Recommendations – Summarize your top 2 recommendations but include other options you considered and discarded for each aspect of the situation. Make recommendations on actions to be taken for both short and medium timeframes. Include risks / benefits for options, cost estimates or indicate what information you would like to have, and where you might obtain the information needed. (1-2 pages)

Analysis of the problem: The biggest challenge for In N-Out company is to keep the quality of its products high. The company’s policy is to keep all of its stores within 500 miles from a local distribution center to make sure that all of the ingredients are fresh. There are no freezers and microwaves in any of its stores. However, there are times that some quality issues arise. For example, “in June 2018, In-N-Out closed all of its 37 stores in Texas for three days. While the company ensured that the closure due to low-quality buns is not a health-related concern, it still alarmed customers. This event cause crucial operations management issue for the company because, it needed to close numerous stores which translate to significant losses for the company. While the company initially said it would re-open all 37 locations by Tuesday, it has since delayed that until Wednesday. A new shipment of quality-tested hamburger buns arrived late Tuesday afternoon, according to a report by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, citing local sources.” There is always the risk of failed quality control procedure and it would be harmful for the company to always decide to close its stores whenever there is a problem with one of its ingredients. In-N-Out Burger clearly does not have a back-up plan for it to minimize risks about the supplies of its ingredients. If the company’s only option is to close its stores whenever quality control procedures fail, it may continuously hurt its business. Whenever the In-N-Out stores are closed, the customers can simply move on to the next burger restaurant. In-N-Out company needs to come up with an inventory strategy which will prevent supply shortages and delivery delays. Meanwhile, that certain operational strategy should be in coordination with the idea of serving everything fresh without keeping them frozen. Additionally, some of other tools that could be applied include more flexible supply chain and franchise operations. While In-N-Out also seeks to expand into places like Colorado and beyond the many locations on the west coast, the effort to maintain its fresh ingredients by avoiding any kinds of fillers, additives, and preservatives in the meat, fresh vegetables, and potatoes; distribution centers and farms must be within radius of stores. Another problem that arises is the distance from the farms to where the stores acquire their fresh meat and ingredients. According to In-N-Out’s main website, their potatoes are shipped to each store individually from many of the farms and distribution centers and cut in store. Potatoes are known to last months with refrigeration, and while In-N-Out does not use refrigerators in their stores, those potatoes must be shipped on a specific timely schedule. The same process goes along with their fresh meats. In-N-Out lists their own hamburger patty facilities on their website, being in Baldwin Park, California; Lathrop, California; and Dallas, Texas. With any kind of expansion, In-N-Out’s production in ingredients will increase leading to it’s high emphasis on the quantity produced and distribution centers. The production facilities will also have to account for the many private events that In-N-Out offers to customers with food trucks and catering for special events. In order to distribute ingredients to stores across the west coast from production and distribution facilities, the company must use operational scheduling so that it can avoid the quality of ingredients to go down upon arrival and possible over and under usage of ingredients. Within given radius’ of stores and the facilities closest to them, the operations must determine the quantity at which each store is required to have at a daily basis with it’s ingredients that must be kept at the highest quality possible. Other products such as In-n-Out merchandise, cups, straws, etc. must also be calculated. Afterwards, the company must configure a timely schedule for shipping and delivery amongst the store that aligns with the company’s inventory count so that products are not wasted nor overdue. This approach will help the inventory of each store’s ingredients to properly fit to In-N-Outs freshness upon future expansion.