Business Development: Barilla SPA Case Study Solution and Analysis

This document provides a comprehensive analysis of the Barilla SPA case study, addressing key questions related to its manufacturing processes, inventory management, and demand fluctuations. The analysis begins by characterizing Barilla's manufacturing structure as a disconnected line flow with low volume multiple products, differentiating between dry and fresh pasta categories and their various sub-products. The study explores the impact of weekly order fluctuations, driven by demand and product perishability, highlighting how these factors affect inventory levels and sales. Furthermore, the operational impacts of weekly demand are examined, including fluctuations in sales, logistical challenges, and increased production costs. Finally, the analysis recommends a Just-in-Time Distribution (JITD) approach, emphasizing its potential to reduce operational fluctuations, focus on customer needs, minimize waste, and improve distributor relationships.

Running head: BARILLASPA 1
Barilla SPA
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation

BARILLA SPA 2
Question 1
 I would describe the Barilla’s manufacturing process structure as a disconnected line flow
with low volume multiple products as explained further by Bertin, & Vanicat, (2018)
since they dealt with a range of kinds of pasta but with different ingredients.
 The reason for this characterization is because, although the company has differentiated
the products into two main categories that are the dry products and the fresh products,
these categories are further subdivided into different end products.
 The disconnected line flow in the Barilla’s company is seen in where the raw materials
which in this case eggs, spinach and wheat flour are transformed into pasta which is then
dried and sometimes produced freshly.
 The dried pasta is then reproduced into different by-products such as spaghetti, biscuits,
breadsticks and dry toasts.
Question 2
 High levels of inventory management enhance competitive advantage (Project
Management Institute, 2017). However; it all depends on the customer's demand and
their reorder levels.
 Precisely, the drivers of weekly order fluctuations for the Barilla’s company were the
demand and the perishability of the products.
 Sometimes the demand for fresh would overlook the demand for dry products. However;
the perishability nature of the fresh products would limit their supply since the fresh
orders would take 21 days on the shelves. Therefore, if a customer orders weekly mean
they order large quantities which would, therefore, expire on the shelves if the demand
decreases

BARILLA SPA 3
 Some products like pasta bread would only have a shelf life of one day and therefore
reducing the chances of customers making weekly orders. This then affected greatly the
outcome of the sale of the product since sales could only be made on a daily basis.
 Additionally, since Barillas products had to be shipped to the central distribution centers,
therefore it made it difficult to deliver fresh products to these centers due to their
perishability nature.
 The dry products, however, provided for a longer inventory period and therefore
increased demand was observed from the retail as well as the wholesale dealers.
 Supermarket chains recorded the highest demand for the dry products followed by the
independent supermarkets with a 70% and 30% distribution rate respectively.
Question 3
 The operational impact for the weekly demand is that the firm may make a lot of sales in
one week while the rest of the week they would make very little. According to Van
(2008).the fluctuation effect may be dependent on the type of customer. If for instance
one week the company got orders from big firms and shops such as supermarkets the
sales would be high as compared to the small independent shop operators who would
make small quantity orders hence affecting the outcome of the sales for that week.
 The weekly fluctuations affected logistics operations and manufacturing processes.
 Other effects included holding on sufficient finished products to meet the distributor’s
order requirements.
 The weekly demand also became too expensive for the company when the demand
became unpredictable since the company would produce more products without the
knowledge of which product will move and which one will decline in terms of demand.

BARILLA SPA 4
 The distributor's work became less effective since many of the customers considered that
the distributors were putting too much pressure on them and also the customers
considered small spaces in their stores could not accommodate the given quantities.
Question 4
 The JITD would make the best approach since the Barilla Company has a track record for
the consumption rates for each of its customers. Therefore given a chance for distributors
to make decisions on when and the quantity to deliver would, therefore, reduce
fluctuation in operations. This would, therefore, lead to a focus on customer needs and
also reduce the chances of waste through increased expiries (Yang, & Zhang,2010).
 The JITD program offered a free service to customers, therefore, attracting more
interested groups.
 With the JITD program, the distributors would, therefore, be dependent on the Barillas
Company and therefore ensuring the company has the correct data in regards to the
market demand.
 Additionally, the program would enable the company to secure information regarding the
distributors and therefore enabling the Barillas to rule out the most efficient distributors
to deal with.
 With the program, the Barilla Company would be in a position to control what the
distributor sells depending on the production process as well as the cost of the said
product without waiting too long for the distributor’s feedback.

BARILLA SPA 5
References
Bertin, E., & Vanicat, M. ( 2018). Matrix product representation of the stationary state of the
open zero range process. Journal of Physics. A, Mathematical and Theoretical, 51, 1-11.
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge
(PMBOK guide): And, Agile practice guide. Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
Van, D. D. P. (2008). Challenges in relating supply chain management and information and
communication technology: An introduction. International Journal of Operations and
Production Management, 28, 4, 308-312. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/701938
Yang, X., Ma, H., & Zhang, D. (2010). Research into ILRIP for Logistics Distribution Network
of Deteriorating Item Based on JITD