Strategic Supply Chain Model

Essay by atxguy777College, UndergraduateA, March 2008

download word file, 3 pages 3.0

Strategic Supply Chain ModelFor a moment consider what has to be accomplished in order for a customer to walk into a Starbuck's coffee shop and order that double espresso mocha frappachino? How does Starbuck's Plan, implement and manage all the company's day to day transactions that gets needed component parts and good's from all the company's suppliers and deliver them to the customer? The way that Starbucks has become a common household name is through the efficient management of the company's supply chain, but what does that mean? How does a company manage supply chains effectively?First, one must understand what supply chain management is, Supply chain management is the process by which a company integrates and manages the way that suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and retailers work together in order to make sure that products are produced in sufficient quantities, and are shipped to the proper locations on the best time schedule in order to minimize costs and fulfill system level requirements (Kaminsky, 2003).

Many elements exist within a supply chain like location, production, inventory and transportation. Starbuck's acquires its prime raw ingredient known to the rest of the world as coffee beans from all over the world, suppliers in Brazil, Central America, East Africa, Malaysia and Indonesia form the basis of Starbuck's supply chain (Starbuck's, 2007).

Starbuck's acquires its raw goods from suppliers located all over the world, and because of this the need for a well planned, implemented and managed supply chain is paramount. Starbuck employee's a supply chain management technique that is referred to as Coffee and Farmer Equity or C.A.F.E., this program has three categories used to help make Starbuck's supply chain more "green" (Starbuck's, 2007). The first category stems from Starbuck's realization that the majority of its producers will be smallholders grouped into an organization...