Swot Analysis : Chipotle Mexican Grill

The founder of Chipotle is Steve Ells. Ells attended the University of Colorado, and later attend the Culinary Institute of America. He later worked at Star Restaurant as a chef, but then left to start Chipotle. At the age of 28, Ells opened Chipotle with a loan from his father of $85,000 on July 1993. Within a month Chipotle took off by sell over 1000 burritos daily by targeting millennial. Chipotle mission statement includes values of using the high-quality ingredients, classical cooking techniques, and a unique design. The mission of using high-quality ingredients has given respect to farmers, their animals, and the environment. This philosophy is called “Food With Integrity.” This concept has gained Chipotle a great amount of publicity.

Chipotle’s kitchen and restaurant design intentionally places employees up front to reinforce a focus on service, through interaction with customers and individual attention by creating one burrito at a time (Chipotle, 2011, p. 5). While Chipotle combines basic ingredients to magnify the flavor they also stick to the basics when staffing their restaurants. Chipotle only has two shifts and cross trains their

It’s nearing the end of the fourth quarter, stomachs are growling across the arena. The home team scores in the last minute, winning the game. The fans cheer and shout in pure joy; however, they’ve become hungry from the long game. They must find a place to satisfy the desire to celebrate and to please their hunger. They all gather in their cars and drive by many fast food restaurants such as: McDonalds, Burger King, and Chickfila. Then they spot it, the holy grail of fast food restaurants, Chipotle Mexican Grill. This is a great restaurant that can attend to all of your needs, hunger, and celebration after a sporting event. Chipotle has many accommodations which include: a great location, a wonderful atmosphere,

Founded in 1993, by Steve Ells, Chipotle has been serving the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, and France for twenty-two years. The chain offers a wide variety of options to put on a burrito, bowl, burrito bowl, or tacos. You get the option of what type of meat you would like including chicken, steak, barbacoa, or pork (they also offer vegetarian options). After picking your meat, you can go down the “line” to choose your toppings. From rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole, salsa, and many more toppings, the combinations of tastes are endless!

Chipotle’s current information system is capable of proving sufficient feedback on implemented activities and performance. Chipotle uses an integrated information system called MicroStratery Business Interlligence Platform which includes Finance, Field Controllers, Marketing, Operations, Human Resources, Restaurant Management, and Field Management. This system analyses and provides feedback on key performance metrics, such as daily sales, trends, impact of marketing campaign, etc. This system provides efficient and effective way of reporting information with low total cost and easy-of-use. It also manages the flow of information within each restaurant and between the restaurants and the corporate office. Additionally, The point-of-sales systems helps chipotle manage credit card transactions, recorded employees time clock information and other management reports. The information is transmitted to the corporate office on a daily basis. Chipotle’s information system is one of the Company’s strengths and it can definitely be used to gain competitive advantage.

This past October, 2015, Chipotle Mexican Grill’s reputation took a big hit following E. coli and norovirus outbreaks that left tons of people sick. As a result of this, the company closed 43 restaurants in Washington state and Oregon after linking some restaurants to an E. coli outbreak, which sickened 52 people around those area. The E coli outbreak has led to wide spread to other states that left customers sick from their food and has caused the company a down fall of their

The company follows the strategy predicated on five elements: serving a focus menu, using high-quality ingredient and classic methods, creating operationally efficient restaurant with aesthetically pleasing and distinctive interior settings, taking good care of each customer and protect the environment. There is no doubt about the success of this strategy, so Ells wants to use exact the same strategy for the new model – the ShopHouse. The problem is that whether the same strategy would help Chipotle to make a second successful performance or not.

The Fast food industry is extremely competitive. Although Chipotle is a step up from most fast food restaurants, it still must

One can only assume that Chipotle uses concentration strategies for their corporate level strategies, because they only concentrate on the restaurant industry. Market penetration and market development is their main focus, as they are attracting new customers as they increase brand awareness through their business strategies and their “Food With Integrity” campaign, Farmed and Dangerous live action story-telling comedy series, and Cultivate Foundation, which is a non-profit organization supporting sustainable agriculture, family farming and food education, and they are expanding into new markets with international expansion, so Chipotle can continue “to change the way people think about and eat fast food” (Chipotle, 2015). Chipotle also, uses ‘product development’, but not as aggressively as market penetration. The most recent product development is a meat alternative made from tofu, called “Sofritas”. Chipotle is highly invested in Pizzeria Locale, suggesting the possibility of horizontal integration in the near future, and is using an adjacent strategy with its sister restaurant ShopHouse Southeast Asian

Chipotle is the leader in the fast casual market, with over 1,900 locations, $3.21 billion in annual revenue, and the ability to serve up to 300 customers an hour. It has innovated the restaurant market by providing reasonably priced scratch-made meals, containing local ingredients, all within the confines of a pleasing aesthetic environment (Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 2014; Kaplan, 2011). To reach its success, the firm utilized architectural innovation by stealing components of various types of restaurants already in existence. The company appropriated its rapid meal preparation methods from fast food chains such Subway and Quiznos, adopted its provision of quality food from more upscale casual Mexican restaurants, and implemented a locally based supply chain similar to that seen at many local farm-to-table establishments. This convergence of different properties came together right as the millennial generation was coming of age and demand higher quality, natural, and locally sourced ingredients in meals that could receive quickly. The company has also attempted to utilize an incremental innovation approach by removing all CMO ingredients and testing new foods such as breakfast items, soup, and chorizo sausage (The Associated Press, 2015; Peterson,

"We are hosting a national team meeting to thank our employees for their hard work through this difficult time, discuss some of the food safety changes we are implementing, and answer questions from employees," Chipotle spokesperson told ThinkProgress in an email.

It is essential to have teamwork within a company. Companies who have embraced the concept of teamwork have reported increased performance in work production, problem solving and it has stimulated new growth. This group project approach has improved employee morale and increased input when managed correctly. The benefits of teamwork can make a positive effect in the company that incorporates this type of teamwork approach.

Chipotle would have to hire workers with driver’s license, and train workers about every detail of food that their restaurant offers to make sure the customer’s order is correct. This would also create new markets because none of the Mexican grill restaurants offer this service. Once chipotle starts this service, I can guarantee you that the competitors would try to do the same. Chipotle doesn’t have pre-ordering service yet because they have not looked into it. Their main focus right now is to continue building their empire and putting restaurants all over the world where people love to eat that kind of food. I thought of this service because I’m tired of waiting in those long lines and sometimes I was too busy or lazy to get up and go there myself. At times I even sent my sister there for me just because I love eating it so much and I don’t want to wait in a long

The first factor is Globalization: the world wide goal of using naturally raised standards, Chipotle had the main core value of customers and animals well being and stopped using hormones and antibiotics hormones on animals and started raising them on a free range on farmland: naturally raised animals. Secondly, Consumers: where Chipotle provided them with high quality, tasty and affordable. The third factor is competition: which varies with region, market, and restaurant. Chipotle face stiff completion from Panera Bread, chick-fill-A, Noodle and other companies. The completion is in the form of taste, quality, and speed of service, prices value, brand recognition, location, customer services and competitor condition. The other factor is marketing: the company focuses on word of mouth and strategic marketing promotions although it used radio and billboards Medias without television which was not genuine. Lately, the company has embarked on the sending messages on Twitter and Facebook, which is the modern marketing methods and also helps to reach a large population compared to the historical media. The company has the hope of finding a content delivery platform that would inspire consumers to become curious about where their food comes from, so as for customers to the idea of chipotle have the food with integrity.

Teamwork is the backbone of effective communication and the crucial cog that keeps the wheel of successful project management turning. The role of teamwork in enhancing problem solving skills, cohesion, learning, and productivity can no longer be ignored. Proper teamwork plays an integral role in promoting the effective implementation and fulfillment of shared goals in a team project in a manner that is better and quicker. Team work also provides a solid platform on which team members can take on different responsibilities and contribute in ways that together makes the entire team an effective unit.