Akanesas Concept Series | Part 97 [The Terrace Club 68-Room Hotel] -- Creating a Factory That 'Acts Before Being Told'
Hello, I am Ryutaro Hojo, Representative of Akanesas Co., Ltd.
This series has reached its final installment.
Last time, I talked about the 6 services I experienced at the 'Terrace Club' in Okinawa, and the three abilities of 'observation, sharing, and judgment' that make them possible.
I discussed the three abilities of 'observation, sharing, and judgment' that make them possible.
Today, I will share how this structure is common to Japanese ryokans, and its application to the food manufacturing industry.
◆ The Same Structure as a Japanese Ryokan
Actually, doesn't this structure look familiar?
It is the Japanese ryokan.
The landlady remembers the guests' faces, understands their preferences, and acts before being told.
When you are shown to your room, the ingredients you said you disliked last time have already been removed.
Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons create service through 'systems'.
They have manuals, training, and checklists.
The Terrace Club creates service through the coordination of 'people'.
This is the same as a ryokan landlady.
The scale of 68 rooms is also close to the number of rooms in a luxury ryokan.
It does not appear in the rankings of the world's 5-star hotels.
However, when viewed through the framework of a Japanese ryokan, the extraordinary service quality of the Terrace Club can be said to be natural.
What the world is chasing with 'systems', Japan has been doing with 'people'.
I believe the Terrace Club is a rare entity that has transferred Japan's strengths into the form of a resort hotel.
◆ Is this just a story about hotels?
Now,
I have been talking about hotels up to this point, but
is this really
just a story about hotels?
Doesn't the same structure exist
in our food manufacturing workplaces as well?
◆ Who is the 'customer' for a food manufacturer?
The staff at The Terrace Club
anticipate what the guest needs
and act before being told.
So,
who is the 'customer'
for a food manufacturer?
・Buyers at the delivery destination
・Consumers
・Partner factories
And,
the people in the next process within the company.
How do we implement
the same 'act before being told'
as the hotel?
Let's look at this specifically.
◆ [1. Observation] Seeing what is happening on the floor
At The Terrace Club,
the staff were watching the guests' behavior.
How is it in a food factory?
・Temperature changes on the line
・Subtle differences in color or viscosity when raw material lots change
・Changes in the ordering patterns of delivery destinations
Many factories
manage by 'alerting when values exceed standards'.
That is the same as
'delivering glasses only after being told they were forgotten.'
The ability to notice 'something is wrong'
before it exceeds the standard.
This is observation in the field.
◆ [2. Sharing] Circulating what you notice in real-time
At the Terrace Club,
the pool staff knew
the information the front desk had.
How is it in a food factory?
When does quality control learn of
the raw material irregularities noticed by the production floor?
When does the production floor learn of
the complaints from delivery destinations heard by sales?
'Reporting at the Monday morning meeting'
is too late.
Terrace Club staff
ran to the pool to report.
Reducing the time lag
from noticing to sharing to zero.
This is sharing.
◆ [3. Judgment] The field can act on its own
This is the most important part.
At the Terrace Club,
they prepared tea and blankets
without checking with a supervisor.
Furthermore, regarding the Expedia matter,
the 11 PM staff
accepted a price lower than the standard rate and
switched to a direct booking.
The field is making decisions
that reduce sales.
Applying this to a food factory:
When an abnormality is felt on the line,
can the worker stop the line
based on their own judgment?
While you are waiting 10 minutes to say, "I will check with the factory manager,"
could 100 defective products have already passed through?
In many factories,
the authority to stop the line lies with the factory manager,
not with the part-time staff.
I understand the reason.
If you stop it, production will be delayed,
and you might not make the shipment deadline.
If the decision to stop it was wrong,
it becomes a matter of accountability.
That is why it becomes "check with the boss."
But when a quality incident occurs,
which one is truly more costly?
"Stopping the line for 10 minutes" or
"having defective products reach the customer."
Terrace Club
entrusts the 11 PM staff
with the decision to reduce revenue.
They are given the authority to absorb a difference of several thousand yen.
And the hotel has not gone bankrupt because of that.
On the contrary, the 68 rooms
are filled with repeat customers alone.
Entrusting decisions to the front line
may look like a cost in the short term.
But in the long term,
it is the cheapest investment.
◆ Food factories can also create quality with three things
Observation, sharing, and judgment.
Terrace Club
creates its service with these three things.
Food factories, too,
can create quality with these three things.
And—
I will write one more
important thing.
The reason Terrace Club can achieve this is
because it has 68 rooms.
As things get bigger,
observation becomes difficult.
Sharing becomes slower.
Decision-making moves away from the front lines.
Food manufacturers are the same.
The larger the scale,
the less the voices of 'Wait, what?' from the front lines
reach the ears of management.
That is precisely why
being 'small' is a weapon.
◆ The reason 68 rooms can beat 360 rooms
'We are a small-to-medium enterprise, so we can't beat the big players.'
There may be some of you
who think that way.
However, Terrace Club has 68 rooms, and
it beats the 360-room Halekulani
in service.
The reason it can win is
because it is 'small'.
- You can see everyone's face.
- Information flows in an instant.
- The front lines can act on their own.
Things that big companies absolutely cannot do,
small-to-medium enterprises can.
In your factories,
the same strongest weapon as Terrace Club
should already exist.
A distance where you can see everyone's face.
A workplace where voices are heard.
A scale where each individual's judgment
is directly linked to quality.
That is by no means a weakness.
It is fine if the exterior looks like an apartment building.
It is fine if the name is not well-known.
Leverage the small scale,
and win with the substance.
Structural Points
・What the world pursues through 'systems',
Japan has achieved through 'people'
・Even in food factories, quality can be created
through the three pillars of observation, sharing, and judgment
・Entrusting judgment to the front lines is
the most cost-effective investment in the long term
・Being 'small' can be a weapon
Thank you for reading
this two-part series.
── Ryutaro Hojo
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