Burgerville - Fast Food.pdf - Global Case Writing...

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Burgerville: Sustainability and
Sourcing in a QSR Supply Chain
Free Online Copy
Darrell Brown, Phil Berko, Patrick Dedrick, Brie Hilliard and
Joshua Pfleeger (Portland State University, USA)
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Copyright © 2010 by the Author(s). This case was prepared by Darrell Brown, Phil Berko,
Patrick Dedrick, Brie Hilliard and Joshua Pfleeger as a basis for class discussion rather than
to illustrate the effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.
Global Case Writing Competition 2011
Corporate Sustainability Track
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Brown/Berko/Dedrick/Hilliard/Pfleeger Burgerville 1
Burgerville: Sustainability and Sourcing in a QSR
Supply Chain
“Doing business locally out of the relationships that people had was
really important to this company and the people who were running it. These
family kinds of values and the relationships and the way that people
interacted with each other was very important and it was important to keep
the money in the communities where we were doing business and the better
job we do of doing that the more money people have to spend in your
business. So it’s a circle that works very well. It’s pretty basic economics,
actually, and today we call it sustainability. Years ago they called it ‘that’s
the way you do business’.” (Jack Graves, Chief Cultural Officer, Burgerville)
Jack Graves is considering buying chicken. More precisely, Jack is considering where to buy
chicken. He needs to make a recommendation to the purchasing team soon, and the decision
is complicated. Jack is a long-time employee of the Burgerville restaurant chain, a quick-
serve restaurant chain in the Northwest USA. Burgerville prides itself in being true to its
long-held values while maintaining profitability and growth. Graves’ primary job at
Burgerville is to assure that the company’s values are embedded in all its actions, including
its relationships to its supply chain. His current concern is the dilemma of which values to
promote. Burgerville sells chicken, lots of chicken. So the purchase of chicken has significant
impacts on the social and environmental impacts of Burgerville’s supply chain. Should
Burgerville buy local, with the inherent social and environmental benefits, while paying
attention to concerns about labor issues, animal treatment, and non-organic stewardship? Or
should it find a supplier with some assurance that these potential problems are eliminated,
regardless of location? Jack knows that Burgerville needs to address this issue soon, as the