Red Lobster Essay Example

healthier lifestyle.

There any many varieties of food to please each individual guest, including a kid’s menu specific to their wishes as a small consumer. From wood-fire grilled items, to fried foods, and cold desserts, the diverse types of food preparation allows for the kitchen to run smoothly and efficiently to keep guests satisfied with the timing of which they receive each menu course (Red Lobster, 2012). My Procurement Policy for Red Lobster I would follow the same procurement policy that has been so successful for Darden Restaurants, Inc. since the 1990’s.

I plan to order straight from the processing plants, fisheries, and the actual fishermen, and leave out any brokers or middlemen (Kaplan, 2010). I would make sure that my purchasing agents received extensive on-the-job training so they would have the technical and conceptual skills needed to perform all aspects of their job. The purchasing agents would have to have excellent people and communication skills and be able to get along with everyone. I would like to work with as many suppliers as needed to get a steady supply and dependable quality of fresh fish.

My purchasing agents will meet with the suppliers on a quarterly basis to make sure we are getting the freshest and best product available. They should be able to represent Red Lobster in a positive light while forming a trusting and long-term business relationship with all of our suppliers (Feinstein & Stefanelli, 2012). I would make sure my purchasing agents stay up-to-date on fish name changes since renaming fish is a common practice to make it more appealing.

For example, a fish called by the

distasteful name slimhead was renamed orange roughy to make it more enticing to buy and sell (Feinstein & Stefanelli, 2012, p452). My purchasing agents will be tasked to buy fresh fish that is Graded A by federal government regulations. We will also not accept any fish products below a Grade A. I will need purchasing agents with strong integrity and to ensure they are inspecting all of our products since the government has yet to issue mandatory, continuous inspections on fish products (Feinstein & Stefanelli, 2012, p455).

In order to receive the best prices for the highest quality fish products, I will equip myself and my buyers with seafood handbooks, seafood trade journals, and reports on current seafood pricing. Websites such as www. seafood. com and www. Sea-Ex. com will give us daily news and pricing data for the seafood industry. I would also get in touch with the Food and Drug Administration Office of Seafood Safety to request a list of all approved fish suppliers in my local area, as well as, the East Coast.

To get the best prices and best quality at the same time, we will create statements of quality to give to our suppliers so they can contact us each time they receive products with our specified standards of quality (Feinstein & Stefanelli, 2012, p464). I will periodically evaluate our suppliers and supplier services and compare to the competition so that I am ensured that I have trustworthy suppliers who continue to offer me the best deals, optimal delivery schedules, and generous credit terms.

Best Purchasing Process for Red Lobster I think the informal purchasing process would work

best for Red Lobster. Going through a competitive bid process may give us better pricing at first, but when buying fresh fish, I need a purchasing agent who can look through the trade journals and websites and ask for price quotes from the list of approved suppliers. I don’t want to go back and forth to see who can win our business. I want to get quotes on paper, look through the quotes and pick the one I see with high quality standards for the best prices and supplier services.

Once we have dependable suppliers we can trust, they will assist in maintaining optimal inventory at all times. We will re-evaluate the suppliers quarterly for consistency and quality assurance (Feinstein & Stefanelli, 2012, p79) Most Beneficial Payment Policy for Red Lobster and Suppliers The best payment policy to satisfy both the restaurant and the suppliers will be to use the “Invoices on Account” method with an agreement for cash discounts on payments made within the first half of each pay period.

This payment agreement will give the restaurant time to profit from the merchandise and to make consistent payments each pay period. This will also give our company incentive to make early payments for cash discounts on the products. The type of payment plan also allows for any delivery issues such as damaged products or expired food items to be handled onsite with a credit slip. At the end of each monthly or 45 day invoice period, a statement will be sent out and we will be expected to pay the minimum balance up to the entire balance that is due (Feinstein &

Stefanelli, 2012, p213).

Summary Owning and operating Red Lobster will prove to be a challenging but profitable business in which I am excited to be involved. Our food will always be of the highest quality to ensure sales growth and customer satisfaction. Customer service will be a top priority along with maintaining a good relationship with the suppliers and the financial institutions who invested their time and money. Most of all, this establishment will be a magnificent casual dining experience with fresh and delectable food selections each day of the week.