Kudler Fine Foods Operations Management

Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) was founded by Kathy Kudler in the San Diego metropolitan area in 1998. Kathy developed a business plan for the store due to a need for an upscale specialty food store in La Jolla. After opening KFF on June 18, 1998 and concluding a profitable year, she opened a second and third store (Kudler Fine Foods, 2008).

KFF has seen strong success and now must ensure continued growth by expanding services, improving the efficiency of operations, and increasing the consumer purchase cycle (Kudler Fine Foods, 2008). Each member of the organization must play a key role in achieving these objectives. Special attention must be paid to the supply chain and business processes, especially when developing a new product offering.

KFF plans to start selling organic produce in the three stores. This produce will be contracted from local growers. Operational changes will need to be made to ensure efficiency and productivity. The operations that will see change will be forecasting, purchasing, inventory management, and even advertising of the new products.

Currently