Dawn Sharp is the owner of Sharp's Sandwich Shop. Her shop is open 24/7 and serves many different types of sandwiches, from classic breakfast sandwiches to more exotic burgers and other sandwiches usually consumed at lunch and dinner.

Recently, Dawn addressed inventory management as one of her major production issues. Dawn's goal is to give her customers quick service and a quality product. To accomplish this goal, Dawn divided her menu into four timeframes: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and after hours. Breakfast runs from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.; lunch begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m.; dinner begins early, at 3 p.m., and continues until 9 p.m. Between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. you can select your sandwich from the after-hour's section of the menu.

Sharp's Sandwich Shop is in the heart of downtown New York and New Yorkers are fast moving and always in a rush. Consequently, customers do not want to wait very long for the sandwich, no matter how unique or complicated it may be. To remedy this, Dawn set up a system where the kitchen produces specific sandwiches in bulk. For example, a basic ham and cheese on rye bread can be made in advance, wrapped, and placed in the ready bin. This way, when a customer orders a ham and cheese on rye, they get it quickly. One of the challenges to this system is that Sharp's sandwiches are very popular because of the quality of the sandwiches. Part of the quality is their freshness. Therefore, whether it is a cold sandwich or a warm sandwich, neither can stay in the premade bins too long. After a set period of time, if a sandwich is still in the bin it is removed and placed in the charity bin. The charity bin contains food that is still edible; however, won't be sold to Sharp's customers. The food in the charity bin is donated to a local homeless shelter twice per day.

As Dawn evaluated her inventory problem that was related to the premade sandwich system, she discovered a parallel issuequality. As part of her revised inventory system, all sandwiches placed in the charity bin are recorded in a waste log. This process enables Dawn to reconcile the "waste" sent to the charity bin to actual waste, that is, items that are thrown in the trash. Previously, Dawn had assumed that a significant quantity of her overall waste (95 percent) were items placed in the charity bin. However, as she compared her numbers, Dawn discovered that more was going into the trash than she thought.

This revelation was very disturbing to Dawn. Quality was the primary driver in her business. The waste created by her focus on freshness was something Dawn could control and her new inventory system concerning premade sandwiches has improved that situation. However, the total waste numbers indicated that sandwiches of unacceptable quality were reaching the customer and they were returning the food. This was alarming because New Yorkers were quick to complain and spread the word about poor quality to their friends. Unlike the inventory issue, which was an issue of expense control, this quality issue was one of customer satisfaction and ultimate survival of her business in a city with an abundance of competition.

Once again, Dawn reflects back on her class in supply chain management, specifically the process management chapter on lean and Six Sigma. Dawn recognized that, in a way, she had taken her eye off of quality. Sharp's Sandwich Shop neither had a clear process to collect data on quality, nor did it utilize any of the quality tools to analyze defects or root causes. Dawn knew that it was crucial to her business to begin data collection and analysis immediately. Bad customer experiences would spread throughout her customer base in a New York minute. However, her kitchen and eating area were a very fast paced environment. Dawn needed data collection processes that didn't demand a lot of the food preparers' or the servers' time. Plus, with all the responsibilities of running the business, Dawn's available time for analysis was limited as well. Finally, Dawn instinctively knew that Sharp's Sandwich Shop had to go beyond data collection and analysis. She needed processes that enabled her to address multiple issues such as inventory management and quality.

Questions

1. Sharp's Sandwich Shop has two conflicting quality issuesspeed and freshness. The premade sandwich system enhances speed; however, it has the potential of affecting freshness. What type of system can Dawn implement that will enable her to keep the process of premade sandwiches, yet guarantee that freshness will be unaffected? Explain how the system would work and why it can effectively enable her to accomplish both goals without any concern that one or the other must suffer.

2. Currently, Dawn is evaluating the quality of the food by the waste, meaning as the cost of waste increases she senses that the quality of the product is decreasing. Recommend to Dawn a better method to evaluate quality than just cost.

3. Dawn decides that she alone cannot implement a good quality program. Clearly, her staff must be involved. Although she has excellent employees, Dawn knows they do not understand the tools of quality. Furthermore, she understands that if things appear too complicated then she won't get their buy-in. Dawn contacts you and requests that you explain to her staff some basic quality tools that will enable them to improve quality, yet are not complex, and will not demand a lot of their time.