JC’s Pie Pops (http://www.ilovejc.com/) is a fast-growing frozen-food brand. The
ID: 371376 • Letter: J
Question
JC’s Pie Pops (http://www.ilovejc.com/) is a fast-growing frozen-food brand. The CEO, Jennifer “JC” Constantine started the company in 2013 and currently they serve over 4,000 grocery stores across the US. (Read the story here and here).
JC’s has had issues with its supply chain in the past and it has limited their growth; They had to refuse the request to do test runs by some grocery store chains due to supply chain and manufacturing limitations. Due to recent investments, JC’s has overcome the manufacturing issues. Currently, they are planning to expand their business by serving more grocery stores. JC’s wants to develop the supply chain and logistics to meet this objective.
Your team is responsible for proposing methods to develop the supply chain and logistics network for JC’s.
Following are some information provided by JC’s management.
JC’s Pie Pops currently serves 4200 stores. JC’s wants to increase that by 50% in next 2 years. Demand is expected to increase by 50% in the next 2 years as well.
Currently, JC’s has one manufacturing facility, which has the capacity to manufacture the increasing demand for the next 2 years.
The finished goods warehouse does not have room to grow.
Currently, the finished goods are transported to the retail stores by a third-party transportation company. JC’s can secure investments to build a new central distribution center (location not decided) which can transport goods to regional distribution centers and then to retail stores.
JC’s currently purchase raw materials for their products from many different suppliers. There is no clear method for purchasing raw material.
JC’s manufacture their products based on the demand forecasts and deliver them to the retail stores. Some retail store chains have shown interest in coordinating with JC’s to share the point-of-sale data and enter sales contracts.
1-Introduction to the JC’s Pie Pops and its supply chain and logistics system
2-Current and Possible Issues
3-Discussion should include topics such as: Use of information technology, Issues in logistics, Procurement, Demand and order management, Inventory management, Warehousing and facility location, Material handling, and Transportation management.
4-Alternative solutions to above issues
5-Discussion on alternative solutions
6-Recommendations for the supply chain and logistics network and logical reasons
Explanation / Answer
1. increase the supply chain and logistics is good to the firm. it helps them to reach market with more effectively and encash the market demand for their products. for now they are following third party transportation for supply these goods to grocessary stores. it is better to continue the same, but ask the third party to increase more trips or more vehicles for covering more area. draw your market geographically, define the volume of goods deliver to each store, define how many trips per day or week and based on this define a supply strategy.
for this the must use computers and internet to prepare a possible scheduling. online ordering process must be there, the grocessory stores can order their products thorugh internet. next they need to prepare a software for covering all the supply chain process and all it must be integrated well to overcome supply chain related problems.
2. for expansion of the production and expansion of the market, they need to work more concentrately. they need to increase the labor power, increase material purchasing and increase extra hours initially to meet the demand. next increase about the space of godown for finished goods. it is better to have a large godown for storing finished products. vehicles do not wait for lack of finished products, hence if we have large godown, we can maintain sufficient units of finished goods and the same will be sent to the market.
next is about purchasing process and having tursted suppliers. having more than one supplier is always good, but if we regularly changes the suppliers, it show implact on the quality of output and end product. hence it is better to have one or two suppliers, make an agreement with them and with a quotation process fix the suppliers. then it helps the firm to minimize total purchasing costs.
for maintaning all the materials the firm must construct small size godowns to maintain the material or some processed goods. it helps to maintain good inventory management strategies. based on the need of material and based on market demand of the product, the activities will be moves.
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