A Publicly Owned Large Company - Research Paper Example

?  4th March A Publicly Owned Large Company Viewpoint  In this case, a discussion about a meeting betweensupplier and its customer is given. Supplier is mentioned as the company namely Supplier A Inc. while customer is a company namely Success Inc. This case briefly analyzes the real world problems which a company might face while having a meeting in order to select its supplier. If the problems are not resolved at the first stage i.e. while having meetings, then there are considerable chances of facing immense amount of problems later on. This case provides insights about the potential problems which may arise at the stage of having first meeting with the potential supplier. Central Problem  Jill Turner, representative of Success Inc. is having a meeting with Supplier A Inc. in order to find out if they are competent enough to be selected as a supplier for Success Inc. During the meeting, Jill encountered various issues. These issues included the strange quietness of the representatives of Supplier A Inc., not checking the business cards of the representatives which can be considered as Jill’s own mistake, not being sure where the headquarter of the company is located and not knowing who is the right person to talk with. In the subsequent paragraphs, discussion has been provided about how to cope up with such problems, why these problems arise and what were the reasons behind such problems. Statement of Objectives  There are certain areas which need to be analyzed and evaluated before commencing a meeting. If that is not done, than it might lead to wrong decision making and ultimately will end up in against of the company. Wrong decision will definitely cause loss of money and time to the company therefore it is required to be very careful before taking such big decision. This case analyzes what mistakes can occur during meeting while selecting a supplier. Areas of Consideration (SWOT)  Strengths The strength of Success Inc is that it has smart representative namely Jill Turner, who sincerely looks for all the pros and cons before choosing any supplier. Success Inc is very cautious while selecting a supplier which is the strength of this company. Success Inc.’s representatives hold meetings with each of the potential supplier before selecting the right one. They analyze and evaluate each and every aspect so as to avoid any serious problems in future. Weakness The weakness which Success Inc. possesses is that its representatives at times make such mistakes which can cause loss of time and money to the company. Representatives of Success Inc need to be more careful and must not be so judgemental. Threats By not analyzing own mistakes and ignoring those mistakes, there are chances for the supplier to get the deal by showing misleading facts and figures. Success Inc. needs to analyze each and every single point before coming to the final decision otherwise the suppliers might take the advantage and therefore the threat of bargaining power of supplier can increase substantially. Opportunities After analyzing the case, it seems that the opportunity that Success Inc. has is that they usually do not have time pressure. By not being bounded to the time frame, they can take as much time as they want and can study comprehensively about each supplier. The financial position, previous performance, lead time, delivery and quality are some areas which need to be considered thoroughly before taking any final decision. Time Context Success Inc. doesn’t have any time pressure which means that they are not compelled to launch a particular product in particular time frame which gives Success Inc. an edge in studying more carefully about the potential suppliers. Alternative Courses of Action  Selecting an appropriate supplier is not an easy task for large companies. There are many areas to consider before selecting a supplier. Most often, companies mislead the information so accurately in order to get the deal that it becomes difficult in considering if the facts and figures are true or not. In this case, Success Inc. has finalized the deal with Supplier A Inc. because of various reasons. After studying the case, it became evident that Success Inc. possesses good reputation in market. This can be observed by seeing the interest of its supplier towards the deal which they want to get settled with Success Inc. Due to this reason; Success Inc has various viable options in selecting its supplier. Alternative course of action which Success Inc has is selecting that supplier which has strong financial position, provides the best quality in the least possible time. Final Decision  Success Inc. finalized the deal with Supplier A Inc. due to various reasons. First, they possess good market reputation. The company is listed at NASDAQ which means that it must be doing its business very well. Another reason is the strong financial position of Supplier A Inc. In the case, the representatives of Supplier A Inc. have clearly mentioned the past and current financial position of Supplier A Inc. They have clearly stated that the company has made higher sales last year than the previous year and in the current year they are following the same path. Detailed Action Plan Any company must not choose its suppliers blindly. Instead, a proper action plan must be designed which incorporates all the necessary requirements which are essential while choosing a supplier. This action plan of choosing a supplier differs from company to company. For Success Inc, detailed action plan for selecting the best possible supplier is mentioned in the subsequent paragraphs. Financial Stability The first and foremost important criterion is to evaluate the financial stability of the supplier. In this case, the financial stability of the supplier was very strong which became one of the foremost reason of selecting Supplier A Inc as the primary supplier for Success Inc. Quality Another important criterion for selecting a supplier is to acknowledge the quality of products which it manufactures. If the right quality is not provided, then the supplier must not be dealt with. Success Inc chose Supplier A Inc. also because they manufacture the required quality of products. Lead time After analyzing the quality, the firm should determine the lead time which means that how much time the supplier usually takes to deliver the final product to its customer. Delay in lead times can cause huge loss of time and money to a company. Productivity This factor must never be ignored. The more a company is productive, the more are the chances of providing benefits to its customers. Therefore, the company must also determine the productivity of the supplier. Economies of scale is another concept which judges the productivity of a manufacturing concern. Reference Ostring, Pirkko. Profit Focused Supplier Management. New York: American Management Association, 2004. Print. Read More