Creative Recipes to Help Restaurants this Winter

Creative Recipes to Help Restaurants this Winter

October 9, 2020
Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.

 

Restaurants made adjustments to reopen this summer. Now, they need to reinvent themselves.

So far, restaurants with outdoor spaces have been able to cope. With winter looming, the flexibility of their operations is being tested like never before. A myriad of solutions is being proposed to protect restaurants from financial disaster. Some involve technology or “remodels” of outdoor spaces, and others promote a completely new strategy with additional service lines. Many restaurateurs wonder how much they will need to invest to keep going and whether it is even worth it.

 

Video Spotlight: Serious Challenges for Restaurant Owners

This post is based on The Washington Post article, Outdoor Dining Has Helped Restaurants Avoid Disaster. But Winter Is Coming, by T. Carman, September 28, 2020, and the YouTube video, Winter Is Coming: Restaurant Owners Worry About Business Impact, by The Wall Street Journal, September 24, 2020. Image source: hatchapong / 123RF.

Discussion Questions:

1. What can restaurateurs do to make their indoor and outdoor spaces safe during the winter months? What is the downside of these investments?

Guidance: Solutions for outdoor spaces include: outdoor heaters, private dining pods, heated tents (some with sliding walls), and Continue reading →

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Made in Italy at Amazon

Made in Italy at Amazon

October 8, 2020
Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.

 

The pandemic has been a boon for Amazon. Worldwide.

Even in places like Italy where people prefer to shop in stores, Amazon has been able to assume a dominant role during the pandemic. When stores were forced to close, Amazon filled a genuine need for goods. As the economy reopened, the appeal of convenience triggered a sudden, but durable, consumer behavior shift. Can small merchants that depend on the “old world” image rethink their operations to survive e-commerce? Based on the video, many already have.

 

Video Spotlight: Amazon Academy’s ‘Made in Italy’ Program

This post is based on The New York Times article, Pasta, Wine and Inflatable Pools: How Amazon Conquered Italy in the Pandemic, by A. Satariano and E. Bubola, September 26, 2020, and the YouTube video, Amazon Academy ‘Made in Italy’ – Brussels 2019, by AmazonNewsEU, December 9, 2019. Image source: Pixtal / AGE Fotostock.

Discussion Questions:

1. For Amazon, what are the threats and opportunities in Italy?

Guidance: The main opportunities are a change in consumer habits, a high unemployment rate, and a second wave of virus spread. The threats are an older population that might be more resistant to Continue reading →

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Procurement Reset at Kraft Heinz

Procurement Reset at Kraft Heinz

October 6, 2020
Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.

 

Procurement is expected to become a strategic weapon for Kraft Heinz.

Beset by poor management and financial misconduct, procurement had become an embarrassment for Kraft Heinz. Under the direction of Marcos Eloi, the new Chief Procurement Officer, the department is being revamped and repositioned as a major cost savings contributor within the supply chain. Centralization, automation, and collaboration are the main characteristics of the transformation that Kraft Heinz touts as game changing, but that skeptics view as perhaps insufficient to deliver the results expected by the company.

 

Video Spotlight: Kraft Heinz’s CEO Describes the Shift in Strategy

This post is based on the Supply Chain Dive article, The Kraft Heinz Procurement Overhaul Is Here, by E. Cosgrove, September 24, 2020, and the YouTube video, Heinz CEO Discusses Selling off Cheese Business and the Company’s Reset Strategy, by Yahoo Finance, September 16, 2020. Image source: Comstock Images / Alamy.

Discussion Questions:

1. Describe the major aspects of the overhaul. Are they aligned with Operations’ competitive priorities (cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility)?

Guidance: The overhaul involves: 1) a decrease in transactional sourcing, 2) a reduction in internal manufacturing capacity and a heavier reliance on outsourcing, 3) Continue reading →

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