Sustainability for the Future Global Supply Chain - Case Study Example

Sustainability for the Future Global Supply Chain Introduction The supply chain management entails all activities that lead to the establishment of the processes that facilitates the right consumers to get the right products in the expected quantity and time plan (Harvard Business School, 2006, p 7).The products incorporate the raw materials to finished consumer purchases. The process of understanding the supply chain management focuses on the core concepts entailed in planning and forecasting, product assembly, purchasing, moving, distributing, storage, sales and customer services. Therefore, the professionals entailed in the activity participate actively in all facets of the business process as they strive to institute sustainable competitive advantage for their businesses or organizations. The founding of a new or existing venture requires the conceptualization of the supply chain management in the business process and the institution of the concepts entailed in the practice to facilitate successful and sustainable supply chain (Palevich, 2012, p 13). The company Coffee Warehouse is a new business established to provide high quality, full service distribution of specialty beverages and related supplies to coffee houses and espresso stands throughout London. The combined effort of the principle owners brings the management office of the business at high levels of customer engagement service and experience in managing distribution and sales. Thus, from this perspective, the business will benefit significantly in exploring the concepts entailed in facilitating sustainable global supply chain. Background information The business analysis The Coffee Warehouse business provides high quality and full service distribution of coffee in the region of its operations. The ownership, which constitutes of Steve and Jennifer Smith both combine their experience in the capacity of office management, customer service and distribution and sales management. The firm has commitments to facilitate distribution to independent retailers throughout the London market and its outskirts, as it initializes its financial arrangements and progress in the supply chains. The sales projections of the firm began at $2, 229,000 the first year and increased accordingly in the second year and third year of operation to $2, 936,000. The net profit projection extends to $406,000 at the last part of this third year of operation. Therefore, observing the progress of the firm in its existent operation structures, the development of a sustainable supply chain is key to the projection of the business accordingly to higher levels of success. The firm has distinguishing characteristics in business operations, combining the experience in management, sales and distribution of highly innovative products and exceptional customer service. The particulate distinguishing characteristic is that it is the only full service distribution firm servicing coffee and specialty beverage in the market. Further The Coffee Warehouse is exclusively distributing its products to the customers directly; hence, it is engaging the customers extensively in the market. The objectives of the supply chain in this case include establishing successful coffee and new age distributorship in the market, increasing its professional workmanship accordingly. The procedure also seeks to grow its regular customer base to over 500 by the fifth year of operation. The business understands the need to develop stronger relations with the key customers as indispensable partners rather than just as another supplier or consumer. The business understand the role of working closely with the customers to recommend the processes entailed in product assortment to ensure the achievement of appropriate stocking levels, pricing and promotional ideas. The Coffee Warehouse seeks out the manufactures to represent the most innovative and exciting products in engaging the customers, they service; thus, they are selling a service. The key to success in the elemental industry of supplying product accordingly is innovation in quality products. This process facilitates the core essence of the supply chain, as an understanding of the concepts is key. The individualized customer service aims at providing the customers with the expectations they have over the procedures of the supply chain. Current policies The supply chain theories and concepts operate in strict adherence of the featuring laws to the market in question. The approach to engage responsible supply chain management requires observation of policies bordering the areas of labour, health, ethics and safety, diversity, the environment and associated management systems (Mentzer, 2001, p 67). As a responsible corporate citizen, the firm aims to operate within the confines of the economical, social and environmental sustainable guidelines. The policy requirements instituting responsible supply chain require that the suppliers, distributors, and related customers in the market observe the conceptualization of policies accordingly. The expectation is that all the business entities proceed with their supplier conduct in ethical manner observing integrity and fair competition (Harvard Business School, 2006, p 48). No elements of corruption, extortion and embezzlement are acceptable in the process of engaging the suppliers or customers. The ethics policy also expects the firm to practice fair competitive procedures such as accurate and truthful advertising and product promotions. In consideration of the supplier engagements, the need to address privacy is key as it is essential to protect the confidential information of the firm, workers and stakeholders. The firm also commits to uphold the rights of the workers under them, treating them with dignity and respect (Skjott-Larsen & Schary, 2007, p 26). Discrimination and child labour are vices that the firm shall not engage in facilitating the supply chain processes. The supply chain also requires the operation of the business in committing and complying to the applicable environmental regulations. The firm deals in sensitive products entailing coffee and beverage supplies. Therefore, permits and licenses, as well as, restrictions are strict and the firm is liable to the environmental regulation policies. The firm will face these core challenges as it manoeuvres its expansive business operations (Khan & Zsidisin, 2011, p 34). The waste and emissions management is also an entity of significance in the engagements of the firm. To respond to the requirements for managing the systems of supply, the business will need to establish safe handling, movement and storage of the waste, including procedures such as recycling and reusing the discharges from its operations (Palevich, 2012, p 34). The firm also requires the processing of the risk assessment program that it employs to ensure quality in its supply and distribution systems. The system expects to facilitate safety, competency and continual assessment and inspections to review the operations accordingly (Harvard Business School, 2006, p 76). This establishment will foster the progress of the firm as it manages its supply chains. The sustainability for global supply chain recommendations The definition of sustainable development is that it ought to meet the needs of the present while ensuring it does not compromise on the ability of the future generations to meet their needs. The objectives of facilitating for sustainable development include ensuring the maintenance of a high and stable level of economic growth and employment. This objective is key to the establishment of successful operations in engaging the customers and stakeholders in the market. The second objective of sustainability development for the future is ensuring effective protection of the environment. The environment is elemental to the setting of a successful business, as the business does not operate in space (Ross, 2000, p 32). Therefore, factors and policies relating to the environment are core to the establishment and development of a successful business operation (Harvard Business School, 2006, p 96). The cause in this element features facilitating the effective protection of its surroundings to ensure the business establishes workable relations with the surrounding of the business. The other objective of sustainable development is to provide the social progress, which recognizes the needs of everyone. It is factual that the wastes and emissions resulting from the supply chains are becoming a key source of serious environmental hazards including global warming and acid rain among others (Kersten, 2008, p 14). The binding environment legislation and pressures as imposed in this course incorporates he internal and external customers and stakeholder perspectives (Hugos, 2002, p 78). Globally operating companies are rapidly integrating the perspectives of sustainability in their supply chains through facilitating and acting in observance to the necessary environmental steps including designing systems for reusing and recycling. The added corporate interest is that sustainability chains attract the notable attention among the academics. This creates the platform for incisive research, which integrates the environmental issues traced within the supply chains (Harvard Business School, 2006, p 124). Thus, supply chain management is gaining popularity remarkably fast and understanding the notion of environmentally sound practices in supply chain systems requires established frameworks within the firm in operation (Palevich, 2012, p 64). Sustainable supply management entails understanding the material information incorporated in the business operations of the firm. The supply chain, while taking the objectives of the dimensions of sustainable development, that is economic, environmental, and social considerations, it ought to take account of the customer and stakeholder requirements (Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky & Simchi-Levi, 2004, p 57). Therefore, analyzing The Coffee Warehouse, the firm needs to define its services and raw materials from suppliers to the customers featuring the facilitators for social and environmental assessments. The optimization of the supply chain extends to the entire network of operation of the firm, necessitating the need to evaluate the product entities of the firm. Notably, to facilitate the sustainability management, the firm needs to define the product design, manufacturing, life extension and recovery processes (Hugos, 2002, p 88). The considerations are key to establishing and meeting customer requirements with respect to economical, social, and environmental considerations. Sustainable development in this course has potential of impacting the future policy, current operations and future business growth in models and operations (Frazelle, 2002, p 56). The legislation binding the sustainability adoption of the practices positive to the environment and business progress will facilitate the success of the firm. The binding legislation is what institutes the achievement of the sustainable supply chain management. The stakeholders and customers initiate the binding environmental policies through imposing pressure to the firm to act responsibly on a voluntary basis. The substantial effect of observing sustainable supply chain management for the firm will include facilitating increased efficiency. Further, instituting the supply chain management will reduce the costs of operations and increase the internal and external satisfaction of the customer (Hugos, 2002, p 97). Further, to the business, it also incorporates increased sales and market share all facilitated through established and effective risk assessment and management strategies. The focus on frameworks for managing business and the concepts of leadership enticed in management as a process, the social aspects of supply chain management reflect the environmental and economic concerns (Kersten, 2008, p 21). The application of the varied frameworks for managing the supply chains will prioritize the activities for the firm to ensure it keeps performing in the wake of the challenging operational struggles (Waters, 2007, p 67). The complex drivers of the internal and external markets of the firm are key to understanding g the barriers the company faces. The drivers and barriers of the sustainable supply chain management for the firm will affect the competitiveness, eco-efficiency, multi-criteria decision making in supply chain and relations between the supply chains and suppliers. Further, it affects the role of organizational learning, corporate culture, and management support and supplier participation in application of the sustainable supply chain management as well as the corporate social practices of the firm in reacting towards establishing corporate environmental sustainability (Kersten, 2008, p 24). Therefore, the Coffee Warehouse firm initiates the establishment of workable systems in the market of its operation. The literature and practical frameworks for sustainable supply chain feature around the management team of the business. The form as an operating entity requires meaningful addition of the structures of learning and understanding of the concepts entailed in the framework the organizational learning activity, environmental attitude, management support and corporate environmental responsibilities (Waters, 2007, p 82). The role of cultural and national integrations affecting the firm also reflects in the course of the firm development. Therefore, to counter this element as established, the role expected is developing a complete global compact association of signatories to engage the suppliers (Palevich, 2012, p 43). The establishment of the knowledge and capacity to implement and integrate the principles of sustainability established accordingly. Therefore, before setting the frameworks for ensuring sustainability within the firm, the firm needs to incorporate and establish the capacity to handle the integrated principles of the supply chain operations. The other challenge identified in the operational rationale of the firm is the need to embed the sourcing processes. Therefore, the firm needs to improve its processes accordingly to achieve the global compact facilitated as a platform for identifying and promoting sector. The sector of facilitating wholesale supplies also comes with initiatives whose guidance ensures the sustainability considerations (Palevich, 2012, p 86). Therefore, the firm in this case needs to incorporate the structured critical issues that integrate the guidance of the objectives of the market. Further, since the subject of supply chain sustainability is a topic whose combination is across varied disciplines, the supply chain should incorporate working closely with those in the strategy to address the global compact issues existent in the firm, including human rights observance, labour, and environment (Cetinkaya, 2010, p 89). Observing these recommendations will propel the firm to achieve its core objectives as it meets the objectives of the sustainability of global supply chain management. References Cetinkaya, B. (2010). Sustainable supply chain management: practical ideas for moving towards best practice. Berlin, Springer. Frazelle, E. (2002). Supply chain strategy the logistics of supply chain management. New York, McGraw-Hill. Harvard Business School. (2006). Harvard business review on supply chain management. Boston, Harvard Business Review. http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=21112. [Accessed 6/11/2014]. Hugos, M. (2002). Essentials of Supply Chain Management. New York, John Wiley & Sons. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=151950userid=^u. Kersten, W. (2008). Global Logistics Management: Sustainability, Quality, Risks. Berlin, Schmidt. Khan, O., & Zsidisin, G. A. (2011). Handbook for supply chain risk management: case studies, effective practices, and emerging trends. Ft. Lauderdale, FL, J. Ross Pub. Mentzer, J. T. (2001). Supply chain management. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.], Sage Publ. Palevich, R. (2012). The lean sustainable supply chain: how to create a green infrastructure with lean technologies. Upper Saddle River, N.J, FT Press. Ross, D. F. (2000). Competing through supply chain management: creating market-winning strategies through supply chain partnerships. Boston, Kluwer Academic Publ. Simchi-Levi, D., Kaminsky, P., & Simchi-Levi, E. (2004). Managing the supply chain. New York, McGraw-Hill. Skjott-Larsen, T., & Schary, P. B. (2007). Managing the global supply chain. Køge, Denmark, Copenhagen Business School Press. Waters, C. D. J. (2007). Global logistics new directions in supply chain management. London, Kogan Page Read More