Category: Supply Chain Management

Global Supply Chain Management.
Global Supply Chain Management ERP Business Administration , 3rd year Project by Arhire Alexandru Coordonating professor Pavaloaia Daniel Contents Introduction3 Chapter 1. Issues within the Global Supply Chain Management System4 Chapter 2. Global Supply Chains Management – Company Strategies5 Chapter 3. Global Supply Chain Model6 Chapter 4. The virtualization of Global Supply Chain Management8 Chapter 5. Conclusions10 References11 Introduction In order to understand what global supply chain management is we must first become familiar with the concept of supply chain management. The supply chain management is the network of services, material and information flow that link a firm’s customer relations, order fulfillment and supplier relations processes to those of its suppliers and customers. It is the science of developing a strategy to motivate, control and organize the resources involved in the flow of services and materials within the supply chain”. Nowadays, more and more companies source globally, sell globally, or compete with some other company that is involved in such activities. Thus, global supply chain management (GSCM) represents a central area of focus for many businesses and business schools today. Although the extraordinary growth of GSCM attests to its robustness and practical importance, the field is diffuse and complex. Many methods and perspectives on GSCM have emerged from logistics, operations, marketing, management, economics, sociology, personnel, information systems, and international relations. Their diversity and rapid growth make it hard to keep abreast of significant developments. Moreover, many of these approaches have evolved with relative independence, paying little attention to how they relate to existing methods or interrelate with each other.
This makes it difficult to accumulate wisdom in the field and to develop a coherent knowledge base to guide research and practice. ” Many businesses have found “global supply chain management” to be an important issue when trying to outsource in regions across their borders. This can be explained by the increase in globalization. To outsource on a global level is difficult because it involves doing business with a variety of companies and suppliers which have their own codes of business conducts and various perspectives on business ethics; mainly on how to trade internationally.
Global Supply Chain Management involves two big concepts: the supply chain management concept which was discussed above and the concept of globalization. This concept infers the cross-border movement of good and the emergence of global competitors and opportunities across competing supply chains with an industry. However, the current trend towards the globalization of supply chain management leaves many managers confused. Managers often question the differences between a global market and a single market, in that many of the same conditions exist in both.

Although this may be true, the complexities of cross-border operations are exponentially greater than in a single country, and the ability to compete in the global environment often depends on understanding the subtleties that emerge only in cross-border trade—that is, in “Global Supply Chain Management”. Chapter 1. Issues within the Global Supply Chain Management System For companies to operate on a global level is no easy task. There are many complications that arise from trying to do business across borders. 1. The first issue it faces is the costs and expenses of doing business “across borders”.
Dealing with international business is a difficult task because it involves many types of different businesses in many countries. Costs for the company may involve: renting the required space, state taxes, transportation and others. “Additionally, companies need to factor in the exchange rate. Obviously, companies must do their research and give serious consideration to all of these different elements as part of their global supply management approach. ” 2. The second factor that can put a dent into “global supply management” is the necessary time to conduct all the activities when dealing with this issue. The productivity of the overseas employees and the extended shipping times can either positively or negatively affect the company’s lead time, but either way these times need to be figured into the overall procurement plan”. There are multiple factors that can influence the amount of time spent when doing business overseas, factors like: the delay of a shipment due to bad weather conditions, this can also influence the production process, or the time it takes for the merchandise to get clearance through customs.
When dealing with the issue of “global supply chain management” the expression “time is money” takes a bigger and more literary meaning. 3. Another factor that managers tend to consider important when dealing overseas is the place where you chose to do business. Some companies may choose technologically developed countries for the obvious reasons: information travels faster, the production process can be sped up and so can the shipment process. Other companies may choose poorer countries just due to the fact that the labor in those types of countries is cheap.
And some companies might want to keep their activities somewhere closer to the main headquarters in order to reduce costs and expenses. 4. Probably one of the most pressing issues is that global supply chain managers deal with is the selection of the suppliers. It is a difficult task to try and get the ideal supplier because there are many and making a comparison between them is very difficult due to various issues like being pressured by time or trying to choose the cheapest supplier due to insufficient funds. A company must take its time when choosing the suppliers ost fitted for them and must analyze from all perspectives: quality, price, reputation, promptitude and many others. Taking the time to make a thorough research for suppliers on the market should be one of the main priorities of a company. 5. Another issue that can arise in “global supply chain management” is of logistic nature. Companies that choose to ship their products overseas can encounter issues such as: how many factories or plants does it need? How many suppliers are needed to ensure a fast manufacturing process in order to meet the market demand? Where should the company export their goods and why? For example, if a business uses a number of vendors around Bangalore, India than it may make sense to locate the manufacturing plant that would utilize those supplies in or around Bangalore as well. Not only will this provide lower employee costs, but overall shipping and tariff expenses should also be reduced. This would then save the company money”. Chapter 2. Global Supply Chains Management – Company Strategies For a company to go global is always a difficult and long-term task. It has to face a lot of risks and issues that arise from trying to accomplish such a goal.
When faced with the questions of what are the most challenging aspects of going global for a supply chain, managers and executives tend to reffer to the following: * Total resources required to manage supply chain * Recruitment and retention of sufficient local talent * Integration of IT systems between the company and vendors * Degree to which central manageement was required * Degree to which local management was required * Identification and implementation of risk-management strategy * Grater difficulty of managing safety and/or quality Speed at which competitive advantages from extending operations to low-cost markets evened out across us and our competitors * Infrastructure to support local workforce It is inveitable that when a company chooses to go global that it should face these challenges. Many of them represent a great risk while others are technologically based. Technological development for a company is a key factor for success because especially nowadays, a company that has it’s own IT department and systems can easily gain a competitive advantage. Another important challenge that a company is faced with, is the recruitment of employees.
When expanding to different territories finding talented people to work for the company can be a huge challenge. The company may need to transport capable employees from the mother company to new locations in order to ensure a good start for it’s activities in that area. This is why companies need to form a solid strategy for their supply chain and try to prioritize their goals. For example in a research done by McKenzy ; Company in 2008 have shown that the primary strategic goals that companies focus on are: * Reducing costs * Improving customer service Getting new products/services to market faster * Improving product quality * Reducing comapny’s carbon footprint * Maintaining majority of employees in home region The companies that are trying to emphasise on reducing costs the most are the companies that operate in developing or emerging markets. McKinsey ; Company also says that „perhaps comapnies in countries such as China are trying to anticipate the effect of rising costs (including labor costs and appreciating currencies) on the competitive advantages they currently enjoy as low-cost manufactureres”.
The conclusion here is that if companies want to succeed on foreign markets they must develop strong strategies for market penetration, the speed to which the products arrive at the disposal of the customers, hiring competent personel and lowering costs. Chapter 3. Global Supply Chain Model In order for a company to be able to adapt to the everchanging global markets and to manage to keep up with the technological advances it mus have a sound „global supply chain model”. Researchers say that in order for a company to succeed it must have a „model of global supply chain agility”. Researchers ike Patty Swafford, Dr. Soumen Ghosh and Dr. Nagesh Murthy, define in their paper intitled „A Model of Global Supply Chain Agility and its Impact on Competitive Performance”, the concept of „global supply chain agility” as „a measure of the supply chain’s ability to efficiently adapt to a rapidly changing global competitive environment to provide and/or services”. They also state that „global supply chain agility” is determined by four componenets of flexibility, which are: * The flexibility of product development * The flexibility of sourcing * The flexibility of manufacturing * The flexibility of logistics
They also state that „an organization’s information technology flexibility and its industry’s global competitive environment influence its level of global chain agility”. (Patty Swafford, Dr. Soumen Ghosh, Dr. Nagesh Murthy). An example of a practical „global supply chain management” model could be: Chapter 4. The virtualization of Global Supply Chain Management If a long time ago business was conudcted in the old fashioned way, like face to face trading, nowadays it is not required to physically be preasent when closing a deal or trading goods or services. This is mainly because of the Internet.
This amazing invention which revolutionized how the entire world works, has rapidly made its way into the world of business and changed it forever. The birth of the Internet has brought to the business world instruments such as „E-business” or „E-commerce” which basicly means „the use of Interned-based computing and communications to execute both front-end and back-end business processes”. With the help of the Internet, comapnies can obtain a greater visibility outside their own borders on what is happening with their activities and the activities of competitors and thus are able to quickly respond to changes in the market.
The adoption of „e-business” can mean, for companies, a better global supply chain with the reductions of costs and expenses, the increase in flexibility and faster reactions in time. Hau L. Lee and Seunjing Whang, say in their paper intiteled „E-Business and Supply Chain Integration” that „ over the past decade a combination of economic, technology and market forces has compelled companies to examine and reinvent their supply chain strategies. Some of these forces include the globalization of business the proliferation of product variety, increasing complexity of supply networks and the shortening of the product life cycles.
To stay competitivem enlightened comapnies have strived to achieve greater coordination and collabroation among supply chain partners in an approach called „supply chain Integration””. This means that the Internet plays an important role and will continue to play it in the development of the „global supply chain management” and provide fast and reliable ways of integration for the supply chain. The way in which a company conducts „e-business” will be an important factor in the succes of that company.
If a company kows how to use the internet for its „back-end” operations like product development and design, procurement of supplies, production process, keeping inventory, distribution channels, services support, marketing and management then it is very much likely that the company will always be at a competitive advantage. Reseachers Hau L. Lee and Seunjing Whang have identified four key dimensions in which the impacts of „e-business” can be found on „supply chain integration”: a. „Information integration”. Which reffers to „the sharing of information among memebers of the supply chain”.
If this system is implemented correctly, without the danger of leaking important company secrets to unwanted parties, then the communication between the memebers of a supply chain can be made easier an thus increase the overall performance. b. „Planning synchronization”. Which refers to „the joint design and execution of plans for product introduction, forecasting and replenishment”. This dimension refers to the ability of the supply chain memebers to use the information provided in order to acomplish their plans and meet their objectives. c. Workflow coordination”. It reffers to „streamlined and automated workflow activities between the supply chain partners”. This means to decide on how the provided information can be used and what is the best way to gain the most out of it. In the end it means to achieve efficiency thorugh technology solutions and to automate many of the cross-company workflow stages. d. „New Business Models”. „E-business allows partners to redefine logistics flows so that the roles and responsabilities of memebers may change to improve overall supply chain efficiency”.
Taking an „e-business” approach to supply chain integration can mean improvements in effciency but can also spring new opportunities of business for the company that previously were not possible. For example with the help of the Internet a „supply chain network may jointly create new products, pursue mass cutomization and penetrate new markets and customer segments”. In conclusion, „e-business” and „e-commerce” are two powerfull tools for the integration of the global supply chain across a widespread area of industries and countries.
Such instruments have the power to enable a faster and realiable cooperation between memebrs of the „global supply chain” and companies that adopt such methods will surely gain and important competitive advantage on the global markets. The sharing of information benefits not only the company that does the sharing but the whole business community, thus establishing a network of „e-business” between companies all over the world is an important step towards the development of business processes and conducts.
The internet not only helps develop a company but it also gives it new business oportunities which can enrich its portfolio and make it more attractive to customers. Chapter 5. Conclusions Considering all that has been said in this paper we can safely assume that the core of a business is its supply chain. Thus if the whole world is involved in doing business then we can say that „global supply chain mangement” is the core of the business world and it is what really „makes the world go round”.
The main „driver” that stands behind the „wheel” of an efficient „global supply chain management” is without a doubt the Internet and the instrument known as „e-business”. With the help of the Internet companies now can gain real-time visibility into the flow of their good and services, get information on their suppliers, optimize inventory management, reduce transportation and shipping costs, the oportunity to quickly react to a change or shift in the market in order to respond to the customer needs.
However, along with these benefits are the challenges that businesses need to overcome when operating globally. These challenges are related to foreign national economies, logistics, cultures, competition, and infrastructure. These challenges give rise to several risks in global supply chains. In the end “global supply chain management” is the network that opens countries to cross border trading and is an important part in global business. References * Luvai F. Motiwalla, Jeff Thompson, “Enterprise Systems for Management”, 2nd edition, Chp. 11, pg 327. John T. Metzner, Theodore P. Stank, Matthew B. Myers, “Why Global Supply Chain Management”. * http://www. epiqtech. com/supply_chain-Global-Management. htm , accessed on the 19th of May 2012. * McKinsey Global Survey Results, “Managing global supply chains”, pages 5,6,9. * Patty Swafford, Dr. Soumen Ghosh, Dr. Nagesh Murthy, „A Model of Global Supply Chain Agility and its Impact on Competitive Performance”, pg 2. * Hau L. Lee, Seunjing Whang, “E-business and Supply Chain Integration”, pages 2 and 4. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Luvai F.
Motiwalla, Jeff Thompson, “Enterprise Systems for Management”, 2nd edition, Chp. 11, pg 327. [ 2 ]. John T. Metzner, Theodore P. Stank, Matthew B. Myers, “Why Global Supply Chain Management” [ 3 ]. http://www. epiqtech. com/supply_chain-Global-Management. htm , paragraph 2. [ 4 ]. http://www. epiqtech. com/supply_chain-Global-Management. htm , parahraph 3. [ 5 ]. http://www. epiqtech. com/supply_chain-Global-Management. htm , paragraph 4. [ 6 ]. http://www. epiqtech. com/supply_chain-Global-Management. htm , paragraph 5. [ 7 ]. http://www. epiqtech. com/supply_chain-Global-Management. tm , paragraph 6. [ 8 ]. McKinsey Global Survey Results, “Managing global supply chains”, pg 9. [ 9 ]. McKinsey Global Survey Results, “Managing global supply chains”, pg 5. [ 10 ]. McKinsey Global Survey Results, “Managing global supply chains”, pg 6. [ 11 ]. Patty Swafford, Dr. Soumen Ghosh, Dr. Nagesh Murthy, „A Model of Global Supply Chain Agility and its Impact on Competitive Performance”, pg 2. [ 12 ]. Hau L. Lee, Seunjing Whang, “E-business and Supply Chain Integration”, pg 2. [ 13 ]. Hau L. Lee, Seunjing Whang, “E-business and Supply Chain Integration”, pg. 4.

Global Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management (SCM).
As every organization strives to satisfy their customer needs, the optimisation of their supply chain management, which deals with the total flow of materials from supplier to end users (Jones and Riley, 1985), is an essential part of tapping the full potential of a business and their product or service. In our following essay we will be stating what core competencies are in theory as well as defining the supply chain management.
Furthermore on the basis of veridical examples we will be identifying the core competencies of the different elements within the supply chain followed by demonstration how these have affected the supply chain design in total. Finally we conclude our work with a brief interpretation of the prior mentioned examples. “Supply Chain Management requires traditionally separate materials functions to report to an executive responsible for coordinating the entire materials process, and also requires joint relationships with suppliers across multiple tiers.
Supply Chain Management is a concept, whose primary objective is to integrate and manage the sourcing, flow, and control of materials using a total systems perspective across multiple functions and multiple tiers of suppliers. ” (Monczka, Trent, and Handfield, 1998) A basic Supply Chain consists of a supplier, a company and a customer, which are involved in an upstream and/or downstream flow of product or service, information and finances.

Furthermore the Supply Chain Management deals with the efficient integration of operation, distribution and service strategies to be able to produced and distribute the goods in the right quantities, to the right locations and at the right time with the right service. The operation element of the supply chain implies to the management of the materials as from the procurement of the raw material to the manufacture and production of the goods, which often goes through several tiers of suppliers.
The process of moving the merchandise from its production source to the end consumer is the distribution within a supply chain. As companies are required to adapt their distribution strategy according to the product or service nature as well as to their customer’s convenience, they will be choosing from the following design options: -Manufacturer Storage with Direct Shipping is the option where the product is shipped directly from the manufacturer to the end customer, bypassing the retailers, who undertakes the order process and initiates the delivery request.
All inventories are stocked by the manufacturer. The information flows from the customer via the retailer to the manufacturer, while product is shipped directly from the manufacturer to customers. -Manufacturer Storage with Direct Shipping and In-Transit Merge combines pieces of the order coming from different locations so that the customer only receives a single delivery. The information flow for the in-transit merge network goes from the customer via the retailer to the manufacturer, where the product flow is from the manufacturer via in transit merge by carrier to the customer.
-Distributor Storage with Carrier Delivery is where the inventory is not stored by manufacturers at the factories, however is held by distributors or retailers in intermediate warehouses and package carriers are used to transport products from the intermediate location to the final customer. Information when using distributor storage with delivery by a package carrier flows from the customer to the distributor or retailer. The product flow is from the factories to the distributor or retailers to the customers.
-Distributor Storage with Last Mile Delivery refers to the distributor or retailer delivering the product to the customer’s home and not to the usage of package carriers. Unlike package carrier delivery, last mile delivery requires the distributor warehouse to be much closer to the customer, therefore increasing the number of warehouses required. The warehouse storage with last mile delivery network information flow is from the customer to the distributor or retailer warehouse and the product flow from the factories to the distributor or retailer warehouse to the customers.
-Manufacturer or Distributor Storage with Consumer Pickup is the approach where inventory is stored at the manufacturer or distributor warehouse; however customers place their orders online or on the phone and then come to select pickup points to collect their orders. Orders are shipped from the storage site to the pickup points as required. The information flow in the network is from the customer via retailer to the factories, where as the product flow start at the factories via cross docks to the pick up sites, where the customers collect the products.
-Retail Storage with Consumer Pickup is the option where inventory is stored locally at retail stores. Customers either walk into the retail store or place an order online or over the phone, and collect the products at the retail store. The information flow is from the customer to the retailer and the product flow is from the factories to the retailers, where customers collect the products.
Finally the service which is offered to the consumers affects the perception of the whole product tremendously, therefore by providing the consumers with the right quantity of information and an attentive assistance the organisation can contribute a great amount to the customer’s overall satisfaction. 4) How core competencies affect supply chain designs On the basis of the following examples we will be demonstrating how specific core competencies of the chosen companies have been affecting their supply chain designs.

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Supply Chain Management essay sample.
Today’s unstable economic environment has created more challenges for companies to survive in the market. As there exits intense competition between organizations, therefore all organizations aim at achieving maximum performance and profits. This can only be achieved by gaining competitive advantage over competitors and thus facing economical and political challenges successfully. To become competitive in today’s highly unstable environment, organizations should concentrate upon their business process and mainly the management of supply chains.

Supply chain is a key root of an organization that determines its position in the competitive market and ability to compete successfully. There are several ways by which a company can make its supply chain management more effective and efficient. The problems of organizations today are mainly by the uncertainty and instability of the economic environment; hence E-commerce also plays a major role by providing e- intermediation roles that can enhance the supply chain of the business.

Moreover, the effective planning, hard work, coordination and continuous improvement can help an organization to make an effective supply chain and face the alarming challenges of the economic environment successfully. Hence, there are always some issues that make organizations face critical risks and failures. There are major key issues that organizations must focus in order to make the supply chain management effective and ultimately compete in the market successfully. Introduction Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management is defined as managing the systematic process of transferring of goods and services from supplier to the different intermediaries such as wholesales and distributors and ultimately reaching the final customer as a finished product (Venkatasamy, 2007). Every organization needs to emphasis upon the management of its supply chain in order to make an effective flow of information and raw materials from the suppliers to the owners and finally to the customer through retailers (Venkatasamy, 2007).
Supply chain plays a vital role in business transactions to makes it successful. The management of supply chain is one of the most important tool that primarily focus upon reducing the costs of business in a critical situation that is of operating in unstable economic environment and it provides a competitive advantage over competitors to compete in the market, Analysis of Unstable Economic Environment Today, organizations operate in a highly unstable and challenging economic environment. It is influenced by several factors such as globalization and economic growth.
To survive in this challenging economic environment, organizations need to greatly focus upon improvising their processes and systems to gain competitive advantage. This can be achieved through effective management of supply chain. Moreover, the introduction of internet technology provides a better and enhanced framework to conduct these activities via computer networks. This leads to better understanding of the present and future market changes, also helps in analyzing the opportunities and threat and providing effective solutions.
The E-commerce applications have led to major benefits to gain competitive advantage in today’s highly unstable and competitive environment (Scott and Comer, 1999). Even though, if businesses do not wish to apply these E-commerce applications, they can still gain competitive advantage by making their supply chain more effective and efficient. Unstable economic environment forces businesses to become more competitive and it sometimes leads to intense rivalry between competitors and hence becoming negative for the society.
Therefore, governments should also take their part of regulating business activities to ensure that businesses do not indulge in negative activities. In order to make the economy environment stable, business activities should also be monitored. Key factors that Influence the Economic Environment These factors lead to critical challenges for the organizations and make it highly difficult for them to compete successfully in the economic environment. Globalization
Globalization is the expansion of business markets all over the world and the free trade taking place between countries (Scott and Comer, 1999). It allows major advantages to businesses as well the countries. But this economic environment has brought dramatic changes in the way the business operates today. It is mainly due to the increased customers expectations and knowledge that forces businesses to develop hoods and services that can meet their demand in terms of quality and prices mainly (Scott and Comer, 1999).
Hence, the global market keeps on fluctuating and one country’s economy affects another country’s economy and thus impacting upon all businesses. Therefore, it is very difficult to compete in such challenging economic environment where consumer behavior, expectations, government policies and political issues keeps changing. Economic Growth The economic growth of a country is the increase in the over all productivity by and Gross Domestic Product. The growth rate of a country’s economy keeps fluctuating due to many reasons that are explained in the Macro economics of a country.
Therefore, this increase unstable economic environment for organizations as when there is high inflation prevailing in the country, it will lead to higher costs for the company and hence reduce demand for its goods and services (Scott and Comer, 1999). Price level Stability Price level stability is to maintain a stable or slowly rising piece levels. This is one of the most important factors that determine a business’s success. Because if prices rises dramatically, it will lead to high costs for the business and expensive final goods and services with low demand and sales.
Hence, businesses face these challenges when there are unstable price levels in the economy. Impact of Effective Supply Chain Management on A Company’s Competitiveness in an Unstable Economic Environment Supply chain should be managed according to the unstable economic environment in which a business operates. The effective management of supply chain proves many benefits to the business especially by reducing uncertainty and increasing the flow of information without barriers. This approach towards the management of supply chain provides efficient coordination between different people in the flow of information, goods and services.
Hence, intermediaries involved in the process should have coordination and mutual understanding between them so that the final product that reaches the customer is high quality product providing maximum satisfaction to the customer (Venkatasamy, 2007). Moreover, rapid technological changes also force businesses to change and improve their business processes to survive in the highly competitive market. Therefore, to make supply chain management more effective and efficient, organizations should adopt new practices and strategies to be successful in today’s highly unstable environment.
For this reason, information technology and Electronic commerce plays a major role to make supply chain effective when business faces high risks and instability issues (Boyle, Humphrey, and McIvor, 2008). Businesses can measure the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain by satisfaction level of the customers and by the use of minimum inputs to produce maximum outputs. Moreover, the effective management of intermediaries working at different stages of the process determines the overall high performance of the company’s supply chain.
To have maximum effectiveness and efficient results at all levels in the supply chain, it is necessary to focus upon each level where the flow of information is taking place in the supply chain (Venkatasamy, 2007). This way the company can achieve economic of scale which are the cost benefits and decrease in average unit costs if goods and services produced. When the business system is efficient, it makes the company stronger and profitable and therefore, it can cope up in unstable economic environment.
Understanding the importance of supply chain management leads to the company’s survival and success in today’s highly competitive global environment that faces continuous changes and unstable environment. Improving the Supply chain to be Successful in an Unstable Economic Environment Most studies in the area of supply chain focus upon improvising the supply chain by making it efficient and effective but there should be emphasis give to the inventor y management by the businesses in their supply chains.
Therefore, in today high unstable economic environment effective management of inventory in supply chain can reduce the cost large inventory in the warehouses at different levels of the supply chain and hence improvise the business process by cutting costs and time at every stage. In order to survive in the unstable economic environment, businesses should concentrate upon the making of strategic plans that are effective in transferring goods and services as well as information at different stages of the supply chain and finally to the customer (Venkatasamy, 2007).
If the supply chain is efficient, it will lead to lower costs for the company and therefore provide goods and services at lower price to customers with high quality. Hence, the coordination of supply chain activities is critical to be successful in today’s unstable environment as every business is aiming towards maximum profits and this can only be achieved by being highly competitive and gain competitive advantage over competitor.
The supply chain management provides the company to gain competitive advantage over its competitors in terms of lower costs and ultimately by charging lower prices to customers to gain a larger market share and higher customer satisfaction. The problems of organizations today are mainly by the uncertainty and instability of the economic environment, hence one major revolution that has made business more competent is the electronic intermediation (Boyle, Humphrey, and McIvor, 2008). This is through the Electronic commerce where business transactions can be conducted online.
It provides greater benefits to businesses by making the supply chain more effective and efficient through E commerce applications. Moreover, the supply chain can become more effective by applying the concept of JIT which is just in time production (Venkatasamy, 2007). Here, minimum stock levels can ve achieved without causing dissatisfaction of consumers or inefficiency of providing goods and services on time. Just in time leads to minimum costs and competitive advantage for the company to compete successfully in such an unstable economic environment where demand and supply keeps on changing.
Also, policies should be made that satisfy both the suppliers and consumers and lead to profitable relationships in future (Venkatasamy, 2007). And most importantly, companies should carry out extensive market research continuously in order to evaluate and analyze the current and future market situations because today there are high risks of instability and issues in the economic environment. In unstable economic environment, giving major importance to the customers is very necessary as customers are the key factor towards the success of any organization.
Therefore, supply chain management can be made more effective for the company to compete successfully by integrating the values of customers in each business process and supply chains (Venkatasamy, 2007). Hence, achieving competitiveness in an unstable economic environment is a big challenge for organizations today. But through effective planning, hard work, coordination and continuous improvement, a business can become successful in every alarming situation (Scott and Comer, 1999).
Key Issues for the Effectiveness of Supply Chain Management In today’s highly competitive and unstable economic environment where organization face intense competition and need to develop strategic plans regarding their business activities to be successful hence, this can be achieved by having an effective supply chain and inventory management that can become a competitive advantage for the company. There are many issues that companies face today that hinders their performance and reduce their competitiveness in the market.
Mainly this is due to ineffective planning and management of the resources and business processes. Companies are unable to achieve an effective and efficient supply chain because of several issues. The first key issue is about the standards of quality of raw material suppliers (Venkatasamy, 2007). If there are high standards of quality, it will become one major key factor towards company’s success in terms of high customer satisfaction and demand for the goods and services.
Secondly, the quality of services provided by different intermediaries in the supply chain which means when there is efficient services being provided to each next level in the process of supply chain (Venkatasamy, 2007). Therefore, it will lead to minimum errors and saving of time. Moreover, the policies regarding transferring of information in the supply chain is very important. Today, businesses do not emphasis upon these aspects that can improve the supply chain and lead to reduced costs for the company and eventually facing heavy losses and failures.
Conclusion The emphasis of an organization upon the Management of Supply Chain leads to its successful competitiveness in an unstable economic environment. Organizations aim to achieve maximum growth and profits which has become a major challenge today. This is because of the highly competitive and global environment in which these organizations operate. Achievement of goals is the aim of every organization and there are different strategies that can help them achieve their goals successfully..
Hence, achieving success can become easier by gaining a competitive advantage over competitors. Competitive advantage provides a business a unique position and strength that makes it successful in the challenging and fluctuating economic environment. This competitive advantage can be achieved through effective planning and management of supply chain. Supply chain can become effective primarily by the use of E-Commerce applications and by integrating each level of the supply chain with effective planning.
Moreover, in unstable economic environment, organizations must give major importance to the customers as they are the key factor towards the success of any organization. Therefore, implementing these customers’ value and expectations in the supply chain will further improve the company’s performance and competitiveness, Analyzing and evaluating the current and future threats and opportunities to face the challenges of unstable economic environment leads to a company’s ability to compete successfully and achieve its objectives.
References Efron. A. J. and Brewer. A. M, 2006 “The Cross Cultural Supply Chain: Issues and Implications”. Journal of International Management, Vol. no. 3 . Pp2-4, 6, 9 Boyle. E, Humphrey. P, and McIvor . P, 2008 “Reducing supply chain environmental uncertainty through e-intermediation: An organization theory perspective”, Journal of Business Management. Pp. 1-2 Scott . M. A and Comer . P. G, 1999” The Strategic Importance of XML Applications” Fiala. P (2004)”Information Sharing in Supply Chains”, Journal of Business Management Available from http://www. sciencedirect. com/science?
_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VC4-4DB56P61&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d05c76f31cc7381b6a6850af6b61372a Porter. M. E, 1985 “Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance”, The Free Press Venkatasamy. V, 2007” Role of Inventory Management In Supply Chains”, Journal of Inventory Management. Yealam, 2009” Problems, Issues and Inefficiencies i Humanitarian Logistics” Available from OPPapers. com http://www. robabdul. com/What-is-meant-by-market-turbulence. asp http://www. oppapers. com/essays/Measuring-Performance-Supply-Chain/160397

Supply Chain Management essay sample

Supply Chain Management Metrics.
Selecting the key metrics to measure performance a long the supply chain can be crucial, as clear connections have to be made between the metrics and the business goals in order for the business to achieve the results they are looking for and also to achieve growth within the market place. Management should identify the key performance indicators they need to focus on, measuring these indicators can help them in reaching the company’s goals.
We have identified Total Throughput Time, Right First Time and On-Time Shipment Delivery as key supply chain metrics to measure across the supply chain.
Total Throughput Time The total throughput time of an organisation captures the time the customer sales order is received to the time the product is ready to ship. This time is an accumulative of all the time spent from procuring the raw material to manufacturing and releasing the finished product to ship. This KPI is key to analysing the direct impact each internal and external process has on the customer receiving the order on time. It provides management with an overall view of the critical steps and the relationship each step has on getting the finished product to the customer. This time is usually measured in minutes or in working days.

Management can work with the relevant department managers to set the target needed for each of the critical processes that have a direct impact on the customer order. Each department can then manage internally their individual KPI and work to the pre-determined target. Management can then monitor the KPI’s weekly or monthly.
This will provide management with a clear view on how each process is performing and can highlight any issues that could have a direct impact on the customer not receiving the order on time. Monitoring the KPI’s will quicken response times to resolving issues if and when they arise.
The customer will also be informed of this time so they can build this into their own forecast, the customer can then use this measure as the time it will take to receive their order on time from the supplier. The customer then knowing the capacity constraints of the supplier can eliminate the risk of over ordering and not receiving the product on time.
Right First Time Measuring right first time internally on the product manufactured is an important factor for the organisation, it can identify the quality of the supply chain from start to finish, and how many deviations are occurring on the product right through the supply chain process. Right first time is usually measured in percentage, this percentage is based on the number of good product manufactured against the customer demand or manufacturing plan, any deviations along the supply chain process would have a negative effect on this percentage.
Management will set out a target percentage for the organisation to achieve, and this has to be met by the organisation if the customer is to receive the order on time. This can then be monitored weekly or monthly by management.
Right first time can be viewed either positively or negatively by the customer. If the supplier has a high right first time percentage, this can be viewed as a positive by the customer that the suppliers supply chain is strong with little deviations to the process. If on the other hand the supplier had a low right first time percentage, the customer could be worried that the suppliers supply chain is weak, which could have negative implications on the demand in the future, or that there is an issue with the quality of the product, this could lead to product re-calls and jeopardise the suppliers long term future with the customer.
On-time shipment delivery The key performance metric I have chosen to discuss is On-time shipment delivery. This is the measurement within McAfee from the time the product ships from one of our fulfilment sites to successful delivery at a customer’s site. The incoterm we use is FOB Origin which means the customer is invoiced for the product upon shipment and is responsible for the products in transit. We offer a pre pay and add solution that requires Mfe to manage the delivery to agreed service levels throughout the EMEA region.
Each countries service level is unique depending on the physical location in EMEA , our broad rule is we will deliver within 2 – 4 business days to all EU major cities, our contracted forwarder (TNT) are responsible to achieve these targets and report daily on exceptions, weekly on performance & quarterly on the previous 12 weeks performance during our strategic business review. This service level agreement & reported performance is more importantly the Mfe logistics promise to our customer.
We manage this KPI on a weekly performance report to Mfe corporate in North America, exceptions are clearly identified & clear corrective actions implemented when non performance trends are visible. This allows Mfe to clearly identify inherent weaknesses in a partner’s delivery chain & assign important resources to provide resolution.
This simple key performance indicator allows me to identify where issues rest in our regional supply chain, when we include additional regions & consolidate this report it allows clear visibility in a simple to read format of where we need to assign technical expertise. This simple KPI provides enormous value to our global supply chain and is an integral part of our relationship with McAfee customers & McAfee contracted suppliers.
Conclusion When an organisation sets out to select metrics to measure their supply chain the critical goal that is common across all industries is that the metrics have to be aligned with the overall business strategy, doing this will help the organisation to become profitable and competitive, if this is not the case such heights will be harder to achieve as the focus will be on the wrong areas. Achieving the pre-determined metrics across the supply chain will have an end result of satisfying the customer.

Supply Chain Management Metrics

About Supply Chain Management.
Management Presented below are live cases of Financial Supply Chain Management where Axis Bank helped Corporate improve their turnaround time of service delivery as bankable as save cost. Since this information is not public published it is requested that this is used for academic purpose only. Company Name: Jayvee Cement Segment – Manufacturing Product Offered: Counter Collection, Banker Cool Go live: June 2010 Case Study: No 1 Requirement Jayvee Group Is a bankable diversified Infrastructural Industrial conglomerate In India.
It Is involved in business of Engineering & Construction, Cement, Banker, Hospitality, Real Estate, Expressway & Highways. The Cement division works on Dealer vendor Module where the goods are supplied from regional depots based on the payment received from the dealers. The dispatch of goods is purely dependent on the MIS confirming payment from the dealers. Following Is model under which the structure of company Is based ROOM DUMP Dealers are the sales point for products of the company; the company required a solution to provide a faster supply arrangement for goods from Dumps to Dealers.
It used to book orders from dealers through telephone or fax and email. Then it used to advise Its dealers to go to Its collection centers at dumps to deposit cash or Odds. At day end the cashier used to deposit the money collected Into company’s bank account with SIB. Cashier used to issue temporary acknowledgement slip to dealer and used to update internal software with payment details. The next day when clear funds banker credited to the bank account, cashier used to download the statement from internet banking platform and manually updated the payment received or ailed against each order In the Internal software.

Those orders against which payment was received the Internal system used to send email or call was made to the dealer to seen trucks to collect goods. I en wangle process was Eng 4-5 cays to release goods to dealers and was leading to dissatisfaction as bankable as the company was being susceptible to competition as products couldn’t be supplied as per market demand. Keeping in view of the above structure following banker the broad solution suggested to the company Solution 1 . Convert all payments to the company from cash and cheeses to electronic payment mode. Use cheapest electronic modes like National electronic Fund Transfer (NEFF) and Real time gross settlement (ARTS) systems. 3. For dealers who still wanted to make payment in cash or cheese they could do the same at any of the bank counters and receive an acknowledge slip. Maintaining location wise dealer data of the company at banks end. Validating all the cash, cheese.

About Supply Chain Management

Changes in Supply Chain Management.
Innovations And Development In Supply Chain Management (SCM) SUBMITEED BY: vaibhav kumar srivastav TABLE OF CONTENTS SI NO. TOPIC PAGE NO (1) Meaning and Introduction 1 (2) Tour of Developments in supply 2 Chain (3) Innovations and Recent trends in 2 SCM (4) Visited Companies: DTDC 6 • DHL 9 •SAMTAL COLOR LTD 13 •BHEL 16 •BLUE DART 18 (5) Case Study on Innovations and 21 Development in SCM (Nikon Inc. ) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We are very grateful to Prof. R. K. SINGAL, our Supply Chain Management Professor for giving us the guidance and help in grasping the theoretical oncepts of the subject and helping us in applying them practically in the Real Life Project at Many companies of Delhi Ncr. We are also indebted to manger who has guided us during company visit, for taking time out of his busy schedule, patiently answering our queries and helping us in understanding the supply chain management innovations and development followed at that particular company. (1) What is supply chain? Supply chain is a bridge between demand and supply.
What is supply chain management? According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) “Supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management”. INTRODUCTION : Having achieved significant improvements in manufacturing, many firms are now focusing their attention on their supply chains. With increased globalization, supply chains for most products have become longer both on the input as well as the output sides.
This, combined with the trend towards proliferation of products makes management of the supply chain a very challenging task. SO in order to produce quality products with less cost & supplying it at less time many innovations & development has been made in the management of manufacturing supply chains. In the management of product flows, the innovations include concepts such as modularisation, postponement, mass customisation and flexible automation, time-based logistics, and cross docking.

In the management of information flows, the innovations include the use of information technologies and strategic partnerships to improve the transparency of information. INNOVATION – is it relevant to SCM? : There are some W&H questions that will prove that innovations are relevant to SCM: WHY CHANGE IS REQUIRED? : Today Companies cannot grow through cost reduction and reengineering alone . . . Innovation is the key element in providing aggressive top-line growth, and for increasing bottom-line results. WHAT ARE THE CHANGES REQUIRED? Changes in thinking, products, processes, or services are required in SCM. The goal is positive change, to make something better or improve efficiency, productivity, quality, competitive positioning, market share, etc. (2) HOW THE CHANGE CAN BE ACHIEVED? : The most successful innovation occurs at the boundaries of organizations and industries where the problems and needs of users, and the potential of technologies can be linked together in a creative process. Now take a tour of developments in supply chain: . Creation Era – This era of supply chain management include the need for large scale changes, reengineering, and downsizing driven by cost reduction programs. 2. Integration Era – The development of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems in the 1960s & introduction of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. 3. Globalization Era – Characterized by the attention towards global systems of supplier relations and the expansion of supply chain over national boundaries and into other continents 4.
Specialization Era — Phase One — In the 1990s industries began to sold off non-core operations & Outsourced Manufacturing and Distribution . 5. Specialization Era — Phase Two — Supply Chain Management as a Service & Outsourced technology hosting for supply chain solutions. 6. Supply Chain Management 2. 0 – SCM 2. 0 results the combination of the processes, methodologies, tools and delivery options to guide companies to their results quickly. Innovation, Recent trends and changes in supply chain management: In the last one decade supply chain management has changed rapidly.
There has been lot of involvement of new ideas. Few of them are described below:- (3) 1. Shifting focus from manufacturing to outsourcing: 25 years ago, most manufacturers owned their own factories and controlled their own production. They had complete, detailed knowledge of the capacity, schedules, and costs of manufacturing. Companies could adapt quickly to changes in the marketplace and restore the supply/demand balance more easily. Figure 1 shows the once-linear relationship companies had with their captive factories and sales offices. In the days before e-commerce, consumer demand fluctuated relatively slowly.
With complete visibility into their own factories and sales offices, companies could easily find the status of inventory, work in progress, and customer orders currently in the supply chain. In the years since, a fundamental shift has taken place. More and more design, marketing, and sales take place on home shores, while parts manufacturing and final assembly are outsourced to offshore suppliers. In fact, a 2006 AMR Research study of contract manufacturing trends found that 92% of companies outsourced some of their production with 40% projecting they will outsource more in the next two years. . Emergence and proliferation of Information Technology: Information technology, even taken as an independent environmental factor and its adoption in professionally run businesses and firms has led to fundamental changes in supply chain behavior and further to the changes in governance structures. Virtually all sectors of industry in the developed and in the developing regions have witnessed the following major trends over the past two decades: •Data storage costs have gone down in the past few years, while the volume of data gathered for business analysis purposes has increased dramatically. The cost per business transaction as well as the networking and communication costs within supply chains has been greatly reduced. Simultaneously, the capabilities and the content involved in the communications and the number and relevance of IT enabled business transactions have also increased. •With greater analytical capabilities and design technologies, new product introductions have increased, in part as a response to the need for greater product variety. As a consequence, product life-cycles have been shrinking, as documented for many industry sectors.
The role of IT in the handling and communication of product design information is also well chronicled. These changes in IT (in particular business communication technologies) have played a critical role in enabling firms and supply chains to operate on a global scale [27]. Without IT being the enabler, the disintegrated supply network cannot be managed effectively. (4) 3. In the 1990s industries began to focus on “core competencies” and adopted a specialization model. Companies sold off non-core operations, and outsourced those functions to other companies.
The specialization model creates manufacturing and distribution networks composed of multiple, individual supply chains specific to products, suppliers, and customers, who work together to design, manufacture, distribute, market, sell, and service a product. 4. Emergence of Retail Powerhouses: The consolidation or convergence of retail channels, as in the case of the retail chains such as Wal-Mart and the accompanying phenomena of smaller stores and chains being replaced by larger discount stores, not only have ad a profound impact on the supply channels, it has also changed the traditional roles defined for the manufactures, the retailers, the wholesalers and distributors. With the emergence of retail powerhouses, the large manufacturers of consumer items have seen incentives to outsource the cost and asset intensive operations to contract manufacturers, while focusing on creating and sustaining brand values through design and marketing activities. For retailers, the competition is now based on cost, logistics, and speed of innovation.
These basic tenets of retail competition coupled with the change in the retail landscape have an enormous impact on the supply channels that feed the growing retail channels. These supply channels, both large and small, have to respond quicker and more efficiently to customer demand patterns. As a result, retail companies have attempted to change their business models and to dictate broad strategic and operating requirements to their vast supply base – thus there is pressure even on large and established suppliers to conform to the specific practices and the needs of the retail channels.
In order to compete in the new landscape, retailers are taking on influential role in the design of products, they are also ready to reach in the second tier to develop market and distribute products that in some cases compete directly with their own suppliers. In short we can define latest trends in SCM as:- Trend 1. Demand plan sets the tone: Critical to the success of any Demand Plan is having all stakeholders, including sales, marketing, finance, product development and supply chain agrees upon a consensus Demand Plan.
It is important for all participants to discuss factors affecting customer demand patterns, such as new or deleted products, competitors or market conditions, the aggregate demand plans and associated revenue plans. Once all demand for products and services is recognized, the information is consolidated into one Demand Plan. We have found that companies with dedicated resources focused around demand planning and forecasting yield stronger results and (5) drive more value to their company.
Organizations that focus part time on demand planning and forecasting efforts yield substandard results. Trend 2. Globalization: The right Supply Chain Design is critical to managing the changes brought about by rapid globalization. A well thought-out Supply Chain Network Design can optimize the network and the flow of materials through the network. In doing so, network design captures the costs of the supply chain with a “total landed cost” perspective, and applies advanced mathematical technology to determine optimal answers to both strategic and tactical questions.
TREND 3 can be found with: •Sales and operations planning •Transportation/distribution management •Improved product lifecycle management •Improved strategic sourcing and procurement Suppliers can differentiate themselves in a number of ways as well as provide value, additional services and capabilities to their customers. The differentiating factors include: •Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) •RFID •Labeling and packaging •Drop shipping •Collaboration
TREND-4 Establishment of control mechanisms to proactively monitor the various components of the supply chain and, Information systems to connect and coordinate the supply chain as seamlessly as possible. A failure to excel at any one of these components can result in breakdowns affecting the entire supply chain. TREND-5: As the economy becomes more global, labeling and compliance to packaging requirements and regulations have become critical to success. Without adherence to local packaging and labeling regulations a product may violate local requirements, preventing it from being distributed and sold in that market.
Product lifecycle management technology and processes can help ensure that products being produced and targeted for specific markets are well-managed and are compliant. TREND-6: Recent examples of collaboration have emerged in the expansion of Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes that include upstream and downstream value chain partners as regular participants. S&OP processes help maintain a well-coordinated and valid, current operating plan in support of customer demand, a business plan and a strategy.
The improved resulting (6) operating plan provides the management of each partner with a complete picture of forecasted demand, supply capacity, corresponding financial information with financial implications and allows them to make informed, critical decisions. We have visited some companies to show the Innovations and Development they have applied in their SCM for last 10 years: Company Profile:
DTDC Courier & Cargo Ltd. (DTDC) was incorporated in the year 1990. Within a p of 20 years, through its business associates DTDC expanded its delivery network across the length & breadth of the country, thereby creating the nation’s Largest Domestic Delivery Network. Today DTDC is the second largest Indian company in the Express industry. DTDC can also be credited with pioneering the franchisee concept for the courier industry in India, and today has the largest franchisee network.
Headquartered at Bangalore, with 4 of its Zonal Offices at Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai & Mumbai, DTDC currently serves around 10, 000 pincode areas and has over 3700 franchised outlets supported by 176 offices which includes its Regional Offices, Area Offices, Branch Offices, Operational Hubs and Sub-Branches. DTDC has extended its service network to the overseas market and provides services to worldwide destinations using its own branches and international associates at prime gateways like USA, UK, Singapore, UAE, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, SriLanka & Hong Kong.
Thanks to its strong IT infrastructure, the company is able to deliver 10. 5 million parcels a month to customers (7) across the world. To support its ambitious growth plans; DTDC has entered into an association with Reliance ADAG Group, and has on its Board, a Director from Reliance. Innovations and development they have taken in SCM for last 10 years: •V Express for Business Delivery: DTDC has lunched of V express, its new product which assures delivery of documents on the next business day. The product carries a unique feature of 100% money back if at all there is any service failure.
The service shall be available in the 6 metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad in select princode areas. There will also be SMS Alert on delivery as avalue added service. •SMS Courier Limited for Speedy Delivery of Intra-City Consignments: DTDC has launched SMS Courier Ltd. , its subsidiary for the purpose of speedy intra-city deliveries and mass mailing activities. SMS Courier will be useful to organizations dealing in large volumes of intra-city consignments like the banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and cellular operators.
The newly-formed subsidiary will ensure timely deliveries even to the remotest areas of the city. This service is available in the six metros and has made its entry into Pune as well. •Tie-Up with Reliance Money For Distribution Of Financial Services: To support their ambitious growth plans DTDC India’s leading Air Express & Cargo Company and Reliance Money Limited entered into a strategic alliance wherein DTDC will be acting as a distributor for Reliance Money’s financial products and services. DTDC already has a tie up with Reliance Capital and they would be happy to be associated with Reliance Money also.
With DTDC’s distribution network, Reliance Money will be able to reach out to the smallest of investors in the remotest parts of India thereby achieving its objective of providing safe and secure financial services at a retail investor’s doorstep. •DTDC uses IT as its virtual vehicle: But what made the courier delivery system so efficient? IT (information technology) of course. The operations, efficiency and customer satisfaction were all enhanced with the application of IT and this is the secret behind the success of DTDC.
The company uses IT as its virtual vehicle to provide timely and accurate information on the movement and delivery status of consignments. This is accessible through various digital modes like the DTDC website, mobile telephony (SMS) or its in-house developed track and trace facility. IT is the backbone of the entire operational and customer service process and e-mail is the lifeline of the company’s communications system. Launch of Time Definite Services Under DTDC Prime Time Plus……………………………… 9) “Prime Time Plus”, launched under the DTDC plus banner, is a guaranteed service for time definite deliveries of consignments within the next possible business day targeted at Time Critical Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C) Segments. PRIME TIME PLUS: PRODUCT/ SERVICE FEATURES » Assured Time Definite Delivery with Money Back Guarantee*(MBG). » Tamper Proof Security Pouch for Safe delivery. » Real time Tracking and Status update. » Dedicated High Performing Team to manage the service End to End. » Distinct High Priority Operation Process. » Dedicated Customer Support.
Company Profile: DHL are the first letters of the last names of the three company founders, Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn. 1111111111111 In 1969, just months after the world had marveled at Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, the three partners took another small step that would have a profound impact on the way the world does business. 111111111111111 The founders began to personally ship papers by airplane from San Francisco to Honolulu, beginning customs clearance of the ship’s cargo before the actual arrival of the ship and dramatically reducing waiting time in the harbour.
Customers stood to save a fortune. 1111111111111111111111111111111111 ( (10) With this concept, a new industry was born: international air express, the rapid delivery of documents and shipments by airplane. 11111111111111111111 The DHL Network continued to grow at an incredible pace. The company expanded westward from Hawaii into the Far East and Pacific Rim, then the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
By 1988, DHL was already present in 170 countries and had 16,000 employees………………………………………… At the beginning of 2002, Deutsche Post World Net became the major shareholder in DHL. By the end of 2002, DHL was 100% owned by Deutsche Post World Net. In 2003, Deutsche Post World Net consolidated all of its express and logistics activities into one single brand, DHL. The world’s largest express and logistics Network DHL is the global market leader in international express, overland transport and air freight. It is also the world’s number 1 in ocean freight and contract logistics.
DHL offers a full range of customized solutions – from express document shipping to supply chain management. 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Below are the global facts and figures that show you the scale of the world’s largest express and logistics network. Global Facts and Figures Number of Employees: around 285,000 1111111111111111111111111111111111111 Number of Offices: around 6,500 111111111111111111111111111111111111 Number of Hubs, Warehouses & Terminals: more than 450 1111111111111111111111 Number of Gateways: 240 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Number of Aircraft*: 420 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Number of Vehicles: 76,200 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Number of Countries & Territories: more than 220 111111111111111111111111111 Shipments per Year: more than 1. 5 billion 11111111111111111111111111111111 Destinations Covered: 120,000111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 (11) Supply Chain Management For DHL Information Flow 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Innovative Supply Chain Development
Supply Chain Management services are delivered across industry sectors and provide expertise, knowledge and resources in terms of personnel and supply chain tools. All services are targeted at optimizing logistical operations in both process and strategy, and are aligned to the client’s commercial expectations The services are as follows: ?Strategic Logistics Consulting ?Lead Logistics Provider ?Consulting and providing Transport optimization: Route-Pro and Trans-Pro ? Consulting and providing Supply Chain Design ?Consulting and providing Transportation ?Engineering, optimization and re-engineering Implementation and Project Management ?Process Management ?Outsourcing DHL’s consulting services also offer re-organization of customer facilities, project management for customers, implementation of new IT Systems, creation of tender documents and tender processing. (12) •Supply Chain Re-engineering DHL works with customers to review supply chain efficiencies. One of the main tasks is to evaluate cost efficiency to ensure that costs are being driven down throughout the contract duration. Data analysis allows DHL to provide customers with ‘what if modeling’ or the impact of changing the business rules. Distribution to Stores Management DHL’s distributions to store solutions are focused on helping retailers create efficient and flexible supply chains to deliver product to retail outlets at high levels of service. 111111111111111111111111111111 These solutions are built from several core services including reverse logistics: ? logistics network strategy ?warehouse design and simulation ?Transport modeling. •After Sales Optimisation Optimising return logistics and spare parts logistics as well as maintenance and repair services. •Vehicle Management Services
Our vehicle management services focus on the management of sales and marketing support programmes for automotive manufacturers. Combining a range of services and systems to deliver a global response, we help you overcome challenges at the end of the automotive supply chain. (13) Samtel Color Group Company Profile: Samtel Group’s journey began in 1973, with a vision to create a world-class organization. Today, Samtel Group is India’s largest integrated manufacturer of a wide range of displays for television, avionics, industrial, medical and professional applications, TV glass, components for displays, machinery and engineering services.
The group employs 6000 people in nine world-class factories and has an annual turnover of Rs 12 billion (USD 300M) Samtel Group has strong design and development skills and is a dependable player with excellent technological capabilities and a long-term commitment to the display industry. Its products are known for ruggedness and reliability and conform to the latest relevant quality standards. The group has excellent relationships with suppliers of key components and the ability to design new products as well as set up hi-tech manufacturing facilities.
Samtel has registered many patents for developments in display technology. Chairman & managing director : Mr. Satish K. Kaura No. of employees – 6000 Corporate headquarters: TDI Centre, District Centre — Jasola, New Delhi We have visited one of its industries in GHAZIABAD i. e. (14) SAMTEL COLOR LTD Samtel Color is the flagship company of the Samtel group, and manufactures the widest range of Colour TV tubes in India and has a capacity of over 10 million picture tubes per annum.
The company was incorporated in 1986 with a technical collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric, Japan to manufacture 14” and 21” Color Picture Tubes (CPTs). With a market share of over 60%, it is the largest tube manufacturer in the country. Its clients include leading domestic and international TV manufacturers. Integrated backwards with its component divisions at Ghaziabad and Parwanoo, Samtel Color also manufactures electron guns and deflection yokes for colour picture tubes. Samtel color ltd. Ghaziabad Was Established in the year 1988. Inaugurated by then FINANCE MINISTER N. D TIWARI. PRODUCT MANUFACTURED & EXPORTED: PICTURE TUBES MAJOR CUSTOMERS: LG, VIDEOCON, SAMSUNG, THOMSON etc. TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES: BTC, DELHI ASHARAM TRANSPORT ORDER PLACED -12 LACS (approx. ) It started with manufacturing picture tubes of 21’’ . They were out sourcing their raw materials from Samsung but later they started producing their own material at their own units . They make their products according to the anticipation of demand i. . PULL STRATEGY. They are having a continuous process. (15) Innovations and development they have taken for last 10 years: •Joint Venture With THALES Group: France’s THELES group, which has been operating in India since 1953, and has stepped up its presence in the country over the past two decades, has also teamed up with electronics manufacturer SAMTAL to create a joint venture, named SAMTEL THALES Avionics, which have an equity participation of 74:26 by SAMTEL and THALES. This joint venture design and anufacture global products to make the joint venture a part of THALES global supply chain. •Earlier they used to transport their products of small tones. Now they are transporting the goods in large tones. •As the needs of consumers were changing & because of stiff competition they were facing they started manufacturing & supplying TRUE FLAT PICTURE TUBES i. e. 29’’, 20’’, 21’’, 14’’ 6-7 years before. •Started manufacturing the raw- materials required in making picture tubes –panel, funnel, electron gun, DYs(Deflection Yoke ),band etc in its different units. t helped to increase the quality & reduced the time & increased profits •They are having robots in their units which help in producing quality products, reduces the time for manufacturing products. •Now they are manufacturing ULTRA SLIM PICTURE TUBES as it is the need of the hour& it provides them competitive advantage over other competitors. •Research is going on making LCD in airplanes. •They are using new technology for producing better quality products & reducing the cost. (16) Company Profile:
BHEL was founded in 1950s. Its operations are organised around three business sectors: Power, Industry – including Transmission, Transportation, and Telecommunication & Renewable Energy – and Overseas Business. Today, BHEL has a wide-spread network comprising 14 manufacturing divisions, 8 service centers, 4 power sector regional centers, 18 regional offices, and a large number of project sites spread all over India and abroad. BHEL is one of the largest exporters of engineering products & services from India.
BHEL has established its references in around 60 countries of the world, ranging from the United States in the West to New Zealand in the Far East. Its export range include: individual products to complete power stations, turnkey contracts for power plants, EPC contracts, HV/EHV Sub-stations, O services for familiar technologies, specialized after-market services like Residual Life Assessment (RLA) studies and retrofitting, refurbishing & overhauling, and supplies to manufacturers & EPC contractors.
BHEL’s product range include: Steam turbines and generators of up to 500MW capacity for utility and combined-cycle applications; Steam turbines for CPP applications; Gas turbines of up to 260MW (ISO) rating; Custom-built conventional hydro turbines of Kaplan, Francis and Pelton types with matching generators, pump turbines with matching motor-generators; Spherical, butterfly and rotary valves and auxiliaries for hydro station; HSD, LDO, FO, LSHS, natural-gas/biogas based diesel power plant; Industrial turbo-sets of ratings from 1. to 120MW; Steam generators for utilities, ranging from 30 to 500MW capacity, using coal, lignite, oil, natural gas or a combination of these fuels; Pulverized fuel fired boilers; Stoker boilers; Atmospheric fluidized bed combustion boilers; Circulating fluidized bed combustion boilers; Waste heat recovery boiler; Boiler Auxiliaries; Heat Exchangers & Pressure Vessels; Pumps; Power Station Control Equipment; Switchgears; Bus Ducts; Transformers; Insulators; Capacitors; Energy Meters etc. (17) Classification of Materials:
The materials for procurement can be classified in two categories: Direct Materials: Materials, which go directly into the Project/ Product/ Site/ Systems. Indirect Materials: Materials other than above, such as consumables/ packing etc which are used in manufacture of despatchable products and materials such as coal, cement, kerosene, oil etc which are used to run the essential services/ machine tools/ office establishment. Supplier registration is one of the primary and important activities of MM functions. This is the entry point of supplier in BHEL.
A carefully chosen supplier will be an asset to the organization. DEMAND FORECASTING METHOD? ABC analysis and EOQ methods. JIT does not work for BHEL as most of the procured items are long cycle items and Inventories have to be maintained to avoid any production hold ups. Normally inventories sufficient for 3 month requirements are maintained. HOW ORDERS ARE PLACED ? BHEL quotes against the tender requirements (normally global) published in all the national newspapers and also made available on the web sites of respective customers.
After evaluation of all the received bids by the customer, if the BHEL’s bid is found to be technically acceptable and financially the lowest then the customer places a Work order on BHEL. CUSTOMER FOR BHEL? NTPC, NHPC, STATE ELECTRICITY BOARDS AND PRIVATE COMPANIES FOREIGN COUNTRIES LIKE RUSSIA, GERMANY, FRANCE, MIDDLE EAST etc. (18) Supply Chain Management For BHEL, Company Profile: Blue Dart Express Ltd. , India’s premier integrated air express carrier and logistics-services provider, has been one of the largest Global Service Participants of Federal Express Corporation, the world’s eading air express transportation company, since 1984. From 1984, Blue Dart represented all FedEx interests, under a principal to principal arrangement, in India. Blue Dart-Federal Express Relationship: Blue Dart and FedEx have determined a new agreement in October 1997 to coincide with the introduction by FedEx of its first round-the-world flight touching Mumbai, as well as its direct entry into the country. Under this agreement, Blue Dart is the exclusive provider of transportation, (19) ickup and delivery, customs and related services for FedEx’s International Priority shipments, as well as the sole preferred consolidator of FedEx services. The Alliance seeks to leverage the strengths of both organisations for mutual benefit. While FedEx focuses solely on the development of its international business, with its link to the vibrant economy of the Sub-Continent, Blue Dart continues to consolidate its dominant domestic position, and service and enhance its international customer base as a licensee of FedEx, to support FedEx’s international growth.
The new agreement is designed to stimulate the development of India’s international express market by combining the competitive advantages of FedEx’s global reach with Blue Dart’s domestic coverage to increase the market share of both companies. Innovations and development they have taken in SCM for last 10 years: TrackDartTM: You can track the status of shipment by using the TrackDartTM box, which is available on the upper left panel of every page on our website. You may track shipments sent on Blue Dart services within India or to Nepal, Bangladesh or Bhutan.
You may also track international shipments sent on Federal Express to/from India. Shipments under single or multiple waybills may be tracked using either the waybill number or the reference number given at the time of shipping. MailDartTM: You may either use the Waybill Number or the Reference Number to track the status of your shipments. This feature helps you to track Single or Multiple shipments. To track the status of your shipments by Waybill Number enter the waybill numbers either in `Subject’ or in the text of the mail, each Waybill number seperated by a comma.
To track the status of your shipments by (20) Reference/Order Number. Enter the reference/order numbers in `Subject’ of the mail, each reference or order number seperated by a comma. Location Finder: 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Find the service locations of Blue Dart and the Blue Dart counter or franchisee located closest to you. You may search by city, street name or pin code to find one of over 11,558 locations serviced in India, or in 211 countries worldwide. Transit Time Finder: 111111111111111111111111111111
You can check the transit times for your domestic and international shipments, and for the various services offered by Blue Dart to help you identify the service that meets your requirements. Price Finder: 1111111111111111111111111111111111111 You can calculate your shipping costs for your domestic and international shipments by using their Price Finder. Waybill Generation: 111111111111111111111111111111 The Online Waybill generation tool helps the credit customer to generate a waybill for a consignment. The user has to enter the details of the consignment and the waybill will be generated in a PDF format.
Address Book: This feature comes with the online waybill generation module. The Address Book can be accessed by all credit customers of Blue Dart. You can create a new address list and modify or delete the addresses at any point of time. 1111111111111111111111111111111111111 (21) Case Study Case Study Nikon Focuses on Supply Chain Innovation— And Makes New Product Distribution a Snap Top consumer goods manufacturers now recognize that success requires more than just making market-leading products.
Having the right distribution network is just as critical. Nikon Inc. is the world’s leader in precision optics, 35mm and digital imaging technology. So it’s no surprise that when the company saw the next big trend in photographic technology—digital cameras—they were ready to deliver with some of the most advanced product designs in the marketplace. But to ensure that retailers could meet the demand of tech-hungry consumers and professional photographers, Nikon, with the help of UPS Supply Chain Solutions, reengineered its distribution network to keep them well supplied.
Client Challenge: To support the launch of its new digital cameras, Nikon knew that customer service capabilities needed to be completely up to speed from the start and that distributors and retailers would require up-to-the-minute information about product availability. While the company had previously handled new product distribution in-house, this time Nikon realized that burdening its existing infrastructure with a new, demanding, high-profile product line could impact customer service performance adversely. In our business, it’s not enough just to produce leading-edge products,” said Arnold Kamen, Nikon’s Vice President of Operations and Customer Service. “Having the ability—and visibility—to predict how much merchandise is (22) available and when it can be distributed makes the difference in staying ahead of customers’ needs. ” For Nikon, that meant applying its well-known talent for innovation to creating an entirely new distribution strategy and taking the rare step of outsourcing distribution of an entire consumer electronics product line.
With UPS Supply Chain Solutions on board, Nikon was able to quickly execute a synchronized supply chain strategy that moves product to retail stores throughout the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and allows Nikon to stay focused on the business of developing and marketing precision optics. Our Solution: Starting at Nikon’s manufacturing centers in Korea, Japan and Indonesia, UPS Supply Chain Solutions manages air and ocean freight and related customs brokerage.
Nikon’s freight is directed to Louisville, Kentucky, which not only serves as the all-points connection for UPS’s global operations, but also is home to the UPS Supply Chain Solutions Logistics Center main campus. Here, merchandise can either be “kitted” with accessories such as batteries and chargers, or repackaged to in-store display specifications. Finally, the packages are distributed to literally thousands of retailers across the U. S. , or shipped for export to Latin American or Caribbean retail outlets and distributors, using any of UPS’s worldwide transportation services to provide the final delivery. 23) With the UPS Supply Chain Solutions system in place, the process calibrates the movement of goods and information by providing SKU-level visibility within complex distribution and IT systems. UPS also provides Nikon advance shipment notifications throughout the U. S. , Caribbean and Latin American markets. The result: a “snap shot” of the supply chain that rivals the performance of a Nikon camera. Nikon has already seen the results of its innovation in both digital technology and product distribution. The consumer digital camera sector is one of Nikon’s fastest growing product lines.
In addition, supply chain performance and customer service are measurably improved. Products leaving Nikon manufacturing facilities in Asia can now be on a retailer’s shelf in as few as two days. While products are en route, Nikon also has the ability to keep retailers informed of delivery times and to adjust them as needed, so that no retailer needs to miss sales opportunities due to lack of product availability. UPS Supply Chain Solutions is forging a broad spectrum of creative solutions to support the Nikon supply chain, including logistics, transportation, freight and customs brokerage services.
Synchronizing those pieces to work together gives Nikon a significant advantage in leveraging the competitive strengths of UPS Supply Chain Solutions. “Through a combination of UPS services, we have been able to greatly shorten our supply chain,” Kamen said. “Although we are achieving greater speeds, we have better visibility of our products, which enables us to provide a higher level of service to retailers and ultimately, the final customer. ” Once (24) again, Nikon leads the market in leveraging the latest developments in technology. “Thank You”

Changes in Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management Critical Essay.
MASTER PAPER On IDENTIFYING THE MAJOR CHALLENGES OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF SUPERSTORE FOR SINHA LTD Prepared For Ms. Rabeya Rahman Lecturer Department of Management Studies Jagannath University Dhaka. Prepared By MUHAMMAD ZAHID HOSSAIN SHIKDER Roll No # 085587 Section: B Department of Management Studies Academic Session: 2007-2008 MBA Program 2nd batch 3rd semester Jagannath University Dhaka. [pic] Date of submission: DECEMBER 11, 2011 Letter of Transmittal
December 12, 2011 Ms. Rabeya Rahman, Lecturer Department of Management Studies Jagannath University, Dhaka. Subject: Solicitation for Acceptance of the Report. Dear Madam, We are pleased to submit the report title “Identifying the Major challenges of Supply chain Management of Superstore for Sinha Ltd. ” as requirement of on going MBA program. We have tried our best to make this report holistic and informative enough. All the works presented here is done with utmost sincerely and honestly. Thank you for your cooperation and guideline.
Working with such an interesting program has given us the opportunity to achieve experience on it. I will be highly encouraged if you are kind enough to receive this master paper. I am always available for any future quarries regarding this paper. Yours truly Md. Zahid Hossain Shikder. MBA Program, 2nd batch Department of Management Studies Jagannath University, Dhaka. Department of Management Studies Jagannath University, Dhaka [pic]

Acceptance Letter This is to certify that the presented report entitled “Identifying the Major challenges of Supply Chain Management of Superstore for Sinha Ltd. ” has been carried by Muhammad Zahid Hossain Shikder, Id No. 085587, MBA Program 2nd batch, Department of Management studies, Jagannath University, Dhaka, under my direct supervision. I recommended the prepared report as can be accepted in the fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration. Ms. Rabeya Rahman Lecture Department of Management Studies Jagannath University, Dhaka
Acknowledgement At the very first moments, thanks to almighty Allah for especial blessing in completing the research proposal. A single individual can achieve no Nobel objective. I am indebted to a number of persons for their kind advice, suggestion, direction cooperation that enable me to have an experience in the dynamic and challenging environment of the supply chain sector ultimately to prepare this paper. There are many people involved in the process of my thesis and motivated me in one way or another and, as well, make my academic work more fruitful.
I am indebted to the honorable supervisor, Ms. Rabeya Rahman, Lecturer, Department of Management Studies, Jagannath University for his meticulous support and direction in preparing the paper. His valuable suggestions and guidance helped me to prepare the paper on such a lively issue. It gives me immense pleasure to thank large number of individuals who have contributed directly in this paper for their help and encouragement. I express my sincere gratitude to this people for helping me providing information’s whenever I asked for it.
I express my sincere gratitude to honorable senior executive (Sinha Ltd) Md. Gaish Uddin Miron, Certified Supply Chain Manager (ISCEA, USA) for helping me providing information’s, whenever we asked for it. Without their kind co-operation in all respect it would not been possible for me to prepare this paper. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to all our respondents who spent their valuable time answering my questions. Without their cooperation, my paper would not be completed. Executive Summary
Chapter 1- In this chapter I have summarized the most common definition in the field of supply chain and major challenges of supply chain management which are facing the superstores in Bangladesh. This proposal has been designed with statement of the problem, literature review, objectives of the research, benefit of the research, plan of the study, research methodology. Chapter 2- This chapter provides the real condition of retail chain of Bangladesh and focuses on how superstore is increasing their efficiency with proper branding and how supply chain create impact on superstore perishable items.
Chapter 3- This chapter highlights the overall corporate information for the organization and future orientation with vision and mission statement and describing the present condition by the basis of SWOT analysis. Chapter 4- In this chapter I have analyzed the practical experience which I have gathered by doing my research works about specialized functional areas in the organization. The major functions have been categorized in this chapter also.
Chapter 5- This chapter provides the retail supply chain elements with major challenges of a superstore and analysis these problems in a systematic process. Organized retail and supply chain relationship also been discussed in this chapter. Chapter 6- In this chapter I’ve drawn a conclusion and give some recommendation about the relationship with superstore and supply chain. I’ve been trying to find solutions with the help of efficient supply chain processes. Table of content |S. l No. |Chapter particular | Pages | |Letter of transmittal | | | |Acceptance Letter | | | |Acknowledgement | | | |Executive Summary | | Chapter One 1. 0 |Introduction |01 | |1. 1 |Statement of the Problem |01 | |1. 2 |Objectives of the Study |03 | |1. 3 |Methodology of the Study |04 | |1. |Literature Review |07 | Chapter Two |2. 0 |Scenario regarding the main topic of the report in Bangladesh. |09 | Chapter Three |3. 0 |An overview of the organization |12 | |3. |Background |12 | |3. 2 |Corporate information |14 | |3. 3 |Organization structure |16 | |3. 4 |Number of branches |18 | |3. | Number of employee |18 | |3. 6 | Vision statement |19 | |3. 7 |Mission statement |20 | |3. 8 |products |21 | |3. |Principal Activities |23 | |3. 10 |SWOT analysis |23 | |3. 11 |Action plan |25 | Chapter Four |4. 0 |Practical experience gathered through doing research works |26 |
Chapter Five |5. 0 |Finding and analysis regarding the objectives of the study including |26 | | |problem identified | | |5. 1 | Retail Supply Chain Elements |27 | |5. 1. |Merchandise Management Processes |28 | |5. 1. 2 | Sourcing process |29 | |5. 1. 3 |Logistics Management Processes |29 | |5. 1. 4 |Customer Service Processes |29 | |5. |Identifying Major Supply Chain Management Challenges In “Me and Mom” |30 | | |Superstore | | |5. 2. 1 |Merchandise Management Processes |30 | |5. 2. 2 |Sourcing process |33 | |5. 2. |Logistics Management Processes |34 | |5. 2. 4 |Customer Service Processes |36 | |5. 3 |Interpreting the Data from the Likert Scale |38 | Chapter Six |6. 0 | Conclusion |45 | |6. | Recommendation |46 | End Matter | |Reference |48 | | |Questionnaire | | Chapter One 1. Introduction Organized retailers in the country are focusing more on strengthening their backward linkage supply chain, a challenge faced by retail chain shops for product availability.
As the superstore concept is not very traditional the superstore biggies have failed to grow accordingly due to proper and sufficient supply chain management. The most organized and disciplined retailers are trying to maintain their own supply chain management to bring fresh and quality products to the store in urban area from root level farmer directly. A supply chain management consists of all parties involved directly or indirectly. I have focused here about major challenges of supply chain management which are facing the superstores in Bangladesh.
This proposal has been designed with statement of the problem, literature review, objectives of the research, benefit of the research, plan of the study, research methodology. Supply chain management is a systematic effort to provide integrated management to the supply value chain in order to meet customers need and expectation from suppliers of raw materials through manufacturing and on to end customer. A supply chain consists of all parties involved directly or indirectly. Supply chain is the most important and first challenge to sustain business and retain the customer.
As a supermarket perspective supply chain management is a circle bringing the rural products to the urban shops. Later the Internet revolutionized the value chain by the hype around online food retailing and the more serious introduction of Business-to-Business e-commerce. In recent year a number of e-marketplaces will become mature by introducing new communication standards and Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment. 1. 1 Statement of the research problem Bangladesh is going through a retail revolution.
All the big business houses are entering this sector and it is growing very past pace. Superstores are set to boom in the country as the current market players are planning to open several hundred more outlets in the next few years to cope with the rising demand from the consumers. With a strong 15-20 per cent annual sales growth, about 30 companies with more than 200 outlets have already made foray into the industry since Rahimafrooz, one of the largest business groups in Bangladesh, introduced Agora, a chain superstore, in the capital a decade ago.
However, our country also poses a big challenge to organized large retailers particularly in food sector. Food being perishable item, for the retailer to be successful the key is proper supply chain management. The challenge comes from a number of factors, e. g. huge size and population of our country, varied culture and hence varied taste, very poor infrastructure like improper roads, bad connectivity between production centers and markets, lack of proper cold chain facility like refrigerated transportation, ware-housing etc.
Under these circumstances it is interesting to find out how large organized retailers are coping up with these problems. In this paper a comparative study is made in supply chain management adopted by different players in food and grocery segments. Hassle-free shopping environment, hygienic commodities, fresh vegetables, meat and fish at the supermarkets are earning appreciation of the customers. The supermarket biggies have attempted the massive expansion drive to attract the shoppers, who still depend on unplanned wet markets to buy their daily essentials.
They say that a rise in organized retailing would offer the consumers hygienic foods at competitive prices, compared to those offered by retailers in the kitchen markets, where commodities are sold mostly in unhygienic condition. The rise in the number of supermarkets, according to analysts, will diversify the choices of consumers and boost their spending, so much needed for economic growth, while the wet markets will also improve quality and services following in the footsteps of supermarkets. Fresh vegetables directly collected from the farmers are one of the key reasons behind the increasing popularity of the stores in Dhaka.
But some challenges are increasing day by day. The business suffers from poor organization in the purchase of supplies. The purchasing of goods and services for the business use is known as Procurement. There are three managers who all participate in the purchase of items; each person purchases items they think necessary often leading to double orders or items not being bought at all. There are several suppliers used some of which deliver while others operate a cash and carry policy, causing partners to use their own transport.
Although several suppliers are utilized, the lack of regular custom by the company causes lack of interest by the suppliers and so the company misses out on priority service and possibly loyalty bonuses sometimes offered by these outlets designed to encourage repeat custom. Due to the power that comes with control over consumer contacts, retailers are often dominant in a supply chain. Closeness to end consumer markets gives retailers fast and precise information about matters such as shifting fashion preferences and attractiveness of competitor’s offerings, comparable to continuous market research. Even though power is no end in itself, it oes include the opportunity to organize the supply chain in a suitable way. Many challenges face retailers today. Expanding product variety, greater fluctuations in demand, and shorter and shorter product life cycles make time-to-market reductions essential. The ever-increasing need for reduced lead times continues. Maximum coordination of work in and between companies is therefore necessary, as otherwise it will lead to higher costs as well as to longer lead times. There is however no single best way to manage a supply chain; the way retailers compete in consumer markets influence what should be focused on.
As no company can be everything for everyone, there is interdependence between what a company sets out to be for a consumer, i. e. the company’s value proposition, and that company’s supply chain. According to Christopher (1997), a value proposition concerns how, where, and when a company creates value for its customers, and that all activities – from product development to order fulfillment – should be based upon it. This thesis’ research purpose is to investigate the relationship between retailers’ value propositions and their supply chains.
A prerequisite for sustainability is that there is a match between what is offered to consumers and the organization of the supply chain activities. It is not enough to be knowledgeable about competitors and customers’ preferences to perform well. Supplying consumer goods in a disorganized or inefficient manner will wipe away the chances of making profits. This was evident in the dot com death where so called e-retailers lacking logistical expertise were 3 driven out of business; left are more or less traditional and experienced store- based retailers and mail order companies who have added just another sales channel – the web.
Profound understanding about how factors such as type of product, fashion content, demand pattern, assortment width, service level, and location is related to supply chain work, are therefore crucial. 1. 2 Objectives of the study The main objective of this proposal is: How supermarket could focuses their supply chain problem and where need to take proper guidance. The research proposal has the following objectives: • The development and standardization of specific methodology to collect information of each business process. • The problems encountered throughout the whole chain. To re-design and propose required business processes in order to develop an effective SCM system for this industry. • To identify the relationship with customer and supplier for real time information. • To identify the area in supply chain where special focus is require. 1. 3 Methodology of the Study 1. 3. 1 Sources of Data To accomplish these paper two types of data sources have been used: 1. Primary Data 2. Secondary Data Primary sources are: • Customer’s attitude towards “Me and Mom”  “Me and Mom” Sales Person Behavior • Checkout Counter System • Flyers & Banners placement for discount • Salesperson’s Comments • Interviewing Customer Manager Secondary sources are: • Sinha Ltd’s Web • Competitors Report • Newspaper Articles 1. 3. 2 Scaling Technique One scaling techniques will use in final questionnaire. Five-point likert scales (1 for strongly disagree to 5 for strongly agree) will use to measure consumer response regarding for superstores. 1. 3. 3 Sample Plan The sample plan covers target population, sampling frame, sampling technique and sample size.
These are presented below: 1. 3. 4 Target population • Elements: The sample elements for the research are the Male and Female customer and supply chain managers. • Sampling Units: Main superstores, supply chain managers, customers. • Extent: Main areas in Dhaka City. 1. 3. 5 Sampling Frame There was no such structured sampling frame that could be gathered conveniently. 1. 3. 6 Sampling Technique As there was no structured sampling frame, non-probability convenience sampling technique had been used to collect the desired data for the research. 1. 3. 7 Location/Geographic coverage
The research will conduct in Dhaka city. The survey for research will conduct in Sinha Ltd, superstores in Dhaka. 1. 3. 9 Sample Size The sample size of the research shall 20. 1. 3. 10 Method of Analysis I will use statistical techniques weighted average, tabular presentation. To analyze the collected data from primary sources, some statistical method like weighted average, cross tabulation will use and the actual situation in implementation and its problems has driven. Weighted Average XW = ? Wx /? n Here X = The variable, and n= number of total respondents. 1. 3. 1 Limitations of the Research • The sample size of 20 respondents will not represent the whole population of concerning to this sector. This limitation result from shortage fund and time constraint. • Unequal distribution of respondents across different survey areas is another limitation. • Absence of similar research activities in the context of Bangladesh has restrained the researcher from getting valuable insight and direction of such research activities. • The lack of experience on the part of the researcher in conducting such research is still another area that limits the scope of the research. . 4 Literature Review Supply Chain Management The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) defines Supply Chain Management (SCM) is “the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. ” It also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners which help to integrate supply and demand management within and across companies. (See http://cscmp. org) The activities from each point to point of the chain may be counted as the flow of value-added activities.
Supply chain management is defined as the systemic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole (Mentzer et al. , 2001, p. 18). Supply Chain Management is a network of facilities that produce raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products, and deliver the products to customers through a distribution system.
It ps procurement, manufacturing and distribution (Lee & Billington 1995) the basic objective of supply chain management is to “optimize performance of the chain to add as much value as possible for the least cost possible”. In other words, it aims to link all the supply chain agents to jointly cooperate within the firm as a way to maximize productivity in the supply chain and deliver the most benefits to all related parties (Finch 2006). Adoption of Supply chain management practices in industries has steadily increased since the 1980s.
A number of definitions are proposed and the concept is discussed from many perspectives. However Cousins et al. (2006); Sachan and Datta (2005); Storey et al. (2006) provided excellent review on supply chain management literature. These papers define the concept, principals, nature, and development of SCM and indicate that there is an intense research being conducted around the world in this field they critically assessed developments in the theory and practice of supply management. The phrase supply chain management (SMC) lacks a clear definition.
A literature review reveals that it has become an expression in business literature used to incorporate almost anything within the field of marketing and logistics. To give one example: Ross (1997) considers SCM to be no less than a method, a concept, a philosophy, a system, a process, a strategy, and a state of mind. With such an all-embracing depiction it is hard to grasp what it really is; below we will look into what we consider to be the constituent parts of SCM. “A supply chain is the set of entities that collectively manufactures a product and sells it to an endpoint. (Stern et al, 2001, p. 513) The ultimate beginning point is where raw materials are being extracted and the end point would be where goods and services are being consumed, or perhaps even recycled. However, this view is extremely comprehensive (read theoretic) and obviously very difficult to put into a practical context. Therefore, the business view on supply chains is somewhat arbitrary, leaving managers to decide their own boundaries of the supply chain. (Ibid) The alignment of firms is in the literature alternating called a supply chain, a emand chain, a value chain, or a marketing channel. A major concept in supply chain literature is the alignment of supply chain initiatives with the overall business strategy of a company. Porter (1996) differentiates between operational effectiveness and strategy. Porter notes that recent business trends have focused on improving operational effectiveness, which at a generic level involves performing the same activities better than competitors. Conversely, strategic positioning involves performing different activities than competitors or performing the same activities differently.
Hammer (2004) defines the use of different or differentiating methodologies to perform activities as operational innovation. Chapter Two 2. 0 Scenario regarding the main topic of the report in Bangladesh Retailing is a distribution channel function where one organization buys products from supplying firms or manufactures the product themselves, and then sells these directly to consumers. A retailer is a reseller (i. e. , obtains product from one party in order to sell to another) from which a consumer purchases products.
In the majority of retail situations, the organization from which a consumer makes purchases is a reseller of products obtained from others and not the product manufacturer. As a reseller, retailers offer many benefits to suppliers and customers. Again, consumers the most important benefits relate to the ability to purchase small quantities of a wide assortment of products at prices that are considered reasonably affordable. For suppliers the most important benefits relate to offering opportunities to reach their target market, build product demand through retail promotions, and provide consumer feedback to the product marketer.
In Bangladesh, as in many other Asian countries, many small- and medium-sized businesses have been built around the retail sector and are often associated with small shops and restaurants. The retail sector provides employment for a large number of people, but it still remains relatively underdeveloped, due to a generally low level of income among the population. There are still a number of small family-run traditional shops and cafes, selling mainly locally-made products. Superstores are booming in urban areas as major players go for expansion by banking on well-heeled consumers and middle-class people, industry people said.
Retail shops have been faring well for the last two years, with the annual sales growth touching to as much as 30 per cent, they added. The sector is dominated by about 15 companies that operate 100 outlets. Of them, Agora now operates 10, Meenabazar 11, Shwapna 42, Nandan five and Prince Bazar two outlets. The annual turnover of the superstores stood at around Tk 20 billion (2000 crore) in 2010 which was Tk 15. 0 billion in 2009, according to data from Bangladesh Supermarket Owners’ Association (BSOA). Supermarket culture is growing fast creating awareness among the consumers about the features of products,” President of BSOA Niaz Rahim told the FE. This culture has established customer service in retailing and also a relation of faith among the suppliers, customers and the owners of superstores, he said. Suppliers are now well organized with their identity such as trade license, VAT registration and a mailing address, he said, adding farmers get instructions on how to grow and how to preserve the products to ensure quality.
Though the industry has passed 10 years, the main challenge is supply chain which is still far from satisfactory, Mr Rahim, who is also the group director of Rahimafrooz that operates Agora, said. “When we started, we did not grow accordingly for lack of supply chain; products didn’t arrive as there was inconsistency and damage of products,” he said. “Money can establish a shop but it is difficult to supply the products to the shelves especially the perishable items,” he said. And no such organized supply chain is yet to be developed in Bangladesh, but the retailers are trying to develop their own, he added.
ACI Logistic that started Shawpno in a large scale across the country stumbled and brought down the number of its outlets to 42 from 65, mainly due to failure in maintaining supply chain, persons familiar with the situation said. The company is now focusing on its supply chain management, they said. Shaheen Khan, head of operations of Meenabazar, said superstores are doing well in terms of expansion as major players have started adding more and more outlets over the last two years. “But the sector is still n its formative stage as the massive expansion has taken place in last two years,” Mr Khan said, adding Meenabazar has opened two new outlets and will launch three more in December in Dhaka. The company has contract farming arrangement with farmers outside Dhaka in a bid to strengthen the supply chain especially vegetables and organic products, he said, adding it also imparts training to the farmers on cultivating organic products. By year end, there will be 15 outlets of Meenabazar, he said, adding they have planned to open more than five outlets next year.
The future of the sector is promising, he said, explaining life style of urban people is changing fast with full of activity. Echoing Mr Khan, the BSOA president said the commodity prices also will stabilise within next three to five years when the supermarket culture is fully established. There will also be a big jump in internal government revenue collection, huge investment in food processing sector and most kitchen markets will come under a systematic way ensuring fair price to farmers, Mr Rahim explained.
Due to massive expansion of superstores, farmers will no more be needed to turn to the multi-stage intermediation as they will be able to establish direct linkage with the chain stores operators. “As a result, they (farmers) will no more be cheated,” Zakir Hossain, general secretary of BSOA, said. Mr Hossain lamented that they did not get the required assistance from the government, although they were paying taxes. There should be a single regulatory body to monitor the growing industry. The association will celebrate its 10th anniversary on December 17 when it will also organize a fair in the capital.
For this reason, BSOA has arranged a campaign of two months to create awareness among the consumer. In 2010 Sinha Ltd. has launched a superstore at Moammadpor. They are also trying to start new branch at Mirpur. Source: Superstore sales top 20b last year, The Financial Express, November 2011 In Bangladesh supply chain management is innovative concept. But it is must needed to reduce cost. In Bangladesh superstore concept has been increasing for last decade. In superstore fresh vegetables, meet, dairy and fruits depend on efficient supply chain.
So superstore authorities are focusing more on supply chain management because 60-70 percent sales on fruits and vegetables. In Bangladesh efficient supply chain hasn’t been establishing by many reasons, those are given bellow: • Infrastructure is mot much developed in Bangladesh. • Transportation Moods are not very good. • Don’t have qualified suppliers. • Suppliers don’t focus branding elements. • Product delivery time is high. • Too much traffic congestion. • Product waste is high. Bangladesh is developing in supply chain day by day.
Global sourcing, FDI, MSE, also play an important role for focusing on supply chain management. Most of the manufacturing and service companies are trying to create an efficient integrated supply chain system. Chapter Three 3. 0 An Overview of the Organization 3. 1 Background The concept of a self service grocery store was developed by American Entrepreneur Clarence Saunders and his Piggly Wiggly stores. His first store opened in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1916. Saunders was awarded a number of patents for the ideas he incorporated into his stores.
The stores were a financial success and Saunders began to offer to offer franchises. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea company was another successful early grocery store chain in Canada and United States and became common in North American cities in 1920. Large retail store operated on a self-service basis, selling groceries, produce, meat, bakery and dairy products, and sometimes nonfood goods. Supermarkets were first established in the U. S. during the 1930s as no-frills retail stores offering low prices. In the 1940s and ’50s they became the major food marketing channel in the U. S. the 1950s also saw them spread through much of Europe. Their growth is part of a trend in developed countries toward reducing cost and simplifying marketing. In the 1960s supermarkets began appearing in developing countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, where they appealed to individuals who had the necessary buying power and food storage facilities. [pic] A superstore in Sweden in 1941 In the early days of retailing, all products generally were fetched by an assistant from shelves behind the merchant’s counter while customer waited in front of the counter and indicated the item they wanted.
Also most food and merchandise did not come in individual wrapped consumer sized packages, so an assistant had to measure out and wrap the precise amount desire by the consumer. This also offered opportunities for social interaction: many regarded this style of shopping as “a social occasion” and would often “pause for conversations with the staff or other customers. These practices were by nature very labor-intensive and therefore also quite expensive. The shopping process was slow, as the number of customers who could be attended to at one time was limited by the number of staff employed in the store.
In parts of South East Asia, supermarkets account for more than half of retail food sales. In China, which has relatively low per capital retail sales through modern markets, growth has still been rapid. Hypermarkets and superstores roughly grew in number from 400 in 2002 to 1,400 in 2007, and supermarkets and next door stores from roughly 3,200 to 5,200 over the same period. Source: www. planetretail. net [pic] Managing supply chain is core to a retailer’s business since one of the important value addition, a retailer does is moving the product from the point of origin or the source to the point of consumption.
There is several supply chain processes involved in this like sourcing, transportation, warehousing, inventory management, cold chain management etc. Retailers also need to take care of several other supply chain issues like which products to stock, how to price their products and how to handle the reverse logistics. Increasingly retailers are handling their inbound logistics by setting up their own distribution networks. We believe that a vital criterion for success in future would be the ability to harness worldwide distribution and logistics network for purchasing. This lobal supply chain should ensure high levels of product availability that consumers want to buy. 3. 2 Corporate Information 3. 2. 1 Company Executives Nasir-ur Rahman Sinha Chairman Mr Nasir-ur Rahman Sinha, Chairman of the The ACME Laboratories Ltd. , obtained M. A. in political science from Dhaka University in 1965 and is a pioneer manufacturing industrialist having vast entrepreneurial foresightedness of business. He is also the Chairman of “Sinha Printers Ltd” engaged as a pharmaceutical packers and printers unit. He is connected with Dhaka Stock Exchange Ltd. since 1969 and is also a member of D.
S. E. He is the Managing Director of National Equities and Financial Promoters Ltd. (Securities and Investment Advisor). He is also the Director of “Sinha Fabrics Ltd”, “Sinha Wool Wears Ltd”, ACME IT Ltd” and “The ACME Agrovet and Beverage Ltd” Mizanur Rahman Sinha Managing Director Mr. Mizanur Rahman Sinha obtained his graduation degree in Commerce in 1962. He started his career as a banker in Habib Bank Ltd. of then Pakistan. After eleven years of service in different senior positions, he left to join ACME as its Marketing Director in 1975. He is also the founder Chairman of J. K. Fashions Ltd. Sinha Knitting Ltd. and Sinha Fabrics Ltd. All companies are export-oriented in scope. Afzalur Rahman Sinha Deputy Managing Director Mr. Afzalur Rahman Sinha graduated from the University of Dhaka with a degree in Science in 1973. He then proceeded to the United States to further his studies in Business Administration in 1980. During his studies he worked as an Analytical Chemist at the University of Missouri in the United States. He then returned to Bangladesh in 1982 to join ACME as its Deputy Managing Director. He is also the Managing Director of Sinha Wool Wears Ltd. , a Director of Sinha Fabrics Ltd. nd J. K. Fashions Ltd. He was a Freedom Fighter and was active in the Southwest front during the Liberation War of Bangladesh. He is the Director of Abahani Ltd. , a leading sports club in the country. He is also the Vice President of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation and the Bangladesh Billiard & Snooker Federation. He is also the Treasurer of the Bangladesh Cricket Control Board. [pic] is a complete healthcare powerhouse committed to protecting  and improving the health and well-being. She has a wide portfolio of Pharmaceutical Products across the Therapeutic Spectrum for both Human and Animal Health.
Her growing Herbal  repertoire of Products are based on man’s symbiotic relationship with mother nature and her abundant resources. With the signing up with one of the leading Indian Herbal Healthcare majors, Himalaya, Acme also wants to focus more on developing safe, natural and innovative  remedies that will help people lead richer and healthier lives. ACME Group is one of the leading and diversified global conglomerates in Bangladesh, with offices in all major cities, employing over 3000+ employees and dedicated to bringing the highest quality products and services to our customers.
We have an annual turnover of US $60 million with diversified interests in Pharmaceuticals, FMCG, Information Technology Services, Aviation Services, Printing & Packaging Services, Trading Services, C & F Services, Apparels and more. The conglomerate has an outstanding record of all around excellence and growth in the relevant business activities. The ACME Laboratories Ltd, the pharmaceutical major and the flagship Company of the ACME Group, is a Manufacturer and Global exporter of Human, Herbal and Veterinary Pharmaceutical products. Our comprehensive Product List ranges from Antibiotics to Histamines to Vitamins.
Certifications include: ISO 9001:2008. | | | | The Company has adopted ISO-9001 and WHO CGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Process) Standards and has been accredited with ISO-9001 certification in 1999. The entire manufacturing procedure, starting with the incoming raw materials, through stringent intermediate manufacturing process and packaging of products, to the dispatching of finished goods, requires that analysts, pharmacists and instructors monitor and control each step. Even after the release of finished goods, the quality control lab tracks post-distribution spot checks of all batches.
Acme’s Quality Assurance Department is equipped with the most modern instruments and is staffed with well trained and qualified personnel. All procedures for testing, sampling and inspecting are clearly approved, implemented and documented. All instruments are regularly calibrated and processes, machinery and premises validated. Through training programs (in-house and abroad), the key personnel of the company remain abreast of the latest concepts of Quality Assurance. 3. 3 Organization Structure The organizational structure of a retail store will vary by the size and type of the business.
Most tasks involved with operating a retail business will be the same. However, small or independent retail stores may combine many sectors together under one division, while larger stores create various divisions for each particular function along with many layers of management. For example, the small specialty shop may have all of its employees under one category called Store Operations. A large department store may have a complete staff consisting of a manager, assistant manager and sales associates for its Sporting Goods department, Home and Garden, Bed and Bath, and each additional department.
In order to define the store’s organization, start by specifying all tasks that need to be performed. Then divide those responsibilities among various individuals or channels. Group and classify each task into a job with a title and description. The final step is to develop an organizational chart. 3. 4 Number of Branch Sinha Ltd is one of the biggest business organizations in Bangladesh. This organization has launched their business in many sectors. Retail chain is innovative sector in Bangladesh. Sinha Ltd has launched in this sector in 2010 at Mohammadpur.
This organization is working to start a new outlet in Pollobi at Mirpur. Number of outlets: | Based on | Place of outlet | | Dhaka | Mohammadpur | | Dhaka | Pollobi | 3. 5 Number of Employees Generally 40-50 people need to run a superstore.
In recent years lot of jobs opportunities are being created both male and female. “Me and Mom” the brand name of superstore owned by Sinha Ltd. The total number of employee has been given bellow. | | n | % | |Male | 55 | 84. 62 | |Female | 10 | 15. 8 | |Total | 65 | 100 | The above table shows the number of people employed in “Me and Mom”. Its shows that out of 65 employees the number of male employee is 55 which are 84. 62% of the total employee and rest 10 (15. 38%) are female employees. 3. 6 Vision Statement Bangladesh is a highly populated country. Most of the people are poor in this country. But recent years the development of the information technology provides great opportunity for the overall development in the country.
Living standard is increasing day by day in this country. It is good news for Bangladesh. Dynamic economy creates a lot of chance to invest in efficient sectors. Retail chain is innovative sector in recent time because of low cost products and organized shopping. Sinha Ltd. has been operating there business since many years in this country. Sinha Ltd. started the new business in retail chain by the brand name of “Me and Mom”. The main vision statement is to provide the retail chain service for the middle class family permanently.
But a decade ago, the retail-level trade was in the hands of thousands of small traders in the wet markets and the grocery shops in cities and remained out of the focus of the big business houses. In the past decade, many small and big supermarkets made debut, successfully attracting middle and upper middle class consumers, a section of whom is gradually turning to chain stores from the wet or kitchen markets. The supermarket culture is playing a vital role in generating employment, with a single store providing jobs to around 50 people. Supply chain is the most important and first challenge to sustain the business and retain customer.
This organization will focus on the efficient supply chain management to operate the business by providing cheap product for the customers. “Me and Mom” will be trying to keep the agile relationship with the supplier to ensure quality product in home and abroad. For this the rural agricultural condition will be branded by the organization. Some say that the Internet will completely change the face of retailing; others believe that the ‘touch and feel’ factor would ultimately dominate and the Net will have only a marginal impact on the shopping behavior.
Probably the truth lies somewhere in between. But one thing is sure – online retailing is here to stay. Many retailers realized that and have rushed to start their own e commerce web site. We believe that the key to success would be the effectiveness with which retailers integrate the Internet with their existing business model. 3. 7 Mission Statement Generally efficient superstore based on real time customer demands. So a superstore tries to provide fresh and quality products for their customers. The main missions of “Me and Mom” are given bellow. pic] |1 |Offering a clean healthy and a friendly environment for shopping. | | 2 |To give customer confidence and establish an environment of trust. | | 3 |Offer better range of quality products. | |4 |Establish rational and low price. | |5 |Encourage products standard and quality products, or better price. | |6 |Improve product packaging and presentation. | |7 |Contribute improving living standard. | |8 |Thinking ahead and taking new initiatives. | Missions of “Me and Mom” 3. 8 Products of “Me and Mom” Me and Mom” typically sells many different types of items, such as: | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | | | | | | |Beverage | | | | | | | | | |Products | | | | | | | | | |Baby [pic] | [pic] | [pic] | |foods | | | | |and products | | | | | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | | | | | | |Bakery | | | | |Books |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |Newspapers and | | | | |Magazines | | | | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | | | | | | |Fresh | | | | | | | | | |Vegetables | | | | | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | | | | | | |Fresh | | | | | | | | |Fishes | | | | | | | | | | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | | | | | | |Fresh | | | | | | | | | |Meats | | | | |Local |[pic] |[pic] | [pic] | |Fruits | | | | |And | | | | |Jelly | | | | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | 3. 9 Principal Activities: • Identifying the customer demand • Getting real time information • Appropriate forecasting for customer demand • Understanding consumer behavior • Increasing customer satisfaction level • Increasing product assortment Maintaining food safety 3. 10 SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is strategic planning method. It is also a tool that is extremely useful for evaluating different business situation like strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats. The word SWOT is basically acronym of these four situations of business venture. SWOT analysis provides a perfect framework to evaluate strategy, position and direction of a company. It is very simple to do and is also very useful in brainstorming meetings where business management need to deeply consider the requirements of the business and SWOT analysis provides the best way to do so. S= STRENGTH W= WEAKNESS O= OPPORTUNITY T= THREATS | STRENGTH | | WEAKNESS | | |Discount grocery market | |Wastages and damage products | | |Innovative marketing | |Lack of real time information | | |Diversification into the holiday market | |Maximum butterfly customers | | |Efficient supply chain management | |Small parking place | | |Fresh and quality products | |Non brand suppliers | | |Agile relationship with supplier | |Poor marketing | | |Reputed brand name | |Lack of advertising | | |Product assortment | | | | | | | | | | OPPORTUNITY | | THREATS | |Increasing customer satisfaction level | |New rivals | | |Creating good facilities for middle class family | |Political uncertainty | | |To increase number of outlet around the city | |Infrastructure problem | | |To reach good position against rivals | |Transportation problem | | |Efficient global supply chain | |Traffic jam | | |Modern information technology | |Electricity problem | | |Increasing customers living standard | |Local markets | | | | |High fuel cost | SWOT Analysis of “Me and Mom” SWOT analysis is the best way to identify the internal and external factors that may be favorable or unfavorable for the organizations.
After doing SWOT analysis we can get the real condition of the company and also can take the proper steps to control the situation or improve the present condition. Most of the organization uses this model to increase performance level by taking efficient steps and recommendation the present strategies. 3. 11 Action Plan for “Me and Mom” The combination of quality and price under various brand name offers customers value for their money. I have examined and evaluated the operations of Sinha Ltd, including its strengths and weaknesses. I recommend the following in order to ensure continued success for the future of all Marks and Spencer stores: 1. Find alternative sources to supply resources to Marks and Spencer stores abroad. 2. Increase marketing efforts. 3.
Strengthen existing resources, add complementary resources, and develop new resources. 4. Evaluation of Current Objectives and Current Strategy Chapter Four 4. 0 Practical Experiences gathered through doing research works in an organization Sinha Ltd is a big group of company in our country. They are doing business in many sectors. I have gathered some practical experience in this organization. These are given bellow: • I have understood how this organization work and do main function to fulfill their objects after doing my research. • Every organization has a working system. “Me and Mom” also have a working system. I have shown it in chapter five. I am able to understand the process of activity and how it helps to earn maximum profit with efficient supply chain. • A good strategy can help a organization to survive with competitor. I have also gathered the fundamental knowledge about main strategy of “Me and Mom”. • Every organization follows a systematic customer policy by the reason for increasing customer satisfaction. I have understand how this organization fit there customer policies. • Information system is heart of an organization. Communication system, interpersonal relationship also depends on information system. I have known how communication system helps the organization to make decision. Departmental process can help a superstore to decorate the products speciously for the customers. It has helped me to understand departmentalization and department based procurement, merchandiser role etc. • Control system is very much important for a superstore. If I don’t maintain a control system product will be damaged. Now I am able to discuss how a superstore maintains a control system to utilize their all elements. • Security system is one of the biggest challenges for a superstore. They try to follow traditional system to maintain their security. Chapter Five 5. 0 Findings and Analysis regarding the objectives of the study including problems identified
Last one decade has seen the phenomenal rise of the ‘Chain of superstores’ in our country. Growing consolidation and globalization in the sector has seen the bargaining power of the retailer increase in the supply chain. We believe that in order to counter saturated domestic markets and increasing competition, leading superstores would continue to expand globally. Increasingly retailers are handling their inbound logistics by setting up their own distribution networks. We believe that a vital criterion for success in future would be the ability to harness worldwide distribution and logistics network for purchasing. This global supply chain should ensure high levels of product availability that consumers want to buy.
Supply chain management (SCM) promises unprecedented efficiencies in inventory control and procurement to the retailers. With cash registers equipped with bar-code scanners, retailers can now automatically manage the flow of products and transmit stock replenishment orders to the vendors. The data collected for this purpose can provide deep insights into the dynamics of the supply chain. However, most of the commercial SCM applications provide only transaction-based functionality for inventory management and procurement; they lack sophisticated analytical capabilities required to provide an integrated view of the supply chain. This is where data warehousing can provide critical information to help managers streamline their supply chain.
Some of the applications of BI in supply chain management and procurement are: Vendor Performance Analysis: Performance of each vendor can be analyzed on the basis of a number of factors like cost, delivery time, quality of products delivered, payment lead time, etc. In addition to this, the role of suppliers in specific product outages can be critically analyzed. Inventory Control (Inventory levels, safety stock, lot size, and lead time analysis): Both current and historic reports on key inventory indicators like inventory levels, lot size, etc. can be generated from the data warehouse, thereby helping in both operational and strategic decisions relating to the inventory.
Product Movement and the Supply Chain: Some products move much faster off the shelf than others. On-time replenishment orders are very critical for these products. Analyzing the movement of specific products – using BI tools – can help in predicting when there will be need for re-order. Demand Forecasting: It is one of the key applications of data mining. Complex demand forecasting models can be created using a number of factors like sales figures, basic economic indicators, environmental conditions, etc. If correctly implemented, a data warehouse can significantly help in improving the retailer relations with suppliers and can complement the existing SCM application. Enterprise |Human |Finance and Fixed Asset | |Management |Resource |Management | | |Management | | Customer Relationship Management Customer Value |Supply Chain Management and |Store Front |Alternative Sales Channel | |Procurement |Operation | | Function of a superstore 5. 1 Retail Supply Chain Elements Supply chain management is very important for a superstore because of customer satisfaction.
Customer wants fresh and quality products basically vegetables and meats. An efficient supply chain can ensure to provide quality food for the customers to keep agile relationship with suppliers. In this part I will show how supply chain management engage with a superstore to provide quality products and identify major challenging element. Retail Supply Chain has four parts. These are given bellow: |Merchandise Management processes

Supply Chain Management Critical Essay

Wall Mart – Supply Chain Management.
Supply Chain Management Supply chain management may be the systematic and also the strategic coordination administration for delivering goods as well as products required through the end client. Or we are able to say that the practice associated with products which reaches for an end person and signifies the efforts from the organization is called supply string management. It signifies a mindful effort through the supply string firms to build up and operate supply chains In many effective as well as efficient methods possible.
Supply string management actions cover almost anything such because room items to its development, finding, logistics as well as information program also. The primary objective associated with SCM is actually creating internet value, creating a competitive national infrastructure, synchronize the products supply, steps the overall performance globally as well as leveraging globally logistics and so on.
Today the majority of the global businesses are forced to maintain buying production middle where price of work and uncooked material Is actually cheap and to be able to compete within the global marketplace and networked economic climate, SCM is extremely helpful with regard to organizations. Various activities exist in a business which requirements strategic administration like finding of recyclables from various place after which from various locations these types of finished products are handed through various chains associated with distribution network which include retailers, marketers and finish customers.

The supply chain may be the series associated with actively as well as organizations which materials, undertake on their own Journeys through initial providers to last customers” (Waters 2007). The primary elements of the supply string include purchasing, operations, shipping and integration. Purchasing is step one of the actual supply string (Walter’s Secrets to prosperous Supply String Management, d. D). Specific for that Walter, it’s a critical work as Walter is determined by the companies and submission center.
When there is any II. Importance of SCM SCM plays an important role within organization actions and an important element in order to operational efficiency which may be applied to client satisfaction and company’s achievement. You may say that it’s Just such as the backbone of the organization that manages the actual critical issues from the business organization or example rapid development of international corporations, global growth and environment concerns that indirectly or even dramatically affects the organization strategy.
Other advantages and need for supply string management tend to be: Reduces stock costs Offers better moderate for info sharing in between partners Improves client satisfaction in addition to service Keeps better believe in between companions Provides effective manufacturing technique Improve procedure integration Improves main point here (by decreasing using fixed assets within the supply chain) Increase income Improves quality and provide higher revenue margin SCM provides various resources and methods that assist business to diagnose the issues and offer solutions of those disruptions round the business atmosphere.
It plays an essential role within moving goods faster to their own destinations. It is important in today’s company is controlling competition amongst partners and to be able to win this particular competition SCM assists business organization in an exceedingly efficient method. All the advantages and need for SCM can make its long term so vibrant and due to emerging developments in business SCM becomes probably the most critical company discipline these days. Interacts Provide Chain Administration companies is definitely an integrated end-to-end heritage Application Modernization.
It streamlines as well as mobiles guide business procedures making real-time information offered at the click of the button. Ill. Company History Wall-Mart Shops, Inc. Top quality as Walter because 2008 as well as Wall-Mart prior to then, is definitely an American open public multinational company that operates chains associated with large discount shops and stockroom chains. The organization is the actual world’s athletes open public corporation, based on the Forbes Worldwide 2000 checklist, and the biggest public company when rated by income.
It can also be the greatest private employer on the planet with more than 2 zillion employees, and may be the largest retailer on the planet. The organization was started by Mike Walton within 1962, integrated on Cot 31, 1969, and openly traded about the New York Stock market in 1972. It’s headquartered within Bonneville, The state of Arkansas. Walter can also be the biggest grocery retailer in the use. In ’09, it produced 51% associated with Titus$258 million sales within the U. Tutees. From food equines. Additionally, it owns as well as operates the actual Cam’s Membership retail warehouses in the United States.
Walter offers 8, 500 shops in 15 nations, under fifty five different titles. The organization operates under its name in the USA, including the actual estates as well as Puerco Rich. This operates within Mexico because Wall mart, within the United Kingdom’s Advertisements, in Asia as Seize, as well as in Indian as Greatest Price. It’s wholly possessed operations within Argentina, South America, and North America. Walter’s opportunities outside the United States and The Far East are extremely successful, while ventures within Germany as well as South Korea had been unsuccessful.
IV. Question 1 A goal for a lot of today’s procedures managers is to obtain the right mixture of technology as well as management many efficiently create goods as well as services. Using radio-frequency id (REID), a little electronic label on individual bits of men’s clothes, including denim Jeans, underwear, and socks may be the main technology automation. The labels emit the weak stereo signal that allows employees to understand what dimensions are missing about the shelf as well as what items can e found in the share room.
Radio-frequency id tags may identify as well as track pallets or even cases associated with goods, and also the move in order to individual products. Most merchants had utilized RIFF and then track pallets or even cases associated with goods, and also the move in order to individual products has elevated concerns more than potential invasions associated with privacy. Advanced it makes Just-in-time stock management function seamlessly, however it has additionally transformed management in several other methods.
An organization’s it (IT) includes the equipment, software, telecoms, database administration, and additional technologies this uses in order to chain information and make sure they are available as information with regard to organizational choice making. Generally, information technologies has good implications for that practice associated with management. (New Period of Administration, Richard M. Daft, tenth edition, 2012) The improvement of computer-based info systems provides alternatives towards the traditional up and down organizational hierarchy around since the actual sass.
By giving managers along with high-quality, well-timed, relevant, as well as relatively total information, management info systems possess reduced the requirement for high management hierarchies. Horizontal info flows are actually viable, supplanting the actual flow associated with information in one department upward through administration layers after which back right down to another division. RIFF is a solution to capture data in regards to a single object without needing human tread the information.
The execution of RIFF labels at pallet as well as case degree, Wall- Mart has the capacity to identify as well as track these products as it gets to their arouses till shelving in the giant retailer’ (RIFF Diary, 2005). Wall-Mart thought that it will likely be a typical technology within the next decade, such as the barded since it was popularized through them within the early 80 (Smith, 2005) . Nevertheless, there aren’t many business are prepared to switch in the existing barded system because of the cost which might disrupt Wall-Mart implementations.
Usually, barded is actually embedded using the product packaging or styles are fairly free. Although Wall-Mart is actually leading the near future of this particular technology, it’s forcing providers to burden high of the price. There tend to be several crucial benefits which Wall-Mart and also the suppliers can acquire. RIFF may reduce out-of-stocks; help to make automated purchase fulfillment, enhanced inventory, item tracking, reduce shrinking and enhance product shipping time by giving visibility to the location associated with goods along with RIFF labels.
It is about tracking’ regardless of whether it within or beyond Wall-Mart, the requirement to know the merchandise whereabouts is essential. Smith (2005) describe this as a good consideration theft. For instance if a lot of product shifting out the actual shelf, it’ll end an indication to the nearby digital camera to notify security to make sure these items aren’t stolen. Based on Wall-Mart’s CIO Linda Dill man, RIFF has boost the efficiency within the supply string where they’ve been able in order to restock RIFF- tagged items 3 times as quickly as non-tagged products (RIFF Diary, 2008).
Wall-Mart has become able to enhance their durability program in order to encourage recycle by utilizing RIFF. This is a result of the study, write as well as storage capability; recycling companies may use this RIFF to straighten out the materials that may be cycled better and effectively. This recycling where possible companies may ship away the material to the Manufacturers which slow up the utilization associated with new materials. Therefore Wall-Mart isn’t Just focusing upon financial benefits however the ecosystem too.
It is more costly to obtain new client than keeping current clients (Roth, 2004). Using RIFF within Wall-Mart possess the most strategically important in working with customer fulfillment. Smith (2005) learned that Wall-Mart offers improve their own customer encounter and devotion by having the ability to track nonuser’s behavior and purchasing patterns; to maintain products as well as deliveries upon shelf in due time. It additionally helps consumers within the speed associated with purchase where a customer’s check-out because simple because walking away the shop.
As customer go by the self-service check-out counter-top, the readers receives the information from the merchandise and charge the client credit greeting card. Using 2 different techniques, it offers reduced line time from the consumer. Thus Wall-Mart mixing its RIFF technology using the CRM bundle can enhance customer support. There additionally some danger associate applying RIFF technologies, mainly privateers issues as well as cyber horror. It can be done for rivals to grab information concerning shipments, logistics businesses, cost & delicate information and so on.
Since the ability source originates from the readers not the actual tag, hackers can certainly infiltrate delicate information via this nonaggression tags . Based on Smith (2005), Wall-Mart offers made their own tag along with limited range to see and create capability with regard to security objective. Privacy problems in USA are used very critically by customer advocacy organizations. Their issues were that when the consumer simply leaves the shop, that the actual tag can be monitored.
They believe it will likely be an intrusion of privateers as big corporation may monitor their own activity. Based on Smith (2005) you will find researches done to produce blocker label at customer level, however the result continues to be unknown. Consequently, Wall-Mart ought to revise these types of factors before any more allegations later on. Wall-Mart established fact to follow IT national infrastructure since 1974 started using computer systems for stock control. Lining,
Wall-Mart is among the major motorists behind the actual RIFF earlier adoption as well as implementation had been they introduced a 3 year technical compliance arrange for its best 300 suppliers’ (Espies, Master, & Wilson, 2004). They could provide each one of these services because of their generally ‘ provide chain management that is their crucial success element (KEF) within the retail company (AS Investigation, 2009). Therefore implementing RIFF technologies will considerably improve control within the supply string management to satisfy customer needs. Splay in the shelf region. It’s saved above ledge area where it will likely be retrieve in the event that products upon shelf go out. When an item is purchased with a customer, the RIFF readers at check-out counter tops will browse the purchase and become sent towards the Electronic Information Interchange (DEED’) Program called List Link (Blanchard & Com, 2008). The info will end up being passed towards the suppliers, sales information program, Tex Ions Products and CRM info system. Wall- Mart shares real-time information along with suppliers with regard to better purchasing accuracy, and transparency through the supply string, particularly stock usability as well as for invoicing as well as payments ‘ (Blanchard & Com, 2008)Data’s which are sent towards the Customer Romantic relationship Management is going to be used with regard to data mining to create forecast. Marketing supervisors in Wall-Mart utilized data-mine technology to build up replenishment plans for his or her suppliers as well as adjust the actual composition associated with market containers in person chains (Shapiro, 2007).
Additionally they can find out about the behavior of the customers of the purchase choice and delivering pattern. Therefore they are able to plan with regard to peak months, to cake sure that the correct materials, supplies as well as personnel have been in the correct place in the right period. This declaration suggest a variety of metrics that could be used to track customer support by the supplier, such as percentage on- time transport, percentage associated with complete transport and portion of transport with suitable qualities’ (Shapiro, 2007).
If your product is lower in stock, the EDI program will notify the shop manager to create purchases via Tex Ions gadget. At the same time frame, the data is going to be sent in order to suppliers in order to alert these phones start manufacturing. Simultaneously, the information also is delivered to the sales system may than help to make confirmation for that request buy. Once the actual request may be approved, supplier can begin to deliver. To enhance the time associated with product appearance, passive RIFF which are place may transmit the present location in order to Wall-Mart’s EDI program.
This provide great comfort and ease to supervisors to precisely know in which the product location and in a position to inform the shoppers the real date the merchandise will be accessible. This brand new technology aid Walter’s capability to track the actual inventory as well as increasing the actual rate in order to replenish the merchandise exactly instantly and additionally, it provide the information to allow employee know in which the product is and also the time in order to replenish the merchandise more effectiveness exactly.
Using the RIFF, Walter not Just reduce the actual tracking cost but additionally increase the actual rate associated with in share Besides, Walter also obtain the benefit from obtain the data to understand the that product marketing effectiveness in the chains’ information, to cutting sold-out sale deficits, ND overstock costs (P. Fraser, 2006) Quite simply, Walter improvement associated with inventory management using the RIFF to lessen the price losing depending on sold-out and skip helped within the backroom as well as increases a chance to track the actual inventory as well as support them immediately as well as exactly.
However as the reduce the actual percent from sold-out it additionally cost seventeen cents cost for every item to make use of FRI. label (P. Fraser, 2006). Within article Wall-Mart WALL-MART can make its providers more near to the customer since the system also offers the data for that manufacturer, provider, to knowing the customer’s preferences and also to monitor inventory and also the stock relocated in every chain.
It additionally helps the actual supplier to achieve the possibility in order to redesign as well as packaging their own product decreasing process price (Ramsey, 2004) Wall-Mart produce the win-win situation to create the itself and it is supplier to lessen the cost using the supply string with brand new technology tool to create supply string more effectiveness and conserve to period and cash from needed cost additionally by provide data discussing it links the merchandise desired between your customer as well as product organization than prior to.
V. Question 2 The achievement of Wall-Mart is mainly because of it’s seem managerial decisions and also the innovative execution of sustainability ways of dramatically slow up the company’s effect on the worldwide environment and in order to become “the best and revolutionary company within the world”. The organization believed within the three primary principles that’s “To end up being supplied 100 % by green energy; to reduce zero waste materials; and to market products which sustaining the resources and also the environment. The actual gist from the decision execution by Wall-Mart is based on its capability to build a good working romantic relationship with each suppliers as well as employees, being attentive to the majority of intricate details available layout as well as necessary retailing techniques, capitalizing in most cost preserving technique, and developing a high overall performance spirit. Below are a few of the important methods implemented through Wall-Mart that have been responsible because of its success?
Among its very first initiative had been to release a marketing campaign to motivate its suppliers to supply environment pleasant and secure products within recyclable or even biodegradable product packaging at absolutely no Additional price. Wall-Mart meant to influence its suppliers to invest more upon R&D in order to find the actual safer settings of digesting and packing which too without having passing the price on for them. This wasn’t a method indented to create it wealthy, but it had been a started like a campaign with regard to environmental advantage and that earned those lots of good may among environmentalist.
Wall-Mart additionally started making “green” ledge tags in order to mark these products the suppliers created which were environmentally pleasant. This was among its very first step in the direction of sustainability. But gradually company lost tabs on its main strategic focal points. Wall-Mart quickly realized this particular and began to revamp its sustainable strategy in order to make it to become long enduring and seriously embed this in its operations because envisaged through Scott.
Scott guide the sustainability technique to keep environmentally friendly improvements tightly in conjunction with the company value as well as profitability for that strategy to achieve success in addition to challenged themselves to locate new methods to drive measurable outcomes. Several plans were considered and several of that had larger ideas how Wall-Mart might profitably decrease environmental effects. In the first proposals submit Wall-Mart desired to differentiate by itself from its competition, maintain the license to develop, and stay consistent in through perusing a good offensive technique.
The administration realized which sustainability might represents the largest opportunity for that 21st hundred years and suggested that Wall-Mart and it is complex provide chain might become much more efficient through making its operations much more environment pleasant. They thought if durability was to become taken critically, it meant not only the atmosphere and but additionally includes healthcare, wages, ethical finding and globalization as well as everything in general.
With this in your mind Wall-Mart began its marketing campaign initially concentrating on the atmosphere. Large a part of it initiatives were spent dealing with the numerous Government as well as Environmental agencies to recognize which associated with its items and procedures created finest environmental effects. After it’s large size investigation Wall-Mart simplified down the issue to 3 main areas: Power, Waste as well as Products, and decided it would concentrate its environment goals with regard to reducing the actual Walter’s effect on the atmosphere.
Increasing power efficiency, shifting to green energy, and decreasing waste within retail procedures were chose to be the actual direct objectives -?goals that may be achieved through making changes which were within Wall-Mart’s much more immediate manage. It recognized that supplying more environmentally friendly products had been a roundabout goal which may also need the participation of Wall-Mart providers and their assistance to accomplish. Wall- Mart also found that the easiest method to generate great will would be to serve society since it did for that hurricane Kari sufferers.
It positively participated in assisting provide relief towards the people associated with New Orleans and it is surrounding areas consequently earned the actual trust of each and every one. Wall- Mart intends to supply suppliers along with Valuable understanding and procedure assistance via relationships along with Nags within its systems. Wall-Mart setup compliance business that supervised supplier overall performance in China along with other countries all over the world.
Wall-Mart gripes audit primarily centered on safety and health issues also it measured providers against its four recognized metrics- Drinking water treatment, Waste materials management, Prohibited chemicals as well as air emissions. Improvement within seafood network all over the world was permitted through feasible though execution of MASC.- certified certifying companies. MESS accreditation was trusted to 3rd parties that audited as well as ratified fisheries as well as processes to ensure products had been managed sustainable through boat in order to plate.
MESS accreditation firstly was to deal with sustainability associated with wild captured fish as well as later in order to SAC accreditation for plantation raced seafood. Wall-Mart recognized 5 main initiative for establishing of team to move around MASC. accreditation: Certification, Bunch Farming, Sea Reserves, Open public Awareness, Exterior collaboration. Wall-Mart objective was to improve the amount of fisheries as well as processing plants within the MASC. accreditation program.
Supplies might refer the actual fisheries in order to MASC. and also have them make use of MASC. environmentally labels on the products, to be able to start buying Just as much certified fishes as you possibly can. The immediate cost associated with MASC. accreditation was taken care of by vessel operators as well as processing vegetation. Immediate advantages were seen with the certification MICROSOFT required the chain associated with custody to ensure that the actual fish had been virtually indistinguishable in the rest.
Benefits via sustainability were observed in improved transport efficiencies, eradication of stock-outs as well as raw trials shortages, decrease in supplier expenses though standardized packaging, and so on. Wall-Mart delegated the actual implementation associated with MASC. towards the suppliers and also the supplier’s inspired to building the connection were compelled to consider the methods there through gaining believe in of Wall- Mart. This creating relationships permitted Wall-Mart in order to talk with respect to suppliers, defend their own points and show other associates the significance of this particular relationships.
In Digital network Wall-Mart recognized six key regions of Ochs: Materials innovation, E-waste, Laws, Green Architectural, Metrics, Instruction and Training. Their technique was to supply their clients with environmentally friendly product choices employing a supply string that improves the caliber of life of stakeholders. Wall-Mart needed to make assured orders towards the suppliers market only Ross-compliant items to clients. By 5 years they ensured that each and every computer they bought within US had been Ross compliant.
Wall-Mart additionally introduced numerous initiative from reducing e-waste through starting Might programs such as recycling take-back applications. Wall-Mart also centered on advocating with regard to national requirements for each hazardous ingredients and e-waste. Organic 100 % cotton innovation task received main concern of the actual textiles system. They used clear requirements (USDA guidelines) with regard to organic 100 % cotton farming as well as manufacturing procedures. Got permit to utilize a certain dangerous chemicals had been safer substitutes weren’t yet in a commercial sense available.
The technique in 100 % cotton textiles would be to develop as well as environmentally garment made from renewable material match he procedure is effective with minimal wage and utilization of inputs having a minimum toxicity. Whenever three chemical substances were recognized. With an adverse ratings this encourage suppliers to make use of most environmentally friendly substitutes. Wall-Mart had been cautious within not discussing widely these types of metrics for any fear associated with boomerang upon other products by itself, but Just told customers it cared for his or her health.
The overall game changer project would be to reduce the actual impact associated with environment as well as textile produce, which associated with recent source. It additionally played this safe through not placing its echo-friendly tags, not forced the maker to consider responsibility with regard to promoting atmosphere and many benefits for their own products as well as left if to allow them to decide To summarize Wall-Mart noticed and overwhelmingly large variety of opportunities which remain untrained and chose to continue to recognize and go after the possibilities with maximum environmental advantages and company value.
Simultaneously as Wall-Mart is actually building worth added systems of federal government agencies, no – revenue organizations, circuiting and providers to “green” it’s supply chains, the company is utilizing a network method of bring down overall the co and environment path to be able to add in order to profitability whilst increasing limitations. For many years Wall-Mart may be scarcely focusing on operations and provide chains, growth, and earnings. In regions of utmost environment impact and write out key networks which may help to accomplish these objectives.
In come back for taking part in these value-added systems, participants will be given details about in addition to a say within Wall-Mart’s procedures. Tyler Elm, Wall-Mart’s older director associated with corporate technique, and Tim Ruben, Wall-Mart’s vice leader of business strategy as well as business durability, directed Wall-Mart’s system leaders in order to, “derive economic advantages of improved environment and interpersonal outcomes” (source: Elm, 2007). It’s not really philanthropy,” he or she adds. Based on a Stanford Interpersonal Innovation Evaluation, “By the finish of the actual sustainability strategy very first year, the system teams experienced generated savings which were roughly add up to the earnings generated through several Wall-Mart Superstructures” (Source: Denned, 008).
Below is a summary of Wall-Mart’s environmentally friendly value systems and the way the company plans to complete each one of the main 3 goals: In the core from the business durability strategy used by Wall-Mart is really a drift through generating extra value via price-based relationships, relationships along with non – revenue organizations, providers, and additional stakeholders. With the above systems, Wall-Mart is actually absorbing something viewpoint that helps merchants find ways to cope with environmental problems.
In trade for these types of suppliers addressing the problems, the scale from the operations from Wall-Mart allows nonprofit system members obtain huge Jumps towards their own overall quests. Suppliers also provide the advantage of not Just the solidity that much more intimate associations with Wall-Mart get, but additionally the assistance and assistance from Wall-Mart’s charitable partners. The Wall-Mart durability strategy without doubt looks to become off to some promising begin; they mustn’t grow to be complacent as well as must press-on along with awareness to make these systems sustainable and in a position to spread away without interlude.
The very first thing they have to do is actually administer these types of partnerships vigilantly so that costs lower. They additionally need every single child manage the actual sense associated with balance in between presenting “green” as well as conventional “non-green” items in its chains. Lastly, because of the extremely high quantity of nonprofits within the network, Wall-Mart is needed to supervise losing these close ties. Individual groups might not be able to find out credit for any large decrease on environment impact.
With time, these groups’ failure every single child make apparent their impact could cause some tribulations using their fundraising simply because donors will insist upon increasingly more data talking about their overall performance. These difficulties could eventually source the actual nonprofit organizations to pull out of the networks VI. Question 3 Although Wall-Mart the Far East international shops sourced from the well- established system of provider developed as well as managed through the Global Procurement department, its household procurement had been handled through Superstructure retailing.
Chinese regulation required companies to become licensed tit regard to either transfer or foreign trade or with regard to domestic manufacturing. However it’s not possible in order to license with regard to both. Consequently, many international companies setup holding businesses with both scale back on product packaging, and the organization has set an objective of ultimately producing right now waste and only using renewable power sources. Nevertheless, now much of the actual low-hanging fruit may be taken, achieving bigger sustainability goals will probably take much more work.
Wall-Mart tend to be bringing the knowledge and understanding gained within U. Tutees. To tell the Chinese language. Wall-Mart will work closely along with non-governmental organizations to assist plant inspectors within China understand the business’s sustainability endeavors. Wall-Mart focal points in China is going to be appropriate waste materials disposal, general waste decrease and decreasing greenhouse gasoline emissions, in addition to reducing product packaging and improving energy efficiency instead of doing company along.
Within the recent occasions, Wall-Mart has submit some steps to upgrade about the environment as well as enhance power efficiency. A few of the initial actions include investing large amounts of money to enhance the effectiveness n its trucks fleet with a quarter as well as by dual in following years. It intends to lessen greenhouse gasoline emissions, reduce energy make use of two substantial levels. The company’s managerial group comprehends on utilization of non- renewable power sources in order to zero price waste.
A number of this type of energy entails harnessing associated with natural sources such as the sun and also the wind. When in addition and adds are thought, Wall-Mart has much more good towards the economy people and it’s people in particular. Next the organization created 14 environmentally friendly value networks having a deader identified who does be generating the durability in some other part of the company. As the actual sustainability effort acquired momentum it had been quick to understand that the actual sustainability doesn’t include extra function but is Just a new method of approaching one’s personal work.
Hence this started determining new responsibility for individuals in their own existing position instead of creating brand new Jobs and managed to get a fundamental element of the work everybody performed. Other significant change from the implementation was to appear outside hat was a main shift in the usual method Wall-Mart accustomed to conduct its operations concentrated internally. The technique represented a significant cultural change for that organization, looking for ideas through all – experts, No’s providers, echo-friendly rivals, academicians as well as its critics.
It’s also engaged inside a dialogue using the government concerning climate change along with a curb upon greenhouse gasoline emissions. The collaborative strategy was performing wonders also it decided to create it part of the continuing sustainability design. All over the 14 Roth networks, countless external organizations where asked to become listed on and participate with an ongoing basis and also the primary qualifying criterion was to incorporate and engage people that are genuinely devoted to desired long term outcomes.
Wall-Mart started participating in dialog along with government plan makers concerning climate alter. It compared a co tax as it will likely be passed onto customers and for that reason advocated the cap as well as trade program and recommended proposals with regard to market dependent programs with regard to reducing echo-friendly gas emissions. The systems were encourage to build up a

Wall Mart – Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management of Walmart.
We also express the depth of my appreciation to our honorable course teacher for her suggestion and guidelines, which helped us in completing this report. Letter of Transmittal November 19, 2014 Famish Skater Nip, Lecturer, Department of Management Studies, Jonathan University, Dacha. Us abject: Submission of Report on “Supply Chain Management Systems of Wall- Mare. Dear Madam, We are the student of Department of Management studies, Jonathan University, Dacha and also from the group named “Dazzle”.
A report was given to us by you on “Supply Chain Management Systems offal-Mart”for submitting. We are really happy to have such a challenging and interesting report like this and we also feel to say “thank you” to you for making us worthy for corporate. During the preparation of this report we learn something very extra in practical which will be very helpful for us in future. There were some obstacles we have faced at the time of preparing this report. But we have overcome all the obstacles by the endeavor effort by each member of our group.
We had taken at most care to present this report and this report has been excellent outlet for combining theoretical and practical aspect. We are really grateful to you for giving us such a great job & opportunity like this to prove our ability in making a quality report. We had limitations at the time of preparing this report. So mistakes may occur in preparing this report. We hope you Will take our mistakes forgivingly. Yours Sincerely, On behalf of the group Sec: A Jonathan university, Dacha Table of Contents Chapter Topics page No.

Chapter-I Executive Summery 8 Introduction 9 Objectives of the Study 10 Methodology Chapter-2 Supply chain management 12-14 Functions of Supply Chain Management 14 About Wall-Mart 15-16 Wall-Mart at a glance 16-17 Strategic Position 18 Wall-Mart’s Supply Chain Description 20-23 Wall-Mart’s Business Processes 24 procurement and Distribution 25-26 Logistics Management 26-27 Company Supply Chain Strategy 28 Company Supply Chain Effectiveness 29-30 Future Work and Discussion 30-31 Chapter-3 Recommendation 33 Conclusion 34 References 5 CHAPTER- ONE Wall-Mart is one of the leading Fortune 500 companies, which is spread across the globe.
It is perhaps the largest retail chain which deals with everything from food to consumer electronics. Supply chain management has been the foundation to Wall-Mart’s success and remains their chief competitive advantage in the retail/department store industry. Wall-Mart is in the business of selling everything customers need in their everyday lives. Wall-Mart was divided into three business segments: Wall-Mart stores, Cam’s Clubs, and the International Division.
Their distribution system is generally regarded as the cost efficient and they have an approach to supply chain management that has long emphasized visibility through the sharing of information with their suppliers. Wall-Mart was one of the largest private sector employers in the world, with employee strength of approximately 1. 28 million. Supply chain management is moving the right items to the right customer at the right time by the most efficient means. No one does that better than Wall-Mart. Wall- Mart always emphasized the need to reduce its purchasing costs and offer the best price to its customers.
The company procured goods directly from manufacturers, bypassing all intermediaries. Wall-Mart was a tough negotiator on prices and finalized a purchase deal only when it was fully confident that the products being bought were not available elsewhere at a lower price. Supply chain management (SCM) is “the systemic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole. It has also been defined as the “design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply Hahn activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and measuring performance globally. ” SCM is a cross-functional approach that includes managing the movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal processing of materials into finished goods, and the movement of finished goods out of the organization and toward the end consumer.
As organizations strive to focus on core competencies and becoming more flexible, they reduce their ownership of raw materials sources and distribution channels. These functions are increasingly being outsourced to other firms that can perform the activities better or more cost effectively. The effect is to increase the number of organizations involved in satisfying customer demand, while reducing managerial control of daily logistics operations. Less control and more supply chain partners led to the creation of the concept of supply chain management.
The purpose Of supply chain management is to improve trust and collaboration among supply chain partners, thus improving inventory visibility and the velocity of inventory movement. Wall-Mart was the largest retailing company in the world. The company was much bigger than its competitors in the US – Sears Roebuck, K-Mart, J Penny and Nordstrom combined (Refer Exhibit I). Len 2002, Wall-Mart operated more than 3,500 discount stores, Cam’s Clubs and Superstructures in the US and more than 1,1 70 stores in all major countries across the world.
The company also sold products on the Internet through its website, Walter. Com. Wall-Mart was one of the largest private sector employers in the world, with employee strength of approximately 1. 28 million. The company’s founder, Sam Walton (Walton) had always focused on improving sales, constantly reducing costs, adopting efficient distribution and logistics management systems and using innovative information technology (IT) tools. According to analysts, Wall-Mart was able to achieve a leadership status ((Refer Exhibit II)) in the retail industry because of its efficient supply chain management practices.
Captain Vernon L. Beauty, aide-De-camp to the commander, Defense Supply Center, Columbus, Ohio said, “Supply chain management is moving the right items to the right customer at the right time by the most efficient means. No one does that well than Wall-Mart. ” Every task has a particular aim. A study without objective cannot reach its estimation. The main objective of the study is to know about “Supply Chain Management Systems of Wall-Mart”. Some other objectives of this study mention in the following: 1 . To know about Supply chain Management system. . To know about supply chain process. 3. To know about Wall-Mart. 4. To gather knowledge about supply chain management of Wall-Mart. 5. To get a real idea about supply chain system. 6. To increase knowledge about supply chain. 7. To know how to manage supply chain process from Wall-Mart. 8. To know about retail system. We have collected data in the following ways: Website Desk report of the related department. Other manual information. Different reference books of the library News paper Articles Internship report CHAPTER.
Two THEORETICAL ASPECTS The term “supply chain management” entered the public domain when Keith Oliver, a consultant at Bozo Allen Hamilton (now strategy&), used it in an interview for the Financial Times in 1982. The term was slow to take hold. It gained currency in the mid-1 sass, when a flurry of articles and books came out on the subject. In the late asses it rose to prominence as a management buzzword, and operations managers began to use it in their titles with increasing regularity.
Commonly accepted definitions of supply chain management include: The management of upstream and downstream value- added flows of materials, final goods, and related information among suppliers, company, resellers, and final consumers The systematic, strategic coordination of traditional business functions and tactics across all business supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance Of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole.
A definition is given by Hines (2004:pop): “Supply chain strategies require a total systems view of the inks in the chain that work together efficiently to create customer satisfaction at the end point of delivery to the consumer. As a consequence, costs must be lowered throughout the chain by driving out unnecessary expenses, movements, and handling. The main focus is turned to efficiency and added value, or the end-user’s perception of value. Efficiency must be increased, and bottlenecks removed.
The measurement of performance focuses on total system efficiency and the equitable monetary reward distribution to those within the supply chain. The supply chain system must be responsive to customer requirements. The integration of key business processes across the supply chain for the purpose of creating value for customers and stakeholders (Lambert, 2008) According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CAMP), supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management.
It also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which may be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, or customers. Supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. More recently, the loosely coupled, self- organizing network of businesses that cooperate to provide product and service offerings has been called the Extended Enterprise.
Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the management of the relationship between the supplier’s supplier and the customer’s customer through the supply chain participants (Distributor/Wholesaler and Retailer) between them, mainly using information flow and logistics activities to gain Competitive advantage and customer satisfaction. Figure: Supply Chain Management System A supply chain, as opposed to supply chain management, is a set of organizations directly linked y one or more upstream and downstream flows of products, services, finances, or information from a source to a customer.
Supply chain management is the management of such a chain. In many cases the supply chain includes the collection of goods after consumer use for recycling. Successful SCM requires a change from managing individual functions to integrating activities into key supply chain processes. In an example scenario, a purchasing department places orders as its requirements become known. The marketing department, responding to customer demand, communicates with several distributors and retailers as it attempts to determine ways to attics this demand.
Information shared between supply chain partners can only be fully leveraged through process integration. Supply chain business process integration involves collaborative work between buyers and suppliers, joint product development, common systems, and shared information. According to Lambert and Cooper (2000), operating an integrated supply chain requires a continuous information flow. However, in many companies, management has concluded that optimizing product flows cannot be accomplished without implementing a process approach.

Supply chain management of Walmart

Essay Summary of Supply Chain Management.
Supply Chain Management Arun Biswal* Abstract: Supply Chain Management (SCM) is backbone of any organizations. It is the combination of art and science that goes into improving the way a company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service and deliver it to customers. Supply chains are difficult to put together but once they are in place, it looks just right. The depth of supply chain increases as organizations explore various dimensions of business.
There are many options available for companies to integrate supply chain as a competitive weapon which has emerged as a strategic business tool for deriving competitive advantage at the global business environment supply chain and is finally finding place as a strategic imperative for an organization. A supply chain manager should use the changes that occur in economic trends as opportunities. Most resources used in the process of delivering a product or services add value but some do not.
Such resources should be eliminated. The purpose of this paper is to promote an understanding of SCM, Impact of Globalization on SCM, Challenges and Scope and Implementation of ERP at Retail SCM with brief review of its major benefits and implementation at Reliance Retail. Key words: Supply Chain Management; Globalization; SCM Retail. *=Students of Institute Of Management and Computer Studies (IMCOST), Masters of Management Studies. 1. Introduction

Supply chain management (SCM) is the combination of art and science that goes into improving the way your company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service and deliver it to customers The concept of supply chain management is of great use as it enables you see how you can manage the supply chain to optimize revenues, cash flow, and customer satisfaction. Companies need better SCM for reducing costs, improving their cash flow, and making sure materials and products are in stock when needed to meet ustomer demand. Whether it is a big company or a small company it needs to focus on the SCM as it tells them what inventory to keep and information about reorder level and the lead time. It saves time and money and proper resource utilization. Objectives of this paper are: 1. To give overview on SCM 2. To show importance of ERP in SCM 3. To show impact of globalization on SCM 1. 1 Supply Chain Decisions There are four major decision areas in supply chain management: 1) Location 2) Production 3) Inventory ) Transportation (distribution), and there are both strategic and operational elements in each of these decision areas. 1. 2 Supply chain best practices 1. Retain only core work (products, services & solutions) 2. Improve Supplier Selection process 3. Reduce the number of suppliers 4. Improve demand forecast accuracy 5. Increase inventory turns (velocity) 6. Decrease outsourcing costs per/unit by leveraging major suppliers for lower prices 7. Increase standardization of products, as much as possible and appropriate 8.
Increase global sourcing, especially in geographic areas of lower labor costs 9. Maximize economies of scale 10. Seek global demand for products & services 11. Increase automation and database integration between business partners using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software tools and web-based trade exchanges. 12. Use technology tools to increase speed to market, reduce costs, and obtain real-time accurate information. 1. 3 Supply chain management and the competitive advantage: Unless the product or the service we offer can be distinguished in some way rom the competitors, there is a likelihood that market will view it as a “commodity “ and so the sale will tend to go the cheapest supplier. This explains the importance of additional values to our offering to mark it out from the competition. SCM provides both cost productivity advantage and value advantage. SCM plays an important role in determining nature of overall corporate response to marketing opportunities. 2. What is the relationship between ERP and SCM? Many SCM applications are reliant upon the kind of information that is stored in the most quantity inside ERP software.
Theoretically you could assemble the information you need to feed the SCM applications from legacy systems (for most companies this means Excel spreadsheets spread out all over the place), but it can be nightmarish to try to get that information flowing on a fast, reliable basis from all the areas of the company. ERP is the battering ram that integrates all that information together in a single application, and SCM applications benefit from having a single major source to go to for up-to-date information. Most CIO’s who have tried to install SCM applications say they are glad they did ERP first.
They call the ERP projects “putting your information house in order. ” Of course, ERP is expensive and difficult, so you may want to explore ways to feed your SCM applications the information they need without doing ERP first. These days, most ERP vendors have SCM modules so doing an ERP project may be a way to kill two birds with one stone. Companies will need to decide if these products meet their needs or if they need a more specialized system. Applications that simply automate the logistics aspects of SCM are less dependent upon gathering information from around the company, so they tend to be independent of the ERP decision.
But chances are, you’ll need to have these applications communicate with ERP in some fashion. It’s important to pay attention to the software’s ability to integrate with the Internet and with ERP applications because the Internet will drive demand for integrated information. For example, if you want to build a private website for communicating with your customers and suppliers, you will want to pull information from ERP and supply chain applications together to present updated information about orders, payments, manufacturing status and delivery. . 1 What are the roadblocks to installing supply chain software? 1. Gaining trust from your suppliers and partners. Supply chain automation is uniquely difficult because its complexity extends beyond company’s walls. People will need to change the way they work and so will the people from each supplier that you add to your network. Only the largest and most powerful manufacturers can force such radical changes down suppliers’ throats. Most companies have to sell outsiders on the system. 2. Internal resistance to change.
If selling supply chain systems is difficult on the outside, it isn’t much easier inside. Operations people are accustomed to dealing with phone calls, faxes and hunches scrawled on paper, and will most likely want to keep it that way. If you can’t convince people that using the software will be worth their time, they will easily find ways to work around it. You cannot disconnect the telephones and fax machines just because you have supply chain software in place 3. Many mistakes at first. There is a diabolical twist to the quest for supply chain software acceptance among employees.
New supply chain systems process data as they are programmed to do, but the technology cannot absorb a company’s history and processes in the first few months after an implementation. Forecasters and planners need to understand that the first bits of information they get from a system might need some tweaking. If they are not warned about the system’s initial naivete, they will think it is useless. 2. 2 What is supply chain collaboration? Let’s look at consumer packaged goods for an example of collaboration. If there are two companies that have made supply chain a household word, they are Reliance Retail and HUL(Hindustan Unilever Limited).
Before these two companies started collaborating retailers shared very little information with manufacturers. But then the two giants built a software system that hooked HUL up to Reliance Retail distribution centers. When HUL’s products run low at the distribution centers, the system sends an automatic alert to HUL to ship more products. In some cases, the system goes all the way to the individual Reliance Retail store. It lets HUL monitor the shelves through real-time satellite link-ups that send messages to the factory whenever a HUL item swoops past a scanner at the register. . Managing complex supply chain In this age and time, when web enabled information is high, we are far closer to customer needs. Yet, the paradox is that we are far from realistic assessment of business impact of these demands. As organizations offer choices to customer in the hope that they will fit customer requirements, the breadth of supply chain tends to increase. [1] The dimensions of this entire functionality can be recognized as follows: a. Products, stock keeping units and service offerings form one dimension of this entire functionality. b.
Mechanics of channel and velocity makes up another dimension. The depth of supply chain increases as organizations explore this dimension of business. c. Product and services are made up of more than one input and multistage conversion processes. The impact starts to fan out like a Christmas tree from its apex to its base which forms the third dimension. Supply chain planners need to understand these dimensions and the velocity increases that get maintained as a product or service moves through various stages- from assembly of inputs, their conversion, their transfer and their consumption or sale.
Managing complexity: In these times customers are simply unwilling to pay anything more than a competitive price and hence the profit that company makes come from how well organizations manage cost. Does the cost deliver competitive edge? This assessment needs to be made on a framework that tests competitive edge on following criteria: 1. Imitability: Does it give no chance for competition to duplicate? 2. Durability: Does it ensure that it can last long and deliver sustained value? 3. Appropriability: Is it appropriate to context and is the context changing? 4.
Substitutability: Does it have a change of being substituted by something for more efficient? 5. Competitive superiority: Is it superior to supply chain of competition significantly? Managing complexity: 1. IT enablement: There must be constant give and take among Supply Chain managers and their partners in IT. 2. IT is better to work on pilot scale and run many prototypes simultaneously rather than doing a full scale change which is risky and time consuming. 3. Aggregation of demand which means that probability of getting it right when demand appears is far higher than it would be otherwise. 4.
Systems must have the capability to detect deviations in completeness because working on a wrongly identified root cause is one of the key reasons for rework and unpredictability in supply chains. 5. SCM-A strategic tool in Global Business Environment The ‘Logistic management’ is the support service for smooth and efficient working of supply chain. Logistic management consists of five important activities: IT hardware, software and brain ware, transportation management, warehouse management, material handling and packaging. The SCM should be designed and implemented in such a manner that it is ‘customer responsive’, ‘agile’, ‘lean’ and fast.
In today’s highly competitive global marketing environment, the organization cannot increase the price inspite increase the raw material in price . A slight increase in price leads to substantial drop in sales of organization in buyer’s market prevailing now. The only way organization can survive and excel in their performance by throughput or speed of complexity working cycle. A working complex cycle is completed between making payment to supplier to the point of recovering the money from customer. 4. What is the extended supply chain? Extended supply chain is a clever way of describing everyone who contributes to a product.
So if you make text books, then your extended supply chain would include the factories where the books are printed and bound, but also the company that sells you the paper, the mill where that supplier buys their stock, and so on. It is important to keep track of what is happening in your extended supply chain because with a supplier or a supplier’s supplier could end up having an impact on you (as the old saying goes, a chain is only a strong as its weakest link). For example, a fire in a paper mill might cause the text book manufacturer’s paper supplier to run out of inventory.
If the text book company knows what is the happening in its extended supply chain it can find another paper vendor. 5. What is the impact of globalization on the Supply Chain? Just in time manufacturing isn’t the only way companies have used their supply chains to reduce cost. Manufacturing in developing countries is substantially cheaper than in the U. S. because of the low cost of labor. For example, the median wage at a Chinese manufacturing plant is 1,000 Yuan, or about $120, per month, according to a 2005 survey by The MPI Group.
But foreign manufacturing brings with it another set of challenges. It isn’t as easy to set up real-time data sharing with a factory in, say, China as it is with a factory you own in the United States. And the sheer distance that overseas goods need to travel – not to mention the number of vessels they need to travel on – in order to reach the U. S. increases the chance that they will get delayed. The bottom line is that foreign manufacturing brings back a lot of the uncertainty that supply chain systems were designed to eliminate.
The good news is that technology capable of tracking shipments throughout the world is getting better. The bad news is that a lot of this technology is still pretty expensive, that some of the places you would want to deploy it don’t have the necessary infrastructure in place, and well, there isn’t a piece of technology out there that can make up for the whim of a Chinese Customs official. Furthermore, labor costs in some places are so low that IT automation and monitoring projects may add more to costs—in terms of software, hardware and still-precious (and unreliable) bandwidth—than they save in productivity.
Hence, some low-tech or commodity products may not be worth monitoring at all until they hit a ship in a foreign port. In the meantime, the best bet is to use whatever systems you can to gain as much visibility into the global supply chain as possible. It may be impossible to replicate the just in time model on a global scale, but by applying whatever technology you can, and by choosing the supply chain partners who have the capability to share data with you, you can get many of the benefits of just in time while paying low foreign prices. 5. 1 Forces driving Global Supply Chain:
The following forces are driving the Global Supply Chain. 1. Global market forces: Global market forces involve pressured created by foreign competitors as well as opportunities created by them. To survive and excel in today’s market, companies have to constantly innovate, develop products and enhance leading edge technologies. 2. Technological forces: Various components, parts and different technologies are available at different parts of the world. Successful firm integrates these resources quickly in a cost effective manner to derive competitive edge in the market. 3.
Global Cost Factors: Availability of productive work force, cheaper skilled labor, cheaper cost of land, abundant power availability and good infrastructure leads to cheaper cost of production. 4. Political and Economic factors: The factors like stable government, its policies are conducive for trade and commerce in a country. Duty concessions, subsidies, export promotion zones and purchasing power of a country’s population, are thet political and economic factors. It therefore can be concluded that SCM is the key driver for the business success I today’s highly competitive global business environment. 1] 5. 2 SCM and India’s Future The SCM market in India is still to mature and get organized. The process seems to have started but it has a long way to go. [2] Various factors related to globalization have now rendered implementation of SCM an imperative even for the SMEs. The need for SCM is more than ever before because of the challenges unleashed on the competitiveness of the Indian industry by deregulation and globalization. True, competition has now acquired a cross-border dimension and cost will play a key role with regards to competitiveness.
Effective and efficient SCM can help Indian SMEs to reduce their cost and compete aggressively in the international markets. The mammoth challenge for SMEs is to maintain the balance between demand and supply and, while doing so, provide the best possible products or services at the lowest possible cost. SMEs, obviously, do not have enough resources to employ at various stages of the chain. Hence, they often concentrate on individual components for optimizing their internal operations. But this is just a starting point and is never enough in the long run.
The need is to optimize the supply chain in its totality and derive the highest possible value from it. The objective of every supply chain is to maximize the overall value generated by an enterprise. It consists of all stages involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer SCM is an ongoing process that involves precision in demand forecasting, inventory optimization, reduction in warehouse costs and efficient as well as cost-effective handling of both incoming and outgoing stocks. SMEs are now ncreasingly relying on 3PL (Third Party Logistics) specialists to manage their entire supply chains, from procurement of raw materials to distribution of goods, in the domestic market as well as exports, so that they can focus on their core competencies. Although certain factors related to SCM are common to all industries, each industry vertical has its unique set of issues. Naturally, SCM requirement and implementation would differ from vertical to vertical. Globalization has not just thrown up new challenges but has also opened up new opportunities.
Likewise, just as SMEs have certain inherent limitations, they also have definite intrinsic strengths. SCM is all about aligning your strengths to take advantage of the opportunities while overcoming weaknesses and challenges. SMEs can definitely do it. Supply chain management is not up to the mark in India, and the two major reasons responsible for that are inadequate infrastructure and inefficient government bureaucracy. The success of the Indian growth story has resulted in a spurt of activity, and this merits the necessity for a state-of-the-art supply chain in the country. . Potential Supply Chain Moves How can a supply chain manager use these broad economic trends to advantage? By applying global economic logic to supply chain design and operation. Change creates not only pain but also opportunity—and today’s tectonic shifts in the global economic landscape offer many intriguing openings for the enterprising supply chain manager. In a nutshell, supply chain leaders can use applied economics to benefit their companies in four ways: • Reflecting updated cost-to-serve economics in product prices for specific customer segments and locations. Sourcing closer to point of use, partially reversing past globalization norms, in order to reduce freight intensity. • Downshifting transportation modes and adding distribution locations to save fuel and reduce cost. These strategies can form the core of a supply chain playbook that will set your company apart from the competition. Rather than merely responding to tough times, the supply chain leader can build strategic advantage through differentiated services and performance. This is a goal truly worth pursuing. Twelve potential supply chain moves are grouped under four headings around these themes: Pricing, ourcing, making, and moving. In each case, we outline the intelligent supply chain actions to take in light of the major economic trends identified above. Pricing 1. Set the right offer. Costs are rising, margins are squeezed, and sales are tougher to close. This is a good time to review the total offer—products wrapped with related services, including delivery, installation, and warranty. Are there specific customers segments for which we are offering too much? Can we explicitly charge for delivery in certain cases?
Can we change our bracket pricing to drive ordering behavior toward slower, cheaper delivery modes? Are there other aspects of the current offer that raise supply chain costs? These are analyses that take on special urgency and provide opportunity for margin gains in the current difficult economic environment. 2. Update pricing with cost-to-serve. Freight and commodity prices have been soaring. It may be time for a significant price rise. A food manufacturer we assisted recently reviewed its zone pricing system. Major fuel price increases had made the zone differentials inadequate.
This led to a significant increase in product prices particularly for more distant zones. Supply chain managers should lead the charge to review pricing. Don’t leave it to sales and marketing, as many of the cost impacts are best known (and first detected) by sourcing and logistics professionals. Sourcing 3. Balance supply and demand by world regions. Regionalization is a critical means to address fluctuating exchange rates and higher fuel costs. Also, fuel costs are generally linked to distance, so a more regional sourcing strategy can yield benefits for certain products and demand profiles.
Products that are in the mid-range of their lifecycle, but that still experience high demand variability, are well-suited to regional sourcing. 4. Find sources closer to home. Higher fuel prices and a greener supply chain are encouraging more localized sourcing. 5. Seek situations where “far shoring” still works. International sourcing still makes sense in many situations. But the sources are shifting, reflecting wage increases and exchange rate shifts that impact attractiveness. 6. Mitigate commodity and exchange risk rate.
Fuel is the most obvious commodity for which to consider hedging, but the approach can be valid for other commodities. You needn’t be a giant corporation to hedge against commodity price increases. Making 7. Maximize plant utilization. For manufacturers, weaker demand and higher input costs mean re-examining production economics. If plant utilization has declined, choices include taking on work for others to better use installed capacity, downsizing to smaller (and more modern) facilities, or selling plant and equipment in order to outsource. 8. Move closer to market.
Adding a plant or a co-packer closer to the major markets makes sense, given higher fuel costs—as long as scale economies are respected. Network modeling for a food manufacturer selling nationally showed that no amount of distribution tweaking could generate the freight savings that a second plant, on the opposite coast, could produce. 9. Export to growing markets: The supply chain manager should be the first to suggest an export focus and the one to explain how this can be done efficiently and economically. 10. Move freight more slowly and cheaply by downshifting modes.
Slowing down the movement of freight is a rational economic response to higher fuel prices. Rail, for example, is roughly three times as fuel efficient as truck. 11. Get closer to customers with more DCs. The optimal network equilibrium between cost and service shifts with higher fuel cost. Many U. S. distribution networks were designed and implemented five or ten years ago when fuel was one-fifth its current level. The new tradeoff favors more distribution centers in order to partially offset the new, higher fuel charges embedded in transport costs.
Supply chain managers should take the current opportunity to dust off their network models, re-optimize the number and location of DCs, and then put warehousing and transportation out to bid. Weakness in the trucking sector makes this a good time for RFPs, and new rates will be needed in any case if additional DC locations are added. 12. Create a more flexible distribution network. While no one can predict the future accurately, we can be confident that more change lies ahead.
Thus, whatever changes are made to supply networks, globally and domestically, and to transportation modes and nodes, flexibility must be designed into the system. Supply chain managers can take the lead here by promoting solutions that are inherently adaptable and scalable. 7. What are some emerging technologies that will affect the Supply Chain? The most notable is Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID. RFID tags are essentially barcodes on steroids. Whereas barcodes only identify the product, RFID tags can tell what the product is, where it has been, when it expires, whatever information someone wishes to program it with.
RFID technology is going to generate mountains of data about the location of pallets, cases, cartons, totes and individual products in the supply chain. It’s going to produce oceans of information about when and where merchandise is manufactured, picked, packed and shipped. It’s going to create rivers of numbers telling retailers about the expiration dates of their perishable items—numbers that will have to be stored, transmitted in real-time and shared with warehouse management, inventory management, financial and other enterprise systems.
In other words, it is going to have a really big impact. Another benefit of RFIDs is that, unlike barcodes, RFID tags can be read automatically by electronic readers. Imagine a truck carrying a container full of widgets entering a shipping terminal in China. If the container is equipped with an RFID tag, and the terminal has an RFID sensor network, that container’s whereabouts can be automatically sent to Widget Co. without the truck ever slowing down. It has the potential to add a substantial amount of visibility into the extended supply chain.
Right now the two biggest hurdles to widespread RFID adoption are the cost of building the infrastructure and the lack of agreed-upon industry standards. 7. 1 Seven deadly supply chain wastes Most resources used in the process of delivering a product or services add value—some do not. Those resources consumed that do not add value—be they people, time, or equipment—should be eliminated. [3] Taiichi Ohno created the TPS in the mid-20th century. Ohno founded the system on five core principles that, if consistently applied, could improve production quality and most importantly reduce or eliminate waste.
They are: • Muda: A Japanese word referring to anything that is wasteful and doesn’t add value. • Process Focus: Managers work cross-organizationally to develop and sustain robust business processes. • Genchi Genbutsu: A Japanese phrase that refers to collecting facts and data at the actual site of the work or problem. • Kaizen: A Japanese word for continuous and incremental process improvement. • Mutual Respect: Toyota values a strong relationship between management, employees, and business partners.
By grasping these core ideas you can begin to apply them to make your supply chain lean and efficient. Most importantly, you will be able to identify what we call “Seven Deadly Supply Chain Sins”—the wastes that keep supply chain management from achieving its full business potential. These “sins” are overproduction; delay/waiting; transportation/conveyance; motion; inventory; over-processing; and defects/corrections. The Sins in Depth 1. Overproduction: Build first, wait for orders later: A common example of this is delivering products before they are needed.
More serious for the entire supply chain is demand information overproduction. 2. Delay/Waiting: Any delay between the end of one activity and the start of the next activity, such as the time between the arrival of a truck for a pick-up and the loading of the trailer, and the delay between receiving the customer’s order information and beginning to work on fulfilling the order: Because of the separation of production, warehousing and transportation activities, each of these functions is often unaware of the schedule for the subsequent process.
Many operations and modes of transportation operate with cutoff times. By coordinating production and shipping operations with these cutoff times, shippers can avoid having their shipments delayed and waiting for the next shipment by their logistics partner. 3. Transportation/Conveyance: Any kind of unnecessary transport. Out-of-route stops, excessive backhaul, locating fast-moving inventory to the back of the warehouse and other transport wastes cause unnecessary material handling distances to be incurred. 4.
Motion: Any kind of unnecessary movement by people, such as walking, reaching and stretching. Motion waste also includes extra travel or reaching due to poor storage arrangement or poor ergonomic design of packaging work areas. 5. Inventory: Any logistics activity that results in more inventories being positioned than needed or in a location other than where needed. Examples include early deliveries, receipt of order for a quantity greater than needed, and inventory in the wrong distribution center (DC). 6.
Space: Use of space that is less than optimal, such as less than full/optimal trailer loads, cartons that are not filled to capacity, inefficient use of warehouse space, and even loads in excess of capacity. 7. Errors: Any activity that causes rework, unnecessary adjustments or returns, such as billing errors, inventory discrepancies and adjustments, and damaged/defective/wrong/mislabeled product. Eliminating Wastes—Culture is the Key: This is an absolute necessity in order to utilize the full human potential of every employee for the continuous improvement of your business.
To be effective, everyone must be fully aware of the various forms that waste can take and be constantly vigilant of any opportunities to attack and eliminate the seven deadly supply chain wastes—Overproduction, Delay/Waiting, Transportation/Conveyance, Motion, Inventory, Space, and Errors. 7. 2 Seven deadly supply chain wastes Most resources used in the process of delivering a product or services add value—some do not. Those resources consumed that do not add value—be they people, time, or equipment—should be eliminated. 3] Taiichi Ohno created the TPS in the mid-20th century. Ohno founded the system on five core principles that, if consistently applied, could improve production quality and most importantly reduce or eliminate waste. They are: • Muda: A Japanese word referring to anything that is wasteful and doesn’t add value. • Process Focus: Managers work cross-organizationally to develop and sustain robust business processes. • Genchi Genbutsu: A Japanese phrase that refers to collecting facts and data at the actual site of the work or problem. Kaizen: A Japanese word for continuous and incremental process improvement. • Mutual Respect: Toyota values a strong relationship between management, employees, and business partners. By grasping these core ideas you can begin to apply them to make your supply chain lean and efficient. Most importantly, you will be able to identify what we call “Seven Deadly Supply Chain Sins”—the wastes that keep supply chain management from achieving its full business potential.
These “sins” are overproduction; delay/waiting; transportation/conveyance; motion; inventory; over-processing; and defects/corrections. The Sins in Depth 1. Overproduction: Build first, wait for orders later: A common example of this is delivering products before they are needed. More serious for the entire supply chain is demand information overproduction. 2. Delay/Waiting: Any delay between the end of one activity and the start of the next ctivity, such as the time between the arrival of a truck for a pick-up and the loading of the trailer, and the delay between receiving the customer’s order information and beginning to work on fulfilling the order: Because of the separation of production, warehousing and transportation activities, each of these functions is often unaware of the schedule for the subsequent process. Many operations and modes of transportation operate with cutoff times. By coordinating production and shipping operations with these cutoff times, shippers can avoid having their shipments delayed and waiting for the next shipment by their logistics partner. . Transportation/Conveyance: Any kind of unnecessary transport. Out-of-route stops, excessive backhaul, locating fast-moving inventory to the back of the warehouse and other transport wastes cause unnecessary material handling distances to be incurred. 4. Motion: Any kind of unnecessary movement by people, such as walking, reaching and stretching. Motion waste also includes extra travel or reaching due to poor storage arrangement or poor ergonomic design of packaging work areas. 5. Inventory: Any logistics activity that results in more inventories being positioned than needed or in a location other than where needed.
Examples include early deliveries, receipt of order for a quantity greater than needed, and inventory in the wrong distribution center (DC). 6. Space: Use of space that is less than optimal, such as less than full/optimal trailer loads, cartons that are not filled to capacity, inefficient use of warehouse space, and even loads in excess of capacity. 7. Errors: Any activity that causes rework, unnecessary adjustments or returns, such as billing errors, inventory discrepancies and adjustments, and damaged/defective/wrong/mislabeled product.
Eliminating Wastes—Culture is the Key: This is an absolute necessity in order to utilize the full human potential of every employee for the continuous improvement of your business. To be effective, everyone must be fully aware of the various forms that waste can take and be constantly vigilant of any opportunities to attack and eliminate the seven deadly supply chain wastes—Overproduction, Delay/Waiting, Transportation/Conveyance, Motion, Inventory, Space, and Errors. 8. SCM Challenges 1. Short product lifecycles.
The current business environment is typified by short product lifecycles, product variety and intense trend-driven demand uncertainty. This is especially true for those retailers and wholesalers that offer a vast array of products to satisfy diverse and rapidly changing consumer preferences. Yet SCM practices and software have largely remained anchored in the era of long lifecycle products and limited product variety. Experts characterize the types of products that most SCM applications cater to as “colas, detergent and paper towels” – all basic products.
Today, however, even the Coca Cola/Coke brands, Tide detergent and Scott Towels are all available in several variants and packaging choices. The explosion in SKU’s and product variety has been possible, in part, due to increased merchandise breadth, the introduction of more “seasons”, shorter lifecycles and planned obsolescence. Fickle trends, variety seeking customers and competition push even more product innovation. The tendency is towards more mass-market trend-driven products resulting in pressures to innovate, quickly gauge market trends and react continuously.
Demand uncertainty for many new products is over 100%. Consequently, stock outs are high and forced markdowns are routinely 1/4th or 1/3rd of sales. [4] 2. Inbound Logistics One of the most neglected areas of the manufacturing (and retail) supply chain is the inbound logistics segment. Managing outbound logistics has always been the strength of the Supply Chain organization (at manufacturers and retailers). The Marketing department has identified different logistics requirements for the finished goods segment.
Customizing outbound logistics requirements (various distribution models are the outcome) based on the needs of specific customer segments is today a routine requirement. Similar to the Marketing department, the Purchase (Procurement) department has its own unique set of requirements for inbound raw materials/ work-in-progress and other inbound material. In addition, modern JIT manufacturing methods push the Procurement Manager to aim to achieve lowest inventory models — often at the expense of higher inbound transportation costs.
There is an inherent conflict balancing the Just-in-time manufacturing practices (low inventory, shipment sizes, frequency of shipments) with inbound logistics and transportation needs (low cost, visibility of goods). Concluding Remarks ?There are many raw materials as well sources available for SCM, the only thing we need is to align them and use them in a very cost effective manner. References: [1] BMA review July 2005 Edition. [2] Economic Times, dated 15th September 2008. [3] http://www. scmr. com/article/CA85616. html [4] http://www. infosys. com/supply-chain/white-papers/default. asp#

Essay Summary of Supply Chain Management