Owner: A Management Consultant @ Large URL:http://jpfarrell.blogspot.com Join Date: Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:20:55 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Articles by James P. Farrell, a business strategist with more than 25 years experience in management consulting, business and government. Fostering innovation across the extended enterprise. Trained by A.T. Kearney, Cleveland Consulting Associates, Schnei Site statistics:Click here
Kellogg's Old and New 2008-07-03 14:08:37 100th Anniversary Limited EditionPreviously we had reported on Kellogg
's commitment to promote only healthy food to children (see Kellogg Reformulates). Kellogg recently announced significant progress in both introducing new, healthier foods and in reformulating some of its old favorites.Last year when the reformulation program was announced about half of Kellogg's products around the world that
Too Many Starbucks? 2008-07-02 20:30:36 Orin SmithIn 1999 when I first met Orin Smith, the now retired ceo of Starbucks
, I was impressed with his warmth, intelligence and sincerity. I live in Chicago, where Starbucks had claimed an early beachhead, so I was familiar with the company's proclivity to create storefronts in close proximity with each other, and as a supply chain strategist I needed to know how this pattern would evolve as t
A Lifecycle Approach to Retail Store Development 2008-05-14 18:08:44 Prototype stores are never built.Every time a store is conceived a team of architects, contractors, interior designers, attorneys and others creates a new design. Along the way they make a series of decisions to accommodate local zoning, parcel limitations, neighborhood tastes and structural quirks. No matter how carefully the operator tunes the design of its cooking systems and display fixtures o Read more:Retail
, Store
, Development
Brand, Menu and Store Design 2008-05-12 05:41:26 From “Big Mac’s Makeover: McDonald’s Turned Around”, The Economist, Oct. 14, 2004 IN THE entrance to Hamburger University, the ultra-modern training centre for the world's biggest fast-food operation, Ray Kroc's office has been faithfully reassembled. McDonald's managers have looked to their late founder quite a bit lately for inspiration in how to deal with a series of crises, any one of Read more:Store
, Brand
The Evolution of the Quick Service Restaurant 2008-05-11 15:46:30 The QuickService
Restaurant responds to the universal desire for inexpensive and reliable fare that is freshly prepared, portable and ready on demand.People were finding ways to escape the dinner table long before the 4th Earl of Sandwich wrapped dried meat in bread c. 1762 so as not to interrupt his work or his gambling (accounts vary). Cornish pasties and their descendants go back at least as Read more:Evolution
Beer and Chips: Optimizing Truck Loading 2008-05-03 07:21:15 Optimizing truck loadingIf you think your trucks are running full, you probably have not met Tom Moore. A logistician with a keen eye for the critical, overlooked detail, Tom knows the importance of getting an extra pallet on a truck that is about to depart Memphis for Miami, and he has helped some of the world's largest manufacturers find creative ways to load their trucks to the legal limit.Tru Read more:Chips
, Truck
, Loading
Design is Destiny 2008-05-03 07:19:01 Site plan for a Wendy's restaurantWhen McDonald's tried to introduce pizza in the early 1990's it flopped spectacularly and predictably.Stores had no ovens. Retrofitting them, even for compact units, was difficult and burdensome.Many independent operators, lacking faith in the concept, refused to undertake the investment required.Execution was inconsistent with the McDonald's operation. A make Read more:Destiny
Best Practices in Architecture 2008-05-03 07:11:47 Cover of Eero Saarinen, by Jayne MerkelIf architectural design is an apt metaphor for enterprise architecture, then perhaps the approaches of leading building architects also apply to enterprise design. In her authoritative review of the work of 20th century genius Eero Saarinen, architectural critic Jayne Merkel describes his studio's method:1. Definition of the "functional program" with conside Read more:Architecture
, Best Practices
The Service-Oriented Enterprise: A Parable 2008-05-03 07:11:13 Mona Shaw found just the tool to register her complaint about service, or lack thereof, at Comcast's Manassas office. (By Richard A. Lipski -- The Washington Post)When customer service is critical to an organization's mission and sustainability, it ought to be managed as a commercial function, reporting to sales, marketing or the CEO. If organized as a cost center reporting to operations it is li Read more:Service
, Oriented
, Parable
Using Parametric Modeling to Design Retail Space 2008-05-03 07:10:48 This video from YouTube illustrates the power of parametric design modeling for both consumer products and stores. The architect set out to design desktop accessories, then modeled their entire display environment for the flagship Alessi store in New York City.To learn more about our work in consulting, read about our Practice or check out our Case StudiesSee The design behind the NYC flagship Al Read more:Retail
, Modeling
, Space
Kellogg's Reformulation 2008-05-03 07:10:19 The sweet heart of the corn, 1900When a publicly traded company undertakes a strategy in the public interest at the risk of slowing its growth in the short term, we ought to take notice. Kellogg
's decision to curtail advertising to children for products that do not meet specific nutritional guidelines is a bold redirection of some of its largest and most profitable portfolios.In June, 2007 Kellog
The US Export Opportunity 2008-05-03 07:09:09 Declining value of the US dollar as calculated by the US Federal Reserve Bank in their Index of Major Currencies, 5-Feb-08, 15-year trendI recently asked a panel of experts in the food and beverage industries to rank a set of five topics by level of importance in their 2008 strategic plans. Among 6 respondents these were their rankings in order of importance:1. Supply chain development2. Product Read more:Opportunity
Digital Restaurant Design 2008-05-03 07:08:41 Design in process (Autodesk)Among the important PLM techniques now being applied to restaurant design is rapid visualization of 3D interior spaces and kitchens. The more sophisticated of these tools now incorporate parametric modeling, allowing the designer to build business rules into the design process itself. For example, the designer may require that customer aisles be at least 2 feet wide; Read more:Digital
Best Practices in Corporate Design 2008-05-03 07:08:10 The Heineken keg can, introduced in 2000The late graphic artist Paul Rand is credited with the expression "good design is good business." Thomas Lockwood* has honored his legacy by cataloging a number of best practices followed by businesses that incorporate design into their corporate culture.In an article derived from his doctoral thesis, Lockwood promotes the following ideas he has seen in ac Read more:Best Practices
On Management Consulting 2008-05-03 07:07:39 Beware of consultants offering advice. Though many of us aspire to be “trusted advisers,” that role is rarely sought out by clients. Consultants are more like explorers, architects and engineers than sages. Simply put, consultants organize projects to help clients seek out, design and build sustainable business models. To each role they apply specific tools, skills and temperaments which exten Read more:Management
, Consulting
Starbucks Says Good-bye to the Bears 2008-05-03 07:07:06 Starbucks advertising image, 2007 holiday campaignWhen Madison Avenue waved good-bye to Starbucks headquarters last month, I wonder if "I Love N.Y.E." by Badly Drawn Boy was playing on their iPods? When I first saw the 2007 Christmas ads on TV I could only imagine that Howard Schultz was having a stroke. Apparently he was.Since retaking the helm as "president, ceo and chairman" of Starbucks (tit Read more:Starbucks
, Bears
Starbucks: A New Forum 2008-05-03 07:06:18 The Ancient Forum
of RomeThe Roman Forum, that ancient mall, was a locus of both ideas and commerce. Before there were licensing and private ownership of retail space and branded merchandise, those places where people congregated for the exchange of goods became places for the exchange of ideas.If today's mall seems sterile by comparison with the old world shops of lower Manhattan, London or Lima, Read more:Starbucks
, New Forum
Mastering Innovation Management 2008-05-03 07:05:52 Throughout 2002 US manufacturers were cutting costs and curtailing investment in systems, innovation and, perhaps especially, consulting. When A.T. Kearney asked me to host a breakfast meeting of local Chicago executives, I asked Mir Aamir to help me put together a presentation on innovation that would highlight some of the advancements made in the auto and aerospace industries by our sister compa Read more:Management
, Mastering
, Innovation
The Surprise of the New 2008-05-03 07:05:12 Shannon Farrell Williams, violistInnovations frequently, perhaps typically arrive before they have found a receptive market. Just as consumers must learn to adapt their tastes and habits to the concept, so must suppliers adjust their offerings to serve new requirements efficiently. Operating within this constantly adjusting milieu, investors may decide to pull a product today that might very wel Read more:Surprise
Modular Design for the Extended Enterprise 2008-05-03 07:04:33 A "MILK" desk with embedded aquarium moduleThe Danes are so closely associated with clean, modular, functional furniture design that the term "Scandinavian Design" conjures immediate images of Danish furniture. The MILK.dk website demonstrates in 3D (requires Adobe Flash Player) that a beautiful and functional desk can be created modularly from a platform, by which we mean:A module is a self-co Read more:Modular
, Extended
Getting it Right on the U.S. Economy 2008-05-03 07:03:01 Benjamin Bernanke, Chairman, US Federal Reserve BankIn all of the recent hand-wringing over the economy it is easy to forget that the world economic outlook is not uniformly bleak. Residents of China, India, Russia and Dubai are more likely to be complaining of growth pains and shortages than looming unemployment. In their great race to build housing and infrastructure, they have been bidding up Read more:Right
What is the Extended Enterprise? 2008-05-03 07:02:24 The "Extended
Enterprise" is a loosely coupled, self-organizing network of firms that combine their economic output to provide product and service offerings to the market. Firms in the extended enterprise may operate independently or cooperatively.Alternatively referred to as a "supply chain" or a "value chain", the extended enterprise describes the trading relationships among a community of parti
No Time for Panic 2008-05-03 07:01:56 Illustration by Brian ReaIn his recent column, The Economy of Fear, John Cassidy makes an excellent case that the U.S. is headed for an awful economic outcome. He compares the current economic situation with others caused by credit crunches over the past 150 years and does not like what he sees. Unlike some past recessions, which were rooted in inflation problems, this one has been triggered b Read more:Panic
How Does the Elephant in the Room Like Your Lapel Pin? 2008-05-03 07:01:32 Charles Gibson, ABC NewsSometimes a problem is so big that everyone is afraid to discuss it. The aggregate liability of the U.S. government, the National Debt, has reached such staggering proportion that officials only discuss it in its parts, lest voters recognizing its massive scale should panic and alarm the beast. That notwithstanding, this elephant in the room is consuming a lot of hay and t
Building the Scaleable Enterprise 2008-05-03 07:00:43 Early McDonald's restaurant, circa 1960In 1954 Ray Kroc, a Multimixer salesman, took notice of the restaurants started by Mac and Dick McDonald in San Bernadino, CA in 1948. McDonald's was a highly focused, highly visible operation, featuring a simple menu (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, shakes and fountain soda), high quality ingredients and walk-up windows. Kroc partnered with the Brot Read more:Building
Creating Secure Global Freight Networks 2008-07-08 16:57:33 Ocean ContainersIn 1988 Don Schneider, CEO of Schneider National, Inc., the largest U.S. truckload motor carrier, over-ruled the advise of his executive team and decided to invest some $4,000 per truck in an experimental on-board computer system (from Qualcomm) that would allow continuous communication between his over-the-road fleet of trucks and a central computer system. Originally lured by th Read more:Creating
, Secure
, Global
, Freight
Finding the Magic in a Consulting Career 2008-08-05 15:50:07 Roger KallockSometimes an organization continues to live long after its charter has expired. Cleveland Consulting
Associates (CCA) gave up its name to CSC, its current owner, in 1995. However, to the first generation of supply chain strategists and their clients CCA remains a name packed with meaning.Founded in 1974 by consultants Jim Spira, Roger Kallock, Jim Blaser and Keith Helferich, CCA too Read more:Magic
, Career
Remembering Michael Hammer: Father of Reengineering 2008-09-11 07:23:35 The late Dr. MichaelHammer
The man at the front of the Reengineering movement passed away suddenly last week. It is difficult to overstate the impact that he has had on the way the modern corporation operates or the way businesspeople think about their responsibilities. His central premise, that organizations should reconsider not only their business processes but also their fundamental architec Read more:Remembering
, Father
The Bailout Explained by the CBO 2008-09-29 16:59:50 Peter Orszag, Ph. D., Director of the CBOThe Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), economist Peter Orszag, publishes a blog with detailed information about the issues shaping current legislation. In his role as the leader of the non-partisan research office of the U.S. Congress, Dr. Orszag is the ultimate insider--a primary source of impartial information to which Members of Congress
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