3. OCEAN SPRAY CRANBERRIES, INC.
　August is typically a challenging month for Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., when the Lakeville, Massachusetts-based firm has to pump up volume to meet the surge in the demand for the upcoming season. Ocean Spray is an agriculture co-op owned by more than 750 citrus growers in the U.S. and Canada. The company produces canned and bottled juice, juice drinks, and food products at distribution centers in Bordentown, New Jersey; Kenosha, Wisconsin; Sulphur Springs, Texas; and Henderson, Nevada.
　 Ocean Spray was managing its transportation operations internally, but the company decided it wanted to focus on its core competency, which according to its director of logistics, was “maintaining our leadership in the shelf-stable juice drink category.” The company also wanted to centralize its transportation operations. Looking carefully at the issue of overall performance in the logistics and transportation areas, a significant amount of variability was found in its operations. For purposes of uniformity and control, a major priority was attached to centralization of its logistics operations.
　 In addition, Ocean Spray wanted to be able to reach markets for which it did not already have access, which would require expansion of its logistic network. According to the director of logistics, an analysis was undertaken to study how long it would take and what it would cost to build up Ocean Spray’s transportation capabilities to be able to support such a network. As a result, a recommendation was made to seriously investigate the use of a third-party logistics (3PL) provider.
Questions: (25 %)