TRANSCEND 2014 Presents

Opstrat
Caselet

Food Warehousing
Patties foods is a publicly listed company on the Australian Stock exchange that has its roots in family business, developed with a passion for quality and customer satisfaction. Patties is the largest manufacturer of pastry pies in Australia and is based in Bairnsdale, a town in regional Victoria approximately four hours drive from Melbourne. Its brand portfolio includes Four N twenty, Hebert Adams, Nannas patties, Wedgewood and Snowy Rivers. The company has expanded the business to include frozen fruits in the creative gourmet and Chefs Pride ranges. Patties products are available through retail, private label and food services distribution channels. The factory operates seven days a week, producing approximately 400 pallets of product a day. The factory has a small staging warehouse that holds 500 pallets. From here the product is distributed to three separate picking warehouses, located in Metropolitan Melbourne: these are operated by three storage and distribution service companies. Each picking warehouse provides a national service for the retail, private label or food service channels. Off-peak production volume is approximately 1700 pallets a week; however, in peak seasons this can increase by almost 50 percent, leading to the need for overflow external warehousing near the factory in Bairnsdale. A new group manager logistics (GML) has joined patties with an initial task to develop a solution for this problem. The GML has assessed the situation and validates senior managements belief that patties need to redesign its distribution network. To facilitate this, a plan has been developed to reduce the no of LSP (local service provider) managed warehouses in Melbourne from three to one and build a 10000 pallet freezer warehouse on the Bairnsdale manufacturing site. The design of the new freezer has a 5700 sq m area (including staging and docks) and seven levels of racking. The building is north facing, with stock entering the site from the factory via the south western corner of the building. It is to be planned and operated using a commercial off the shelf warehouse management system (COTS-WMS) which h replenishes the new picking warehouse in Melbourne, coordinated by the newly created role of inventory controller. For operational purposes it has been agreed that 85 per cent utilization should be considered a full warehouse. It is also part of the planning criteria that vehicles need to be loaded or unloaded within 60 minute windows in order to accommodate the safe operating procedures for freezer warehouses. The total upgrade to the business over the course of three years is expected to require an investment $22 million by the company. This will increase the production capability, with additional pie manufacturing lines and the development of gluten free manufacturing area, in addition to the new on site freezer warehouse and distribution network.

Questions 1. What are the key issues faced by the patties team in transitioning from the original arrangement to the new solution? 2. What techniques and tools could patties use to maximize the vehicle turnaround at the site? 3. Develop a warehouse layout document detailing the number and type of docks, racking requirement and layout and any other key elements of the new warehouse. Explain the rationale for the choices you have made. (Diagram can be made in paint/ word/ or any other software you are comfortable with. Provide labelling to each component in the diagram.) 4. Assume you are logistical consultant engaged to assist the group manager logistics in developing the business case for the new warehouse. Compile a list of questions for the GML that will assist in your task. (Tip : Consider issues such as land size, cost and access) Please state suggestions/improvements to the current plan, if any.

Instructions 1. Deliverables : Send the solution to the above mentioned questions in a word doc 2. Page Limit : Word Doc should be maximum 10 pages(excluding the cover page) 3. Font : a. Heading -- Calibri Body---Size 12 Bold b. Body -- Calibri Body---Size 12 4. Cover Page : Team Name, College Name, All participants name, e-mail id and phone number 5. File Naming Convention : TeamName_CollegeName_OpStrat 6. Mail to be sent ONLY to : opstrat@sibmpune.edu.in 7. Deadline : Thursday, 9th January 2014, 23:59 hours 8. In case of Queries write to us at opstrat@sibmpune.edu.in Or Call: Udit Maheshwari 7774019144 Prabha Nadar - 8888670418