...think the key issue with Scott’s growth and development wanted to maintain quality but, also it was important for the company to innovative and cost effective. A good example of this sort of process innovation according to “(Pearce & Robinson, 2011), was the development of a new hand spreader assembly process. Scott’s redesigned the spreader and removed screws connectors this allowed for a pressure fit. In addition to allowing the company to build an in house an automated assembly line which help to cut cost because less staff was needed. This process only required four people but, the previous method call six people to manually put together this product. As director of Scott’s Bob Bawcombe felt strongly about developing innovation and technology according to “(Pearce & Robinson, 2011), he felt the general manufacturing competence was intimately tied to ability to continue to the reduction of product cost going forward. In addition to this kind of innovation requires...
Words: 586 - Pages: 3
...Cisco Systems: The Supply Chain Story Cisco Systems Inc. is a worldwide computer networking company based out of San Jose, California. From Cisco’s beginning they as a company aimed to connect all members of the supply chain. Cisco’s initial product was the router, which contained an operating software called Internet Operating System (IOS). This product launched Cisco as a company and led to their future goal of a completely integrated supply chain. The first integration, a customer support site, came a year after the router was launched and it allowed customers to download and upgrade software as well as technical support through e-mail. This support center continued to grow through the early nineties and was eventually replaced by a customer support system on their website. The customer support system was continually added to and by 1995 it included; company and product information, technical and customer support, and most importantly it introduced the ability to sell products and services online. Cisco’s main desire behind this system was to streamline the process of customer support and allow the information to more easily utilized. In 1996, Cisco implemented another Internet application called “Networked Strategy,” this introduced online order entry and allowed the information to flow through Cisco’s supply chain. The order information was sent to Cisco’s ERP system which in turn sent it out to the various suppliers and manufacturers, allowing for a very efficient...
Words: 1376 - Pages: 6
...Inhaltsverzeichnis Executive Summary and methodology 3 TASK 1 3 1. PESTLE ANALYSIS 3 1.1.2 LEGA INFLUENCES 4 1.1.3 ECOLOGICAL INFLUENCES 5 1.1.4 POLITICAL INFLUENCES 6 1.1.5 ECONOMICAL AND FINANCIAL INFLUENCES 7 1.1.6 SOCIAL-CULTURAL INFLUENCES 8 1.1.7 TECHNOLOGICAL INFLUENCES 9 TASK 2 10 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES 10 1.1.8 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS 11 1.1.9 DEGREE OF RIVALRY 12 1.1.10 THREAT OF SUBSITUTES 12 1.1.11 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS 13 1.1.12 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS 14 SWOT Analysis 14 RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES 16 Conclusion 16 APPENDIX 17 References 18 Executive Summary and methodology The goal of this report is to give a brief overview of the primary external influences on McDonalds in the fast food industry of Germany by using the PESTEL framework (refer to Appendix 1 for Corporate Profile). In the second part of the report, the reader is instructed about the changing competitive environment based on the theoretical framework of Porter’s five forces modell and the SWOT analysis of McDonald’s Germany. The analysis demonstrates the influences on the company’s policies and the effectiveness of the organization’s response. This is followed by recommendations on how to improve the current situation and give an overview of McDondals alternative strategy approach to increase their market share as well their profitability. TASK 1 1. PESTLE ANALYSIS According to the PESTLE analysis, an understanding of the environment – macro...
Words: 3885 - Pages: 16
...relating of four primary functions; marketing, finance and accounting, suppliers, and human resources to create a competitive advantage in global 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...
Words: 2561 - Pages: 11
...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...
Words: 3382 - Pages: 14
...GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT MO255 NIKKI WONG XIAO XUAN NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY (2897 Words) Executive Summary The objective of this report is to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre, and to safeguard Singapore strategic maritime objectives. Research for this report includes evaluating the application on Lean and Total Quality Management (TQM) in logistics and supply chain networks to achieve Maritime Port Authority (MPA) objectives such as quality of service, competitiveness, reliability and efficiency. The major findings shows that lean implementation improves processing times achieving more work in less staff time and bringing services up to standard. (Radnor, Walley, Stephens, & Bucci, 2006). It also changes the focus of management from optimizing separate technologies, assets, and vertical departments to optimizing the flow of products and services through entire value streams that flow horizontally across technologies, assets, and departments to customers. Lean helps to eliminate waste along entire value streams, instead of at isolated points, creates processes that need less human effort, less space, less capital, and less time to make products and services at far less costs and with much fewer defects, compared with traditional business systems. Also, it requires keeping far less than half the needed inventory on site, results in many fewer defects and produces a greater...
Words: 4102 - Pages: 17
...Operation Suppy Chain & Management David Imboden, Livia Artuso, Clariss Chow, Youssef Hautier, Topic: Are Agile development / Scrum approaches applicable to other product domain than the software development? 1. Introduction The development of a new product is key for a company. The products can be very simple (a new fork in the Ikea assortment) to extremely complex (let’s think about a new airplane for Airbus), their development still requires a multidisciplinary approach, implies a lot of risks, a lot of uncertainties and usually involves a large amount of resources and cash. But what is exactly product development? We define it as the set of processes that will bring a concept or an idea to product that is used by the final customer, in volume. Other definitions can be found in the literature. We should note that Product Development can be applied to very different domain. Physical (or hardware) products (like the two examples stated above) are the first to come to mind. This category also encompasses products like a new molecule in the biotech industry or a new aliment for the pet-food industry. Millions of new products are launched every year. The time to market, the quality, the fit with the customer need, the integration with the other parts of the company (Customer Service, Manufacturing) are all critical to the success of this new product. It is no surprise that both the academic and industry world committed to develop better processes to handle Product Development...
Words: 3724 - Pages: 15
...Cloud Computing Benefits, risks and recommendations for information security Rev.B – December 2012 2 Cloud Computing Benefits, risks and recommendations for information security Document History Date December 2009 Version 1.0 Modification Initial Release, Rev.A Author Daniele Catteddu, Giles Hogben Thomas Haeberlen Lionel Dupré December 2012 2.0 Rev.B About ENISA The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) is a centre of network and information security expertise for the EU, its member states, the private sector and Europe’s citizens. ENISA works with these groups to develop advice and recommendations on good practice in information security. It assists EU member states in implementing relevant EU legislation and works to improve the resilience of Europe’s critical information infrastructure and networks. ENISA seeks to enhance existing expertise in EU member states by supporting the development of cross-border communities committed to improving network and information security throughout the EU. More information about ENISA and its work can be found at www.enisa.europa.eu. Contact details This report has been edited by: Lionel Dupré, Thomas Haeberlen For contacting ENISA or for general enquiries about this report, please use the following details: Email: resilience@enisa.europa.eu Internet: http://www.enisa.europa.eu Cloud Computing 3 Benefits, risks and recommendations for information security Legal notice Notice...
Words: 12166 - Pages: 49
...RESPONDING QUICKLY TO CONSUMER DEMANDS May 7, 2009 Ms. ANKARA Dear Ms. This report has written in order to determine how Turkish Food companies can respond rapidly to the consumer demand and to recommend efficient and effective ways of communicating this adaptation to key stakeholders of the 5 companies including TAT Konserve, Ersu Gıda, Migros, Penguen Gıda and Tukaş. As you will see, our report analyses the relevant 5 companies that we have mentioned above from different aspects and examine the existing methods of getting goods to the end consumer. We also recommended some solutions to increase the rapidity. We are confident that this report will help to these studied companies in necessary structural changes in order to supply quickly demanded goods by consumers when they want and where they want. We appreciate having this assignment and hope that this report will help your organization about being rapid. If you have any problems in interpreting this report or in implementing our recommendations please do not hesitate to contact with us. Sincerely yours, Trainee Analysts of Bilkent Consulting Company Table of Contents Part ...
Words: 11952 - Pages: 48
...Strategic Positioning and Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Food Industry Abstract Purpose – This paper examines the concepts of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) and strategic positioning (SP) and seeks to develop a framework on determinants of SP and SCA in the food industry following the case study approach. Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyzes the concepts of strategic positioning and sustainable competitive advantage and their interrelation. The qualitative study of three beverage producers is conducted. Cases are analyzed based on the theoretical models discussed in the first part of the paper. Findings - This paper provides comparison of positioning strategies and SCA of three international beverage producers. The theoretical framework on determinants of these concepts was developed and applied for case study. The concepts of SCA and SP are interchanging, but from the case study it was not possible to conclude whether one leads to another. There is no single theory found which would be universal in explaining the success of the brands. Companies are complex structures and their success depends on many different elements which should be analyzed in combination. Research limitations/implications – The findings are based solely on the case analysis of three unique beverage companies. To generalize conclusions the research of other companies in food industry on possession of SCA and their positioning strategies is needed. Not all firsthand information...
Words: 22733 - Pages: 91
...views of the Office of Advocacy. Office of Advocacy ww w.sba.gov/advo Small Business Research Summary Advocacy: the voice of small business in government No. 335 November 2008 An Analysis of Small Business Patents by Industry and Firm Size Anthony Breitzman and Diana Hicks., Haddonfield, NJ 08033 2008 [60] pages. Under contract no. SBAHQ-07-Q-0010 Background This study is the third in a series that examines small business patent activity. The authors created a database of 1,293 technology firms with 15 or more patents issued between 2002 and 2006. These firms are designated as innovative firms because of their high level of patent activity. Using this database, the authors analyze the relative strengths of small and large technology businesses, including information such as the industry and technology within which the firm patents and the importance of the patent. The results demonstrate that small businesses that innovate are indeed special and that the technology they create helps define the cutting edge in a number of industries. The report presents a convincing case that small firms in emerging industries are one of the greatest engines of American economic growth. Highlights • Of the 1,293 firms reviewed in this study, 504 had 500 or fewer employees, 760 had more than 500 employees, and no size information could be obtained for 29 firms. That...
Words: 31696 - Pages: 127
