MEALS ON WHEELS LONDON: OPERATIONS THAT MATTER
CASE STUDY SOLUTION
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SYNOPSIS
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Chad Callander, the executive director of Meals on Wheels London (MOWL) was struggling with a lack
of volunteers to deliver fresh meals to the not-for-profit organization’s customers. MOWL provided
nutritional support to adults with disabilities and older people (55+) who required short-term (i.e., seasonal,
recuperation, caregiver relief) or long-term assistance. There were three options under consideration to
attempt to mitigate the volunteer issue: using new, state-of-the-art route generation software to allocate
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volunteers more efficiently; running a volunteer recruitment campaign; and hiring paid delivery drivers to
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supplement MOWL’s volunteers. The executive director needed to make a quick decision so that he could
present it at a fast-approaching board meeting where any necessary funding would need to be approved.
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OBJECTIVES
• Assess customer needs and explain how operational and strategic changes can help meet those needs.
• Understand the operating dynamics of a not-for-profit organization and how they differ from those of
a for-profit business.
• Apply and interpret quantitative tools such as capacity, net benefit, payback, and net present value
calculations.
• Balance qualitative and quantitative evidence to make informed decisions.
The Case Solution Starts From page 6
,ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. Identify the needs of MOWL’s customers by performing a task analysis. How does your analysis impact
your thinking on Callander’s decision?
2. Identify the type of process or types of processes used by MOWL. How appropriate is this process or processes?
3. Calculate the current number of fresh meals delivered per month by volunteers. Does MOWL’s fresh
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meal delivery capacity meet current and projected demand?
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4. Calculate the fresh meal delivery capacity if the new route generation software is purchased. How does
this compare to demand? Evaluate the qualitative pros and cons and the quantitative costs and benefits
of this alternative. Assume that demand for fresh meals has reached projected levels.
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5. Calculate the fresh meal delivery capacity if the volunteer recruitment campaign is pursued. How does
this compare to demand? Evaluate the qualitative pros and cons and the quantitative costs and benefits
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of this alternative. Assume that demand for fresh meals has reached projected levels.
6. Calculate the fresh meal delivery capacity if paid delivery drivers are hired. How does this compare to
demand? Evaluate the qualitative pros and cons and the quantitative costs and benefits of this
alternative. Assume that demand for fresh meals has reached projected levels.
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7. As Callander, what would you do? Provide detailed support for your decision from your qualitative and
quantitative analysis.
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The Case Solution Starts From page 6
,ANALYSIS
1. Identify the needs of MOWL’s customers by performing a task analysis. How does your analysis
impact your thinking on Callander’s decision?
To make a strong decision, students must begin by identifying and understanding MOWL’s customers and
their specific needs. This can be done through a task analysis that categorizes customer needs using five
metrics: quality, quantity, price, service, and function (features). To prioritize customer needs, students
should determine which of these metrics are of core importance to MOWL’s customers and which should
e
be classified as non-core in nature. It is natural for students’ task analyses to differ from each other to some
pl
extent, push students to come to a consensus on what MOWL must do to meet
customer needs from an operational perspective.
Core Needs
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Quantity: How important is it to have the amount of product and available capacity to satisfy customer
needs?
As a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide meals to underserved groups, quantity is a key
n
factor for MOWL. Ensuring that demand is met is crucial both to the mission of the organization and to the
tio
consumers who rely on the fresh meal deliveries. Meeting current and growing volumes may be a challenge,
so MOWL should consider all options that increase fresh meal delivery capacity.
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Price: How much do customers value a low price?
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The Case Solution Starts From page 6
,7. As Callander, what would you do? Provide detailed support for your decision from your
qualitative and quantitative analysis.
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Taking on the role of Callander, students must provide a clear decision regarding how MOWL should
pl
proceed with its fresh meal delivery operations. Students can choose any of the alternatives in the case.
They can also choose to combine alternatives. The most common, and logical, combination will likely be
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the new route generation software alongside the volunteer recruitment campaign.
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Decisions must be supported with key points from the students’ qualitative and quantitative analyses.
Quantitatively, students should pull from their capacity calculations and financial math (net benefit,
n
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So
The Case Solution Starts From page 6
, EXHIBIT -3: ROUTE GENERATION SOFTWARE—NET BENEFIT, PAYBACK, AND NET PRESENT
VALUE ANALYSIS ($CA)
Incremental Benefits
(5,538 meals/month – 4,846 meals/month) ×
Increased Fresh Meal Sales $ 1,661
$0.20/meal × 12 months/year
$32.50/hour × 1.5 hours/day × 3 days/week
Overtime Wages Savings 7,547
× 4.3 weeks/year × 12 months/year
Total Incremental Benefits $ 9,208
Incremental Costs
Annual Software Cost Increase $12,000/year (new) − $5,000/year (old) 7,000
Net Benefit Incremental Benefits − Incremental Costs $ 2,208
Investment
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New Software $28,000 × (1 – 40% discount) $ 16,800
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Payback Total Investment ÷ Net Benefit 7.6 Years
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The Case Solution Starts From page 6
CASE STUDY SOLUTION
e
pl
m
SYNOPSIS
Sa
Chad Callander, the executive director of Meals on Wheels London (MOWL) was struggling with a lack
of volunteers to deliver fresh meals to the not-for-profit organization’s customers. MOWL provided
nutritional support to adults with disabilities and older people (55+) who required short-term (i.e., seasonal,
recuperation, caregiver relief) or long-term assistance. There were three options under consideration to
attempt to mitigate the volunteer issue: using new, state-of-the-art route generation software to allocate
n
volunteers more efficiently; running a volunteer recruitment campaign; and hiring paid delivery drivers to
tio
supplement MOWL’s volunteers. The executive director needed to make a quick decision so that he could
present it at a fast-approaching board meeting where any necessary funding would need to be approved.
lu
So
OBJECTIVES
• Assess customer needs and explain how operational and strategic changes can help meet those needs.
• Understand the operating dynamics of a not-for-profit organization and how they differ from those of
a for-profit business.
• Apply and interpret quantitative tools such as capacity, net benefit, payback, and net present value
calculations.
• Balance qualitative and quantitative evidence to make informed decisions.
The Case Solution Starts From page 6
,ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. Identify the needs of MOWL’s customers by performing a task analysis. How does your analysis impact
your thinking on Callander’s decision?
2. Identify the type of process or types of processes used by MOWL. How appropriate is this process or processes?
3. Calculate the current number of fresh meals delivered per month by volunteers. Does MOWL’s fresh
e
meal delivery capacity meet current and projected demand?
pl
4. Calculate the fresh meal delivery capacity if the new route generation software is purchased. How does
this compare to demand? Evaluate the qualitative pros and cons and the quantitative costs and benefits
of this alternative. Assume that demand for fresh meals has reached projected levels.
m
5. Calculate the fresh meal delivery capacity if the volunteer recruitment campaign is pursued. How does
this compare to demand? Evaluate the qualitative pros and cons and the quantitative costs and benefits
Sa
of this alternative. Assume that demand for fresh meals has reached projected levels.
6. Calculate the fresh meal delivery capacity if paid delivery drivers are hired. How does this compare to
demand? Evaluate the qualitative pros and cons and the quantitative costs and benefits of this
alternative. Assume that demand for fresh meals has reached projected levels.
n
7. As Callander, what would you do? Provide detailed support for your decision from your qualitative and
quantitative analysis.
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 6
,ANALYSIS
1. Identify the needs of MOWL’s customers by performing a task analysis. How does your analysis
impact your thinking on Callander’s decision?
To make a strong decision, students must begin by identifying and understanding MOWL’s customers and
their specific needs. This can be done through a task analysis that categorizes customer needs using five
metrics: quality, quantity, price, service, and function (features). To prioritize customer needs, students
should determine which of these metrics are of core importance to MOWL’s customers and which should
e
be classified as non-core in nature. It is natural for students’ task analyses to differ from each other to some
pl
extent, push students to come to a consensus on what MOWL must do to meet
customer needs from an operational perspective.
Core Needs
m
Sa
Quantity: How important is it to have the amount of product and available capacity to satisfy customer
needs?
As a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide meals to underserved groups, quantity is a key
n
factor for MOWL. Ensuring that demand is met is crucial both to the mission of the organization and to the
tio
consumers who rely on the fresh meal deliveries. Meeting current and growing volumes may be a challenge,
so MOWL should consider all options that increase fresh meal delivery capacity.
lu
Price: How much do customers value a low price?
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 6
,7. As Callander, what would you do? Provide detailed support for your decision from your
qualitative and quantitative analysis.
e
Taking on the role of Callander, students must provide a clear decision regarding how MOWL should
pl
proceed with its fresh meal delivery operations. Students can choose any of the alternatives in the case.
They can also choose to combine alternatives. The most common, and logical, combination will likely be
m
the new route generation software alongside the volunteer recruitment campaign.
Sa
Decisions must be supported with key points from the students’ qualitative and quantitative analyses.
Quantitatively, students should pull from their capacity calculations and financial math (net benefit,
n
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 6
, EXHIBIT -3: ROUTE GENERATION SOFTWARE—NET BENEFIT, PAYBACK, AND NET PRESENT
VALUE ANALYSIS ($CA)
Incremental Benefits
(5,538 meals/month – 4,846 meals/month) ×
Increased Fresh Meal Sales $ 1,661
$0.20/meal × 12 months/year
$32.50/hour × 1.5 hours/day × 3 days/week
Overtime Wages Savings 7,547
× 4.3 weeks/year × 12 months/year
Total Incremental Benefits $ 9,208
Incremental Costs
Annual Software Cost Increase $12,000/year (new) − $5,000/year (old) 7,000
Net Benefit Incremental Benefits − Incremental Costs $ 2,208
Investment
e
New Software $28,000 × (1 – 40% discount) $ 16,800
pl
Payback Total Investment ÷ Net Benefit 7.6 Years
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The Case Solution Starts From page 6
