The goal of this case is to illustrate how a firm can be successful by structuring its supply chain to support its supply chain strategy. Once Seven-Eleven Japan decided to provide responsiveness by rapid replenishment, it then structured its facilities, inventory, information, and distribution to support this choice. The case also brings up the question of whether the same approach can work in the United States, especially given the greater distances and lower store density.

This book discusses continuous improvement strategies of Japanese convenience store operators. The study highlights the efforts of companies operating under lean management systems to identify new, dynamic, firm-specific capabilities in highly competitive markets.

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: A, International School of Management Dortmund (San Diego, USA), course: Strategic Management, language: English, abstract: Ben and Jerry’s is one of the best known super-premium ice-cream manufactures in the United States. In 1998 Ben and Jerry’s expanded its business to Japan, the second largest ice cream market in the world. It was a significant step in the company’s history and strategic orientation. In the beginning they had to face several problems which had to be solved before entering the market. This planning phase took from 1994 to 1996 followed by a test market phase in 1997. One of the mayor problems was to find a partner who could provide an adequate distribution network. Ben and Jerry’s finally decided to enter the market with the help of Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd., which is a franchise convenience store chain of about 8,000 stores in Japan. This made it possible for Ben and Jerry’s to offer their ice-cream to a lot of people without building up their own distribution network. The company could also make use of the experience of Seven-Eleven who obviously can better assess the Japanese’s need and habits. In 2000 Ben and Jerry’s was acquired by Unilever, a multinational food and personal products company. This acquisition gives Ben and Jerry’s the possibility of using the existing distribution channels and reduce the dependency on other companies. Also with Unilever as its parent company the company has a new financial strength which allows them to expand marketing strategies and research and development. Based on the following analysis Ben and Jerry’s is very good positioned in the markets they are competing in. The company uses its strengths and the opportunities in order to fight against potential threats and weaknesses they face due to the lack of huge market share.

Discusses the structure of the Seven-Eleven Japan supply chain in terms of its facilities network, inventory management, distribution, and information. To discuss how Seven-Eleven has made consistent supply chain choices to support its business strategy of providing convenience to customers. Points to how Seven-Eleven has used information and aggregation in transportation to improve supply chain responsiveness at a relatively low cost.

The benchmark text for the syllabus organized by technology (a week on databases, a week on networks, a week on systems development, etc.) taught from a managerial perspective. O’Brien defines technology and then explains how companies use the technology to improve performance. Real world cases finalize the explanation.