Last week we were talking about Mercadona, a clear example of business success at many different levels: its close relationship with suppliers, the commitment to continuous improvement, the training of its workers and the commitment to the white label have been decisive in this race to triumph.
While it is true that one of the key factors of success is the figure of “The boss”. In the Mercadona philosophy the customer is the boss. The goal is to have the products with the highest quality and at the lowest price possible. But “The boss” exercises control not only in the mix of products and the layout of supermarkets, but also in the central axis of decision making related to the group’s logistics operations, as they do in other areas of the company.
Quality is now also the priority, within a scope of action that ranges from the provisioning of products to delivery to stores.
The key is, then, that the whole organization is aligned according to the consumer. “The solution to avoid problems lies in giving a correct sequential order to the objectives of logistics, and we have to start with quality, followed by the quantity, the time, the place, and finally the cost,” said Montanyà, Logistics General Manager of Mercadona.
As a positive example, Montanyà mentioned the change made in the automatic picking equipment of its platforms, which allows to stack and prepare several boxes at the same time, instead of one, as was done with the previous machinery. Although the investment in this last type of equipment had already been made, it was decided to substitute – beginning at the center of Guadix -, to gain in agility, which translates into less time in the presentation of the product to the consumer and in greater freshness and quality.
Besides putting the consumer in the center of the logistics operation Montanyà did not leave aside other important concepts in logistics, such as productivity. The design of logistics thought for the worker; collaboration with suppliers; respect for the environment – both that of the inhabitants close to stores and the environment – are other requirements of Mercadona’s supply chain.
Source:
The blog of Logistics at MGEPS at UPV 