Kudler Fine Foods Transforms To Organic Produce

Kudler Fine Foods Transforms to Organic Produce

MBA 502

University of Phoenix Online

Kudler Fine Foods turn to Organic Produce

The Kudler Fine Foods is transforming its produce to carry organically grown produce. In the company's mission statement: "We will provide this service because we 'shop the world' for our products; purchase only the finest of products...and will go to extensive lengths to assure that Kudler's is the purveyor of choice for customers aspiring to purchase the finest epicurean delights (Kudler Fine Foods, 2006). Kathy Kudler and her administrative team have decided to contract with local vendors to bring organic produce to the stores. By carrying organic produce, this reinforces the company's desire to respond to the public desire to have fruits and vegetables grown without synthetic chemicals (Organic Consumers Association, 2006) (Hansen, 2004). However, in contracting with local farmers to use organic produce the company will need to go through some organizational changes. The affects of the supply chain from this decision may also have their impact on Kudler's. The company will also need to enact new quality control standards to maintain the company's commitment to supplying quality foodstuffs at an affordable price.

Business process that could be affected

The decision to contract with local vendors will change the company's process of obtaining produce for their stores. As Kudler's Fine Foods converts to the local vendors, the company will need to be aware of the vendors ordering and shipping process. What will be the deadlines for ordering in order for the product to make it to a particular store or stores? What times will the products arrive and will they arrive in a manner to cause the lease amount of disruption to the customer? What will happen if a customer has a specialty order? The company will need to be careful as to how the contracts are made with the vendors to ensure product delivery.

The stores produce department managers are no longer free to search the market to acquire their produce. Previous to this decision the department managers were encouraged to coordinate their efforts in obtaining the store produce. Now there will need to be careful coordination with the stores so that vendor contracts are not broken. There will also be a larger burden on the purchasing manager of the company to ensure compliance to the contracts form store department managers. There will also be an added responsibility to see that the vendors fulfill their part of the contract. There will need to be even more planning and communication between Kathy and the produce managers as items are to be put on sale. The vendors will need to be involved to make certain there is an adequate supply of the sale item or items. The company might see what item or items that the vendors have in abundance and are willing to sale at reduced prices.

There will also need to be a process in place to fill the customer's need of specialty items. The Kudler enterprise has committed to "... go to extensive lengths to assure that Kudler's is the purveyor of choice for customers aspiring to purchase the finest epicurean delights (Kudler Fine Foods, 2006)." From their commitment to the customer's satisfaction, the change to local contract vendors should not take the company form their mission statement.

Kathy will also need to have a process in to measure the vendor's performance. The company will need to be able to measure the effectiveness and satisfaction of the contract vendors. If the vendor does not meet the company's standards or expectations then the course of action should be determined before hand. The organization will need to allow the provision of using non-contract vendors if certain criteria are met. They can follow a model form the Virginia Tech's Purchasing Department. Their non-contract policy is as follows:

"It is recognized that these contracts do not fit all requirements. Under the provisions of decentralization, a decision can be made to use a source other than the preferred contract vendor. Such a decision should not be based upon personal preference, but rather should have a business basis related to one of the following considerations:

1. The contract item does not satisfy your requirement in terms of features or performance capability

2. The contract item cannot be delivered in adequate time; or

3. The alternate source item is less expensive than the contract item. "

(Virginia Tech, 2004)

Quality Control and performance standards

When we think of quality control and performance standards ... The quality of the foodstuffs at the Kudler Fine Foods is one of the key ingredients for the success of the company. As the enterprise moves to contracted vendors, there will need to be an even greater need to monitor the quality and performance of the produce delivered. Students from the Clemson University identified some tools that can help an organization to monitor quality. These include; check sheets, pareto charts, flowcharts, cause and effect diagrams, histograms, scatter diagrams and control charts. These tools are an outline to monitoring a process for quality. When applying these tools one must consider the following:

* Discovery - what needs to be monitored?

* Analysis - how is this to be measured?

* Improvement - improvement is identified.

* Monitoring - method in place to monitor

* Implementation - implement the change.

* Verification - verify that the change has a positive effect.

However, the use of the quality control tools does not constitute a quality program. It is essential to create a system that will constantly promote quality in the business (Stewart, 1995). Items that will need to be measured should include the quality, safety and a variety of commodes.

It is very important to Kudler's that the foodstuffs remain at an exceptional high quality for the customer. The elements of quality are numerous and the importance of the components will vary depending on the nature of produce and who is doing the evaluation. The customer and the produce managers will have an interest in the quality of the produce. Some of the