Independent Demand Inventory

Wendy’s Adds Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger

Wendy’s has added a Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger and Queso Fries to the menu.

The chef-inspired cheeseburger begins with a quarter-pound patty with poblano queso, crispy corn, tortilla chips, chipotle sauce, American cheese, lettuce, tomato on a jalapeno cheddar bun. The burger is designed as a “nacho platter” on a bun. It took Wendy’s over two years to develop the burger.

The Queso Fries required over 20 iterations to develop. This is the first time that Wendy’s has made a complimentary side to go […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2023-09-27T07:36:29+00:00September 27, 2023|Tags: forecasting, inventory management, product design, product development, supply chain management|

Logistics at the Panama Canal During Drought

Restrictions on daily transit as well as cargo weight will continue throughout 2024, as the Panama Canal deals with drought that has lowered water levels.

Shippers as well as recipients of goods are feeling the impact.

(For an earlier post explaining restricted load sizes through the Panama Canal, see this June 2023 post.)

Video Spotlight:

Drought hampering Panama Canal could have major economic repercussions (Aug 23, 2023, CBS Evening News)
Drought causing backups […]

By Lisa M. Spencer|2023-09-24T06:48:14+00:00September 24, 2023|Tags: bottlenecks, capacity planning, inventory management, lean operations, logistics, nearshoring, reshoring, risk management, supply chain risk, transportation|

Amazon Achieves Its Fastest Delivery Times

Amazon has reported its fastest ever time for Prime deliveries in the second quarter of 2023.

For the 60 largest metro areas, over half of Prime deliveries were same day or next day. Amazon continues to invest in its same-day delivery service–promising to double its same-day delivery facilities in the coming years.

This strategy has allowed the company to gain a 1/3 share of online orders in the U.S, six times that of its closest competitor, Walmart. Amazon also delivered more than […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2023-09-06T07:32:48+00:00September 6, 2023|Tags: artificial intelligence, distribution, inventory management, logistics, same day delivery, strategy, supply chain|

Chocolatier Uncovers Sweet Savings with Supply Chain Optimization

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is implementing a range of supply chain optimization initiatives, leading to sweet cost savings for the company known for cheesecake caramel apples, gourmet truffles, English toffee, and assorted dark mints.

Reducing inventory levels on raw materials and finished goods of underperforming chocolate products has enabled the company to eliminate multiple traditional warehouses. RMCF now relies heavily on cross-docking facilities for faster inventory throughput and more efficient out-bound loads. These factors are enormously important in streamlining online orders […]

By James Kirby Easterling|2023-08-20T07:09:30+00:00August 23, 2023|Tags: cold chain, efficiency, inventory management, lean management, logistics, optimization, waste|