The Amazing Supply Chain of McDonalds (2024)

*Disclaimer – This isn’t a commercial blog post.*

Back in 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald, founded McDonalds in San Bernardino, California, USA. Flash forward to 2022 and the fast-food giant has one of the most recognizable logos in the world and serves 68 million customers a day across 39,000 restaurants in over 120 countries and territories.

While the franchising model means that each restaurant has different owners, the menu remains almost the same no matter which McDonalds in the world is visited. This is logistically a big task and one that makes the supply chain particularly interesting.

The secret to McDonald’s supply chain success

Maximizing Long-term Supplier Relationships

The key to the success of McDonald’s supply chain was established by Ray Kroc, who is credited for turning the fast-food giant into one of the most successful in the world. His approach, which is still used today, relies on achieving mutual positive outcomes for franchisees, suppliers and employees.

Known as the 3-legged stool, the methodology is simple: When McDonalds succeeds so do its suppliers. The model allows the fast-food giant and its suppliers to help create value for each other rather than simply exchanging value. This therefore leads to more beneficial, long-term partnerships.

For example, one of the company’s largest distributors, The Martin-Brower Company, began by supplying paper napkins to the company’s Des Plaines, Illinois branch in 1956. Today, the supplier delivers supplies to almost all 15,000 McDonald’s locations in North America.

Effective Vertical Integration

Typically, a restaurant will be the final part of the supply chain and will source ingredients from third-party suppliers. McDonalds, on the other hand, is the source of its products through effective use of vertical integration. McDonalds is integrated in every stage of the supply chain through partnerships with contracted suppliers. This means that the fast-food chain processes the meat themselves, grows its potatoes and transports its own materials.

As a result of McDonald’s taking control of the component and distribution element of the supply chain, it can achieve an overall lower cost for its restaurants. The use of these vertical integration techniques is the primary reason why McDonald’s is one of the cheapest fast-food chains in the world.

The future of McDonald’s supply chain

Environmental Sustainability

With new research showing that 1 in 3 people have said that they would refuse to buy a brand or product due to environmental or ethical concerns, many firms have made having a sustainable supply chain a priority.

McDonald’s is no different with the firm working on many different sustainability initiatives. For example, in 2018, the fast food giant announced that it had formed, alongside Starbucks, the NextGen Cup Consortium, which was formed to help develop both a hot and cold cup that can be completely recycled.

Alongside this McDonalds have pledged that, by 2025, 100% of the fast-food chain’s guest packaging will be sourced from renewable, recycled, or certified sources. In order to achieve this the firm has partnered with several environmental organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Program for the Endorsem*nt of Forest Certification (PEFC), to ensure that all raw materials used in its packaging come from well-managed sources.

McDonald’s sustainability focus doesn’t limit itself to making it’s restaurants sustainable. The firm currently has the ambition to achieve net zero emissions across their entire business and supply chain in the UK and Ireland by 2040. Alongside this ambition the fast food giant is working with suppliers to reduce their emissions in line with the 1.5°C climate scenario pathway by 2030.

Reengineering the Drive-thru

McDonald’s plans to use AI technology to help revolutionize the way consumers use the drive-thru. The use of AI technology, according to McDonald’s, will help reduce service times and make the ordering process more efficient thus improving the overall customer experience.

Announcing its acquisition of Israel-based AI, a company focusing on personalization and decision logic, Dynamic Yield, in 2019, McDonald’s stated it is planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) to automate its drive-thru menus. This AI integration is set to take personalization to the next level with automated systems that can make real-time menu recommendations based on consumer trends, ordering habits, and even weather conditions.

In a bid to further automate its drive-thru, McDonald’s also acquired Apprente, a Silicon Valley company founded in 2017. The company will use Apprente’s speech recognition AI to understand drive-thru orders. McDonald’s also plans to use this technology in its self-order kiosks and mobile applications.

Final Thoughts

McDonalds has been and will continue to remain a global player. For such a large supply chain, the fast-food giant proves that tried and tested measures can prove successful. However, what McDonalds also proves by striving to innovate is that no matter how successful your firm is you can’t rest on your laurels, if you want to continue to have success.

What amazing supply chains do you know?

Check out some of our other picks including coca cola, toilet roll and fast fashion.

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The Amazing Supply Chain of McDonalds (1)

Emilia Ashton

From September 2019 to September 2020, Emilia was a permanent part of the ATSC team and still retains her role as a contributor. In the UK, she is working towards her BA in International Business with German. Her interests include supply chain sustainability, supply chain transparency and the changing supply chain.

The Amazing Supply Chain of McDonalds (2024)

FAQs

What makes McDonalds supply chain so good? ›

Effective Vertical Integration

McDonalds is integrated in every stage of the supply chain through partnerships with contracted suppliers. This means that the fast-food chain processes the meat themselves, grows its potatoes and transports its own materials.

Does McDonalds have supply chain? ›

McDonald's has a complex global supply chain with thousands of direct suppliers employing thousands of people in over 100 countries. We believe a supply chain of this scale gives us an important responsibility to do business with suppliers that respect the fundamental rights of their employees and partners.

How would you describe a good supply chain? ›

The characteristics of a good supply chain are visibility, optimization, having the lowest cost possible, timeliness, and consistency.

What are the 5 biggest supply chain challenges? ›

Shippers' Top 5 Supply Chain Challenges:
  • Keeping transportation costs down.
  • Keeping up with customer/industry demands.
  • Sourcing consistent, reliable carrier capacity.
  • Keeping up with the latest technology solutions and demands.
  • On-time pickup and delivery performance.
Sep 30, 2022

What are the 4 supply chain strategies? ›

Integration, operations, purchasing and distribution are the four elements of the supply chain that work together to establish a path to competition that is both cost-effective and competitive.

What are three 3 supply chain strategies? ›

3 supply chain strategies for small businesses
  • Demand-driven supply chain strategy. A demand-driven supply chain focuses on meeting demand from the consumer. ...
  • Agile supply chain strategy. ...
  • Collaborative supply chain strategy.
Jan 21, 2022

What are the 3 supply chain? ›

The 3 Levels of Supply Chain Management: Strategic, tactical and operational. The three levels of supply chain management are strategic, tactical and operational.

What are the 5 stages of the supply chain? ›

Supply chain management has five key elements—planning, sourcing raw materials, manufacturing, delivery, and returns.

What are the top 3 elements of supply chain? ›

Generally the key aspects of Supply Chain management are Purchasing (sourcing), Planning (scheduling) and Logistics (delivery). Sometimes logistics is separate, and procurement may be included with Purchasing, depending upon how location specific the procurement activities are.

What is the key to a successful supply chain? ›

Match Supply Chain and Business Line

The perfect supply chain is one that is efficient, fast, agile, customizable, and responsive. In reality, however, these traits tend to be mutually exclusive. Maintaining high speed and efficiency is only possible when processes don't get slowed down by changes, for instance.

What is supply chain Short answer? ›

At the most fundamental level, supply chain management (SCM) is management of the flow of goods, data, and finances related to a product or service, from the procurement of raw materials to the delivery of the product at its final destination.

Why is it good to have a good supply chain? ›

Reduced inventory and overhead costs

An efficient supply chain can reduce the need to maintain inventory, therefore cutting overhead costs associated with storage and security. However, a very lean inventory increases pressure on distribution networks and reduces resilience to supply chain shocks.

What causes supply chain problems? ›

Global political unrest is the primary cause of current supply chain issues, contributing to disruptions in material availability and transport, a survey finds. The survey by software company SAP revealed 58% of US-based business leaders believe their supply chain issues primarily stem from global political unrest.

What are the top 3 causes of supply chain disruptions? ›

The following are the typical factors that may create these interruptions:
  • Pandemics. In the previous year, we've seen how the Covid-19 (novel coronavirus) epidemic wreaked havoc on global supply chains across sectors. ...
  • Natural Disasters. ...
  • Logistics Delays and Failures. ...
  • Price Fluctuations. ...
  • Cyberattacks. ...
  • Product Problems.
Dec 27, 2022

What are some examples of supply chain problems? ›

Among the most common supply chain challenges in 2021 were things like port congestion, manufacturing delays, and extreme weather events (including hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and more).

What are the 7 supply chain functions? ›

Supply Chain includes purchasing, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, customer service, demand planning, supply planning and Supply Chain management.

What are the main supply chain models? ›

Six Types of Supply Chain Models
  • The Continuous Model.
  • The Fast Model.
  • The Efficient Model.
  • The Agile Model.
  • The Custom-Configured Model.
  • The Flexible Model.
  • About IDB.
  • FB.

What is supply chain process? ›

A supply chain includes every step that is involved in getting a finished product or service to the customer. The steps may include sourcing raw materials, moving them to production, then transporting the finished products to a distribution center or retail store where they may be delivered to the consumer.

What are the four 4 stages of supply chains? ›

What are the components of your supply chain you should be focusing on right now?
  • INTEGRATION. Integration starts at your strategic planning phase and is critical throughout your communications and information sharing and data analysis and storage. ...
  • OPERATIONS. ...
  • PURCHASING. ...
  • DISTRIBUTION.

What is a supply chain example? ›

Examples of supply chain activities include farming, refining, design, manufacturing, packaging, and transportation.

What are 5 key roles in the supply chain? ›

The five functions of supply chain management include the following:
  • Purchasing. The first function of supply chain management is purchasing. ...
  • Operations. ...
  • Logistics. ...
  • Resource Management. ...
  • Information Workflow.
Feb 4, 2021

What is the most important factor in a supply chain? ›

Since Supply Chain Management consists of managing the flow of information, products and services across a network of supply chain partners, manufacturing plants, and customers, the most challenging key factor would be an accurate communication.

What is the most important element in a supply chain? ›

Element One: Integration

“Integration is at the heart of the supply chain and is considered as the brains and heart of the supply chain process.” says Rachael. “As with any project, planning is essential to long-term success.

What is supply chain summary? ›

A supply chain is a connected system of organizations, activities, information and resources designed to source, produce and move goods from origination to a final destination—typically from a supplier to an end customer. Modern supply chains are often very complex, spanning multiple countries and involving many steps.

What is supply chain in one sentence? ›

A supply chain is the network of all the individuals, organizations, resources, activities and technology involved in the creation and sale of a product.

What is the supply chain of food? ›

A food supply chain is the process that all food products go through, from production all the way through to consumption. The food supply chain is, thus, a hugely important step in how you safely consume and understand the food you eat.

What is the main reason why McDonalds strategy was effective in increasing their sales? ›

A key reason McDonald's has been able to grow and sustain its continued success is its focus on promoting and continuously improving its core product offerings. These include fan favorites like the Big Mac and its famous fries, to more up-and-coming products like chicken nuggets.

What are 3 strengths McDonalds can use globally? ›

McDonald's Strengths (Internal Strategic Factors)
  • Internationally recognized brand and name.
  • High consistency of goods and services based on standardized processes.
  • Large network of business locations.
Sep 25, 2022

What makes McDonalds better than its competitors? ›

Quality Experience -It is impossible to become a leading sustainable brand if the company's quality is associated with only the products. McDonald brothers not only focused on the quality of products, services, and processes but also on the quality of infrastructure for enabling awesome experiences.

Which characteristics of McDonalds production system have been most important in building its record of success and growth in the industry? ›

However, three characteristics stand out when considering the decades-long success of McDonald's: consistency, innovation and resiliency.

What is the best strategy that McDonald's have currently? ›

Market penetration is the main intensive growth strategy that supports McDonald's business development. The company's strategic objective in using market penetration is to generate more sales in food service markets where the business currently has operations.

What does McDonald's do to attract customers? ›

McDonald's runs a very successful series of marketing and advertising campaigns to make sure all of our customers are aware of our offers, promotions and good work that McDonald's is involved in. This includes TV, print, display, radio, and online advertising.

What sets McDonald's apart from its competitors? ›

Cheat prices is McDonald's main competitive advantage. The company is engaged in an extensive utilization of economies of scale to achieve the cost advantage. True to 'fast food' format of its restaurants, McDonald's is famous for the speed of customer service without compromising the quality of the service.

What challenges does McDonald face? ›

Despite the euphoria, McDonald's faces growing difficulties as rising costs and falling market share have led to franchisee cash flow issues. Consumer satisfaction and employee turnover trends suggest that McDonald's efforts to automate and mechanize its operations harm its brand value.

What is McDonalds biggest strengths? ›

McDonald's Strengths
  • Most Valuable Brands. McDonald's is the 9th most valuable brand in the world. ...
  • Tasty Food. ...
  • McDonald's – A Real Estate Company. ...
  • Technology Initiatives. ...
  • Technology Acquisitions. ...
  • Highest Brand Value in Fast Food Brands. ...
  • Improved Quality Control and Health Protocols. ...
  • Leading quick-service restaurant.

What strategy did McDonalds use? ›

Price Strategy of McDonald's

The pricing strategy of McDonald's has always been to offer food at low prices. This is what has allowed the restaurant to be successful for many years. This also has primarily helped McDonald's build its reputation as one of the top fast-food brands in the world.

What is the unique selling point of McDonald's? ›

In our opinion, MacDonald's USP, now and back when they started out, is the speed of service. Every advert we think of when we think of McDonald's is around their prompt delivery – coining the name fast food!

Which one is a weakness for McDonald's? ›

Weaknesses in McDonald's SWOT Analysis

An abundance of unhealthy food on the menu is the main weakness of the company. As it is illustrated in figure below, although McDonald's offers a vast range of burgers, the majority of items in its menu are considered as unhealthy.

How has Mcdonalds improved efficiency? ›

McDonald's has been driving its kitchen equipment suppliers to improve energy efficiency for years, and the company currently encourages the use of low-oil-volume fryers and custom exhaust hoods that make ventilation more efficient (which also reduces heating and cooling loads).

What type of production system does McDonalds use? ›

over 95 billion served

McDonald's is not in the business of selling haute cuisine, but 'fuel' – a standardized product. The new franchisee has to learn the McDonald's production system – a typical assembly line. An assembly line requires low labor skills, but high mechanization.

What are the two systems that McDonalds uses to manage inventory? ›

Reliable inventory management system. McDonald's inventory is managed by using the stock control system to ensure constant availability of raw materials. Accurate demand forecasting. Regional planners analyze the past performance and work on future sales campaigns, thus predicting the future demand.

How does McDonalds use the four functions of management? ›

The planning function is used to develop the company objectives, while the controlling function measures and monitors company resources. The organizing function assists in building a strong harmonious human resource and the leading function organizes all activities to achieve efficient and effective results.

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