Supply Chain Essay

Total Length: 636 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 2

Supply Chain

There are several different attributes of supply chain management. Among them, some stand out as being more important than other. Key aspects of supply chain management include technology, communication/coordination, inventory control and bargaining power (EAUC, 2014).

Bargaining power is important because it dictates the terms and conditions of the supply chain. If the buyer has more bargaining than the seller, then the terms will reflect more on the needs of the buyer, and vice versa. Thus, a company has to take this into consideration with its supply chain -- if its suppliers need it more than it needs its suppliers, this will provide opportunity for the company to leverage that to the benefit of its supply chain.

Technology is becoming increasingly important in the supply chain. Companies are using technology to get better estimates on demand, to link their point-of-sale systems with their suppliers, and to track inventory as it moves through the supply chain. Technology also helps companies to introduce more competition into the supply chain, so there are many good uses for technology, and the best technology is becoming a source of competitive advantage for many companies via their supply chain. Communications, and coordination, are critical factors that are influenced by technology.
Companies are starting to experience greater integration of their supply chains, so that customer needs are better understood, and the supplier can also communicate their situation. But it is particularly important for customers that they can order from their suppliers when needed, can estimate demand better, and that suppliers have the knowledge that they need to be more responsive to the needs of their customers (Subramani, 2004).

Lastly, inventory control is becoming an increasing trend in supply chain management. It costs money to hold inventory, and there is risk associated with unsold inventory, in that it might go unsold or have to be liquidated at a discount. Inventory management is tied into working capital management, so that lower inventory levels are associated with having working capital available for investment elsewhere, thereby offering companies an opportunity to increase their ROI. So supply chain systems are focusing these days on using data as a means of increasing the efficiency of the company's inventory management.

2.

Logistics are affected by the different key attributes of supply chain management, because logistics lie at the heart of the supply chain. Improve technology, for example, means that buyers will order….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Supply Chain

Question One As for how one company can be part of both the internal and external supply chain networks, this is actually easier than it seems to be. The external supply chain refers to factors such as political, economic, technological and geographical. Internal refers to the departments and machines that go into getting items and supplies to where they go. An easy example of a situation where a company obviously and extensively touches both, one can speak about Fedex or UPS. If the supply chain of those companies is not working well, there will be obvious implications of both an internal and external supply chain nature… Continue Reading...

Supply Chain Strategies

Research indicates that supply chains help organizations attain competitive advantage. In turn, the successes or letdowns of such supply chains are determined in the open market by the end consumers. Rendering the fitting product, at the fitting price, at the fitting time to the consumer is not only the fundamental aspect to competitive success but also the vital element to survival (Christopher and Towill, 2001). Owing to the fact that the intricacy of supply chains in the present day, partly as a result of globalization and out-sourcing, the manner in which supply chains… Continue Reading...

Supply Chain Management

Dream Beauty Company, a manufacturer of consumer beauty supplies and cosmetics, is concerned with the increased costs of its supply chain management. The firm’s supply chain costs recently reached an all time high of $130,000, which could be attributable to various factors including additional sales and increased costs for order fulfillment. Currently, the Dream Beauty’s total order fulfillment is averagely three days despite the order size. Dream Beauty Company has received 3600 orders, provides excellent customer service, and has a discount policy for the channels it services. II. Major Problem Despite its highest standards of customer service and industry benchmark in order fulfillment, Dream Beauty Company is experiencing problems… Continue Reading...

Supply Chain Management and Integrated Logistics

The DEP/GARD supply chain process has various areas where there is value addition and these include the manufacturing and packaging process of the products that are supplied to GARD. There is also the inbound transportation from the compound suppliers which is counted as a value addition process. The outbound transportation to GARD is also seen in the supply chain as a value addition activity. There are however some stages that are not value adding to the entire supply chain such as the inventory sitting idle in the DEP warehouses. The other activity… Continue Reading...

Supply Chain Management

staff, resources and projects so that I execute my role as a supply chain manger well. I will have an extensive comprehension of supply chains, logistics and procurement processes. I will consistently employ best practices so as to increase efficiency, cut costs and improve performance while still delivering high quality results in the set timelines. I am now looking to take on a challenging new managerial role. The role will help me grow professionally and ensure I use the experience and skills I have gained throughout my career well and to make a major contribution to the organization. Academic and Work History… Continue Reading...

Supply Chain Management and Logistics

sector has been transformed by mass retailing, technological advancements, deregulation impacts, supply chains, etc. which have posed challenges to the commercial logistical setting. Simultaneously, military logisticians saw the Cold War era and associated strategies, a whole new kind of enemy, evolving military employees and sustained combat maneuvers within Third-World settings (Rutner, Aviles & Cox, 2012). Both groups have encountered tough choices, in addition to being pressured to review and perfect their corresponding logistical processes. But the question of whether both have been growing at the same rate remains to be answered. Contemporary corporations are required to simultaneously achieve reduced costs, superior… Continue Reading...

Supply Chain Balanced Scorecard

the obligatory competitive advantage and avoiding too much energy diverted from regular company processes. This four-stage process is called the Supply Chain Balanced Scorecard. The Supply Chain Balanced Scorecard provides a company with the ability to track a limited number of key metrics. These cover four main areas. They are: 1. Financial: This could signify warehousing, transportation, supplier inventory, manufacturing and so forth. 2. Customer: Meaning, backorder levels, missed deliveries, order fill rate, and ontime deliveries. 3. Internal Business: Usually it concerns, forecast error, employee retention, and adherence to plans. 4. Training: The last phase checks for certification, in-house training hours, and education backgrounds (Seuring & Goldbach, 2013). Although the… Continue Reading...

Best Practices in Supply Chains

service for a profit . . . the loan, underwriters, etc. C) The goods of service supply chains are more abstract whereas they are more physical and tangible with product supply chains Shipping. It used to be just cars and trucks but now they use bigger trucks and planes A vertical company would have a singular supply chain system. A horizontal one would probably have a supply chain system for each smaller company, or they would go outside the company. Absolutely. They would tend to have their own system and it needs to be fluid and work well 6) Lack of metal for the cans, a… Continue Reading...

IBM Supply Chain Concerns

Executive Summary This document considers the various points of correlation between human resources, management information systems, and supply chain management in relation to critical IBM concepts of managing an organization. It identifies how these three areas intersect and their long term value for organizations as a whole. Ultimately, they are vital aspects of operations in the contemporary business world. Introduction There are a number of eminent facets involved in the management of contemporary organizations. Encompassing a wide range of characteristics, the most notable of these pertain to information technology, resource allocation, and varying elements of procurement. Effecting competitive advantage today no longer requires simply being able to… Continue Reading...

Innovation Distribution Co Supply Chain Risk

A Total Cost Approach to Understanding Supply Chain Risk Using the current exchange rate, what is the initial purchase cost per unit (in U.S. dollars) paid to Dong Hai Supply? (Do not include transportation costs.) The exchange rate between the U.S. Dollar and the Chinese Renminbi is: Dollar = 6.92 CNY China Yuan Renminbi CNY China Yuan Renminbi = 0.1445 U.S. Dollar The quoted price by Dong Hai Supply at the factory is 547 China Yuan Renminbi. Therefore, the initial purchase cost per unit is The initial purchase cost is $79.04 for every unit (Frankel, 2013).… Continue Reading...

Innovation Distribution Co. Supply Chain Risk Case

Innovation Distribution Company: A Total Cost Approach Understanding Supply Chain Risk Case The initial purchase cost per unit paid to Dong Hai Supply is calculated as follows. The current exchange rate is 1 CNY China Yuan Renminbi = 0.14646 U.S. Dollar. As pointed out, the price per unit in Dong Hai supply is 547 ¥. Therefore, the price per unit is 547 x 0.14646 = 80.11362. The initial purchase cost per unit in U.S. Dollars is $80.11 (Frankel, 2013). The average time for an order filling a TEU container to come from Dong Hai Supply in Chengdu, China… Continue Reading...

Proper Supply Chain Management

should not be too much of it. Further, managing the supply and structure of the relevant supply chain is also important. Depending on the size and scope of an operation or department, this can be quite complex. It can literally come down to the orientation of inventory and supplies in a workspace, rather than just whether or not it is in stock in the first place. This essay shall explore the ins and outs of these angles, factors and traits of the supply chain, inventory and other systems of a firm. Analysis The introduction to this essay lays bare that there are some rather complex and… Continue Reading...

Inventory and Supply Chain Management

distributions alone, like the Cr106, Cr137, and Cr108. Otherwise, forecasting will help create a more effective supply chain distribution to meet the targeted service delivery goals. Exhibit 6 also shows that the percentage of stockouts does not vary overly much between the categories (V, M, S, and VS). This suggests that forecasting is needed for all categories and not just a few. In 2010, the company recorded a forecasting error of 70% for the top 5% of items, the ones contributing to the majority of their revenue and profit (p. 8). Therefore, Vinod might want to consider focusing on these top 5% at first, because of… Continue Reading...

Big Data and Supply Chain Management Essay

Introduction Big data has become one of the most important aspects of supply chain management. The concept of big data refers to the massive data sets that are generated when millions of individual activities are tracked. These data sets are processed to yield insights that help inform managerial decision-making. Supply chains in particular have leveraged big data because companies have been able to develop technology to not only capture hundreds of millions of data points, but to process them in meaningful ways to eliminate waste and promote efficiency in the supply chain systems. This paper will examine the concept of big data,… Continue Reading...

Glide Right Inc Strategic Supply Chain Management

situation, as Raj is discovering. The first is that the engineer, Angela, is ordering without the consent of the supply chain division. This alone is cause for concern because this is not the process, and she is not following the supply chain department's processes. So in that sense, regardless of what else is happening, there appears to be at least an error made. This might also reflect a certain mistrust of the department in terms of what they think the supply team does (order). Further, this process of having the suppliers bid against each other on price is worrisome. Price might not be the only criteria against which bids… Continue Reading...

Significance of Effective Logistics Management at McDonalds

One of the most important factors in the success and profitability of a business in relation to its supply chain management is logistics management. Logistics incorporates the flow of raw materials and information throughout supply chain processes of an organization. In the past few decades, logistics management has gained significant attention because of the emergence of new technologies and strategic alliances that are geared towards enhancing an organization's competitive advantage. For global companies like Mcdonalds Corporation, logistics management is vital for gaining access to new markets, taking advantage of technological competencies for overseas operations, and enhancing production efficiencies. This paper examines the importance of effective logistics management with… Continue Reading...

Strategies for Achieving Competitive Advantage

for long-standing and high volume procurements in return for the least possible prices. In addition, Walmart restructures supply chain management by building communication and relationship systems with suppliers to enhance and develop flow of materials with lesser inventories. The linkage of global suppliers, warehouses, and retail stores has enabled Walmart to operate as if it is a single company (Greenspan, 2015). The different suppliers and manufacturers within Walmart Stores, Inc.'s supply chain coordinate and harmonize their demand estimates under a concerted planning, predicting and replacement scheme, and every single link within the supply chain is joined through technology that takes account of a fundamental databank, store-level point-of-sale… Continue Reading...

Demand Planning

Demand planning constitutes an important supply chain management (SCM) attribute affecting various business operations and aspects, from production to distribution, warehousing, the end consumer, and eventually the organisation's bottom line. Generally, demand planning encompasses forecasting demand (Jain & Malehorn, 2012). Effective demand planning is important for aligning inventory with changes in demand and enhancing the accuracy of revenue projections (Chase, 2013). This paper examines the importance of effective demand planning. First, the paper focuses on issues associated with demand planning in today's business operations. Next, attention is paid to the impact of poor demand planning… Continue Reading...

Reebok NFL Replica Jerseys

February and April as it is the off-season period. Orders made during this season are mainly driven by player movements. Supply Chain Effective inventory management is important to ensure demand is met satisfactorily. Figures 2 and 3 depict Reebok's supply chain. Reebok relies on contract manufacturers, who procure and hold raw materials in inventory. For normal demand, retailers expect lead times of 3-12 weeks, and 1-2 weeks for hot-market demand. Once orders are placed, contract manufacturers ship the finished goods to Reebok's warehouse in Indianapolis. From this point, the finished goods are distributed to retail distribution centres and finally to retail outlets. As seen in Figure 3, some jerseys are… Continue Reading...

Importing Textiles from China

Supply Chain There are potentially a few key players that are involved in sourcing textiles from China. It may be possible to source directly from the producer, but it might also be necessary to deal with a wholesaler. There is the opportunity perhaps to buy from a wholesaler that already has the textiles in Canada, but it will be assumed for the sake of this exercise that is not the case -- that the client needs to source custom from China. Depending on the client's internal resources, it may be… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Supply Chain" (2014, November 28) Retrieved May 2, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/supply-chain-2153040

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Supply Chain" 28 November 2014. Web.2 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/supply-chain-2153040>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Supply Chain", 28 November 2014, Accessed.2 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/supply-chain-2153040