In July 2017, Chipotle Mexican Grill (Chipotle), a Mexican chain of fast food restaurants based in Denver, Colorado, provisionally closed a restaurant in Virginia, the US, after more than 130 customers complained of falling ill with symptoms consistent with norovirus. On July 18, 2017, three mice were filmed running around a Dallas Chipotle restaurant. These incidents brought back memories of 2015, when Chipotle was in the news for its food safety issues. At the beginning of 2015, hundreds of customers of the fast food chain across 14 states fell sick after a series of outbreaks ranging from E. Coli to norovirus to salmonella. The case describes in detail Chipotle’s food safety issues and its different aspects. It analyzes Chipotle’s growth over the years and how it differentiated itself from its competitors. It goes on to discuss Chipotle’s response to the crisis as well as the repercussions. The case ends with a discussion on the challenges that this crisis had brought for Chipotle..

Operations Case Studies | Case Study in Management, Operations, Strategies, IT and Systems, Case Studies

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Issues

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

	Study the factors that led to the food safety crisis at Chipotle
	Understand the issues and challenges in sourcing fresh ingredients/produce from a number of sources.
	Understand the importance of the safety culture, food safety management, material handling, etc.;
	Analyze the responsibilities of Chipotle in the event of the crisis and the steps taken by the company following the initial outbreak;
	Examine the approach adopted by Chipotle in managing the crisis and explore ways in which it can come out of this crisis.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

GROWTH OVER THE YEARS

THE TROUBLE BEGINS

WHAT WENT WRONG?

INITIATIVES TAKEN BY CHIPOTLE

LOOKING AHEAD

EXHIBITS

Keywords

Process control; Quality control; Quality audits; Material handling; Daily Food Safety Checklist; Operations Management; Supply chain; Supplier Interventions; Ingredient Traceability; Training; Ethics; Corporate Communications; Crisis management; Crisis communication; Fast food; Chipotle

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