Supply Chain Management
The purpose of this paper is to analyze how supply chain management software, buffering and pull systemscan be utilized to reduce cost, speed delivery and increase productivity, using Wendy’s as an example.Since Wendy’s is a fast food restaurant chain, it is extra vulnerable to delays in the supply chain, which could lead to the cold chain being broken. Efficient supply chain management can utilize systems to prevent costly losses from spoiled food, delivery delays and enable employees to be more efficient.
Utilizing software to identify bottlenecks
The main determinant of throughput, work in process and cycle time is capacity, which is the highest rate at which the products flow through the system. A major factor of capacity is a constraint known as a bottleneck. It is the slowest process within the supply system (Imaoka). Determining and resolving bottlenecks is essential in order to reach the goal of high throughput, low work in process and cycle time. In smaller businesses bottlenecks can be identified pretty easily. However, in large multinational corporations such as Wendy’s,which has one of the most extensive food supply chains in the world, it is much more complex (Childress et al.). ArrowStreamOnDemand is a supply chain managementsoftware platform developed specifically for the foodservice industry. It is a highly integrated software system allowing Wendy’s to track inventory from the beginning of the supply chain to the end. Each batch of inventory is scanned by a handheld device at every step of the supply chain. This system enables Wendy’s managers to tellexactly where inventory is at any of the links of their global supply chain, at any given time (Larson Bricher). For example, Wendy’s may notice that one shipment of beef patties is being shipped out every day by theirproducer in Florida to their warehouse in Puerto Rico. However, despite the fact that the contracted shipping company runs daily shipments between the port of Miami and the port of
Utilizing software to identify bottlenecks
The main determinant of throughput, work in process and cycle time is capacity, which is the highest rate at which the products flow through the system. A major factor of capacity is a constraint known as a bottleneck. It is the slowest process within the supply system (Imaoka). Determining and resolving bottlenecks is essential in order to reach the goal of high throughput, low work in process and cycle time. In smaller businesses bottlenecks can be identified pretty easily. However, in large multinational corporations such as Wendy’s,which has one of the most extensive food supply chains in the world, it is much more complex (Childress et al.). ArrowStreamOnDemand is a supply chain managementsoftware platform developed specifically for the foodservice industry. It is a highly integrated software system allowing Wendy’s to track inventory from the beginning of the supply chain to the end. Each batch of inventory is scanned by a handheld device at every step of the supply chain. This system enables Wendy’s managers to tellexactly where inventory is at any of the links of their global supply chain, at any given time (Larson Bricher). For example, Wendy’s may notice that one shipment of beef patties is being shipped out every day by theirproducer in Florida to their warehouse in Puerto Rico. However, despite the fact that the contracted shipping company runs daily shipments between the port of Miami and the port of
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