OSI Europe hosts Supplier Quality Summit

July 19, 2019

OSI Europe hosted its 2019 Supplier Quality Summit in Munich, Germany, bringing together the company’s valued suppliers, experts in the food and agriculture industries, and leaders in food quality. The Summit was held on June 18, with the theme Winning Together: Achieving Superior Supply Chain Quality, and highlighting collaboration as the means to achieve superior food quality. The speakers stressed the importance of cooperation to foster a safe, efficient food industry that nourishes and enriches the people and communities which it serves.

The key messages and common threads that were discussed included foreign material management, animal welfare, diversity in the workforce, and food safety culture. Aside from focusing on the scheduled topics, the Summit also allowed time for the attendees to share best practices and revealed an abundance of knowledge among the representatives of different industry sectors.

Opportunities to collaborate

Kevin Cahill, managing director for OSI Europe, spoke about challenges in the supply chain as customer expectations continue to rise, causing them to demand higher standards that cascade through all levels of that supply chain. Additionally, he spoke about how volatility brings risk and suggested how everyone should collectively manage that risk, from farmer to harvester to finished goods processor.

Angelika Wendt, vice president, Food Safety and Quality for McDonald’s, discussed the chain’s brand expectations, where the goal is to ensure that McDonald’s is a trusted brand for quality food, served safely. “McDonald’s is able to use its sheer scale to elevate food safety and achieve excellence,” Wendt stated, “but we must do it together, in collaboration with our suppliers.”

Monitoring operations and behaviors

Mark Moshier, president of Arrowsight, a remote video auditing firm, explained that the data his company provides creates awareness, requires accountability and delivers transparency. OSI utilizes third party remote video auditing in all of its beef slaughter sites in Europe.

Panel Discussion: Globalizing Protein Specifications

A group panel was assembled to discuss the need for global specifications, and included Bruce Feinberg, McDonald’s senior director, Global Protein Quality; Norbert Rank, McDonald’s senior manager, Global Quality Systems, Poultry & Fish; and Jutta Schmid, manager, Raw Material Quality for OSI Europe.

Women in global leadership roles

The conference also included a vibrant session on diversity and women in leadership roles within European organizations. Paula Marshall, third generation CEO of The Bama Companies, spoke about building a leadership team and setting the tone of diversity. “Different thinking brings better ideas,” she asserted. Marshall was concerned that there are not any significant moves towards diversity in European companies.

Managing supply chain quality

OSI’s Dr. Kenneth Petersen, senior vice president, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs, revealed how OSI’s global strategies are centered on risk while focused on the customer.

Roger McCracken, CEO, managing director and founder of Foods Connected also spoke at the Summit. OSI uses the Foods Connected platform to collect information, store documentation and maintain an approved supply list for its proteins. McCracken described OSI as a premier company that is utilizing leading indicators to foresee certain risks in its supply chain.

Food safety culture journey

Rhona Quin-Mcleod, technical director for Morrison’s Supermarkets, shared her experience of the three-year journey Morrison’s experienced to improve the firm’s culture of food safety “By understanding the perceptions of your employees,” Quin-Mcleod said, “you have a basis to improve in key areas the business has identified.”