The supply chain model explains how the network of acquiring the final product is sequentially arranged. For the students of economics, it helps to illustrate clearly the complex process of production. Here, the supply chain of McDonald’s will be taken as the template for analysis. In general, McDonald’s is a transnational fast-food chain with more than 38,000 locations (Langert, 2019).
It manufactures the most common fast food products: for example, burgers, French fries, sandwiches, and desserts (“McDonald’s menu,” 2023). For the convenience of discussion, the US will be the main market for analysis. The major peculiarity of this industry is the high level of competition between different retailers. Therefore, the supply chain should fulfill the requirements of cost-efficiency and swift movement.
For the aims of cost-efficiency, McDonald’s should devote a significant amount of expertise to create a satisfactory plan. The company should find the best place and create strict standards of quality. The important step here is to find appropriate suppliers that will deliver fresh products every day on time. In the case of McDonald’s, it may be lettuce and potato growers, poultry, and livestock farms.
Concerning the process of making, McDonald’s aim is to standardize their production to make the taste of food similar in all restaurants and facilitate staff training. In the fast food industry, delivery can be considered the process happening before making because it involves transporting products through refrigerated trucks. McDonald’s completely outsourced the process of transportation to trusted companies (McDonald’s Corporation, 2021).
The huge supply chain makes McDonald’s management establish clear-cut policies of returns, that is, sending back unused plastic and unused products. For example, McDonald’s elaborated complex information systems on all the movements in their supply chain, outlined business rules and formulated business regulations (McDonald’s Corporation, 2021). The category “enable” in the supply chain is a specific addition to the basic supply chain reference model because it unites all the processes that cannot be categorized into other steps.
References
Langert, B. (2019). The battle to do good: Inside McDonald’s sustainability journey. Emerald Group Publishing.
McDonald’s Corporation. (2021). Annual report 2021. Web.
McDonald’s menu. (2023). McDonald’s. Web.