Policies, Processes, and Methods of Operations Management at Harley-Davidson Motor Company

Operations management is essential for the survival and success of any organization. According to Heizer & Render (2011), operations management (OM) is the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs. Operations managers today contend with competition, globalization, inflation, consumer demand, and consistent change in technology. Managers must focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes such as cost, dependability, distribution, flexibility, and speed. The intent of this paper is to discuss the processes and operations management of the Kroger Company.

The recommendations I would suggest for structuring the supplier relationship process for the Wolf Motors dealership network are Wolf Motors should consider a centralized corporate level Materials Management System to consolidate buying decisions for each of the 4 dealerships. This would facilitate greater leveraging with suppliers for consistent quality-control. They should study, calculate and make effective decisions on the materials that should be brought for each of the four dealerships instead of allowing each dealer to do it on their own. An automated

Currently H-D is the leading seller of heavy weight motorcycles across the entire world. Because they are at the pinnacle they are the target for the competition. Some of Harley Davidson 's advantages are name recognition, brand loyalty, brand quality and customer loyalty (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2013, p. 81). The company benefits by having “the made in America” image attached to its products. The image of a Harley rider and owner is one of a tough, independent, free spirit, ready and willing to take on the world type of man. The sound of a H-D motorcycle in idle or being ridden is unique and very identifiable.

Operations refers to the transformation of raw materials(inputs) into finished products(outputs). The operations process is one of the key business functions and is a crucial component to business success. Like every business, Qantas is affected by many internal and external influences requiring it to have effective strategies to respond to these influences. Businesses that are able to adopt and utilise effective operational strategies are able to quickly adapt and either reduce or take advantage of these influences that impact the business. The effectiveness of these strategies can measured by Qantas’ performance and whether or not it is able to hold it’s competitive advantage. How well these strategies respond to the influences on

Operations management is defined as the design, execution, and control of operations that convert resources into desired goods and services, while implementing an organizations business strategy (Business Dictionary, 2015). Office Depot Inc. is one such organization that truly understands that solid operations is the foundation to the success they have had in recent years. In this paper, I will give the history and background of Office Depot Inc. and explain why they have been able to keep such a competitive advantage in the consumer and small business supply industry. Additionally, I will

Operations Management in an organisation is repsonsible for managing and in making decisions concerning the activities that convert inputs into outputs , that is goods and services. This covers both short term actvities as well as longer term activities to meet strategic goals. Inputs can be the raw materaials need to manufacture goods such as furniture or the computers needed to create a service like online shopping site. Operation management’s role is to make decisions to improve how operation activities function, for example, to improve the final quality of the output or to change production methods to be more efficient in terms of cost and in time.

Operations management (OM) is that phase of an organization where inputs are put into operations to acquire required output (services) without compromising on quality. In other words operations management is also described as combining and transforming various resources in the operations sub-system into value added services in line with formulated policies of the organization. (Kumar and Suresh, 2009)

Harley-Davidson is well known for its unique motorcycles. Its subsidiary, Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC), manufactures five families of motorcycles, namely, Touring, Dyna, Softail, Sportster and V-Rod. These models are distinguished by their frame, engine, suspension, and other characteristics. The company shipped 233,117 motorcycles in the fiscal year ended December 2011, comprising 39.5% Touring motorcycle units, 39.2% Custom motorcycle units, and 21.3% Sportster motorcycle units.

To further strengthen the supply chain and improve customer loyalty. Harley Davidson marketing and sales personnel must interact with its purchasing personnel to integrate the supply chain from supplier of raw materials and getting the product delivered into the hand of user at the right time, cost and quality user need it. Harley integrated effort must focuses on people, process and technology to improve supply chain development by enhance quality, reduce cost and improve delivery time

In differentiation strategies, the emphasis is on creating value through sustainable uniqueness. This can be achieved through product innovations, superior quality, or superior service, which is then sustained and leveraged through creative advertising; brand-building and strong supply chain relationships. Another requirement for a successful differentiation strategy is that customers must be willing to pay more for the uniqueness of a product or service than the firm paid to create it. A differentiation strategy will lead to higher firm performance only if buyers value the attributes that make a product or service unique enough to pay a higher price for it or if they choose to buy from that firm preferentially. If

Historically Harley-Davidson to be a Niche Marketer, which is they had focused in on one particular aspect of the market. Kotler and Keller identified the following characteristics of niche marketing; customers have a distinct set of needs, they are willing to pay more to the firm that best suits their needs, it is not likely to attract competitors, gains economies through specialized products and it has a size, profit and to grow. Almost all of these hold true for the “heavyweight” segment of motor cycles that Harley-Davidson produced.

One of the main reason behind this Japanese suppliers. Taking this into consideration SDT(Supplier Development teams) were developed .At first Nissan selected two engineers to undergo training activities in Japan. Based on this training, they have developed a 10 day improvement activity which started improving the suppliers by a major extent. They carry out evaluation of supplier activities at the supplier place and discuss necessary improvements and disclose the necessary action plan with senior management and take approval from them and carry on with improvement activity.

Boeing’s desire to reduce costs and production time by relying risk-taking suppliers to design and produce major aircraft components has led to many failures and cost overruns in the 787 program. In order for Boeing to avoid the pitfalls of the 787 program, Boeing must take the lessons of the past in concert with good technology to ensure good management of the new 777 supply chain. Literature Review

Harley-Davidson, Inc. was established in 1903 when William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson began producing the Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By the 1960’s, Harley-Davidson was one of the first motorcycle manufacturers and, as a result, they had a complete monopoly over the heavyweight motorcycle market. However, in 1969, American Machine and Foundry (AMF, Inc.) purchased Harley-Davidson. At this time, there was an increase in demand for motorcycles along with new entrants to the market. When AMF, Inc. took over, the quality of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle significantly decreased at an extremely inopportune time. Japanese manufacturers used this opportunity to break into the heavyweight motorcycle market with great success. As a result, the future outlook of Harley-Davidson was not bright and many did not believe that the company would be standing at the end of the 1970’s. Over the course of the years, Harley-Davidson executives have done an excellent job keeping the Harley-Davidson image alive and profitable. However, the future of the company and market are unknown, and the management team must strategize a future plan in order to sustain the market changes. (Peter, 2013)

With effective use of supply chain management, Wolf Motors can streamline the acquisition processes and maintain efficient inventory control while reducing unnecessary inventory warehousing.