...INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT STUDIES Term End Examination/ Supply Chain Management. All Questions are compulsory. Total Marks : 100. Q.1 Consider the supply chain involved when a customer order a book from Amazon. A. Identify the push/pull boundary & two process each in the push & pull Process? Answer : In Amazon’s original operations design the push/pull boundary existed betwixt the retailer (Amazon) and their distributor. Amazon ordered product from the distributor and the customer order arrived. Today, Amazon has six warehouses where it stocks an inventory of items it is confident that will sell. In this scenario, the push/pull boundary exists between the customer and the retailer. All supply chain processes can be broken down into four process cycles that connect the five stages of the supply chain; the customer order cycle, the replenishment cycle, the manufacturing cycle, and the procurement cycle. The customer order cycle connects the customer with the retailer; this connection is made as the book, perhaps Supply Chain Management, is selected and paid for by the customer. Processes in the pull phase are the order fulfillment, shipping, customer returns, and customer billing. Processes in the push phase are production, stock replenishments, shipping, and payment. B. How do you characterize the competitive strategy of high end dept. store chain Such as Nordstrom? What are the key customer needs that Nordstrom aims...
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...markets (Russell & Taylor, 2011). The business environment has become increasingly competitive over the past decade, due to the global economic crisis, environmental challenges, technological innovations, as well as, consumer lifestyle changes. As a result of the changes, many multi-national corporations (MNC), in an effort, to remain competitive and sustainable are responding by creating global strategic management plans to address the competitive trends occurring in the market (Kim, Bak, & Bae, 2010). In fact, the aforementioned factors created a rich environment for firms to access new technologies, materials, customer bases, as well as, the ability to form business partnerships, globally (Russell & Taylor, 2011; Nembhard, Shi, & Park, 2000). Consequently, there has been a shift in the way business operations are performed and managed. Procter and Gamble Company (P&G), is an excellent example of an iconic firm maintaining a competitive advantage in global markets through the effective implementation of global operations strategies and management. In fact, P&G is the leading consumer goods firm, generating annually $84 billion in sales, operating in 180+ countries, spanning the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Asia. In terms of manufacturing sites, P&G own and operate 32 US manufacturing sites located in 21 different states or territories and 102 manufacturing sites in 40 other countries (Personal Care MarketWatch, 2011;...
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...SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT TERM PAPER ON IKEA’S SOURCING, DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY AND ITS GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT BY: SUBMITTED TO: KANIKA MURARKA Dr. P R S SARMA 1226113122 MBA-IB IIIrd TRIMESTER INTRODUCTION IKEA Group (IKEA) is a global retailer of Scandinavian designed furniture and accessories founded in Sweden in 1943. It has operations in 44 countries across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia and is headquartered in Delft, Netherlands. It employs 13000 people and sells 9500 home furnishing products in 298 retail stores worldwide. IKEA recorded revenues of $36101.5 million during the financial year ended in August 2012, an increase of 9.8% over 2011. IKEA offers a range of furniture for living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and children’s rooms. Its emphasis on providing home furnishing products at low prices has been the main reason for the widespread customer acceptance of its products which, in turn, has facilitated its growth in various geographies. The company designs, manufactures, transports, sells and assembles its merchandise to minimize cost at each level. To help keep prices low, the group ensures that production equipment and raw materials are used efficiently. Customer involvement also contributes to low prices. IKEA relies on customers to choose, collect...
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...Automated Asset Management is also termed as IT asset management. IT asset management (ITAM) is the set of business practices that join financial, contractual and inventory functions to support life cycle management and strategic decision making for the IT environment. Assets include all elements of software and hardware that are found in the business environment. IT asset management (also called IT inventory management) is an important part of an organization's strategy. It usually involves gathering detailed hardware and software inventory information which is then used to make decisions about hardware and software purchases and redistribution. IT inventory management helps organizations manage their systems more effectively and save time and money by eliminating unnecessary purchases and wasted resources. Hardware asset management entails the management of the physical components of computers and computer networks, from acquisition through disposal. Common business practices include request and approval process, procurement management, life cycle management, redeployment and disposal management. A key component is capturing the financial information about the hardware life cycle which aids the organization in making business decisions based on meaningful and measurable financial objectives. Software Asset Management is a similar process, focusing on software assets, including licenses, versions and installed endpoints. Role of IT asset management in an organization The...
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...Abstract “An organization’s goals and strategic objectives should determine its overall supply chain management strategy. The SCM strategy in turn determines how the supply chain will perform with respect to efficiency and effectiveness. The four primary drivers of supply chain management are: facilities, inventory, transportation, and information” (Baltzan/Phillips, 2010). “ An organization can use these four drivers in varying measure to push it toward either a supply chain strategy focusing on efficiency or a supply chain strategy focusing on effectiveness. The organization must decide on the trade-off it desires between efficiency and effectiveness for each driver. The selected combined impact of the various drivers then determines the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire supply chain” (Baltzan/Phillips, 2010). Review and Analysis 2. How could Wal-Mart have revamped its transportation driver to handle Katrina more efficiently? I think Wal-Mart could have done a few things differently to handle Katrina more efficiently. The company had one thing on its mind at the time of the storm was about to hit, money. Wal-Mart sent armored cars to pick up cash from all of the stores but did not think to send relief trucks with supplies like clothes, blankets or food. I think if you are going to send trucks to a place you know something bad is about to happen just to protect your own, I think it would be a great idea to show the people of the...
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...with Traditional supply chain management. • Drop and ship (Ship tracking issue) zappos not have information about the shipment dates • Branded shoe maker reluctant • Logistic distribution issue: - between shoe maker warehouse (operated manually, location) & Zappos & UPS • Strategic partnership with UPS for warehousing which was unsuccessful because the number of SKU was too much. Holding Inventory was too much in number ( bar code & Handler_ • Warehouse in California & then bought another in Kentucky ( using bar code strategy ) • Software to handle the inventory • VMI • Risk Pooling (website catalogue , • Replenishment of slow moving items by making partnership with 9M • Lead-time and transportation Drop and ship Supply Chain Management: Supply chain management is increasingly being recognized as the integration of key business processes across the supply chain. Supply chain management is described as a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and stores, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations and at the right time, in order to minimize system wide costs while satisfying the service level requirements The primary objective of supply chain management is to fulfill customer demands through the most efficient use of resources. These resources include distribution capacity, inventory and labor. In theory, a supply chain seeks to match demand...
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...measures. Business strategy should be right instituted and implemented to improve the core competence of the organization. It seems that strategy of supply chain is the most important part of business strategy. The strategy of supply chain always makes contributions to reduce cost and gain best benefits. Hewlett-Packard, one of the world’s best companies, the experience of its printer division showed us successful supply chain management in a constantly changing market environment. This paper emphasis on exploring and analyzing the changes that HP’s printer division made to beat back the competition. 1.1 Background Compared with its competitor, HP’s inkjet printers had attained a significant penetration in the market. In spite of the excellent sales, Antonio Perez, general manager of HP’s Inkjet Products Group, realized that small business market preferred laser printers with low prices. In such a case, he decided to orient the laser printers as a consumer product. Obviously, the target market had changed through the influence of this decision. And then it further affected its business processes, R&D, manufacturing, distribution marketing and sales. Thus it impacted directly on the strategy of supply chain. In section 2, I will pay attention to the changes in its target market. The impact of the changes on the supply chain would be shown in section 3. 2. Target Market 3.1 Concept of Target Market A target market, also known as a target audience, it is a specific...
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...review The concept of Supply Chain Management is based on two core ideas. The first is that practically every product that reaches an end user represents the cumulative effort of multiple organizations. These organizations are referred to collectively as the supply chain. The second idea is that while supply chains have existed for a long time, most organizations have only paid attention to what was happening within their “four walls.” Few businesses understood, much less managed, the entire chain of activities that ultimately delivered products to the final customer. The result was disjointed and often ineffective supply chains. Supply chain management, then, is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It represents a conscious effort by the supply chain firms to develop and run supply chains in the most effective & efficient ways possible. Supply chain activities cover everything from product development, sourcing, production, and logistics, as well as the information systems needed to coordinate these activities. The organizations that make up the supply chain are “linked” together through physical flows and information flows. Physical flows involve the transformation, movement, and storage of goods and materials. They are the most visible piece of the supply chain. But just as important are information flows. Information flows allow the various supply chain partners to coordinate their...
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...The Fresh Connection Game Strategic Supply Chain Management SHT 4001 University of HUDDERSFIELD Name: Zhen Lei (Ray) ID: U1069600 Course: Transport & Logistics management Module Leader: Jayne Hemmingham Executive Summary The main purpose of this report is to discuss and introduce the experience of playing the fresh connection game with answering three main questions, The first one is to consider the competitive strategy of the team and evaluate the scope of team’s supply chain strategy was marching with its competitive strategy. The second is to utilize the financial information to analysis the situation of the business in the last round. Examples need to be explained how our team’s supply chain strategy influenced the financial performance of our team. The last point is to explain how the information can be used in the business to achieve sustainable improvements. The participants not only need to introduce their experience of the game but also demonstrate relevant academic theory and concepts. Introduction This report concentrates on reflecting on the experience of playing the fresh connection game experience. The fresh connection is a website which is one the strength of supply chain management researching environment and is played by both students and professionals. It provides a learning experience of supply chain. The students will make strategic decisions in the supply chain of the fresh connection which is based on a substantial producer of...
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...increased its consumption rate of natural resources with the manufacturing of consumer products. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2012) reported, “In 2009, discarded TVs, computers, peripherals (including printers, scanners, [and] fax machines) mice, keyboards, and cell phones totaled about 2.37 million short tons.” Natural resources are used in a daily basis to manufacture products with distributing material in forward logistics. This process of materials being produced by manufacturers shipped to warehouses across the world and stored until a demand is requested and then delivered to a retailer or when a Internet buy occurs, delivered to the customer. Logistics plays a vital role in distributing goods throughout the supply chain, how is unwanted or unused material being tracked for recovery from the consumer? What’s Reverse Logistics? The preferred method is reverse logistics for the recovery of consumer product. This method allows for recapturing value of consumer products for recycling of unwanted, unused, or outdated products for the recovery for either remanufacturing or refurbishing by developing new or improved consumer products. In 2010, there were nearly 250 million tons of solid waste disposed in landfills, only 85 million; a...
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...Logistics. They highlighted five types: Labelling, Packaging, Assembly, Manufacturing and Time postponements. Postponement in SCM Postponement is a concept in supply chain management where the manufacturer produces a generic product, which can be modified at the later stages before the final transport to the customer. Take for example an umbrella manufacturer who does not know what the demand will be for different colored umbrellas. The manufacturer will manufacture all white umbrellas and dye them later when umbrellas are in season, and it's easier to predict demand of each color of umbrella. This way the manufacturer can stock up on white umbrellas early with minimal labor costs, and be sure of the demand before he dedicates time and money into predicting the demand so far in the future Postponement is a business strategy that maximizes possible benefit and minimizes risk by delaying further investment into a product or service until the last possible moment. An example of this strategy is Dell Computers' build-to-order online store. Among the earliest reference to the concept was in a paper by Zinn and Bowersox in the Journal of Business Logistics. They highlighted five types: Labelling, Packaging, Assembly, Manufacturing and Time postponements. Postponement in SCM Postponement is a concept in supply chain management where the manufacturer produces a generic product, which can be modified at the later stages before the final transport to the customer. Take for example an umbrella...
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...1) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the particular sub-contracting system in this case? Tombow uses in its supply chain management both in-house production and subcontractors. The exact share of in-house production and outsourced production is not known exactly. This ratio varies across product lines. As an example, Tombow’s supply chain set up used for Object EO can be analyzed. To produce it, Tombow coordinates six vendors. Two of them - Kantoh and Nagano - are the main suppliers. Kantoh produces components and Nagano, besides production of components, is also responsible for the assembly work. In practice, Nagano outsources assembly work to residents near Nagano´s factory. There are currently challenges with supply chain as lead-time for production is three months; still 30-40% of the deliveries are late. Advantages of utilization of external subcontractors in the supply chain are innumerous. In Tombow’s case, it is possible to see that there increases flexibility during demand peaks, since Tombow has seasonal demand and personalization brought demands with difficult planning profile; idle capacity reduction; implementation of new products (diversification) made simpler; quick response to customer needs; utilization of special knowledge from suppliers of certain components; transfer to subcontractors, through fixed price, of the risk in production cost; vendors and assembly financially independent of the company; ability for multi vendors as Tombow to...
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... The headlines are for the sake of classification clarity. Supply Chain Coordination Supply chain coordination issues have been of great interest to researchers for many years especially since 1990s there has been a surge in research in these topics (Burgess et al. 2006). Different perspectives has been proposed on SCC such as “the order, forecasting, procurement, and information sharing procedures among the members of the supply chain” (Therese M. Flaherty, 1996) and “SCC is concerned with managing dependencies between various supply chain members and the joint efforts of all supply chain members to achieve mutually defined goals” (Arshinder, Arunda Kapur, 2007). According to (Omkar D. Palsule-Desai 2012) a SC is perfectly coordinated when the decisions on optimal quantity to be ordered by retailer under decentralized setting equals that of centralized one and yields non-zero profit to both players. There exist two common structures for SC management: Centralized or integrated supply chain with the single decision maker and decentralized with a network consists of multiple decision makers having different information and incentives. Evidence exists that centralized structure is the ideal status of the SC when there are more than two decision makers since otherwise the profit would be less than optimal.( Tirole1990, Corbet and tang 1999,corbet et al 2004) Decentralized decision making gives rise to problems causing sub-optimality: double marginalization (Spengler...
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...Value Chain Analysis The value chain analysis identifies all of the activities and strategies the organization must perform to conduct a successful business. (Potter) .The activities are classified into primary and support activities. Each of the activities performed will add value to the product and services provided by an organization. LEGO had incorporated various strategies to gain a competitive advantage. LEGO’s inbound logistics was not in proper shape. There was no control over the inbound logistics and management of inventory. The supply and demand of the goods was not in parity. In most situations, the forecasting was done dynamically without any evaluation of estimates. Later, LEGO management team synchronized the sales supply and demand by starting a sales and operations planning process (S&OP). This technique helped LEGO to optimize their demand planning, forecasting and inventory management. LEGO can accurately estimate their demand, supply and estimate customer demand for particular product during a given period. Using demand planning to develop accurate forecasts is critical for effective inventory management. Forecasts are compared to inventory levels to ensure that distribution centers have enough, but not too much, inventory to supply stores with a sufficient amount of product to meet demand. The optimal amount of raw materials was released to cater to the demand. This played a pivotal role in building an efficient supply chain management. VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS...
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...integrated on-demand Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and business management software solution for small and medium sized enterprises as an offering from SAP. The solution can be run on a PC with an Internet connection and a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the host servers. Business applications delivered as an on-demand service via a secure Internet connection and a standard Web browser is referred to as software-as-a-service (SaaS). The SAP Business ByDesign solution is designed to enable integrated end-to-end business processes across the following modules: • Customer Relationship Management: This module supports processes that span marketing, sales and service activities • Financial Management: This module can help provide companies with a single, up-to-date view of financial condition • Project Management: This module contains an integrated project management solution • Supply Chain Management: This module covers Supply Chain Setup Management, Supply Chain Planning and Control, and Manufacturing Warehousing and Logistics • Supplier Relationship Management: This module focuses on relationships with suppliers, procurement processes aimed at reducing costs, and to perform self-service procurement • Human Resources Management: This module spans Organizational Management, Human resources, and Employee self-service • Executive Management Support: This module is geared towards...
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