Center for Social Innovation

Published: November 19, 2010 Download  43 minutes, 20.1mb, recorded 2010-04-29

McDonald’s corporate social responsibility efforts have traveled all the way to India. In this university podcast, Abhijit Upadhye, an executive with the company’s Indian enterprise, details the ordeal to set up a supply chain that could meet the corporation’s stringent quality and food safety standards while also appealing to the mostly vegetarian population. He outlines how McIndia has endeavored to respect local culture, develop local partners, and identify local sources in bringing the famous fries and other Micky D favorites to millions on the subcontinent, while also forging some infrastructural and culinary innovations. Upadhye spoke at the fourth annual Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chain Conference hosted in partnership by the Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forumand the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Abhijit Upadhye is director of national supply chain, menu management, and new business channels for McDonald’s India. Apart from being responsible for managing the company's complex supply chain, Upadhye is responsible for developing new products and leading new business channels initiatives responsible for the future sales and profit growth of McDonald’s in India. Previously, he headed the retail domain competency group at Infosys Technologies. Before that, Upadhye worked for four years in McDonald’s India as a supply chain manager. He has also worked with Perfetti India in sales and with Philips India in marketing.

Resources

• McDonald's India
• Rediscovering Social Innovation, a Stanford Social Innovation Review article
• Rethinking Corporate Philanthropy, a Stanford Social Innovation Review article