Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Seven-Eleven Case
Study
Risk of Method
Overinvestment in capacity,
underutilized capacity
PAGE 2
Q5: What do you think about the 7dream concept for SevenEleven Japan? From a supply chain perspective, is it likely to
be more successful in Japan or the United States? Why?
Ans:
The 7dream concept for Seven-Eleven in Japan was established as an e-commerce
company. Convenience stores served as drop-off and collection points for Japanese
customers.
I think this is likely to be more successful in Japan because the Seven-Eleven store
network is not as dense as in the U.S. Also, it appears that Seven-Eleven Japan
attracts a different type of customer. Although I can only speculate, I would be
concerned about the security of packages in a Seven-Eleven store in the U.S.
preferring a home delivery even if I wasnt at home. After all, thats the appeal of ecommerce.
PAGE 3
The cons of this approach in the U.S. stem from the geographic dispersion of Seveneleven stores. The fact that stores are not as clustered as in Japan will impede the
responsiveness that is a cornerstone of Seven-Eleven Japan. Because DSD is also
used, there is more coordination required in the U.S. and more relationships to
manage. The CDCs may also be forced into holding some level of inventory because
of the lack of clustering in the U.S., resulting in lower performance than that in Japan.
If the CDCs become more of a distribution center than a cross docking operation,
their strategic advantage is lost, and the investment may not have been worth it. An
additional downside is the outbound costs, which could be quite high depending on
the number of stores served.
Q7: The United States has food service distributors that also
replenish convenience stores. What are the pros and cons to
having a distributor replenish convenience stores versus a
company like Seven-Eleven managing its own distribution
function?
Ans;
Pros: The largest benefit of having a distributor replenish the store is that they
dont have to invest in DCs or trucks to perform this task.
Cons: The downside is the lack of control and the increased number of relationships
that must be managed at the store level. Responsiveness may also not be as great.
Some store managers will be more adept at managing these relationships than
others, and service levels will not be consistent among the stores. This also creates
more potential problems for upper management in overseeing the franchises to
ensure consistent customer service.
PAGE 4