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Introduction
Kudler Fine Foods is a local upscale specialty food store located in the San Diego metropolitan area. The company has three locations: La Jolla, Del Mar and Encinitas. Each store is stocked with the best domestic and imported foodstuffs.
Nowadays more consumers are selecting organic and natural products as a food source, because of the perceived positive health attributes. Kathy Kudler feels it is necessary to follow the trend to maintain existing customers and increase market participation. To achieve this goal, the company will be seeking local growers of organic produce to serve as a supplier. This paper will analyze the existing business processes and recommend changes in several areas to ensure success on the new strategy.
Business processes at Kudler
Kudler has a decentralized purchase process; there is no purchasing department in any of their stores. Each store manager determines the product requirements for all items to be stocked at each department. The manager will also place purchase orders directly with approved suppliers. The current purchasing process consists of the following steps:
1. Review inventory to determine which products are required, when and in what quantity.
2. Contact other stores to compare if prices are competitive.
3. Fill out the purchase order form (one standardized form for three stores).
4. Send the form via regular mail, e-mail, fax or hand in to the supplier's salesperson, plus one copy to the purchasing department manager and general accounting.
5. Receiving merchandise (verification of quantities ord ...