Purchasing Case Study (Questions at the end)

Jackie is the Food and Beverage Director at a small downtown hotel in Chicago. The facility has five major venders:

1. Produce: Bartlett and Sons Produce Wholesalers

2. Grocery Items: Somerset Food Wholesalers

3. Dairy: Klemmer’s Dairy Wholesalers

4. Meats: Porter’s Quality Meats

5. Bakery: Brenner’s Baked Goods

Other venders are used as necessary to meet the needs of the guests. The facility uses just – in – time inventory system since its storage space is very limited. Recently Jackie reviewed the results of the guest comment cards from the past two months. On the comment card, one of the hotels guests that stays at the hotel several times a month, indicated he had ordered the Fried Chicken Dinner with cauliflower the previous evening and was sent broccoli instead.

Jackie called the head chef to inquire why the menu item was subbed out and whether or not that was communicated to the guest.

The head chef, Lucy, explained that Bartlett’s Produce Wholesaler was out of the cauliflower and there was not time to order it from another company. She chose to substitute broccoli for the cauliflower with no thought to other menu items that may also use broccoli. However, with this substitution, there wasn’t enough broccoli for the broccoli and tomato salad. The comment cards indicated several guests in the main dining room where upset that this summer salad was not available. She was unsure if the Room Service Manager, Marcy, knew about the change.

Jackie asked Lucy whether being shorted on items, items ordered buy not delivered as requested) was a common problem with the produce company or any other wholesaler. Lucy reported that she wasn’t sure whether the shortage rate was unusually high but that it does happen on occasion. Lucy went on to say that she didn’t think there were as many shortages last year when the hotel used Sutton Produce Wholesalers, but she had no records to verify.

Jackie asked why Lucy made the substitution of the broccoli for the cauliflower, Lucy responded that most people who like the one also like the other. She went on the say that she really did not pay attention to the other menu items that may have needed broccoli. She went on to say that she didn’t even notice the product shortage until it was time to prep for dinner and there was no time to order additional product.

To prevent having to make substitutions in the future, Jackie recommended that Lucy order the frozen version of both vegetables to keep on hand. Lucy reluctantly ageed but pointed out that shortages are not always just produce ingredients. Just last week Somerset Wholesalers shorted them on cornmeal and thus they had no cornbread for the menu for two days. Jackie considered talking to the wholesalers in general to stress the importance of filling orders but she wasn’t exactly sure what to say.

With 2 pages essay answer the following:

After reading the attached case study answer the following questions assuming all three role: The Food & Beverage Director, the chef, and the vendor

1. From each position perspective, identify 5 problems of the situation

2. From the list for each position, identify the 1 “worst” problem

3. Based on each “worst” problem, identify how that problem could be, should be solved.

4. Identify ways that this situation could have and should have been avoided.