Scheduling approaches and manufacturing processes at Starbucks

Starbucks and the Four Primary Types of Manufacturing Process

Job shop

With jobs that don't fit within the scheme of continuous production the drive Starbucks, there is a need to address projects on an individiual basis. However, at this stage in its corporate life, Starbucks approaches projects quite differently than it may have a decade ago. Indeed, on the matter of its food offerings, an article by Kummer (2013) points out that the company has struggled to produce a quality product internally. As to the project of improving these offerings therefore, the resource wealthy company purchased a purveyor with a strong reputation for high quality cafe style food. According to Kummer, "last June, Starbucks paid $100 million for La Boulange, a San Francisco bakery with pastries and food that people definitely find respectable. The goal was nothing less than serving La Boulange-quality croissants and other pastries to Starbucks' 40 million customers in its 8,000 company-operated stores in the United States. " (p. 1)

This partnership of brands is a clear demonstration of how Starbucks approaches certain manufacturing challenges on a job or project basis.

Batch shop

With respect to batch production, Starbuck will on occasion release specialty bean types, seasonal products or other short-term offerings that don't fit within the scheme of its continuous and mass production strategies. In such cases, the company will deploy internal labor and facilities to produce limited quantities on a batch-per-batch basis. This flexibility, as the next section will show, is enabled by its increased autonomy in manufacturing.

Assembly

Starbucks has increasingly worked to domesticate its assembly strategy, expanding its use of American facilities for the mass production of its products. According to Hutson (2012), Starbucks just last year broke ground on a new roasting and assembly facility in Augusta, GA. Hutson reports that the plant, which will be complete in 2014 and will employ more than 140 local employees, "will be Starbucks' fifth manufacturing facility in the U.S., adding to the company's existing network of four roasting plants which currently employ more than 830 partners (employees) in Kent, Wash., York, Pa., Sandy Run, S.C., and Carson Valley, Nev. Designed to be LEED® certified, the 180,000 sq. ft. soluble plant will be capable of producing up to 4,000 metric tons per year." (p. 1)

This helps to underscore the increased emphasis on internally conducted mass production.

Continuous flow

This orientation allows the company to achieve an even greater efficiency with its strategy of continuous flow. As a brand that moves a high volume of product every single day, its inventory and ordering system must be automated to prevent any stopgap in supplies. As Rebman (2009) explains, "Starbucks is successfully integrating all sources of demand and matching it with the supply by using Oracle's automated information system for manufacturing (called GEMMS). The system does distribution planning, manufacturing scheduling, and inventory control (using MRP). The coordination of supply with multiple distribution channels requires timely and accurate information flow about demand, inventories, storage capacity, transportation scheduling, and more." (p. 1)

• Analyze the relationships of equipment availability, personnel, and bottlenecks, and how these factors apply to your product.