Business Process Management
By: Priyanka Sadarangani (182035)
Rafaël Houtepen (182515)
Indra Eisma (192202)
Class: Tourism Business 03, Group 5
Lecturer: Carl Grefkens
Course: CITM3.BPM-01
Date: January 27th, 2021
1
,Chapter 1: Introduction
In this report the business process of the company Sail Breaks is analyzed and improved in order to start
generating more profit. Sail Breaks is a multifunctional watersports and recreation company founded by
Wim van de Plas. The company started off as a sailing school but slowly expanded with the addition of a
hotel and restaurant. Even though Sail Breaks has a still increasing market share, the operational process
of the company is not running smoothly. The owner and employees daily experience various bottlenecks
in the business operation. In this report the bottlenecks are stated, analyzed and solutions for the
problems are explained by using the steps of Zegveld & Hartigh. Furthermore, the tools of Makigami and
Fishbone root-cause analysis have been used in order to find the bottlenecks in the operational process
of Sail Breaks. Also, the tools of A-0 diagrams and lower-level activity diagrams from the method of
IDEF0 have been used to compare the current situation with the improved situation. Finally, all the
analyses and methods have been concluded in a project plan per phase in order to have a clear overview
of the whole project of changing the strategic orientation from flexibilization into an improved version
of flexibilization.
2
,Chapter 2: Definition phase, milestone 1
Step 1: Typifying and measuring strategic orientation, business process organization and
the nature of value creation.
The current strategic orientation of Sail Breaks is flexibilization in which the company is focusing on
various segments of customers and various services are provided for these segments. However, there is
no room to deviate from the defined service provided and there is a focus on achieving higher than the
market price (Zegveld & Hartigh, 2007). With Sail Breaks it can be seen that they focus on the various
target groups of: individual visitors, families, couples, business guests, business groups, private groups
and German leisure tourists. Therefore, In the restaurant they offer many different options for food with
an a-la-carte menu and 2 or 3 courses. However, it can be seen that not each segment has products for
its own, for example there are no kid menus in the restaurant. Moreover, the interior of all the hotel
rooms is the same with only differences in a single or double room and with bath or shower. Therefore,
there is also no flexibilization when looking at the hotel rooms provided per segment, for example no
couple room or extra comfort plus rooms. In addition, the hotel has also a fleet to rent out which
consists of: sailboats, sail drill fox, sailboat first, motor boat 8 pers, motor sloop 9 pers and motor sloop
8 pers.
Regarding the sailing school there is mainly a focus on the segments youth from 13 years, adults and
youth from 8 till 13 years old. For these target groups they offer products such as BM boats, Falcon
boats and Optimist boats. The BM boats and Falcon boats are for the youth from 13 years and adults
and the Optimist boats are for youth from 8 until 13 years old. Furthermore, they offer the courses for
youth until 13 years old in Summer weeks and for the adults in the weekend as well as courses around
Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. Students are divided by age and level, so for each course students
themselves could choose from 4 levels. These courses include sailing lessons as well as theory classes.
Finally, they also offer private lessons when asked by the customers themselves with their preferences.
The business process organization is heterogeneous since there is a lot of flexibility and Sail Breaks
focuses on the differences between the customer groups. For example, by providing different courses
with different boats per age group. Therefore, there is a lot of focus on customer identity while using a
pull strategy, so listening to the needs of the customers. This can also be seen by providing the courses
on different levels and providing courses during the weekdays for youth and in the weekends for adults,
because adults have time in the weekends and youth in the weekdays.
The value creation is about differentiation and efficiency when applying flexibilization (Zegveld &
Hartigh, 2007). Regarding differentiation, it can be seen that Sail Breaks differentiates their services per
segment, this can be seen for example with their different courses and boats offered for their segments.
However, the hotel rooms and menu could be differentiated better since there are no different rooms
offered and there are no menus for children. Regarding efficiency, it can be seen that Sail Breaks does
not have employees that cost a lot, because a lot of the personnel are young people and people trained
by Sail Breaks themselves. Furthermore, they also have internships and family applied in the hotel,
which both are cost saving.
3
,Step 2: Assessing the coherence between strategic orientation, business process
organization and the nature of value creation.
Strategic orientation, business process organization and nature of value creation are three elements
connected to the product or service. Strategic orientation is mainly about the target market. How a
product or service is produced is shown in the business process organization as well as promoting the
product/service to the target markets. The nature of value creation is all about creating value to the
customer and maintaining this value (Zegveld & Hartigh, 2007). As mentioned in step one the company
has multiple target groups for both the sailing school and the hotel.
Because of the various target groups the service and marketing of Sail Breaks could differ between every
target group. For example, for business groups it is possible to include business meetings, all customers
can choose between a two- and three course dinner and it is possible for the guests to have a room with
a bath instead of a shower. This is how it is connected to the nature of value creation as well. For this
company value is created by offering several products for the various target groups. For the value
creation it is important that customers are willing to pay more for certain products/services, for the
value that is offered.
Step 3: Measuring and assessing productivity development.
The productivity development is divided into three steps. These three steps are controlling operational
activities, managing the value chain and managing the value system. In the case of Sail Breaks it is seen
that the employees have a certain amount of freedom. The employees are involved in the decision-
making process, their ideas are taken into account by the managers of Sail Breaks. However, since the
company does offer standard packages the employees only have a limited amount of freedom in
executing the different programs. Openness in communication is seen as the most important step in
controlling the operational activities.
By offering multiple activities for the different customer groups the customer value is increased by Sail
Breaks. The activities that are offered are based on age and level of the customers; the value is created
by offering the sailing lessons for small groups with the same instructor for every lesson. In the hotel of
Sail Breaks the value differs per customer segment. For example, for a business stay with a group the
service includes meetings, training courses and product presentations. Besides this, adding specific
building blocks such as cycling with a route map, stand-up paddling and painting is possible for a group
stay. Furthermore, the individual customers have the choice between a shower or bath when booking a
room, the customers pay more for the room with a bath. For dinner the guests a two-course or three-
course à la carte menu is offered. By offering different activities and rooms for every customer segment
value is created for the guests.
The value system can be controlled by the company by developing solutions for the various customer
groups. The company has developed by adding an accommodation wing in 2010, offering summer week
courses and expanding the sailing school fleet. Furthermore, a year ago the option was added for youth
to compete in international competitions. Another development of Sail Breaks was the addition of a
water sports hotel with a restaurant.
4
, The productivity level of the company itself can be increased by for example separating the meeting
room and the restaurant. The meeting for business groups is now at the same location the lunch and
dinner is located. This is negative for productivity since the guests cannot enter the restaurant when a
meeting takes place. Furthermore, the company should switch to an online reservation platform if they
want to increase the productivity level. This will reduce the time that is spent on reservations because
personnel do not have to take as many calls as when the booking was executed via phone. In the long
term this will be cost reducing as well.
Step 4: Establishing the business’s current position.
The position of the business is flexibilization regarding their strategic orientation in which they
implement the value creation of differentiation & efficiency. The business processes of Sail Breaks are
offering heterogeneous products & services for their various segments (Zegveld & Hartigh, 2007).
5
By: Priyanka Sadarangani (182035)
Rafaël Houtepen (182515)
Indra Eisma (192202)
Class: Tourism Business 03, Group 5
Lecturer: Carl Grefkens
Course: CITM3.BPM-01
Date: January 27th, 2021
1
,Chapter 1: Introduction
In this report the business process of the company Sail Breaks is analyzed and improved in order to start
generating more profit. Sail Breaks is a multifunctional watersports and recreation company founded by
Wim van de Plas. The company started off as a sailing school but slowly expanded with the addition of a
hotel and restaurant. Even though Sail Breaks has a still increasing market share, the operational process
of the company is not running smoothly. The owner and employees daily experience various bottlenecks
in the business operation. In this report the bottlenecks are stated, analyzed and solutions for the
problems are explained by using the steps of Zegveld & Hartigh. Furthermore, the tools of Makigami and
Fishbone root-cause analysis have been used in order to find the bottlenecks in the operational process
of Sail Breaks. Also, the tools of A-0 diagrams and lower-level activity diagrams from the method of
IDEF0 have been used to compare the current situation with the improved situation. Finally, all the
analyses and methods have been concluded in a project plan per phase in order to have a clear overview
of the whole project of changing the strategic orientation from flexibilization into an improved version
of flexibilization.
2
,Chapter 2: Definition phase, milestone 1
Step 1: Typifying and measuring strategic orientation, business process organization and
the nature of value creation.
The current strategic orientation of Sail Breaks is flexibilization in which the company is focusing on
various segments of customers and various services are provided for these segments. However, there is
no room to deviate from the defined service provided and there is a focus on achieving higher than the
market price (Zegveld & Hartigh, 2007). With Sail Breaks it can be seen that they focus on the various
target groups of: individual visitors, families, couples, business guests, business groups, private groups
and German leisure tourists. Therefore, In the restaurant they offer many different options for food with
an a-la-carte menu and 2 or 3 courses. However, it can be seen that not each segment has products for
its own, for example there are no kid menus in the restaurant. Moreover, the interior of all the hotel
rooms is the same with only differences in a single or double room and with bath or shower. Therefore,
there is also no flexibilization when looking at the hotel rooms provided per segment, for example no
couple room or extra comfort plus rooms. In addition, the hotel has also a fleet to rent out which
consists of: sailboats, sail drill fox, sailboat first, motor boat 8 pers, motor sloop 9 pers and motor sloop
8 pers.
Regarding the sailing school there is mainly a focus on the segments youth from 13 years, adults and
youth from 8 till 13 years old. For these target groups they offer products such as BM boats, Falcon
boats and Optimist boats. The BM boats and Falcon boats are for the youth from 13 years and adults
and the Optimist boats are for youth from 8 until 13 years old. Furthermore, they offer the courses for
youth until 13 years old in Summer weeks and for the adults in the weekend as well as courses around
Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. Students are divided by age and level, so for each course students
themselves could choose from 4 levels. These courses include sailing lessons as well as theory classes.
Finally, they also offer private lessons when asked by the customers themselves with their preferences.
The business process organization is heterogeneous since there is a lot of flexibility and Sail Breaks
focuses on the differences between the customer groups. For example, by providing different courses
with different boats per age group. Therefore, there is a lot of focus on customer identity while using a
pull strategy, so listening to the needs of the customers. This can also be seen by providing the courses
on different levels and providing courses during the weekdays for youth and in the weekends for adults,
because adults have time in the weekends and youth in the weekdays.
The value creation is about differentiation and efficiency when applying flexibilization (Zegveld &
Hartigh, 2007). Regarding differentiation, it can be seen that Sail Breaks differentiates their services per
segment, this can be seen for example with their different courses and boats offered for their segments.
However, the hotel rooms and menu could be differentiated better since there are no different rooms
offered and there are no menus for children. Regarding efficiency, it can be seen that Sail Breaks does
not have employees that cost a lot, because a lot of the personnel are young people and people trained
by Sail Breaks themselves. Furthermore, they also have internships and family applied in the hotel,
which both are cost saving.
3
,Step 2: Assessing the coherence between strategic orientation, business process
organization and the nature of value creation.
Strategic orientation, business process organization and nature of value creation are three elements
connected to the product or service. Strategic orientation is mainly about the target market. How a
product or service is produced is shown in the business process organization as well as promoting the
product/service to the target markets. The nature of value creation is all about creating value to the
customer and maintaining this value (Zegveld & Hartigh, 2007). As mentioned in step one the company
has multiple target groups for both the sailing school and the hotel.
Because of the various target groups the service and marketing of Sail Breaks could differ between every
target group. For example, for business groups it is possible to include business meetings, all customers
can choose between a two- and three course dinner and it is possible for the guests to have a room with
a bath instead of a shower. This is how it is connected to the nature of value creation as well. For this
company value is created by offering several products for the various target groups. For the value
creation it is important that customers are willing to pay more for certain products/services, for the
value that is offered.
Step 3: Measuring and assessing productivity development.
The productivity development is divided into three steps. These three steps are controlling operational
activities, managing the value chain and managing the value system. In the case of Sail Breaks it is seen
that the employees have a certain amount of freedom. The employees are involved in the decision-
making process, their ideas are taken into account by the managers of Sail Breaks. However, since the
company does offer standard packages the employees only have a limited amount of freedom in
executing the different programs. Openness in communication is seen as the most important step in
controlling the operational activities.
By offering multiple activities for the different customer groups the customer value is increased by Sail
Breaks. The activities that are offered are based on age and level of the customers; the value is created
by offering the sailing lessons for small groups with the same instructor for every lesson. In the hotel of
Sail Breaks the value differs per customer segment. For example, for a business stay with a group the
service includes meetings, training courses and product presentations. Besides this, adding specific
building blocks such as cycling with a route map, stand-up paddling and painting is possible for a group
stay. Furthermore, the individual customers have the choice between a shower or bath when booking a
room, the customers pay more for the room with a bath. For dinner the guests a two-course or three-
course à la carte menu is offered. By offering different activities and rooms for every customer segment
value is created for the guests.
The value system can be controlled by the company by developing solutions for the various customer
groups. The company has developed by adding an accommodation wing in 2010, offering summer week
courses and expanding the sailing school fleet. Furthermore, a year ago the option was added for youth
to compete in international competitions. Another development of Sail Breaks was the addition of a
water sports hotel with a restaurant.
4
, The productivity level of the company itself can be increased by for example separating the meeting
room and the restaurant. The meeting for business groups is now at the same location the lunch and
dinner is located. This is negative for productivity since the guests cannot enter the restaurant when a
meeting takes place. Furthermore, the company should switch to an online reservation platform if they
want to increase the productivity level. This will reduce the time that is spent on reservations because
personnel do not have to take as many calls as when the booking was executed via phone. In the long
term this will be cost reducing as well.
Step 4: Establishing the business’s current position.
The position of the business is flexibilization regarding their strategic orientation in which they
implement the value creation of differentiation & efficiency. The business processes of Sail Breaks are
offering heterogeneous products & services for their various segments (Zegveld & Hartigh, 2007).
5
