Darden Restaurant Case Study Essay

Because many businesses in the US have more often began outsourcing different business products instead of doing them in-house, it is important to understand why outsourcing may be the best option. Although many tie outsourcing to foreign markets, outsourcing can include both foreign and domestic markets. By entering into a contractual agreement, outsourcing allows organizations to pay for services they need. This gives the option for a business to get professionals to perform services for them that the business may not have the staff for. Outsourcing provides a cost saving-strategy that is usually more affordable. Ultimately,

In general, the outsourcing is hiring the foreign workers/company to do a particular task, as opposed to hiring domestic workers/company. Besides the outsourcing, the international purchase is an essential activity of companies. In the trend of a booming global economy, a company only focuses on its core value and hire suppliers to supply the necessary product and service. The relationship between companies are complicated and interdependent.

Senior Management of PepsiCo is evaluating the potential acquisition of two companies – Carts of Colorado and California Pizza Kitchen – in order to expand the company’s restaurant business. If indeed PepsiCo decides to pursue the acquisition of one or both, they must decide how to align each of these business units in its historically decentralized management approach and how to forge relationships between the acquired business units and existing business units. In their evaluation, Senior Management is faced with the question of whether the necessary capital investment in order to purchase one or both of the businesses can be profitable for each of the acquired business units, but must

Olive Garden was founded in 1982 owned and operated by Darden Restaurants. Darden Restaurants is the nations largest most successful restaurant chain. Darden Restaurants also own and operates The Red Lobster chain. Olive garden offers a family home style dining with inspiring recipes from Tuscany, Italy. Their Culinary school was founded in 1999 in Tuscany, Italy. Where they train their chefs and create menus for the restaurant. With a remarkable wine selection and great home cook Italian meal and a affordable menu price I have always enjoyed my stay at the Olive Garden. Olive Garden has received many award throughout their history. Recent awards came from the Nation's Restaurant News which presented Olive Garden with the "Menu Masters" award

“Supply chains cannot tolerate even 24 hours of disruption. So if you lose your place in the supply chain because of wild behavior you could lose a lot. It would be like pouring cement down one of your oil wells” (Friedman, T. n.d.). The introductory quotation from American Journalist Thomas Friedman establishes the purpose of this essay. This essay will briefly exhibit two factors that would change the demand for the product produced by GNC (General Nutrition Center); as elaborated upon in the last Session Long Project (SLP) this is the franchise I’ve selected for study during the duration of this session. Next, will be a short overview of activities that would affect changes in supply. After that, how could quantity demanded by changed? Finally, the type of demand the GNC product promulgates whether it is elastic or inelastic. First, let us dive into the two factors would change the demand for the GNC product.

Outsourcing is a method used by many corporations in which their products are manufactured in foreign countries often for cheaper labor.This method method of productions has it’s pros and cons.

Mr. Phimphrachanh wants to draw $100,000 from the business by the end of 2006. But based on his financial projections, the after tax net income is less than $100,000. Moreover, there are some other factors that he should consider.

Darden Restaurants owns a number of specialty brands that are located throughout the United States and Canada. These include: the Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse, the Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, Eddie V's Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille. The company has 2 thousand locations and they employ 135 thousand people. Their primary markets are middle class to affluent families. ("Our Company," 2012)

Outsourcing is when a company purchases products or services from an outside supplier rather than performing the same work within its own facilities, in order to cut costs. In other words, outsourcing is an organization's contractual relationship with a specialized outside service provider for work traditionally done internally by that organization. The decision to outsource is a major strategic one for most companies because it involves weighing the potential cost saving against the consequences of a loss in control over the product or service. Some common examples of outsourcing include manufacturing of components, computer programming services, tax compliance and other accounting functions, as well as payroll and other

Throughout its existence, as a part of General Mills, Pillsbury, or on its own as DRI, Darden has made waves throughout the restaurant industry. The thought processes behind the introduction of a concept are considered revolutionary, as exemplified by the strategy behind The Olive Garden and Bahama Breezes.

Darden takes its suppliers very seriously, prior to doing business, the supplier must be qualified and a Total Quality Management Team assigned to that vendor. Product tracking occurs with inspection teams that identify the lot ID, atmospheric packaging, and the ability to track the order from origin to receipt of goods. For their many restaurants, Darden structures its supplies from 5 continents and thousands of suppliers, but insists on independent and accurate assessments in order to maintain relationships. Everything must be JIT inventory except smallware.

1. Statement of Problem: What are the problems being faced and the most important 3-4 decisions the company needs to make regarding the situation of the company in China.

Even though direct competition has decreased, the tendency of retailers to get their products directly from manufacturers puts the company in a position of relooking its competitive edge as a distributor. The marketplace is shifting from an individuality to supply chain performance – the ability to meet end-customers needs through product availability and responsive and on-time delivery. Supply chain performance crosses both functional lines and company boundaries. Brunswick must change their way to fill customer orders faster and more efficiently than the competition.

Multi-unit Restaurant Business concepts are represented by units with independent operators. The concepts are categorized into three industry segments 1) specialty establishments, 2) quick service restaurants, and 3) casual dining. An excellent example of this concept business is The Darden family of restaurants, founded from Lakeland, FL, which features the following most successful and recognizable brands in full- service dining: Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Long Horn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s, and Yard House. According to their last SEC 10-k report filing, they own and operate worldwide more than 2,000 restaurants, employ 185,000 people, and serve more than 423 million meals a year. The

Define the situation (case summary) Define the major issues, conflicts, and the network . Describe the options (alternatives) for solving these issues. Several internal and external influences serve as contributing factors in the reconsideration of the company’s current system. Changes in customer demands, domestic and global competition, and a unique decentralized management system is now forcing the Westminster Company to reevaluate their traditional supply chain practices. (Bowersox & M.B., 2014) Westminster’s domestic operations consist of three separate companies that sell and distribute products to several of the same customers. (Bowersox & M.B., 2014) At first glance consolidation of the systems can significantly improve