...increased competition in the frozen foods market. In 1978 their market share of 60% declined to 29%. Private label competitors had gained over 21% of the frozen food market. The increase of stiff competition drove prices down and lowered profitability for Birds Eye. A huge factor in loss of profitability and market stronghold was their internal strategy. The company’s vertical integration strategy worked for in the beginning to initially strengthen their brand, but lost its performance during the 1970's and 1980's. Due to the rising costs of producing frozen foods in the 1970's, and increasing market competition, the company needed to shift to a more horizontal strategic approach. Analysis Value Chain Birds Eye value chain was the chain of activates that it was operated on. The chain of activities gave them more value to its service and its products until early late 1960’s. The primary activities for Birds Eye were inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing...
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...Chapter 2 Case Study 1. Corporate Social Responsibility challenges that companies in the apparel industry face in its supply chains around the world: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a subject of increasing significance. Companies are usually faced with the benefits versus harm created by their operations around the world. In spite of the benefits a company may enjoy in their business venture, there are several social downfalls that they need to take responsibility for. Such downfalls include but are not limited to, lack of equality, employee safety & welfare, both of the home countries and the host countries. The opening profile highlighted the subcontracting of child labor by Primark. The case study highlighted the issue of work treatment & conditions by Nike. In addition, workers were underpaid & punished for refusing overtime. At this level, the ethicality of the companies are being challenged, with varying legal and cultural limits across borders. The main question a company should answer is how should their ethical standard be based? Should it based on the home country or the host country or can it be reconciled? If the company ignores its ethical responsibility to workers, how will that affect production and sales? Association in unethical business operations can be quite disastrous to companies. Another ethically challenging aspect is that companies are also limited by jurisdiction. In the instance of the host country, legislations may...
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...1. Strategy adopted? http://www.oppapers.com/essays/The-Strategy-Adopted-By-Ikea/740556 1 Explain, in details, the strategy adopted by IKEA, and how it successfully did the positioning. *** At business level strategy Focus Strategies By implementing a cost leadership or differentiation strategy, IKEA choose to compete by exploiting their core competencies on an industry-wide basis and adopt a broad competitive scope. Alternatively, IKEA can choose to follow a focus strategy by seeking to use their core competencies to serve the needs of a particular customer group in an industry. In other words, IKEA focus on specific, smaller segments (or niches) of customers rather than across the entire market. Focused Business Level Strategies involve the same basic approaches as Broad Market Strategies. Focus strategies can be based either on cost leadership or differentiation. Focused Cost Leadership Strategy IKEA that compete by following cost leadership strategies to serve narrow market niches generally target the smallest buyers in an industry (those who purchase in such small quantities those industry-wide competitors cannot serve them at the same low cost). Global furniture retailer IKEA provide customers with “affordable solutions for better living” through use of the focused cost leadership strategy. The company offers home furnishings that combine good design, function, and quality with low prices. IKEA does this by offering low-cost, modular furniture (assembled...
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...The objective of this case study is for Mr. Salgado- Head of IT, as the decision maker to evaluate the existing DOS/IT software and to evaluate the need, opportunities, effectiveness, risks and potential advantages to upgrading the IS systems. Introduction: Zara a Spanish clothier has turned the rules of the supply chain management to create a super responsive network and profit margins that are an envy to the fashion industry. Zara operates on a vertically integrated business model. The existing software applications have been developed in house and have provided the business teams with adequate and timely information, which has led Zara to maintain its position as a leader in the fashion industry. Zara has been successful in retaining its unique position and profitability by dedicated customer responsiveness and a strategy based on rapid response, short lead times, surplus capacity and a de-centralized decision-making process. Zara has a unique approach to advertising and marketing and maintains a cost advantage over its competitors and is able to maintain its brand and customer loyalty. Issue Identification: The existing operating system is far behind current technology, the POS systems, which works on a modem and phone line are plug and play and need minimal, set up. Zara faces the possibility of the vendor /DOS supplier ceasing to maintain the software. The vendor support for this hardware along with a DOS operating system is short-lived. The hardware...
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...an analysis of the profound changes in the productive structure of global capitalism. In the electronics industry, a new model of outsourced manufacturing has emerged as the centrepiece of globalized production networks: Contract Manufacturing (CM) or Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS). This form of network-based mass production is closely linked to the disintegration of the value chain and the emergence of the “Wintelist” (Borrus and Zysman 1997) model of competition and the rise of “fabless” product design companies in key sectors of the IT industry. In contrast to the general perception of the “informational economy” (Carnoy et al 1993, Castells 1996) as service- or science-based, the rise of the CM-model demonstrates that manufacturing still matters in the "new economy" (Cohen and Zysman 1987). This development also highlights the interaction of new information networks with the restructuring of production, work, and the global division of labor in technologically advanced industries. In this paper, we want to take a closer look at the restructuring of production and commodity chains in the assembly of IT-hardware (such as computers, internet switching and telecommunications...
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...Our E-Commerce Initiative Eminentleather.com is the online retail store which will be initiated with its existing physical retail store. Eminent Leather proudly presents itself as one of the leading innovative and creative manufacturers of premium quality leather products. Through reflecting the latest trend and fashion, we have built our distinctive image among all the fashion conscious men and women of today. The most competitive price and optimum perfection of our products make us superior to the others operating in this sphere. Apart from our own creativity, we also design as per your specification. Eminent Leather is a leading specialty retailer of quality accessories and outerwear. Currently operating under two formats, we offer fashion and value for both men and women. Categories include handbags, briefcases and travel items. Our e-commerce site offers an extension of our store experience and is intended to increase brand awareness. Unique Features of the Business: Bricks-and-clicks is a business model by which Eminent Leather will integrate both offline (bricks) and online (clicks) presences. In our e-commerce initiative we have some unique features like- ubiquity, global reach, richness, interactivity, information density, personalization, and customization. Those unique features will bring a distinguish business opportunity to attract more consumers and ultimately sell the product to them. The features and how they will increase the business revenue are described...
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...Inbound freight takes center stage | Page 1 Inbound freight takes center stage Ford Motor Company Case Study Inbound freight takes center stage Inbound freight takes center stage Contents Snapshot The challenge The solution The rollout Issues encountered Results Logistics finally catches up with ‘lean’ 1 2 3 4 4 5 5 Share this case study Tweet about this case study Follow Viewlocity on Twitter Share this on Linkedin Connect to Viewlocity on Linkedin Share via email Inbound freight takes center stage | Page 1 Snapshot Ford Motor Company Key challenge To balance inbound freight costs for thousands of parts across hundreds of suppliers with the high frequency of deliveries needed to support just-in-time (JIT) automobile manufacturing. Solution Ford deployed the Inbound Planning Engine from Viewlocity Technologies that considers multiple factors and constraints necessary to meet lean manufacturing requirements at the lowest possible cost. Factors considered included: • • • • • • • • Load sequencing across suppliers Quantities per load Trailer capacity Load configuration Dock schedules and capacities Production schedules Target plant inventory levels Return of part containers to suppliers Upon consideration of all of these factors, the Viewlocity Inbound Planning Engine was used to determine the plan for the right quantity and delivery frequency for every part at the lowest possible cost. The Viewlocity Inbound Planning Engine was first...
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...The Increasing Importance of Channel Strategy to Financial Performance Robert Henske VP, Charles River Associates September 24, 2003 August 2003 Elemica Global Conference Connect Once – Connect To All 1 Definition Channel Strategy: n. The selection of the preferred vehicles (channels and processes) to deliver defined products/services to specific customers to create the highest value for the enterprise. August 2003 Elemica Global Conference Connect Once – Connect To All 2 Objectives • Industry Context • Channel Management • Channel Strategy Development • Lessons Learned August 2003 Elemica Global Conference Connect Once – Connect To All 3 Chemical Industry Valuations: Three evolutions of relative performance 2.0 High Growth Expectations Structural Revaluation Post Oil-shock Cyclical Performance Within S&P 500 Basis Discount to S&P 500 1.5 P/E Index 1.0 0.5 0.0 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 Overall Commodity Specialty S&P 500 August 2003 Elemica Global Conference Connect Once – Connect To All 4 Source: Value Line®; S&P Analyst Handbook Chemical Industry Valuations: Three evolutions of relative performance 2.0 High Growth Expectations Structural Revaluation Post Oil-shock Cyclical Performance Within S&P 500 Basis Discount to S&P 500 1.5 P/E Index 1.0 0.5 0.0 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976...
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...decision-making than information. D) Data and information are the same. Answer: B Page Ref: 4 Objective: Learning Objective 1 Difficulty : Easy AACSB: Analytic 2) Information is A) basically the same as data. B) raw facts about transactions. C) potentially useful facts when processed in a timely manner. D) data that has been organized and processed so that it's meaningful. Answer: D Page Ref: 4 Objective: Learning Objective 1 Difficulty : Easy AACSB: Analytic 3) The value of information can best be defined as A) how useful it is to decision makers. B) the benefits produced by possessing and using the information minus the cost of producing it. C) how relevant it is. D) the extent to which it maximizes the value chain. Answer: B Page Ref: 4 Objective: Learning Objective 1 Difficulty : Moderate AACSB: Analytic 4) An accounting information system (AIS) processes ________ to provide users with ________. A) data; information B) data; transactions C) information; data D) data; benefits Answer: A Page Ref: 10 Objective: Learning Objective 1 Difficulty : Easy AACSB: Analytic 5) Information that reduces uncertainty, improves decision makers' ability to make predictions, or confirms or corrects their prior expectations, is said to be A) complete. B) relevant. C) reliable. D) timely. Answer: B Page Ref: 5 Objective: Learning Objective 1 Difficulty : Easy AACSB: Analytic 6) Information that is free from error or bias and...
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...overnight, that truly sustainable advantage might seem like impossibility, but there are winners and the Zara chain is one of them. The Zara fashion chain, founded in 1975 in Arteixo, is perhaps the world's most successful clothing chain. Zara has helped its parent, the Spanish firm Inditex, grow from obscurity in the mid. 90’s to the world's third largest pure-play fashion retailer after the Swedish H&M and US-based Gap Inc. with financial performance well ahead of these rivals. With 1021 shops, at 13.04.2007, in 55 countries, Zara appears to have found the formula for success: Give the public what it wants, at the lowest possible price, in the shortest time possible. In order to think about how the firms achieve sustainable advantage, it's useful to start with two concepts defined by Michael Porter: operational effectiveness and strategic positioning. (I) OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS According to Porter, the reason so many firms suffer aggressive, margin eroding competition, is because they've defined themselves according to operational effectiveness rather than strategic positioning. Operational effectiveness refers to performing the same tasks better than rivals perform them. Everyone wants to be better, but the danger in operational effectiveness is in "sameness". At its heart Zara is building on a vertically integrated demand and supply chain, while most other textile chains rely on outsourcing and cheap labor in China. It enables company to short turnaround times and achieves...
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...Abstract The paper examines the key factors influencing the adoption of e-business technology by SMEs. To this end, the paper draws on a range of literatures on the diffusion of new information and communication technologies (ICTs), many of which have hitherto been treated as separate. The reasons for this are two-fold. First, e-business technologies are the latest in a line of new ICT technologies. When exploited successfully, ICTs have increased firm competitiveness either by raising the efficiency of internal communication and organisation and/or supply chain relationships, or by facilitating the development of new/improved products and services. Second, it is hypothesised that many of the factors affecting the successful adoption of new technologies are generic in nature. With regards to SMEs specifically, consideration of earlier research may assist us in identifying a set of enablers and barriers to e-business adoption. Hence, by explicitly acknowledging the context and prior history of research in the area, we are able to map out the dimensions of future theoretical and empirical research in e-business adoption by SMEs. In addition to drawing together factors identified by existing research, the paper highlights the implications of network externalities for the timing of technology investments and the returns that accrue to early and late adopters. It also draws attention to a number of problems associated with the analytical concept of ‘the SME’ when it...
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...l287/inte.l050.0187 ISSN 0092-21021 EissN 1526-551X1061360310194 @ 2006 INFORMS 3, May-June Strategic Planning Production Bernhard and Logistics, Germany, of BMW's Network Fleischmann University of Augsburg, Global of Production Department D-86135 Augsburg, Universit?tsstra?e 16, bernhard.fleischmann@wiwi.uni-augsburg.de BMW AG, D-80788 Sonja Ferber, Peter Henrich M?nchen, Germany (sonja.ferber@bmw.de, peter.henrich@bmw.de) We sites cars developed over a to the a strategic-planning planning markets. model horizon. It determines 12-year assembly, improved Key words: global and paint shop, the transparency to BMW's allocation of various optimize as well It includes the supply of materials the investments in...
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...control of today’s complex supply chains. This is because companies of today are not independent entities but part of a multi company, multi country global network of organizations and corporations. The rapid development in technology in both the manufacturing as well as the information sectors has increased the cost pressure and demand from customers [1]. Information technology (IT) has become a matter of serious concern for managements today. With developments in telecommunications there is an increasing trend for information systems to span boundaries between countries, organizations and the relatively separate components of large, geographically dispersed corporations. Traditional production – distribution schemes have been drastically changed over the years. The emergence of low-cost communications and information processing has made it possible for companies to revolutionize the way they operate internally, especially in distributing information throughout their organization on new and existing products, production and shipping schedules, engineering and technical requirements, and costs of manufacturing and distribution [2]. Despite the acknowledged importance of the use of IT in supply chain management (SCM), the number of studies assessing the use of IT in the supply chain context is limited. A study conducted by Forrester Research indicates that U.S. manufacturers are increasingly dependent on the benefits brought about by IT to: improve supply chain agility, reduce cycle...
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...Survey The challenges ahead for supply chains: McKinsey Global Survey results Senior executives say their companies manage key trade-offs well, yet see barriers to better performance: rising risk, lack of collaboration, and low CEO involvement. November 2010 As economies around the world step back from the financial brink and begin adjusting to a new normal, companies face a different set of supply chain challenges than they did at the height of the downturn—among them are rising pressure from global competition, consumer expectations, and increasingly complex patterns of customer demand. Executives in this McKinsey survey1 are divided on their companies’ preparedness to meet those challenges, and fully two-thirds expect supply chain risk to increase. What’s more, the survey highlights troubling signs of struggle associated with key, underlying supply chain processes and capabilities, including the ability of different functions to collaborate, the role of CEOs in supply chain planning, and the extent to which companies gather and use information. Emerging from the downturn As companies have managed their supply chains over the past three years, the challenges they faced and the goals they set have reflected a single-minded focus on weathering the financial crisis. The most frequently cited challenge of the past three years is the increasing volatility of customer demand (Exhibit 1). This is no doubt a result of the sharp drop in consumer spending that has reverberated throughout...
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...Abstract The Cincinnati Seasonings Supply Chain is a mockup of a supply chain to support a company that designs and markets food seasonings and sells its products in stores throughout the United States. The purpose of the case study was to familiarize students with setting up a supply chain and simulate its operations. The thought process was to define the product and set up the facilities, vehicles, and routes to have an effective and efficient supply chain. The challenge for the entire exercise was to get the Supply Chain to run continuously for thirty days or more, without interruption or running out of product. Cincinnati Seasonings is a family owned and operated business; the founder was born and raised in Ohio. Cincinnati is famous for its chili but these seasonings add a special spice and flavor to the Chili that no other seasoning offers. Cincinnati Seasonings has done very well and is expanding but the company is always searching for ways to keep costs down and figure out how to run the operation as efficiently as possible. Simulation The purpose of the simulation was to create a supply chain to support the Cincinnati Seasonings business and see how the inventory was transferred through different facilities. After initially setting up the Supply Chain, it was very difficult to keep it running without interruption for more than twenty to thirty days at a time. In order to have the Supply Chain run consecutively, you had to create or delete product, add trucks...
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