Hormel’s One Supply Chain Initiative Unlocks Capacity

Hormel’s One Supply Chain Initiative Unlocks Capacity

April 25, 2021
Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.

Hormel Foods has succeeded in unlocking supply chain capacity to shift operations to meet higher and sustained demand for all four of its food segments. That is despite lower production volumes caused by plant closures, and despite increased costs to accommodate enhanced employee and food safety during the pandemic.

The company’s success is attributed to a supply chain initiative called One Supply Chain that sought to improve production efficiencies, integrate new capacity, and leverage strategic partnerships to increase production across the SPAM, Skippy, Hormel Commpleats, and Herdez brands.

Video Spotlight: 

This post is based on the Forbes article, Hormel Foods Unlocks Supply Chain Capacity To Drive $2.5 Billion Sales Growth, by Rose Celestin, March 16, 2021, and the YouTube video in the Spotlight. Image source: gojak/iStock/Getty Images

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the production challenges that Hormel Foods faced due to COVID-19 disruptions?

Guidance: The challenges included fluctuating demand, fluctuating plant capacity utilization, changing food consumption trends, and increasing supply chain disruption costs.

2.  How did Hormel Foods respond to these production challenges?

Guidance: Hormel Foods implemented Continue reading →

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Big Ship Creates Big Backlog

Big Ship Creates Big Backlog

April 6, 2021
Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.

When the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal, its gigantic size became a gigantic problem.

To support an ever-expanding global trade, ship size has been increasing for decades. Today, the largest ships can carry between 18,000 and 24,000 containers.  A larger cargo makes perfect economic sense because the cost of shipping one container decreases as cargo capacity increases. However, when things go wrong, big ships mean big disruptions in an already strained global supply chain. It is estimated that the stranded ship held up 12% of global trade at an estimated cost of $9.6 billion a day. This financial and logistic threat, along with more elusive cost savings in the future, may signal the need for fresh ideas in global shipping.

 

Video Spotlight: The Ripple Effects of the Backlog

This post is based on The New York Times article, Why the World’s Container Ships Grew So Big, by N. Chokshi, March 30, 2021, and the YouTube video, Cargo Ship Freed from Suez Canal, but Shipping Backlog Could Last, by CBC News: The National, March 29, 2021. Image source: (c) Glow Images/SuperStock.

Discussion Questions:

1. Will the short-lived blockage have a major Continue reading →

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Hospital Resources

The Impact of COVID-19 on Hospital Resources

March 11, 2021
CMKaruppan

 

 

Healthcare professionals are often described as the heroes of the COVID-19 crisis.

For more than a year, they have shown a remarkable resilience. Under extreme duress, they have expanded their skill repertoire and stretched their own physical and emotional limits to provide complex and compassionate care. The article underscores the difficulty of formulating capacity plans to  respond quickly and effectively to successive surges in demand while normal revenue streams are constrained.

 

Video Spotlight: Burnout in the ICU

This post is based on The New York Times article, See How Covid-19 Has Tested the Limits of Hospitals and Staff, by J. Keefe, Y. Parshina-Kottas, & S. Fink, February 23, 2021, and the YouTube video, COVID-19: Doctors and Nurses Talk about Burnout as Another Wave Hits U.S., by TIME, November 23, 2020. Image source: Chaikom/Shutterstock.

Discussion Questions:

1. Describe the capacity plans needed to deal with sudden increases in demand volume and mix?

Guidance: To overcome the increased utilization of ICUs around the country, new areas have been repurposed and can accommodate COVID-19 patients. The staffing of these expanded ICUs has been more challenging. ICU care requires specialized personnel. As a result, pulling Continue reading →

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