Operations, Logistic, and Supply Chain Management - Essay Example

? Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management SelectedTechnology and its Impact on Productivity The electric sewing machine was patented in 1889 by the Singer Sewing Company, which revolutionized operations in textile and retail industries. Historically, during a period in history where the distribution infrastructure for apparel was limited, productivity was measured simplistically as output divided by consumed resources. Productivity measures included assessing the cost of goods sold, including supply chain procurement and labor costs and then taking an inventory of total output as measured by understood labor required for each unit ready to distribute. With the invention of the electric sewing machine, the ability to mass produce garments gave businesses much more flexibility in design that ultimately complicated measuring productivity as it included many new variables both human capital-related and manufacturing modifications needed to serve complex social markets. By 1900, productivity in industries had been improved by 500 percent with the ability to rely on electricity to power sewing machines (Schmeichen, 1984). Productivity was now being measured by much more complex statistical and process systems, taking into account not only units of labor and output, but apparel variations, customer demand in key target regions of the country, facilities management, quality control systems, and recognition of costs for unique production systems to meet new design demand. The ability to provide innovation in apparel and textiles altered the demand of customers throughout the nation and internationally during a period where global trade was on the increase, demanding new measures of productivity to ensure profit growth and efficiency on various garment and textiles production systems. Whereas in previous years using non-electric sewing machines, productivity was a measure of the human capability and capacity to generate output, new systems allowing for elements of automation were added to productivity calculations that required more management intervention in assessing productivity and the development of training on automated and fast-output textile and apparel production systems. Essentially, the introduction of the electric sewing machine in 1889 completely altered the role of management in establishing quality standards, measuring productive outputs, assessing recruitment needs for more skilled labor to improve productivity, and establishing controls in multi-system production efforts. The Transformation in Restaurants One of the most common themes in restaurants today is the establishment of Total Quality Management, since brand sentiment and service delivery related to customer satisfaction are critical to sustaining competitive advantage and building consumer loyalty. The “diversity of customer preferences” as it relates to pricing, quality menu outputs, and service delivery dictate how the business differentiates its brand from other competing restaurants (Thompson, 2008, p.148). Transformation in this industry, as driven by consumer influence, occurs continuously as the business attempts to establish a culture that is driven toward producing quality food and service outputs that fluctuates with changing diner lifestyles and needs in consumption. In the restaurant, there are inter-dependencies between the cooking staff, management and service staff that must have an operational system of best practice established to ensure total quality outputs. In such a highly competitive industry, the business must consider how to position itself among competition with a heavy reliance on marketing, promotion and customer satisfaction establishment. Such satisfaction requires that price is in-line with quality, that service is performed according to branding expectations and pricing, and that procurement of items meet with anticipated food costs and pricing structures established. Transformation occurs with new menu offerings to meet with consumer demand and in reorganizing systems to improve efficiency and quality control. The total quality management system provides synergies through shared resource know-how throughout the business, conformance to industry or business-established standards, and reputation in the consumer market (Garvin, 1987). Transformation in service delivery to meet new quality or service standards involves redefining job role through job analysis, redeveloping a systems structure by which inter-dependencies flow throughout the entire work system, and ensuring training so that service standards best practices are met with a quality focus. Transformation also occurs in the restaurant environment through promotional marketing to gain a quality-based or values-based reputation with key target markets. The success or failures of marketing efforts dictate service volumes associated with revenues, that will radically alter labor requirements. In this situation, transformation related to establishing inter-dependencies to provide the product and associated services occurs and time becomes a variable in quality management and operational strategy that increases influence or decreases influence based on customer growth through promotion. The Next “Big Thing” Affecting National Productivity Social media is the next “big thing” that will impact national productivity. Many businesses are developing their operational models based on competitive marketing and gaining target market attention through innovative promotional strategy. The level of brand establishment and customer loyalty achieved directly impacts output volumes and procurement needs when sales revenues increase. A modernizing consumer relies on Internet technologies and the phenomenon of recent brand communities, online forums whereby customers interact with companies through development of virtual sales platforms and blogging to share experiences and product reviews. Apple, a major technology provider, relies heavily on social media to promote the brand and sustain its brand loyalty in its desired target markets (Goodson, 2011). Through social media, elements of customer relationship management are established through a medium where reputation is affected and thus sales increase. The mobility of the modern consumer related to smartphone applications and the emerging mobile marketing concepts in business give new flexibility in reaching customers and establishing relationships in convenient and lifestyle-relevant environments. Incentives, sales promotions, or opportunities to participate in marketing research can be provided in social media that gives customers a better psycho-social connection with a company, its values and its products and/or services. How does this impact productivity? Increases in sales and reputation occurring through social media changes the procurement model within the supply chain, based on customer-generated preferences for product development and modifications to better suit their needs. This customer-centric approach to performing business and improving production and quality controls alter the variables of output and input on a continuous cycle. Thus, continuous improvement processes are developed nationally which either reduce cycle time for product development or production. Recognized complex modifications identified through social media research studies or improvements in revenues created by better customer relationship management in this forum impacts product concept, time to market for competitive advantage, and also new technology support tools. Productivity is significantly impacted by the success of using social media and the operational impacts created by this new marketing focus. The Viability of the World Trade Organization The role of the World Trade Organization is to assist in facilitating effective and mutually-beneficial trade between global import and export partners. It serves to establish the guidelines of trade, including negotiating trade disputes, taking into consideration economic, social, contractual and regional infrastructure capabilities of various trade regions. The WTO is a mediating authority in trade activities to ensure compliance from both or multiple parties involved in trade activities. Is the WTO primarily good or the United States? Yes. The WTO ensures one specific compliance measure is adhered to, which involves intellectual property protection. In some regions of the country, especially the U.S., many businesses maintain their competitive or even comparative advantages through the establishment of unique product designs and patents. The intensity of competitive branding in companies that strongly impact both operational systems and profitability between market players in similar industries will determine the ability of the business to be sustained with customers. The World Trade Organization works as an advocate for reducing counterfeiting, which occurs regularly in China, and seeks to ensure that such protections are not infringed upon by other trade partners. In some markets, especially emerging markets, there is limited competition and a business entering this market through export activities can be a dominant sales leader. Other trade partners can replicate certain trademarked or copyrighted software or consumer products in an attempt to flood the market with replicated goods at a lower price. The WTO ensures a business can sustain this intellectual property advantage and thus limits activities that threaten business protections. Further, there are critics of the WTO who believe that its presence threatens outsourcing activities and labor costs for businesses that use labor in developing nations to reduce production or service costs (Ahearn & Fergusson, 2010). However, the WTO actually works as a mediating force as it relates to the establishment of labor standards internationally. By acting to improve labor conditions and competitive pay structures for exploited workers, it returns the incentive to outsource back to the U.S. where more domestic workers are given opportunities in production and thus improves national GDP and business growth. The WTO serves to reduce dependency on foreign labor. The Discipline and Technology Impacting Future OM Development Just-in-Time procurement and operational strategy is a discipline of OM significantly impacted by RFID technology, the radio frequency identification system, that will impact future OM development. Just-in-Time deliveries consider using lean procurement models and reducing waste in the business, which involves maintaining lower inventories of finished and raw products, establishing a more efficient supply chain network, and setting operational production standards that promote the ability to work with limited products and still produce expected unit outputs. Managing the supply chain within a JIT philosophy involves developing strong supplier relationships, creating strategic alliances with needed materials suppliers, and focusing on core competencies both internally and with supplier networks to ensure that lean procurement can be sustained (Ragatz, et al. 1997; Copacino, 1996). Just-in-Time systems focus on efficiency in the supplier network to ensure that product can be delivered in shorter timeframes and establishing quality systems (such as QS9000 or ISO) so that the supplier businesses are trained on buyer needs and can meet compliance standards in JIT deliveries and product quality. Usually, this is more effective with businesses that have considerable buying power in the supplier network and can dictate standards and compliance guidelines as the switching costs to suppliers are relatively high for seeking new customer bases. RFID improves these efficiencies as the data from radio frequency tags give a more accurate real-time picture of inventory movements and sales, which can be linked to software matrices in ERP systems for more accurate procurement strategy. RFID also provides the ability to monitor movement of JIT products, which can allow for instant operational changes in the event of late or early deliveries of needed product. The synergies between this discipline and technology will improve cost controls, cost recognition, and also match production with supplier capacity and demand with greater efficiency and profitability opportunities. RFID gives a snapshot of product moving in the system and moving out with new capabilities to further streamline lean philosophy based on on-the-spot data acknowledgement. Improvement in the inter-dependencies between supplier and production can limit labor payments and many other synergies for OM improvements. References Ahearn, Raymond J. & Fergusson, Ian F. (2010). World Trade Organization (WTO): Issues in the Debate on Continued U.S. Participation, Congressional Research Service. Retrieved August 28, 2012 from http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/crs/R41291.pdf Coopacino, W.C. (1996). “Seven supply chain principles”, TraBc Management, 35(1), p.60. Garvin, David A. (1987). “Competing on the Eight Dimensions of Quality”, Harvard Business Review, November-December. Goodson, Scott. (2011). “Is Brand Loyalty the Core to Apple’s Success?”, Forbes Magazine Online, Retrieved August 27, 2012 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2011/11/27/is-brand-loyalty-the-core-to-apples- success-2/ Ragatz, G., Handgeld, R.B. & Scannell, T. (1997). “Success Factors for Integrating Suppliers into New Product Development”, Journal of Production Innovation Management, 14(1), pp.190-202. Schmeichen, James A. (1984). Sweated Industries and Sweated Labor. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Thompson, A. (2008). The Five Generic Competitive Strategies: Which One to Employ?, University of Alabama, Retrieved August 27, 2012 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/92580197/Five-Generic-Business-Level-Strategies- Thompson-Et-Al-Chap5 Read More