Business Operations and Systems - Essay Example

Unipart has become one of the most successful logistics companies in the UK and delivers goods to global companies like Vodafone Jaguar, Airbus, Hewlett Packard, and retail companies like Halfords and ASOS (Sherlock, 2008). The main reason behind its efficient delivery system is the Lean methodology concept. Lean methodology is a concept which can be applied to all types of companies to improve the efficiency level of the employees (Nash, Poling and Ward, 2006). The basic approach of Lean methodology is to identify and eliminate unwanted wastes in a company (Graban, 2011).

There are usually eight types of wastes in every company. The first type of waste is producing goods more than it is required. The second type of waste is excessive inventory which increases the warehousing and storage costs. The third type of waste is unnecessary movement of goods and employees because it does not add value to the productivity of the company. The fourth type of waste is the unnecessary processing of goods and services which adds no value to the products and services from the viewpoint of a customer. . The below mentioned chart will describe the Lean methodology in details: Figure 1: Lean Methodology Concepts ( Source: Nash, Poling and Ward, 2006) Challenges faced by Unipart Like any organization, Unipart faced a number of challenges.

Initially, Unipart was part of a state owned motor vehicle manufacturer. Later, the government sold Unipart to its former managers. The managers decided to come up with a unique management strategy that would motivate the employees and increase the efficiency levels of the workers. Most of the workers in Unipart had completed a basic level in education since their main task involved loading and unloading of the packages. Extensive training was imparted to the workers to improve their skills but the management faced certain challenges like there were protests from the workers and trade unions.

The training could not address to the basic issues and problems of the workers (Sherlock, 2008).x The managers of Unipart tried following the management principles of global companies like Toyota, but it failed to produce any effective results (Sherlock, 2008). Remedies to the challenges The managers stopped imitating the management principles of global companies and evolved their own theory which was termed as “The Unipart Way”. This theory included certain key components like “The University on the Shop Floor”.

This was a learning centre that was open throughout the working hours of the company and workers were welcomed with any sort of queries at any time of the day. The managers also introduced e-learning and work-based assessment facilities. These techniques of improving the company performance proved to be beneficial (Sherlock, 2008).