Supply Chain Factors

Assignment #1: Supply Chain Factors

1. What are the expectations of Starbucks' customers in terms of Starbucks' coffee beverages?

Customers expectations in terms of Starbucks's coffee beverages is that the product will meet a certain quality.

2. What should be the primary goals of Starbucks' coffee bean supply chain be if they plan to be a customer focused organization?

One primary goal of Starbucks' should be on ethical and sustainable sourcing. Another goal would be to source products at the lowest possible cost.

3. How does purchasing help Starbucks achieve their supply chain goals?

Purchasing helps Starbucks achieve their supply chain goals by sourcing supplies from vendors that meet the quality expectations of Starbucks'.

4. How do the operations elements ( purchasing, planning & operations ) of Starbucks' supply chain support them at achieving their goals? What are the objectives of these elements?

Operations elements of Starbucks' supply chain support purchasing, planning & operations by relying on various functions such as demand management, MRP Planning and Enterprise Resource Planning.

The objective of these elements is to improve production scheduling, curtailing demand, managing inventory and provide real time sales/inventory data.

5. How does distribution and warehousing support the supply chain goals of Starbucks?

What are the objectives of the Starbuck's distribution and warehousing functions?

Distribution and warehousing support the supply chain goals by ensuring product delivery.

One objective of Starbuck's distribution and warehousing functions would be to have a perfect order fullfillment.

6. Why is effective integration of activities required for Starbucks to achieve their goals? What activities would these be?

Effective integration of activities is required because if one key activity fails than the goals of all the others are in jeopardy of not being achieved.

These activities would...