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Enhancing efficiency in the evolving grocery supply chain through vendor integration

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-50). / C&S Wholesale Grocers is a privately-held firm headquartered in Keene, New Hampshire. C&S is a leading low-cost, high-service procurement and distribution provider servicing grocery retailers, and is the second largest grocery wholesaler in the United States.' The firm has realized average annual revenue growth of nearly 20% since 1995, and projects nearly twenty billion dollars of revenue for 2006. C&S operations are mobilized to deliver over 53,000 grocery items to more than 4,000 corporate customers "at record speed."2 Historically, C&S Wholesale Grocers has relied upon process excellence to sustain profitable growth. An internal group, the Business Process Excellence group, is currently focusing on process improvements across all areas of the C&S value chain. In support of the "BPE" team, this project focuses on "Vendor Integration", or determining the most effective processes and programs by which C&S should collaborate with its vendors to drive out supply chain costs. The goal of this thesis is to present a framework for the determination of "best-in-class" programs relating to vendor integration, programs which contribute to sustainable growth. First, a presentation of the drivers of sustainable growth is defined. / (cont.) Then a framework is employed to generate a host of available programs to be considered. Two of the programs are selected for an in-depth evaluation: Lead-Time Reduction and Global Data Synchronization. Future internships will be able to draw upon the approach, analysis, and findings of this work to solve similar strategic supply chain challenges. / by Jeffrey C. Baer. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MIT/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37129
Date January 2006
CreatorsBaer, Jeffrey C. (Jeffrey Clay)
ContributorsJonathan Byrnes and Sara Beckman., Leaders for Manufacturing Program., Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, Sloan School of Management
PublisherMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Source SetsM.I.T. Theses and Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Format50 p., application/pdf
RightsM.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission., http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

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