Mcdonalds Supply Chain

McDonald’s is the world’s largest hamburger fast food chain, operating in 119 countries. The company began in 1940 and is headquartered in Illinois. As one of the most powerful brands in the world, their signature golden arches are a symbol recognized immediately by most. Our group chose to do our report on McDonald’s because it is one of the most well-known corporations worldwide, and was listed as number three on Gartner’s Supply Chain Top 25 List for 2012. This was recently announced at Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference in May of this year. McDonald’s started in 1937 as a drive-in restaurant by two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald. Hamburgers were just ten cents. In 1948, after realizing that most of their profits came from hamburgers, they closed the drive-in and made it a self-serve operation. They set up their kitchen like an assembly line to ensure maximum efficiency. McDonald's continued to grow, change, and evolve, and in 1972 passed $1 billion in annual sales. In 1998 the company for the first time took a stake in another fast food chain, and purchased a minority interest in Chipotle Mexican Grill. That same month McDonald's announced they would overhaul its food preparation system in every restaurant, making a new “just-in-time” system that was aimed at delivering customers “fresher, hotter” food and special-order sandwiches. Since then it has continued to grow and expand, well known for setting up an unmatched supply chain in India. McDonald’s primarily sells hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and chicken products, French fries, and soft drinks. However, their menu varies by country. It is not uncommon to find soup or McRice on the menu in countries in Asia, or even beer in Germany! McDonald’s is famous for their “Big Mac,” their signature hamburger consisting of two patties, three buns, cheese, pickles, onions, lettuce, and their “special sauce.” The Big Mac is so predominant around the world that the Economist introduced