and data-analysis
The internal and external questionnaires are analyzed using Excel and SPSS. These statistical programmes enable excellent opportunities for comparing large quantities of formalized data (in spreadsheets) and performing statistical tests. An example of such a statistical test is Cronbach’s Alpha, a model of reliability. This Alpha is a model of internal consistency (and homogeneity), based on the average inter-item correlation. It measures the reliability of (1) each individual statement and (2) the questionnaire as a whole10. The Alpha can vary from 0 (no correlation) to 1 (perfect correlation) (Baarda & De Goede, 2000).
2.2.2 Setting
The internal and external research is conducted using questionnaires. The external questionnaires are sent by post, to increase the stimulus to actually fill in the questionnaires and return them. Respondents have to do little but filling in the questionnaires which hopefully increases the response rate. The questionnaires could also be sent by e-mail but I consider the risk that respondents delete the e-mail due to for example work pressure,
10 SPSS Base 12.0 User’s Guide 2003
(http://www.luc.ac.be/leeromgeving/software/gemeenschappelijk/Handleidingen/SPSS12.0.pdf).
reasonably high. I will however examine the possibilities to develop customer satisfaction questionnaires on InSite (in collaboration with the InSite Team that develops similar questionnaires), which could be made accessible to all the relevant customers. The response rate for this method could be higher than for e-mail because automatic alerting messages could be used to ensure that respondents actually fill in the questionnaires.
2.2.3 Time and planning
As mentioned before, the full research process takes approximately 7 months to complete.
During these 7 months a strict planning schedule is followed. This planning schedule is shown in Appendix 2.6.
2.2.4 Research subjects
For the external research all OPCO’s that actively purchase coffee from DE CT&S participate, totalling __ companies (within which four departments will participate). To ensure that the questionnaires are filled in by the right persons a specific routing for the questionnaires is used. This routing has been developed in the first customer satisfaction research and is shown in figure 2.2.
As can be seen from the routing, the questionnaires are first signed by the Plant Director and then send to the General Directors that pass the questionnaires on to the (responsible) persons that maintain contacts. Consequently, the completed questionnaires are to be returned to DE CT&S. In the case of late response or no response at all, it might be necessary to remind the respondents of the questionnaire. For the internal research, the managers of the four relevant departments and the members of the management team have been asked to fill in the internal questionnaires and/or pass them on to the employees that maintain customer contacts (see figure 2.3). The front-office employees are generally believed to have a clear picture of (the communication with) their customers.
=Questionnaires sent to customers
=Questionnaires returned by customers
= Reminder by phone or e-mail
Figure 2.2 Routing of the external questionnaires (Source: Klanttevredenheidsonderzoek 2002) Plant Director
DE CT&S
General Director OPCO
Finance &
Administration
Planning &
Logistics
Marketing &
Traffic
Quality
Employees within these departments that maintain contact with the front-office of DE CT&S Researcher
SERVQUAL
2.3 Conceptual model
In this paragraph the conceptual model is presented that functions as the red line throughout the research. According to De Leeuw (2001), a conceptual model has a relation with the empirical reality in a concrete case, but rather functions as an overall way of looking at the problem. This perspective lies at the basis of the research.
Quality of
individual needs and expectations Quality of
(custom-tailored) commitment DE CT&S:
Figure 2.3 Routing of the internal questionnaires (see Figure 2.2 for the legenda)
Researcher Management Team:
- Mr. Sluys - Ms. Van Brakel - Mr. Faase - Mr. Korevaar - Mr. Pries - Mr. Boon - Mr. van der Molen
Finance &
Administration
Planning &
Logistics
Marketing &
Traffic
Quality
Employees within these departments that maintain contacts with the front-offices of the OPCO’s
Approachability Reliability
Customer understanding Help readiness
Politeness Communication
Credibility Expertise Speed
InSite accessibility Customer satisfaction dimensions Finance &
Administration
Planning &
Logistics Marketing &
Traffic
Quality
OPCO’s:
Finance &
Administration
Marketing (& Traffic)
Planning &
Logistics
Quality Customer focus at DE CT&S
(customer satisfaction, CT&S InSite and customization)
Level of (pro-active) service
The model should speak for itself, but I will briefly explain the function of the arrows. At the basis of this research are the customer satisfaction dimensions and the new dimension regarding CT&S InSite. I believe these dimensions to make up the overall service level of DE CT&S and these dimensions can thus measure whether the quality of this delivered (pro- active) service meets the OPCO’s needs and expectations. Consequently a judgement can be formed about the overall customer focus at DE CT&S (consisting of customer satisfaction, CT&S InSite and customization).
2.3.1 Information sources
I chose to gather research information from a wide range of sources so that I do not limit myself in the scope of my research. I like to stress that I consider the process of searching for relevant literature an iterative one. Using De Leeuw (2001), I can distinguish between the following information sources:
Documentation
This includes (predominantly secondary information):
o Library information. I will make extensive use of books, (online) articles and research reports that can be found in the library of the University of Groningen.
o Archives. Of course, I will use the previous customer satisfaction reports and data banks and all related information within DE CT&S as direct input for this research.
Media
This includes all the relevant and latest information that can be gathered from newspapers, articles and the Internet as well as the Sara Lee|DE’s Intranet.
Research field
Especially primary information will come from the participants of the research, the stakeholders of the research (within CT&S and within the Faculty of Management &
Organization) and employees within CT&S that are either directly or indirectly involved in the research.
2.4 Research context
The model on the next page shows how I perceive the context and role of this research within the line of follow-up researches since 2000 with respect to customization at CT&S.
This model is inspired on Thomassen11 and it is an expanded version of the initial evolution process (that consisted of only five steps) of focusing on the customer. The initial model was used in the customer satisfaction research of 2000. I believe it is important to keep up-to- date with changes in the literature regarding research models. Therefore I have chosen to include the expanded model, which also shows how I perceive the roles of the previous customer satisfaction researches. The evolution model shows the possible steps in the transformation process of moving from an internally focused organization to a customer- oriented organization. Now, each step will be shortly explained.
ISO
The first step for many organizations in the process of focusing on the customer is introducing a quality system. Organizations however quickly realize that this is no guarantee for customer focus and satisfied customers. The SPIRIT-project (especially the customer satisfaction research) in 2000 was in my opinion a direct result of the need for the next step, after the introduction of ISO certification.
Complaint registration system
The explicit registration of complaints helps to optimally serve the customers and map their complaints. CT&S has always paid much attention to complaint registration and continuously tries to make improvements.
11 Thomassen, J-P.R., Waardering door klanten: klantenmanagement als fundament voor totale kwaliteit, 3de herziene druk, Kluwer, Deventer, 2002.
Customer-oriented employees
The need arises for (front-office) employees to have a customer orientation. Through training it is often hoped that customer focus among the employees is created.
Customer satisfaction
Regular customer satisfaction research can contribute to map the customers’ needs and experiences. Often, customer satisfaction researches are initially conducted ad hoc, but later on get a more structural character within relationship management. In my view the SCOREN 05-project (of course particularly the customer satisfaction research) played an important role in monitoring the customer satisfaction after the first customer satisfaction research was conducted in 2000.
Customized organization
From customer satisfaction research it appears that not only employees contribute to customer focus. Logistical performance, administrative processes, communication and many other aspects influence customer satisfaction and customer focus.
Management commitment is needed to elevate the customer orientation. I consider this research to play an important role in the shift towards a customer-oriented organization.
Customer Delight
After having intensively worked to increase customer satisfaction and improve customization, it is realized that ‘good’ is not good enough anymore and that customer needs should be exceeded. ‘Customer Delight’ becomes de powerful message that implies that everything has to get even better.
Customer loyalty
Customer Delight can lead to customer loyalty, which is for many organizations the main goal of customer management.
Customer segmentation and -value
Eventually, organizations are especially interested in the financial value of the customers. Customer segmentation can be a useful means to identify the most and least valuable customers in terms of profit but certainly also in terms of long-term continuity.
Figure 2.5 Research context
contributes to
contributed to
Step 8: Customer segmentation and -value Step 7: Customer loyalty
Step 6: Customer Delight
Step 5: Customized organization
Step 4: Customer
satisfaction (monitoring)
Step 3: Customer-oriented employees
“SPIRIT-project” 2000
Step 2: Complaint registration system Step 1: ISO-certification
“SCOREN 05-project”
2002
Customer focus 2004
initiated
(contributed to)
(contributed to)
Chapter 3
-
Literature
Ch 1. Introduction
Ch 2. Research plan
Ch 3. Literature
Ch 4. Customer satisfaction
Ch 5. CT&S InSite
Ch 6. Customization
Ch 7. Main conclusions
Ch 8. Recommendations Part (I)
Preliminary research
Part (II) Actual research
Part (III) Conclusions
Chapter 3. Literature
This chapter is the last part of the preliminary research and presents the literature and theories that are used throughout the research. For me it is important to get a full orientation of the research field and the different subjects that touch this research. Therefore I will elaborate on the three most relevant subjects with respect to this research. At first, the subject of quality at CT&S will be examined. This includes the role of explicit quality management, ISO & HACCP certification and customer satisfaction. Secondly, the SERVQUAL-model that forms the basis of the customer satisfaction research will be highlighted. Also the SERVQUAL-model will be compared to an adapted version of this model: the SERVPERF-model. Thirdly, I will examine the subject of customization and I will elaborate on the systems that can facilitate it. Respectively, the role of SAP R/3 (an ERP- system), CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and the Intranet of Sara Lee|DE in improving the customization level will be highlighted.
3.1 Quality
According to Jorissen (2002), quality can be defined as “the extent to which a whole of properties and characteristics of a product, system or process complies with the demands of customers and other stakeholders”. But one can take different approaches to dealing with quality. De Leeuw and Dalgic12 describe the five perspectives of Garvin to define quality:
1. Transcendent approach;
2. Product-oriented approach;
3. User-oriented approach;
4. Production-oriented approach and;
5. Value-oriented approach.
Supported by the customer satisfaction researches of 2000 and 2002 I have chosen to take the user-oriented approach towards quality because the ‘users’ of the quality process at CT&S are both internal (the employees) and external customers (the OPCO’s). And for this research it is relevant how the customers of CT&S value the quality of the overall service level. Therefore I will not elaborate on the other approaches that are mentioned. For the user-oriented approach towards quality, the definition of Juran (1974) is also interesting and relevant: “Quality is fitness for use”. This rather vague definition implies that it is not the producer that sets the quality level of the product or service, but the ‘user’ determines this quality based on his/her experiences and user situation.
3.1.1 Quality Management
According to Jorissen (2002), a quality management system can be defined as “a management system that is aimed at directing and controlling an organization with respect to quality”. It is argued that in every organization four types of interrelated activities are important with respect to quality that management has to control to achieve a good company result. These activities are: (1) quality planning, (2) quality improvement, (3) quality assurance and (4) quality control. At CT&S, the department Quality & Customer Care (Q&CC) is responsible for this quality management. The Quality Assurance department that is part of Q&CC controls the quality assurance system for CT&S through the international ISO13 9001 standards and according to the European HACCP14 criteria (Source: Sara Lee|DE InSite). Once each year this system is audited by an external certification body. The quality assurance system is based on two elements:
12 De Leeuw, M.N.A. & T. Dalgic, Marketing en kwaliteit: de twee items die bij het realiseren van klanttevredenheid de sleutelrol spelen, 1ste druk, Kluwer, Deventer, 1994.
13 ISO = International Organization for Standardization.
14 HACCP = Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points.
