As an Efficio consultant I have had the opportunity to travel extensively around the world. Seeing different places can be incredibly enriching and bring moments of culture shock as you adapt to different cultural norms and customs, such as local cuisine. Yet any traveler will tell you that one constant around the world is the unwavering consistency of McDonald’s food. It is widely recognized as a key factor in brand success. Wherever you are, from Kolkata to Cali, you know exactly what to expect at a McDonald’s. This requires an incredibly well-oiled supply chain and processes. Anyone who has worked behind the counter at Golden Arches will also tell you how robust and meticulously detailed their processes are, from the number of seconds it takes to cook one burger to the cleaning procedures.

McDonald’s entire supply chain is known for its excellence. A highly sophisticated system is used to monitor the supply chain, allowing it to track inventory and identify the exact locations of items at any time. This tracking capability allows McDonald’s to balance inventories across restaurants and, when a problem arises, know exactly which products are where and recall them immediately.

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Still, this refinement didn’t stop the fast-food giant from recently dealing with an E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder hamburger. McDonald’s responded very quickly, halting sales of the Quarter Pounder as soon as one case was reported and quickly identifying the source of the outbreak: planed onions. The outbreak was attributed to Taylor Farms, McDonald’s supplier of fresh chopped onions, among other things. The number of people affected quickly rose to 75 in 13 states. Although McDonald’s acted quickly, the incident caused an immediate drop in customer visits: 10% nationally and 33% in Colorado, where the outbreak originated. Such incidents can have long-lasting consequences for brand reputation, and McDonald’s has since launched campaigns to reassure customers of its commitment to food safety.

The outbreak has exposed vulnerabilities in McDonald’s supply chain, which we believe are most likely related to human error. Due to the location of the farm in California and the outbreak in Colorado, we know that the contamination was not due to the harvest, but occurred further down the chain – perhaps during handling, temperature management or packaging. Contamination could have occurred anywhere in the chain, especially during a busy period. Although McDonald’s has strict protocols for handling food, including checklists and timelines for moving products to coolers and further inspections before loading, these procedures may not have been strictly followed. Fast food chains are particularly vulnerable to such disruptions due to their fast-paced nature and large volumes; even a small error in the protocol can lead to widespread consequences.

Related: McDonald’s supplier recalls onions after E. coli outbreak

McDonald’s dependence on a single supplier, Taylor Farms, for fresh-cut onions carries significant risks. McDonald’s quick action prevented a larger-scale crisis, but the incident underlines the need for a more diversified supplier base. If this contamination had affected a larger or more widespread part of the menu, the consequences could have been even more serious. In the aftermath, McDonald’s has alternatives for sourcing, but a greater diversity of suppliers would reduce the risk of being overly dependent on one supplier.

To minimize risks, McDonald’s could strengthen its cross-checking protocols throughout its supply chain. Although onions are carefully inspected in facilities – where they are peeled, washed and cut – it is possible that only one sample from the batch has been tested, leaving other contaminated parts undetected. Increasing audit frequency and increasing transparency about who manages storage and transportation would help mitigate these risks. Furthermore, proactive management of supply chain risks, rather than reactive measures, is critical as global consumption grows. For fast food chains like McDonald’s, with its quick service model, even a small error can have widespread consequences, highlighting the need for a proactive, robust approach to food safety and supplier diversification.

Here are some other tips and considerations for those working in the food ingredient supply chain:

• Under no circumstances, look to a single source or sole source for the supplier unless it is monopolized;
• Use automated temperature measurement from the loading point to the delivery point, which would pose a risk of product contamination;
• Increase all franchise food safety testing and inspections by three times instead of the random franchise checks, which, based on standard practice, are only two times maximum;
• Implement a cloud-based adenosine triphosphate (ATP) monitoring system for transparency to capture controls to ensure surface/equipment cleanliness, water monitoring and outdoor harvesting on farms are always 99.99% free of contamination (including trucks);
• Add camera deployment to the truck bed to provide transparency and visibility of operations and prevent misuse or tampering.

While McDonald’s has built an impressively resilient supply chain that has fueled its success and consistency around the world, incidents such as the recent E. coli outbreak underscore the complexities and vulnerabilities inherent in such a vast, interconnected network. The brand’s rapid response and commitment to strict food safety measures demonstrate its commitment to maintaining consumer confidence, but this event highlights the need for continued improvements. Strengthening supplier diversity and implementing proactive quality controls can further strengthen McDonald’s resilience against potential disruptions. As global demand and expectations for safety grow, McDonald’s – and the fast food industry as a whole – must continually evolve to address supply chain risks and uphold the standards that have made the brand iconic worldwide.

AUTHOR BIO

Barbara Guignard is director at Efficio and has more than 18 years of experience in purchasing. She leads large-scale, international procurement transformation projects across various sectors, with a focus on the food, retail and manufacturing industries. Barbara’s main areas of interest are Procurement Transformation and Strategic Sourcing, especially in the context of international organizations and mergers and acquisitions.