In order to be able to cover all these retail shops with all that huge amount of different products all over the day, Company had to establish a well designed Distribution System. The distribution system had to be effective in delivery right quantities of products at the right time without affecting their quality condition. With the help of a centralized Computed Aided Logistic System (developed with the valuable assistance of Planning International), the right distribution of the various products is achieved. All the shops are supplied continuously with products through the Company’s logistic center based at Larnaka.
According to the needs of each shop and according to the available stock of each shop, an order is prepared and delivered to the logistic center. From there, all the necessary quantities of products are removed from the central store (a freezer store capable to store 1000 tones of products at temperatures of -25 0C, +10C) and via mobile freezers are delivered to the various shops all over the island. As Mr. Loizos Loizou, Manager of Industrial Units [2], explains: “with this sophisticated system it is ensured that even the most isolated shop at Paphos will never run out of products. Also this system ensures that product’s consumption must be achieved in three days (by the moment that the products leave the main store). This complicated process established, ensures maximum customers satisfaction through the delivery of fresh products with the highest possible quality”.
The continuous exchange of information between the various retail shops and the centralized unit establish the normal operation of all the shops and solve any raised problem immediately. The capabilities of such a system are very high; the logistic manager is able to observe the consumption of each single product at each shop at any time of the day. Mr. Loizou mentions that “we are even able to forecast and monitor our sales all over the day. This helps us a lot during the national holidays like Christmas and Eastern”.
Mr. Costas Zorbas, Company’s General Manager [3] raise that “we consider that our customers (as also our suppliers) are our friends, which they help us to increase our effectiveness and to achieve our strategic goals. We always ask their opinions about a movement that we did or we are planning to do. All the managers have to maintain an approach which makes the customers to realize that we are expecting from them to tell us their opinions and their thoughts”.
All the Brand Managers are persons well educated and well trained professionals who work to build and maintain long-term customer relationships by listening to their customers, assessing customer needs, and organizing the Company’s effort to solve customer problems. The Human Resources Department is responsible for the continuous training of all the selling personnel. All the personnel have to pass this, from the young girl behind the point of sale machine to the sales manager of the Company. For this reason, a training centre has been created since 2002.
The suppliers are as important as the customers. With the relation channels established with them the quality assurance program is achieved at its highest possible level. Each supplier must be able to deliver to the purchasing department of the Company raw materials and products of no defectiveness and of the quality that the Purchasing Department asked for. It is made clear to them, that any delays are unforgiving. Mr. Artemis Hatsitoffis, purchasing manager [4] explains that we help our suppliers to serve us correctly. We make them realize that is for their own good when we ask for them to become HACCP1 approved.
The Research and Development Department helps the suppliers to become better and better even with know-how and technology. By this, both parties are served because the supplier becomes bigger and more reliable and because the correct supply of raw materials is established. As a result the company’s quality assurance department is making only some minor test to the various supplies because the necessary quality is quarantined.
At the other hand, Company is demanding from its various suppliers to help the Research and Development Department for the improvement of the existing products, developing of new ones, improving of the various production processes as also for the increase of productivity and reduction of the production and operational cost of the Company. All this continuous improvements are necessary not only at the production but also at the logistics, sales, maintenance and even accounting department. At all contracts that are signed between Zorbas bakeries and the various equipment manufactures, a supplier’s obligation regarding the upgrading of the sold equipment is included.
With all the above, the Company’s continuous improvement is established and both parties are satisfied and strong relationships are achieved. A good example is the exchange of know-how and technology between Zorbas Bakeries and the Ionian Puff Pastries of Greece (one of the Greek supplier of the Company) regarding the improvements of the puff pastry production line. The result of this was the quality improvement of the products of both Companies. These strong relationships are one of the key reasons that make Zorbas Bakeries the leader of the Bakery Industry at Cyprus at quality, service, customer satisfaction and performance.
Promotional Strategy: The Company’s whole Promotional Strategy covers the Advertising, the Sales Promotion and the Public Relationships. Is concentrated to various issues like new product presentations (like frapuchinno), new shop openings, seasonal products (like Christmas cakes for example), change of timetables of each shops as also the Brand Image Improvement through Charities, Donations, Event Sponsoring etc.
The whole strategy is covered mainly by Short Term Projects which are raised according to the various time needs as also the various events that the Company wants to raise. According to the type of each project various type of advertising media are going to be used. A new shop opening for example, will be advertised heavily through the local radio stations. Advertising messages that want to raise an event, like the presentation of a new product use mainly the outdoor advertising. Outdoor advertising is used also by strategies that they deal with Brand Image Improvement.
