Understanding Operations Activities of Starbucks

Running head: STARBUCKS
Assessment 2: Individual Assignment
[Starbucks]
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1STARBUCKS
Executive summary
This is basically an operation based study that helps to understand the core operations activities
of Starbucks. It does so in various ways. First of all, this project establishes an understanding that
the logistics operations of the company are in an intersection with its core operations activities
like Marketing, Sales and Service. Secondly, it explains the order cycle as being followed in
Starbucks. Moreover, it also recommends a piece of strategy to further the execution of the order
cycle. Lastly, this project does an assessment of inventory management at Starbucks. Based on
the assessment few points of recommendations are being given to help the company further its
efficiency in inventory management.

2STARBUCKS
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. The Interfaces..............................................................................................................................4
3. Order Cycle..................................................................................................................................6
4. Inventory Management................................................................................................................9
5. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

3STARBUCKS
1. Introduction
The background and purpose:
This project is on Starbucks, which is being chosen as the selected manufacturer for this
project. An efficient order cycle handling and effective inventory management are key to
effectively manage the logistics operations for food-specific companies like Starbucks
(Fredendall & Hill, 2016). It, therefore, forms a background to this study.
The main purpose of this study is to discuss and analyse the efficiency of logistics
operations in Starbucks. Moreover, it discusses and analyses the effectiveness of the logistics
operations in Starbucks. The intention is to analyse the current logistics operations at Starbucks
and offer a few points of recommendations to the company.
Key information about Starbucks:
Headquartered at Washington, the United States, Starbucks Corporation is a widely
popular chain of the coffeehouse. The company started its operations in 1971. Currently, the
company operates in more than 30,000 locations worldwide. Starbucks is widely considered as
the main representative of the “second wave coffee”. This helped the company to create a
distinct image in the coffee industry under three different factors like quality, taste and customer
experience. From the year 2000, the “third wave coffee” started to pick in popularity
(Starbucks.ca, 2019). The third wave coffee is more targeted on the product quality rather than
core functional areas of operations like marketing and finance. To be able to leverage the
opportunity rising in the form of the third wave coffee, Starbucks started using automated
espresso machines. This was adopted to enhance efficiency and for safety reasons. The company
serves a variety of items to its customers like hot and cold drinks, espresso, whole-bean coffee,