Meals On Wheels Case Study

IMeals on Wheels orders using a Just-In-Time ordering system where goods, such as food in this case, moves through the system while services are being performed, just as they are needed (Stevenson, Hojati, Cao, 2016, p. 432). This is a processing system that is highly coordinated and is based off of customer demand. Using this Just-In-Time system saves costs and expenses by making sure that Meals on Wheels only purchases what is needed, therefore helping to eliminate waste. Furthermore, this system ensures quick responsiveness to the ordering process while maintaining quality. Demands are all managed and tracked through a computer system. There are many benefits to this that include keeping inventory levels under constant analysis to ensure restocking is happening when needed. The computer system is able to track when inventory comes in as well as when it goes out. This keeps Meals on Wheels inventory control automatically up to date on which food meals are being ordered the most, and which ones are less popular and not as high in demand. This is a cost saving technique as well, because it helps to keep only the required items …show more content…
The perpetual inventory system has many functions such as having an updated balance on hand, contains the quantity on order, the quantity allocated, and the available balance (Arnold, Chapman, Clive, 2008, p. 318). This strongly benefits Meals on Wheels by providing the knowledge of what inventory they currently have in their facility, as well as what inventory is coming in. In a food service such as Meals on Wheels, this provides high efficiency. For example, if the kitchen realizes that they are running low on an ingredient for one of their meals, they are able to look and see if that certain ingredient has been ordered, and when it will arrive to the facility so that they can plan future meals