International Logistics
Written Assignment
Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Table of Contents
1.0 Executive Summary 3
2.0 Introduction and Background 4
3.0 Literature Review 5
4.0 Recommendations 8 Reference List 10
1.0 Executive Summary
The globalisation of markets has increased customer demand and product differentiation. Higher quality products and shorter delivery times are essential for maintaining customer satisfaction in highly competitive markets like the consumer electronics industry. Consequently, supply chain management is an important process in all businesses, and if managed effectively, can give companies a competitive edge. However, it often
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Mentzer (2004) argues that no matter how large a firm is, in a globalised world, it lacks the total resources and requisites for success. Supply chain management is a complicated process which is enhanced by globalisation and communications technology (Coyle et al. 2008). Many businesses have no experience or expertise in logistics operations (Baxter, 2006). Managing the transition from a 3PL to an in-house operation is a long and challenging process, with little or no external support, and the penalties for mistakes could be extremely high and damaging to the performance of the firm (Baxter, 2006).
The time and resources required to set up and manage an in-house distribution centre will likely divert the firm away from its core competencies. More and more activities are being shifted to the warehouse (Maltz & DeHoratius, 2005). Consequently, managing a warehouse is very expensive and requires a significant amount of resources and labor (Feare, 2000). Warehouses of consumer electronics companies have to support highly variable customer demand, therefore the firm will have to rely on temporary workers (Maltz & DeHoratius, 2005). Harry Drajpuch, executive vice president of USCO Logistics, argues that these workers are often less reliable, which will leave the company most
Effective supply chain management can provide an important competitive advantage for a business marketer, resulting in improved communication and involvement among members of the chain, increased motivation, and decreased costs. Tracking the movement of and demand for components used to manufacture a product across a variety of potential and actual suppliers, provides insight and the ability to respond instantly to shortages, surpluses, and changes in market conditions. It seeks to optimize production, decrease manufacturing time, minimize inventory, streamline order fulfillment, and reduce cost.
The supply chain management is considered as a management concept from past two decades as the customers are concerned about timely and safe delivery. The competitiveness has been increasing among the companies to deliver the products as quickly as possible to the customers all around the world. This has made the supply chain management as a vital tool for the management. This is also measured as a competitive parameter for the companies.
Reorders are placed at the time of review (T), and the safety stock that must be reordered is:
One of the major features of globalization has been the mergence and increased importance of third party logistics providers and support industries for shipping and transport operations. As businesses become more global in their scope and supply chains grow ever wider in scope and more globally integrated, the complexities and considerations of achieving efficient and cost-effective transport and support services grows more difficult, and most manufacturing and distribution companies outsource these services to a variety of different companies specializing in specific aspects of supply chain management and operational assistance. Achieving success as such a specialized company can be easy if the company maintains proper and accurate analyses of capabilities and environments and has appropriate internal controls, however failure to ensure these components and processes are in place can be disastrous, especially when combined with an emphasis on rampant growth.
The Home Depot’s sophisticated logistical management system is rooted on infrastructure and relationships that were built in the US. Therefore, it can be argued that it can to the most part not easily be transferred to China, meaning it is location-bound. Nevertheless, the knowledge how to set up a well-functioning logistical management system can be a skill that can be transferred to China if the company is able to overcome the stickiness of knowledge.
1. KLF Electronics is an American manufacturer of electronic equipment. The company has a single manufacturing facility in San Jose California. (20 points)
Singapore has long built its economy on its strategic positioning for trade. The country is now home to the world's second-largest container port according to the World Shipping Council (2013). The country's position as a leading trade makes it a natural place to find solutions to global supply chain issues, and has also encouraged a significant amount of foreign direct investment in the country. Foreign companies have set up shop in Singapore, often in either services or retail. This paper will analyze some of the issues that foreign firms dealing in Singapore have with respect to global supply chain management.
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Discuss this proposition. Do the terms, logistics management and supply chain management have the same meaning in operations Briefly explain how logistics management adds value to the operations of a manufacturing or service organisation. Introduction Logistics management and supply chain management are similar terms in business logistics, but these two terms are not the same (Murphy and Wood 2011, p22). In different decades, scholars made use of their knowledge and experience to define logistics management and supply chain management (SCM). In my opinion, currently logistics management is part of the supply chain management. This minor difference between the two can be supported by scholars in the industry. In this essay, we will discuss
Blanchard (2006) defined third party logistics as, “A single entity that coordinates all the logistics requirements for a given company/agency.” Today’s world business environment has become so competitive that companies in order to be successful in the market must deal with different resources for satisfying their customer need. In the past decade or so the competitive global market has made a big influence in the growing for external business. Third party logistics providers are more and more employing external companies for inventory management, transportation, warehousing, and other value added activities for customer services. Third party logistics ultimate goal is to provide a competitive advantage to the organization for which they are serving. According to Cardinal Logistics (2012), “Third-Party Logistics is an effective way to reduce operational costs, and allow a company to focus on their core competencies.
Third-Party Logistics (3PL) is a logistics program that has been outsourced to a company that specializes in logistics management. These 3PL organizations hire experienced logisticians, supply chain managers, statisticians, and other specialized professionals to handle some or all aspects of a business’ logistics program. Organizations are opting to outsource their logistics management for a variety of reasons; “Some companies choose to let third-party providers handle only transportation or warehousing; others opt to outsource everything from packaging and assembly to inbound transportation and freight consolidation” (Feeley & Driscoll Certified Public Accountants). The following paper addresses some of the reasons why companies around the world are outsourcing their logistics management instead of keeping it in-house.
International business refers to the exchange of goods and services among individuals and businesses in multiple countries and areas which origins even in the 14th century. Logistics comprises the activities of transporting goods and services between these countries and areas. The term ‘logistics’ became widely used after 1985, which was derived from the logistics organizations of US army in WWII. Their success of delivering a steady stream of strategic supplies around the world during the wartime was later studied by many companies and then widely introduced into business activities.
However, as more services organizations realize that the increasing costs of inventory management and logistics are likely to impact both their bottom lines and their ability to support customers - especially if they are presently running either an outdated or otherwise inefficient operation to begin with - they may have some strong reservations with respect to outsourcing some of these key activities. The greatest fear among most organizations is that outsourcing will almost immediately result in the lessening of customer service performance, either real or perceived, and therefore, loss of control over an historically critical component of their overall customer service and support equation.
3PLs logistics provides actually perform or manage one or more logistics services. A third party logistics is a buyer and supplier team with them third party provides delivery services, this third party may provide added supply chain expertise. Exhibit the straight processes of third party logistics with the third party providing moving goods from the factory to wholesaler. Third party logistics may be a specialized provide focuses
The logistics of a supply chain can be very difficult to understand. There are many different parts involved and if one does not function correctly the others will soon follow. From manufacturing to transportation there is always something happening within the supply chain. Every section of the supply chain is scrutinized and checked to see if the process is going as smoothly as possible. Knowing different styles of research can help in diagnosing problems from within the supply chain. Two of these methods are quantitative research and qualitative research.