Do IT Investments Really Pay off - Essay Example

Article Analysis Article Do IT Investments Really Pay Off What is the single most important lesson/message of the article The single foremost important thing for any organization that intends to be profitable in the long run is the effective management of supply chain. For the proper management of supply chain, not just the investment in IT but more than that the need for the business processes to be inline with the information technology is important. The basic lesson that is reflected in the article is that there is a strong linkage between the IT strategy that is implemented, the business process that underlies the company's operations and the management of supply chain. Investing only in the business processes does not reap beneficial results for a company; neither investment only in the information technology infrastructure has favorable outcomes. A proper balance between the fully-grown business processes and the recognized Information Technology being used is needed in order to attain best supply chain performance results. This is because the improvement in the performance of the supply chain is dependent partially on the strength of the Information Technology used and partially it is dependent on the levels of business processes of the company. Accompanied with the investment in the IT technology, a supportive and dedicated staff is also very important. The need for the simultaneous investment in the IT technology and business processes is because IT just provides with information necessary to function. But to make the most of this information, proper business processes re required. This is the reason why a combination of IT technology and business processes results in best supply chain performance results. Thus, it is important to realize that the business processes of the company and the IT infrastructure together re responsible for any inefficiencies or improvements in the results of the supply chain management and processes. Investing in either one of them lead to inefficiencies in the supply chain processes. 2. Do you think the lesson/message is supported or refuted by what we studied in the course Most of the articles that were reviewed during the course support the basic message that is reflected in this article. The different cases of the different companies, for example, Toyota supply chain, Dell, pefa.com and GM support the claim that for the proper management of the supply chain of the organizations, investment in IT is accompanied by the investment in the business processes. Toyota, as we have studied posses a very efficient supply chain system. Toyota uses the just-in-time inventory method for its supply chain management. And the most important thing is that without the investment in IT and business processes both, a proper supply chain system is not possible. Thus, one of the most successful company; Toyota, also believes in the simultaneous investment in the business processes s well s in IT. The same is the case with one of the market leaders in computer hardware/software company, Dell. Dell offers the facility of building your own system online. For providing such a facility, Dell of course needs mastery in its supply chain processes. Dell also has invested both in IT and has also given proper attention towards its business processes for building such n efficient supply chain system that can predict and forecast the customers' requirements. Other examples of such companies are Wal-Mart, pef.com, peapod, HP and GM. Although GM dint had a very efficient supply chain system but after the formation of NUMMI, GM adopted the best practices of Toyota and was able to form such n efficient supply chain system that remains unmatched. Same is the case with pef.com which is n online auctioning for the fishers; possess such an efficient supply management system that is not possible without simultaneous investment in IT and business processes both. Article 2: Creating and Sustaining the High-Performance Business: Research and Insights on the Role of Supply Chain Mastery 1. What is the single most important lesson/message of the article The basic message reflected in the article is that the most of the companies that are profitable and achieve best performance results is because of their emphasis on the supply chain processes. These businesses have clear and measurable actions that they perform and practice in order to attain a differentiating strategy in the market. The companies attaining the best performance in the market possess crystal clear strategic missions and business processes that assist them to have a lead in the market. The use of right information at the right time for correct decision king is also a very important aspect of the supply chain management. Proper use of information is crucial to the success of any High-performance business. Collaboration with the suppliers is the key to supply chain management processes. Proper relationships with the suppliers of the company help in enhancing the financial strength of the company. This is because, in the end, it is the proper supply chain management that is responsible for the ultimate success of the organizations. Thus it is very important to continuously monitor, improve and bring bout innovations in the supply chain processes. Thus, the basic message that is presented in the article is that the process of supply chain management is crucially important and is the characteristic of high performance businesses. The article presents a very powerful, consistent and dependable relationship between supply chain and the financial performance of any organization. The process of innovation and end-to-end process integration is also highlighted s being crucially important in the field of supply chain management. 2. Do you think it is supported or refuted by what we studied in the course The articles and almost all of the course material that we studied provides us with the evidence that the companies today that possess the highest share in the market or re the market leader have a mastery in their supply chain processes. No company that is a market leader is found to have a poor supply chain management system. Though the company belongs to any industry, but for the successful companies have n edge in their supply chain management processes. Dell, a market leader, which posses the facility for its customers to build online systems has n excellent supply chain management system. Same is the case with the market leaders of the automotive industry, Toyota and General Motors. Both of the companies possess outstanding supply chain system which is responsible for the success of these companies. The successful online auctioning system for the fishers, pef.com, has also proved right that is reflected in this article. The proper management of such a vast system is not possible without the proper management of the supply chain processes. At Wal-Mart, Zara, HP and peapod also, we have studied that the company re very successful in establishing their brand name in the market. These companies possess excellent supply chain management system, which explains the reason of their success. BIBLIOGRPHY: 1. David Frederick Ross. Competing Through Supply Chain Management: Creating Market-winning Strategies Through Supply Chain Partnerships. Published by Springer. 2005. 13-15. Read More