Network Design Decisions Have An Important Impact On Performance Essay

In the Network Design Paper I will explain how the University has recently leased a building in Adelphi, Maryland. The measurements of the University is 240 feet long, 95 feet wide and 30 feet tall and broken down to two different floors. This University will be used for education purposes of course, the facility will be made of six instructional labs, seven offices, library, five classrooms, a student lobby and a computer lab. There will be a server room on each floor. The purpose of this paper is to explain the design of the networks in this building. The student accessed computers will be set up on a separate network than the network that they staff will be using.

As early as the 1970s Mattel was manufacturing products in China in order to take advantage of lower costs and enable corporate resources to focus on establishing the brand. By 2007, nearly 65% of Mattel products were produced in China. Mattel used a combination of company-run plants and a network of contract manufacturers. Exhibit C displays a simplified example of Mattel’s supply chain after moving production to China. Global production obviously had major benefits for Mattel, the country factors of China gave it a comparative cost advantage over producing in the U.S., and outsourcing enabled Mattel to remain profitable in an increasingly competitive toy industry. However, outsourcing does have disadvantages, a global supply chain increases the challenges to regulate and enforce quality.

The network design process is used to formulate decisions concerning various aspects of logistics networks (Croxton & Zinn, 2005). Efficient logistics networks are essential for transporting people and goods in the 21st century. In this regard, Katsioloudis (2009) advises that, "Transportation networks facilitate the movements of goods and people to markets and are essential for the prosperity of a society and the competitiveness of an economy" (p. 7). Designing a logistics network in general is a major component of successful material handling. For instance, according to Cheong, Bhatnagar and Graves (2007), "Designing a logistics network that maximizes the utilization of the transport and warehouse capacity in

3. How can supply chain design and integration help John Wolf reduce investment and space requirements while maintaining adequate service levels?

A supply chain is a net work of firms. Thus, each firm in the chain should build its own supply chains to support the competitive priorities of its services or products. Two distinct designs used to competitive advantage are efficient supply chains and responsive supply chains. Efficient supply chains work best in environments where demand is highly predictable. The focus of the supply chain is on efficient flows of services and materials keeping inventories to a minimum. The firm’s competitive priorities are low-cost operations, consistent quality, and on-time delivery. Responsive supply chains designed to react quickly in order to hedge against uncertainties in demand. Work best when firms offer a great variety of services or products and demand predictability is low. Typical competitive priorities are development speed, fast delivery times, customization, variety, volume flexibility, and top quality. Tables below show the environments and design features that best suit each design.

A Customized Textbook, Supply Chain Management SCHM2301, ISBN9781308037400 Copies are on reserve in the library

In today’s business world, production cost was an increasing concern for companies working to stay competitive in the global marketplace. The top management must search for a global solution to drive down costs and reduce difficult activities associate with inventory management and production management. Global sourcing aimed to exploit global efficiencies in the delivery of services and goods across geopolitical boundaries, including low cost skilled labor, low cost raw materials, tax benefits, and price breaks. Whelan Pharmaceutical was the best example to illustrate how the company chose the best manufacturing site for global sourcing from different perspectives.

Russell, R. S., & Taylor III, B. W. (2014). Operations and Supply Chain Management, 8th edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Just like the other industries such as apparel, electronics, and consumer goods, the automobile industry has accelerated its foreign direct investment, cross border trade and global production. The automobile industry has increased outsourcing and bundled value chain activities in major supplier chains. As a result, more developed countries that serve as suppliers have increased their involvement in trade and FDI. With these increased supplier capabilities, large national suppliers have become global suppliers and are now controlling multinational operations. This is because of their increased capability of providing good and services to various lead firms all over the world. The automotive industry has a distinct firm structure. This

What is the right supply chain for your product ? is the question asked by Marshall L. Fisher in his article titled, “What is the Right Supply Chain for Your Product ?” published in March-April 1997 issue of the Harvard Business Review. Author raises the question stating the fact that new ideas and technology implemented haven’t lead to improved performance. Performance has not become better but rather in at least some cases, has worsened due to costs rocketing to unprecedented levels.

In order to have higher profit margin, one of the most effective ways is to cut down production costs. In view of the low labor cost in developing countries, global sourcing seems to be a good choice to reduce costs. With the development of global production networks and the increasing competition, fast all fashion clothing firms have shifted their manufacturing operations to low lost locations over the past decades.

4. In a service supply chain, the (explicit) cost of information is higher than in a product

We are all aware about the importance of supply, manufacturing and operations chain for any business. It becomes even more important if we are crossing the borders and entering international marketplaces as we are

11. From a logistics perspective, how is network organizational design manifested in terms of relevancy, responsiveness, and flexibility? (give examples)

3: How can supply chain strategy help John Wolf reduce investment and space requirements while maintaining adequate service levels?