SPIA Student Interns for Major McDonald’s Supplier in Australia and New Zealand
Zachery Phillips (M.A. Global Policy/ International Trade & Commerce ’12) spent eleven weeks working with Golden State Foods (GSF) Australasia at their vegetable processing facilities in Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. As the pioneer of the one-stop shopping system created for McDonald’s, GSF has emerged as the largest supplier to McDonald’s, providing a range of products from meats, produce, and french fries to drink mixes, paper products and cleaning supplies.
As a result of this deeply imbedded relationship between McDonald’s and GSF, Zach’s job was to study the processes implemented by vegetable processing plants throughout Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa (APMEA) to identify compliance with McDonald’s newly implemented Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Plan. The goal of obtaining this information was to identify areas of concern, and to highlight areas of compliance that could be used in implementing an APMEA-wide contingency plan to deal with regional disasters. In doing so, McDonald’s, with the help of GSF, wants to ensure a safe and high-quality product is delivered to its restaurants throughout the APMEA region.
Overall, this international internship provided Zach with the opportunity to work in both Australia and New Zealand and experience a culture and business climate unique to each country. The ability to interact with people in countries throughout the APMEA region on a daily basis afforded him valuable learning experiences that cannot be gained from text books or within the confines of lecture halls.