Barilla Spa, an Italian Pasta Manufacturer
Executive Summary
Barilla SpA, an Italian pasta manufacturer, is experiencing greater levels of inefficiencies and rising costs due to variability in demand from its distributors. In order to restore things to order and to improve margins, Giorgio Magialli, the Director of Logistics at Barilla wants to implement a Just-In-Time Distribution (JITD) system that was proposed by his predecessor Brando Vitali. This system is completely different from the existing setup and is being opposed by both the distributors and Barilla’s Sales and Marketing Department.
Introduction
Barilla SpA, an Italy based company, is the world’s largest Pasta manufacturer. It has a 35% market share in Italy and a 22% market share in Europe. In addition to the family of pastas (macaroni, spaghetti, fusilli, etc.) it also manufactures bread, cookies, biscuits, rusks, sauces, breadsticks, etc. Barilla has a very complex distribution network consisting of Grand Distributors (owned by large Supermarket chains), Organized Distributors (independent third party distributors) in addition to its own depots. Due to such a complex and multi-echelon network, Barilla has been experiencing large amounts of variability in demand which are resulting in operational inefficiency and increased manufacturing, inventory and distribution costs.
Brando Vitali, Barilla’s ex-Director of Logistics, had proposed a Just-In-Time Distribution (JITD) system to counter this demand variation. This system required the distributors to share their sales data with Barilla, who would then forecast and deliver appropriate amounts of products to the distributors at the right time in order to effectively meet demand. This was a radical change from the current and more traditional supply-chain setup where the distributors were not sharing any data and could place orders at will. Vitali’s proposal came under severe criticism from not only the distributors but also Barilla’s own Sales and Marketing department for an array of
Barilla SpA, an Italian pasta manufacturer, is experiencing greater levels of inefficiencies and rising costs due to variability in demand from its distributors. In order to restore things to order and to improve margins, Giorgio Magialli, the Director of Logistics at Barilla wants to implement a Just-In-Time Distribution (JITD) system that was proposed by his predecessor Brando Vitali. This system is completely different from the existing setup and is being opposed by both the distributors and Barilla’s Sales and Marketing Department.
Introduction
Barilla SpA, an Italy based company, is the world’s largest Pasta manufacturer. It has a 35% market share in Italy and a 22% market share in Europe. In addition to the family of pastas (macaroni, spaghetti, fusilli, etc.) it also manufactures bread, cookies, biscuits, rusks, sauces, breadsticks, etc. Barilla has a very complex distribution network consisting of Grand Distributors (owned by large Supermarket chains), Organized Distributors (independent third party distributors) in addition to its own depots. Due to such a complex and multi-echelon network, Barilla has been experiencing large amounts of variability in demand which are resulting in operational inefficiency and increased manufacturing, inventory and distribution costs.
Brando Vitali, Barilla’s ex-Director of Logistics, had proposed a Just-In-Time Distribution (JITD) system to counter this demand variation. This system required the distributors to share their sales data with Barilla, who would then forecast and deliver appropriate amounts of products to the distributors at the right time in order to effectively meet demand. This was a radical change from the current and more traditional supply-chain setup where the distributors were not sharing any data and could place orders at will. Vitali’s proposal came under severe criticism from not only the distributors but also Barilla’s own Sales and Marketing department for an array of