McDonald’s not perceived as a food business says supply chain director
McDonald’s not perceived as a food business says supply chain director
Connor McVeigh, Supply Chain Director for McDonald’s has suggested that people tend not to think of the company as a food business, despite it providing meals for three million customers every day.
McVeigh was speaking at the recent AHDB conference. Although McDonald’s was not affected by the ‘Horsegate’ scandal it too, just like all businesses in the food chain, has to exert extra efforts to promote a better understanding of the supply chain.
Although McDonald’s has for years been ‘opening-up the gates’ for customers last summer, the company set-up a scheme whereby a range of consumers were invited to become ‘Quality Scouts.’ They were shown the various links in the food supply chain and after an abattoir visit, a grandmother who was a retired schoolteacher commented: “Although it’s not the sort of place you would choose to visit, the dignity and skill in the abattoir was amazing.”
He likened the company’s business model to a three-legged stool; it comprises McDonald’s, franchisees and supply chain partners. He suggests that the supply chain is only as strong as each individual leg and if just one leg goes wobbly the stool will fall over. The company is very proud of a statement published in the interim report which the Government commissioned following the ‘Horsegate’ scandal. The author, Professor Chris Elliott of Queen’s University, Belfast described the McDonald’s supply chain as “A fine example of a short supply chain that values long-term relationships.’
