In these modern times it is more and more difficult to become and stay competitive in the business environment. Customers have increasingly more products to choose from and more channels through which they can satisfy their needs. In such an environment it is vital to ensure an exceptional customer experience, and to maintain this experience through delivering products and services according to customer needs. This can be achieved by developing a process improvement model that integrates traditional approaches to business process improvement with the concept of customer experience management. OPSOMMINGIn vandag se besigheidsomgewing raak dit al moeiliker om te kompeteer vir die lojaliteit van kliënte. Kliente het al meer produkte om van te kies en heelwat meer kanale waardeur hulle, hulle begeertes kan vervul. In so omgewing is dit baie belangrik om die ervaring van kliënte te verbeter deur produkte en dienste te lewer wat voorsien in al die behoeftes van die kliënt. Dit kan gedoen word deur die ontwikkeling van 'n prosesverbeteringsmodel wat die tradisionele konsep van besigheidsprosesverbetering integreer met kliëntervaring bestuur.

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The private health care industry is facing uncertainty and change as a result of the market inquiry being undertaken by the Competition Commission into the private health care industry, the introduction of the National Health Insurance and the possibility of fee regulation. This study seeks to determine the extent to which activity-based costing is used within the operations of private health care facilities in South Africa. A structured online questionnaire was used to collect the primary data; it was completed by 32 private health care facilities and three hospital groups. This study found that the level of activity-based costing adoption at a health care facility level increased from 1.2% in 1994 to 31% in 2013. The increase in the level of activity-based costing adoption indicates that the private health care facilities are willing to adopt and use innovative management tools and techniques to face their current challenges.

The implementation of a South African National Health Insurance, combined with the potential of price reforms, has the potential to adversely affect the profitability of the health care industry. This could force management to look at ways to better understand the causal link between costs and the activities that drive costs. The study aimed to determine the extent of ABC use in health care facilities in South Africa, what the perceived and actual benefits are of adopting ABC and what other management tools and techniques are considered important. A structured questionnaire was sent to a target population, to which 51% of recipients responded. The results revealed that the rate of ABC adoptions has increased from 1.2% in 1994 to approximately 46% today. The growth in ABC adoptions and the high level of ABC adoption in relation to hospitals in the USA and Ireland indicate that the hospital industry in South Africa acknowledges the value ABC can add.

This paper relates to a company that produces washing powders. The focus is on improving the efficiency of gas usage (per unit of powder produced) in the furnace that produces hot air. This hot air is an integral part of washing powder production: it dries the viscous slurry and transforms it into the base powder used in all washing powders. The cost of gas is the factory's largest expense. This paper attempts to increase the productivity and profitability of the operations by applying operations research using MATLAB and the non-linear optimiser called SNOPT (sparse non-linear optimiser). Using these techniques, a proposed solution that aims to balance the amount of open space between spraying slurry, as well as the overlap of spraying slurry within the furnace, is obtained. This is achieved by optimising the positioning of the top layer of 24 lances. The placement of the bottom layer of lances is done by positioning them in the areas of biggest overlap. These improvements result in a positive impact on the amount of gas burnt within the furnace to dry slurry to powder. OPSOMMINGHierdie navorsing handel oor 'n aangeleentheid wat verband hou met die aktiwiteite van 'n onderneming wat waspoeiers vervaardig. Daar word gepoog om die rendement van 'n verhittingsoond wat lug verhit vir die droging van poeier te verbeter. Die drogingsproses vind plaas deur viskeuse bry te droog tot poeier, wat gebruik kan word as bestanddeel van gewone waspoeier. Hierdie artikel beoog om produktiwiteit en wins van die proses te verhoog deur 'n operasionele navorsingsbenadering toe te pas wat gebruik maak van 'n boeket van toepaslike programmatuur soos o.a. SNOPT ("sparse non-linear optimizer") en Matlab. 'n voorgestelde oplossing is verkry deur van die bogenoemde metodes gebruik te maak, die oplossing beoog om die hoeveelheid oop spasies tussen die viskeuse bry en ook die oorvleueling van die viskeuse bry in die verhittingsoond te balanseer. Dit word bereik deur die optimale posisies te verkry vir die boonste 24 lansiere. Die onderste laag lansiere word geposisioneer in die areas waar die grootste oorvleueling plaasvind. Hierdie verbeterings het 'n positiewe impak op die hoeveelheid gas wat in die verhittingsoond gebrand word. a aa a a a aa a a a a a 1