Supply Chain Management
STARBUCKS & IT SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
This is a case that illustrates several facets at once: Globalization & Rapid Expansion, Supply Chain Management, ERP Implementation, and IT Infrastructure. This case takes place in 1997.
Introduction
You have to admire the enthusiasm of Starbucks employees. Store managers have been known to stuff sacks of coffee beans into their cars and race over to help out other stores running low. Exceptional customer service, but certainly no way to run a business - especially one that 's growing as quickly as Starbucks that is trying to make inroads around the globe. "With over 2,000 stores, you can 't have 2,000 people running with coffee in their trunks," says Tim Duffy, director of supply chain systems and support for Starbucks. The specialty coffee supplier plans to have 2,000 retail locations up and running by year 2000, up from 1,400 today. To make sure none of these locations is beholden to a distribution system backed by a fleet of employee cars, Starbucks is in the midst of overhauling its supply chain management system. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Starbucks has chosen a best-of-breed approach over and integrated ERP solution. This approach is where companies hand pick the best software product for each piece of the supply chain process. What was supposed to be a three-year project is now slated to be finished in five, primarily because Starbucks chose a best-of-breed approach over an integrated ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution. With supply chain software vendors such as Manugistics Inc. bragging about full implementations of their applications being completed in less than a year, it 's fair to ask what 's taking Starbucks so long. The answer to that question provides lessons for any IT executive looking to revamp his or her company 's supply chain operations with a best-of-breed system. This approach, where companies hand-pick the best software product for each piece of the supply chain process,
This is a case that illustrates several facets at once: Globalization & Rapid Expansion, Supply Chain Management, ERP Implementation, and IT Infrastructure. This case takes place in 1997.
Introduction
You have to admire the enthusiasm of Starbucks employees. Store managers have been known to stuff sacks of coffee beans into their cars and race over to help out other stores running low. Exceptional customer service, but certainly no way to run a business - especially one that 's growing as quickly as Starbucks that is trying to make inroads around the globe. "With over 2,000 stores, you can 't have 2,000 people running with coffee in their trunks," says Tim Duffy, director of supply chain systems and support for Starbucks. The specialty coffee supplier plans to have 2,000 retail locations up and running by year 2000, up from 1,400 today. To make sure none of these locations is beholden to a distribution system backed by a fleet of employee cars, Starbucks is in the midst of overhauling its supply chain management system. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Starbucks has chosen a best-of-breed approach over and integrated ERP solution. This approach is where companies hand pick the best software product for each piece of the supply chain process. What was supposed to be a three-year project is now slated to be finished in five, primarily because Starbucks chose a best-of-breed approach over an integrated ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution. With supply chain software vendors such as Manugistics Inc. bragging about full implementations of their applications being completed in less than a year, it 's fair to ask what 's taking Starbucks so long. The answer to that question provides lessons for any IT executive looking to revamp his or her company 's supply chain operations with a best-of-breed system. This approach, where companies hand-pick the best software product for each piece of the supply chain process,