FREE ESSAY ON USE OF FACILITY AND DISTRIBUTION LAYOUTS IN A SERVICE ORGANIZATION

USE OF FACILITY AND DISTRIBUTION LAYOUTS IN A SERVICE ORGANIZATION

The BellSouth Payment Remittance Operation (PRO) processes customer payments for BellSouth
Telecommunications (BST), and BellSouth Mobility (BMI). There are two PRO groups, one in
Atlanta and one in Charlotte, North Carolina. The customers predominantly live in a
nine-state region in the southeastern part of the United States. The Atlanta PRO
processes payments for BST customers from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and
Tennessee, and Carrier Access payments and Manager's Bill payments for all states. They
process payments for BMI customers from these same states in addition to any customers
outside the normal BellSouth area. The BellSouth customer population for BST grows as the
population in the areas it serves grows. The mobility market, which is highly
competitive, grows as new customers buy into the concept. The combined growth in payments
processed over the last couple of years has been about 6%. 
The average number of payments processed per day by the Atlanta group is 350,000. On
weekend days this drops to about 150,000 and the most they have ever processed in a
24-hour period is 698,000 payments. They handle 7.4 million payments per year, with the
Charlotte group handling about 300,000 to 400,000 less than that. The Atlanta group has
145 total employees, counting managers, some part time and some temporary employees. They
work one of three shifts for 24 hour, six and a half-day coverage. Saturday night is the
only time there is no one working. 98% of all payments are processed within 24 hours of
receipt. The average cost per payment processed is $.07. The first half of every month is
heavier than the second half due to billing cycles. January and the first two weeks of
July are the heaviest times during the year. This is due to fiscal year ends for
businesses in the area, and that residential customer doesn't generally pay their
telephone bills in December. Other causes of fluctuations in volumes received are the
mail flow and the weather.
Product/Service
Service strategy appears to be assemble to order on first glance. 50% of the payments
received require human intervention to record the payments due to multiple remittance
documents, multiple checks, or illegible amounts on checks or money orders. Machines that
can read both checks and documents, thus avoiding the human touch record the other 50% of
payments. Mass customization appears to be a better description, however. BellSouth's
flexible processes generate customized services in high volumes at reasonably low cost.
Their key to being a successful mass customizer is handling the payments that can go
straight through the machine process and only diverting those that require special
attention. Doing this allows the greatest application of the more efficient line flow
strategy for standard payments before flexible flows are required for specific
customization. 
Process
After observing the payment remittance operation it can be deduced that Bellsouth uses an
Intermediate flow type in processing their payments. When the mail is initially received
at the processing center it follows a uniform step-by-step process with only a few
deviations.
The mail is delivered at least nine times a day. It is wheeled off of the freight
elevator and into the mailroom. Then it is sorted into gray and white mail. From there it
is fed into a machine that can determine whether it is just a "normal" one check and one
payment slip or multiple forms, checks and sometimes even cash.
The "normal" mail is then fed into a machine and opened by being slit on all three sides.
Multiple documents and all white mail have to be routed into another room where they are
sorted by hand. Checks are then sent through an imaging machine that takes a picture of
the check and the slip. Unreadable items are rejected and put in a queue for the people
in the DCB unit to handle. The checks and documents are separated with documents in one
tray and checks in another. Fifty percent of the payments are matched by the imaging
machines and processed. The other fifty percent are scanned and sent to DCB to do a scan
line fix document or amount entry. The operators compare the document to the check using
the images and record the correct amount. Occasionally, they have to retrieve the actual
check from a batch. Dishonored checks are also handled in this room. It is at this point
that the process deviates from a strict line flow to an intermediate flow. The straight
assembly line process is interrupted when the payments skip pass 2 and is sent to DCB. It
is further changed when an individual has to actually pull a batch for a check in order
to verify information.
After this stage the process picks up again at pass 2 where all checks are endorsed and
batched ready to be sent to the bank.
When tracing the process that all the payments at the Bellsouth Remittance Center have to
follow it can easily be determined that they use an Intermediate flow type. It also shows
that they use a Batch/Line process type. The Batch/Line process by definition has high
volume and low customization, which can easily be seen at Bellsouth. As mentioned earlier
Bellsouth handles a very high volume of mail and because of the of the process type that
is used in the center, customization has to be kept at a minimum.
Time plays a huge role also at the payment center. It is imperative that when the mail is
received that it is processed within a specified amount of time. The employees in the
center are allotted a certain amount of time to sort through the white mail (multiple
forms) and get it through to pass one. It is not uncommon for them to work extra hours
processing the payments in order for the process to be completed so the checks can be
taken to the bank, and the process can begin again the next day. 
Bibliography
Elliott, Pat. (2000). BellSouth Payment Remittance Corporation.