Overview of the article
Various operations management facts and theories are objectively presented throughout the article of “Supply and Demand Chain Management: The Effect of Adding Services to Product Offerings” by Oscar Bustinza, Glenn Parry and Ferran Vendrell-Herrero. These theories include supply chain management and competitive advantage, operations strategy and technology. The main purpose of the literature being reviewed is to address the research question of “How does changing the offering affect the supply and demand chain management?” (Bustinza, Parry. & Vendrell-Herrero, 2013, p. 618). They achieve their research objective through a study of the music industry and demonstrate how the digitization of the creative industries
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2013, p. 619)
Technology is a key component of the supply chain, and can completely alter the way that firms manufacture and distribute their finished products. The digitization of the creative industries is a significant factor disrupting the way that firms manage their supply and demand chain. To support this idea, the authors present the findings of a study that was undertaken on the consumers of the music industry. The findings show that the digitization of music has “effectively ‘broken’ the traditional manufacturing supply chain” (Bustinza, et al. 2013, p. 625). With technology becoming a growing factor throughout the world, firms may find that they will eventually have to change the way that they manufacture and distribute their products to cater for the different consumer groups. With the re-design of a supply chain, firms may be able to accommodate the technological change, although this is a costly and time-consuming process and firms would have to consider the repercussions that it would have on the manufacturing and distribution of their goods.
Operations strategy is not an aspect of operations management that is explicitly expressed throughout the article. Operations strategy refers to the way that firms use their resources to be able to support their long-term competitive strategy (SOURCE). In the context of the article,
Arntzen, B. C., G. G. Brown, T. P. Harrison, L. L. Trafton. 1995. Global supply chain management at Digital Corporation. Interfaces 25(1) 69-93.
The Home Depot had faced issues that affected its performance. One of the issues was that its supply chain activities were too decentralized and, therefore, each Home Depot store was responsible for “ordering, replenishing, and managing inventory, which consumed as much as 60% of store labor” (Bond, 2015). Similarly, the company’s suppliers and vendors would deliver their products directly to the retail stores which led to having less customer-associate interaction. Also, the company realized that a structure that was too decentralized can lead to having less control over its activities, may drift away from the company’s vision and mission, and may also lead to fragmentation. Thus, the Home Depot sought to improve and enhance its customer experience in order to have a better shopping experience. Hence, the company decided that the best
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
Chase, R.B., Jacobs, F. R., & Aquilano, N.J. (2006) Operations management for competitive advantage (11th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin
Fierce competition, fluctuating market demand and rising customer requirements has led to customers becoming more demanding with increased preferences (Zhang and Cheng, 2006). In, the 21 st century, participating largely in globalization has created significant opportunities, and at the same time, put pressure on the automotive industry manufacturers to enhance quality, improve styling, increase organizational efficiencies and drive innovative features into their products in an effort to attract customers and expand into new markets (BCC, 2005). This paper explores the concept of supply chain management with a case study of one of the greatest motor brands BMW. We will look at the supply chain strategy of the company and how successfully it
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
Here, from my readings, I will define the two related terms and concepts which are the corporate strategy and Strategic Operations Management. Then, I will discuss the link between them. Next, I will provide four perspectives of the operations strategy. Finally, I will highlight some examples from the operations strategy of Jaguar Land Rover and how it is helping the company to achieve its business objectives.
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 explores the way organizations produce and distribute goods and services. Everything you wear, eat, sit on, use or read comes to you courtesy of the
An operations strategy is all about harmonising the features of the operations function with the requirements of the market in order to fulfil the needs of the business. A full appreciation of this process requires not merely an understanding of the ideas and methods used to develop an operations strategy but also knowledge of the techniques and principles involved in its implementation or execution thereof. Implementation requires knowledge of operations systems and polices including those that relate to resource planning and activity control, quality, plant management, motivation and organisation of people, performance metrics and continuous improvement.
The Spanish retail chain Zara has unique supply chain management practices that enable it to gain a competitive advantage over other fashion retailers in the industry. Zara’s rapid response time enables the firm to quickly respond to changing fashions while deliberately under producing products. This strategy, which is supported by competencies in logistic management, design and information systems, allows the company to maintain less inventory and higher profit margins and is a key factor to Zara’s success. The firm should continue to add value by seeking new opportunities to expand in the retail market and maintain their sustainable growth.
Operations management is an area of management concerned with overseeing, designing, and controlling the process of production and redesigning business operations in the production of goods or services. The main influences on operation management include;
This will advance the effectiveness of a company. Alibaba is a leading case in point of exactly how once companies are digitally associated; the occasions for all contestants of the supply chain are substantial. Consumers and contractors can take benefit of orthodox-through dispensation, smaller amount exemptions, augmented limpidity, and the prospect to fetch low-priced bankrolling selections to the supply chain by means of pecuniary amenities. (Slyvest, 2016) On the other hand, if we talk about the offline company, which is IBM whose supply chain management (SCM) solutions can assistance you, encounter consumer ultimatum by quickening interval to marketplace even though custody your costs truncated over and done with a lessening in catalogue. On or after industrialized and integrated circuit technology to merchandizing and pharmaceuticals, IBM propositions wide-ranging clarifications with metrics to assistance you observe portfolio, in receipt of, business, and logistics. Discriminate your occupational by transporting extraordinary-superiority merchandises and amenities-with speediness and nimbleness-to encounter fluctuating customer ultimatum.
Q1) In today’s business environment, no enterprise can expect to build a successful product, process, or service advantage without affiliating their strategies with those of the supply chain system in which they are heavily linked. The literature examined for the purpose of this essay identifies the many different definitions of Supply Chain Management and the overall effectiveness of supply chain management to a business in the twenty first century. This essay also highlights whether supply chain management is a passing fad or a fundamental change.
Supply chain holds a special place in B2B e-business. With the growth of internet and businesses operating electronically, the product life cycle has reduced to a large extent. This has increased the competition among the organizations to better manage their supply chain to satisfy the customers need in a competitive market. With the growth of information technology, the trends in determining the demand and supply are changing drastically. The organizations are developing and implementing better systems, which can forecast the demand and supply in a flexible way to the changing needs. The changing business market has forced the organizations to employ highly skilled people on a better infrastructure and to develop supply chain mechanisms,