Yogurt Frozen Case
Part Four Project Redesigning Business Processes for Healthlite Yogurt Company 599
Healthlite Yogurt Company, a U.S. market leader in yogurt and related health products, is experiencing sharp growing pains. Healthlite’s sales have tripled over the past five years.
However, new local competitors, offering fast delivery from local production centers and lower prices, are challenging
Healthlite for retail shelf space with a bevy of new products.
Healthlite needs to justify its share of shelf space to grocers and is seeking additional shelf space for its new yogurt-based products such as frozen desserts and low-fat salad dressings.
Yogurt has a very short shelf life measured in days, and must be moved very quickly.
Healthlite’s corporate headquarters is in Danbury,
Connecticut. Corporate headquarters has a central mainframe computer that maintains most of the major business databases. All production takes place in processing plants that are located in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Tennessee,
Illinois, Colorado, Washington, and California. Each processing plant has its own minicomputer, which is connected to the corporate mainframe. Customer credit verification is maintained at corporate headquarters, where customer master files are maintained and order verification or rejection is determined. Once processed centrally, order data are then fed to the appropriate local processing plant minicomputer.
Healthlite has 20 sales regions, each with approximately 30 sales representatives and a regional sales manager. Healthlite has a 12-person marketing group at corporate headquarters.
Each salesperson is able to store and retrieve data for assigned customer accounts using a terminal in the regional office linked to the corporate mainframe. Reports for individual salespeople (printouts of orders, rejection notices, customer account inquiries, etc.) and for sales offices are printed in the regional offices and mailed to them.
Sometimes, the only way to
Healthlite Yogurt Company, a U.S. market leader in yogurt and related health products, is experiencing sharp growing pains. Healthlite’s sales have tripled over the past five years.
However, new local competitors, offering fast delivery from local production centers and lower prices, are challenging
Healthlite for retail shelf space with a bevy of new products.
Healthlite needs to justify its share of shelf space to grocers and is seeking additional shelf space for its new yogurt-based products such as frozen desserts and low-fat salad dressings.
Yogurt has a very short shelf life measured in days, and must be moved very quickly.
Healthlite’s corporate headquarters is in Danbury,
Connecticut. Corporate headquarters has a central mainframe computer that maintains most of the major business databases. All production takes place in processing plants that are located in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Tennessee,
Illinois, Colorado, Washington, and California. Each processing plant has its own minicomputer, which is connected to the corporate mainframe. Customer credit verification is maintained at corporate headquarters, where customer master files are maintained and order verification or rejection is determined. Once processed centrally, order data are then fed to the appropriate local processing plant minicomputer.
Healthlite has 20 sales regions, each with approximately 30 sales representatives and a regional sales manager. Healthlite has a 12-person marketing group at corporate headquarters.
Each salesperson is able to store and retrieve data for assigned customer accounts using a terminal in the regional office linked to the corporate mainframe. Reports for individual salespeople (printouts of orders, rejection notices, customer account inquiries, etc.) and for sales offices are printed in the regional offices and mailed to them.
Sometimes, the only way to