Ep164 | How a Sushi Supply Chain System Works in a National Brand ft. Debbie Thompson, Sushi Sushi

Debbie Thompson is the chief supply chain officer at Sushi Sushi, one of Australia's largest and most recognised sushi franchise brands with over 170 stores nationwide.   Her role spans everything from fresh food supplier sourcing and farm audits to Japanese ingredient imports, food safety certification and in-store quality assurance across the entire franchise network.   In this episode of the Franchise Everything Podcast, Debbie pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to manage a fresh food supply chain at scale across a major Australian food franchise.   0:00 - Welcome and guest introduction Debbie Thompson 0:26 - The complexity of managing a fresh food supply chain across 170 plus stores 1:42 - Where to start: sourcing sustainably certified salmon from Tasmania 2:26 - Visiting farms and auditing facilities through qualified food safety specialists 3:18 - Why Sushi Sushi only sources salmon from the east coast of Tasmania 4:12 - Temperature controls from the farm all the way to the store 5:23 - How long it takes to approve a new supplier and why certification matters 6:47 - The four hour response system for delivery and quality issues raised in store 7:43 - The story of opus rice and the Australian version of koshikari 8:37 - How the Riverina rice mill uses solar power to reduce emissions 9:26 - Pre-portioned rice bags and the Japanese vinegar sachet that makes it food safe 9:52 - What rice milling actually means and the double polishing process 11:57 - Sourcing authentic Japanese ingredients including nori soy sauce and vinegar 12:21 - The Sushi Sushi sourcing office in Japan and the export license 14:11 - The biggest challenge in supply chain managing realistic timeframes versus business expectations 15:51 - Building strong supplier relationships as a shared responsibility 16:21- Wrap up   Franchise Recruitment Marketing - Appear on our Podcasts HERE   Listen or Watch on;   Spotify: ⁠https://tinyurl.com/34chazpa⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://tinyurl.com/3ymrf5e8⁠ Amazon Music: ⁠https://tinyurl.com/3vxdnjez⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://youtu.be/Bwrpz_Ps2cE⁠