Improved Supply Chain Management Benefits

Improved Supply Chain Management Benefits Improved supply chain management has the following benefits: Reduced stock holding. The implementation of effective supply chain a company can reduce the number of stocks it is keeping and at the same time improving the customer service. Reducing stocks on hand will avoid incurring holding costs which is the cost the company pays for storing stocks. It includes warehousing and labour to keep the stocks. Good communication between the company and its suppliers, knowing the minimum stocks needed before reorder, proper estimation of demand, and understanding the mode of transportation will help to determine the correct volume of stocks the company needs in a given period will help it to eliminate excess inventory. Managing the information and communicating and sharing it effectively to suppliers and customers will result to accuracy of the level of stocks needed at a certain period. The inventory level must be enough to meet the demands of the customers and with the minimum costs to be incurred. The supply and the demand for a product must be balanced. Reducing the sto cks avoid tying the company’s capital on unnecessary stocks. Elimination of waste. Waste in form of spoilages, defects, theft and obsolescence can be minimized and possibly eliminated through having the right inventory level to keep on a particular period. Overstocking or overproduction will result to wastes and losses for the company. Customers are only after receiving the right quantity and good quality at the right time. Activities such as unnecessary movement of goods within the warehouse, and warehousing which does not add value to customers should be eliminated. Implementation of an effective supply chain will make this possible. Proper coordination with suppliers and understanding logistics are the keys to deliver customer service and demand at the right place, quantity and time. Improved customer service. Effective supply chain will increase efficiency within a company. Efficient company can deliver best services to customers. It important to recognise what the customers really want and that is what the company will deliver. Only those value adding activities are practices within the company. Value adding activities are those processes within the company that will add satisfaction to customers. Products should be delivered to customers on time and in accordance to their specifications. The customers demand should not just be met but should also be exceeded. Reduced Labour Costs. Effective supply chain will reduce labour costs. Because the processes in the company is well planned and defined, duties and personnel are not redundant. Unnecessary functions are eliminated thus resulting to reduced labour costs. One example is that when a company is maintaining only the right volume of inventory, it will not be needing more people to do the stocking, operating forklift, people who will secure the warehouse and supervisor. Improved Manufacturing Planning. The raw materials required, the timing of deliveries and other activities and resources related to planning a manufacturing of product must all be considered in order to produce a product with the least costs but with good quality that at the end would satisfy customers. In planning the resources, the company should be ready for contingencies and should address the question â€Å"what-if†. Through careful planning, manufacturing a product can be carried on without any reservation because all the possibilities were considered. Just In Time. Just in time is an inventory strategy wherein goods are only received only when needed in production process  [1]. Through this strategy, wastes and carrying costs are minimized because a company is just holding right amount of stocks that will make it able to meet the demands of the customers. This strategy will be effective if the company has strong relationship with suppliers. These suppliers are willing to deliver more frequently and on time to meet customers demand. Methods to overcome barriers in an organisation when implementing a supply chain improvement strategy Inappropriate distribution networks. Distribution network as defined is interrelated arrangement of people, storage facilities and transportation systems that moves goods and services from producers to consumers  [2]. The distribution network should be reliable and fast customers want to get their products when they want it. Inappropriate distribution networks will hinder the proper and fast movement of products from manufacture to customer that is why there should be proper planning on who and what should be included in the distribution network. Ineffective distribution strategies. Distribution strategy is the plan how a manufacturing company will transfer products to intermediaries such as wholesalers to retailers until it reach the end user  [3]. The strategy must we well thought and should use distribution networks that are reliable so that the products will reach customers at the right time. Trade-offs in logistical activity. Trade-offs in logistics may happen for example when deciding to have fewer depots, lowering stocks requirements or using less protective transport packaging in exchange for some advantages such as reducing costs or no need to have large storage facilities. The impact of these trade-off should be considered because this might cause loss in sales due to wrong order picking and other instances related to trade-offs. Reduction of transportation costs. Transportation is one of the costly expenses in supply chain. It is important to have the best quality transport that will bring goods to places at the right time and price. In order to reduce the cost of transportation, a company may reduce the number of carriers, consolidate deliveries and by single sourcing  [4]. In reducing the number of carriers, large volume of works will be given to selected carriers and they will be able to give lower rates. Deliveries may also be consolidated if the trip is based on weight, distance and other variables so that fewer trips will be made. Single sourcing of carrier, the company is getting quotations from several carriers detailing what is required. The company may select the best quotation that can meet the requirements and evaluate if the carrier can perform on the whole duration of the contract. If the carrier has these qualities, the company can get a lot of saving on having single carrier. 5. Increased inventory holding costs Holding costs are cost associated to stocks that are not yet sold  [5]. It includes labour costs, space or rental, costs of damaged goods and other expenses related on keeping the stocks. The company must determine the level of volume of stocks that it needs to keep in order to avoid these costs. Holding cost is also an opportunity cost because having lot of stocks would mean tying the cash on the stocks instead of using the cash on other parts of operation of the company. Inability to integrate processes through the supply chain to share information Supply chain involves information sharing. Supply chain links companies to other companies. If information are shared between companies, it will be available on a real time basis and the companies will be able see the demand and with the ultimate goal of meeting the demands of customers. When companies have reliable and accurate shared information, their processes will be synchronized. All the processes are done to meet what is required. Uncertainties are reduces which results to holding low level stocks that is just right to meet the customer demand. Poor inventory management. Inventory management can be successfully implemented if a company can make a purchasing plan that will ensure that what they hold is just what is needed. It is not too much or too less. Just in time inventory is a good strategy to keep inventory at a certain level wherein the company plans to receive goods only when it is needed thus reducing significantly holding costs. A company can successfully implement through a purchasing plan which schedules delivery of material through the forecasts and projections made on sales. Cash flow problems Reducing costs and avoiding cash flow problems are benefits of effective supply chain. Holding large volume of unnecessary stocks at a given period will cause cash flow problem in a company. Keeping these stocks is equivalent to costs and cash outlays. The company will pay large amount to suppliers but the stocks are not yet sold, tying the cash to the stocks. This will affect the liquidity of the company and can cause problem in a company. References: http://www.shelfplus.com/material-handling-hotline/ten-ways-to-reduce-inventory/ http://viktorwong-logistics.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/characteristics-of-supply-chain.html http://erp.cincom.com/2012/10/the-wicked-wastes-of-warehousing-2/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_resource_planning http://logistics.about.com/od/forsmallbusinesses/a/Reducing-Transportation-Costs.htm http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/inventory-management.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/holding-costs.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/distribution-network.asp http://www.adam-europe.eu/prj/7095/prj/CourieL_WP2_Chapter2_final.pdf [1] Investopedia. Just in Time. July 2014. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/j/jit.asp [2] Investopedia. Distribution Network. July 2014. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/distribution-network.asp [3] Business Dictionary. Distribution Strategy. July 2014. Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/distribution-strategy.html [4] Murray, M. Reducing Transportation Costs. July 2014. Retrieved from http://logistics.about.com/od/forsmallbusinesses/a/Reducing-Transportation-Costs.htm [5] Investopedia. Holding Costs. July 2014. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/holding-costs.asp

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On October 25th, 2013, at Wenling City First Hospital, close to Shanghai, China, a 33-year-old man, furious at the result of an operation over an year ago on his nose, stabbed a doctor to death and wounded two others. He had gone to the ear, nose and throat department looking for the doctor who treated him, but the doctor was not there, so then he pulled out a butcher knife and stabbed the head of the department instead. He also stabbed two other doctors before he was retrained by security guards. Also in October this year, a female doctor in Beijing was stabbed 17 times by an unhappy patient who had spent years blogging about a throat cancer surgery that he claimed was a failure. Xinhua news, quoting a survey from the Chinese Hospital Association, shows that there were 27.3 assaults on medical staff – per hospital – in 2012. Medical professionals across China are increasingly becoming victims of physical violence at the hands of disgruntled patients. In some cases, doctors charged with saving lives are having their own cut short – murdered in cold blood over financial concerns or unhappiness with the quality of treatment. These attacks epitomize and crystalize, in a very extreme way, the severe deterioration of the doctor-patient relationship in China. What could make the doctor-patient relationship, which apparently is supposed to be healthy and mutually beneficial, so noticeably exacerbated in the past decade in China? Some critics say it is the low level of the medical equipments’ quality and doctors’ ability that badly displease and enrage patients, and cause these tragedies. According to Zhongshang News, â€Å"in China, medical students only need 5 years of professional training to be able to obtain the officially authorized qu... ...to African and Asian allied countries. Instead of short of money, the flaws and loopholes in the design of Medicare system explains its low coverage in needed areas. Chinese state media has condemned each of the attacks, and the Ministry of Public Security has required hospitals with more than 2,000 patients to have at least 100 security guards present. But the deeper issue remains—- the exacerbation of doctor-patient relationship due to the low credibility of doctors to their patients; the origin of these corruptions and dissatisfactions is the imperfections of the medical system and the core of solving this problem is first eliminating these problems. Work Cited: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-10/31/c_132847107.htm http://thediplomat.com/2013/11/why-are-chinese-patients-killing-their-doctors/ http://www.askci.com/news/201208/13/8548_88.shtml

The Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India: in Service for Sight

Economics of Organization PATAGONIA Case * Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a broad-based movement in business that encourages companies to take responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, employees, communities and the environment. Patagonia is a manufacturer of high quality outdoor and adventure sport clothing. Patagonia have found unambiguous ways to couple their products’ function and the brands environmental values.Their business model raises major sums for environmental causes and their technological innovation reduces the environmental impact of their products. * How Patagonia turned CSR into a competitive advantage  ? One important issue for a balanced management has been the willingness of the company to create a profit business but with the desire to respect the environment. We might think that this commitment to the environment is not an internally competitive advantage because it can raise costs and hurt margins. Indeed en vironmentally-friendly policies are not the most financially savy.This issue is important because Patagonia’s entire brand and business is associated with preserving the environment. However, externally, this gave Patagonia a competitive advantage because of the brand loyalty it developed. For example, Patagonia’s existing customer base rose in median age to approximately 44 years old in 2002. Externally, this proved to be a significant strategic issue because competition brands like Columbia and North Face were able to attract younger demographics, which represented a significant source of future income.The company had a particularly strong commitment to the environment – so much so that the management was placed inside implement a policy of slow growth to promote a business model that is more respectful of the environment. Beyond simply slowing growth, the company has undertaken several initiatives for energy efficiency and recycling center for its customer se rvice and retail. This is show how the company controls its growth and reduces waste. Patagonia's methods also show that a slew of counterintuitive business tips can lead to do good while increasing the bottom line and that this is why they got to where they are today. Is this competitive advantage sustainable? In my mind, CSR is a competitive advantage. Firstly corporate social responsibility helps rise the companies prestige and fame, which implicitly leads to an increase in the sales, protection in times of crisis and therefore a greater competitive advantage. Even if certain actions may affect economic performance on the short term, they will eventually lead to an increase in the corporations’ long-term competitive capacity due to their beneficial effects at society level and to the creation of a favorable external environment.Secondly, we may state that social responsibility is the corporations response to the requirements of the environment, in the sense that the compan ies’ own actions and goals should be linked to the common interests and major tendencies of the reference environment. It also gives a competitive advantage to the corporations themselves, helping them ensure a sustainable development.

Two Tramps In Mud Time Essays - British Poetry, Mud Time

Two Tramps In Mud Time Essays - British Poetry, Mud Time Two Tramps in Mud Time On the surface, "Two Tramps in Mud Time" seems to display Robert Frost's narrow individualism. The poem, upon first reading it, seems incongruent, with some of the ezzas having no apparent connection to the whole poem. The poem as a whole also does not appear to have a single definable theme. At one point, the narrator seems wholly narcissistic, and then turns to the power and beauty of nature. It is, however, in the final third of the poem where the narrator reveals his true thoughts to the reader, bringing resolution to the poem as a single entity, not merely a disharmonious collection of words. At the outset of the poem, the narrator gives a very superficial view of himself, almost seeming angered when one of the tramps interferes with his wood chopping: "one of them put me off my aim". This statement, along with many others, seems to focus on "me" or "my", indicating the apparrent selfishness and arrogance of the narrator: "The blows that a life of self-control/Spares to strike for the common good/That day, giving a loose to my soul,/I spent on the unimportant wood." The narrator refers to releasing his suppressed anger not upon evils that threaten "the common good", but upon the "unimportant wood". The appparent arrogance of the narrator is revealed as well by his reference to himself as a Herculean figure ezding not alongside nature, but over it: "The grip on earth of outspread feet,/The life of muscles rocking soft/And smooth and moist in vernal heat." Unexpectedly, the narrator then turns toward nature, apparently abandoning his initial train of thought. He reveals the unpredictability of nature, saying that even in the middle of spring, it can be "two months back in the middle of March." Even the fauna of the land is involved with this chicanery; the arrival of the bluebird would to most indicate the arrival of spring, yet "he wouldn't advise a thing to blossom." The narrator points to the conclusion that, while on the surface, things appear to be one thing, there is always something hidden below, much like "The lurking frost in the earth beneath..." In the final three ezzas of the poem, the "frost" within the narrator comes to the surface. The humility of the narrator comes to light, with the narrator saying that the tramps' right to chop wood for a living "was the better rightagreed." The narrator also says, "Except as a fellow handled an ax,/They had no way of knowing a fool," insomuch as admitting to his foolishness. On the surface, the poem seems to be two poems with diverging themes. However, Robert Frost guides there two apparently unrelated thoughts into one idea from the heart: "My object in living is to unite/My avocation and my vocation/As my two eyes make one in sight." Perhaps the narrator is the true Frost coming to the surface.

The Puritans Burden essays

The Puritan's Burden essays Unconfessed sin and guilt can fester in the body and soul. In the setting of Puritan society, the themes of sin and guilt present themselves in the novel The Scarlet Letter and in the short story The Ministers Black Veil. In these two literary works, Nathaniel Hawthorne and a few critics express similar and different perspectives of the depiction of sin and guilt. In The Ministers Black Veil, Reverend Hooper realizes that all men are secret sinners; they hide their guilt and sorrow away from even their closest relations. Mr. Hooper acknowledges that he, too, belongs to the stained tribe by donning a black veil. Symbolic of this buried shame, he wears the veil at all times. Proving this point, Hoopers congregation, upon first sight of the veil, felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought (Hawthorne, Minister 267). Wearing the veil precipitates a dramatic change in the Reverends relationship with his congregation. His parishioners no longer accept him as they did before the advent of the veil. The veil which so distinguishes him from his fellow villagers strikes fear in the hearts of all and causes them to dread his approach and to withdraw their friendship and companionship from him (Reed 1503). Whatever his sin or whatever his sorrow, by the act of wearing the veil, he openly admits his own kinship to the family of sinners. Then he has to deal with the consequences: ostracism, Although Mr. Hooper maintains that the veil merely symbolizes those failings common to all humanity, the townspeople do not know what to make of it. Some townspeople see the veil as an eccentricity, but gradually the fear develops that Mr. Hoopers conscience tortured him for some great crime too horrible to be entirely conc ...

Economics overview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economics overview - Essay Example Another prominent economic principle that applies to humans’ daily lives is that of consumer surplus. While supply and demand measures shifting prices, consumer surplus measures the surplus gained by consumers between the cost of buying an item and what they would otherwise be willing to pay. Consumer surplus occurs in all areas where goods are readily sold for discounts. Perhaps the most prominent example occurs at grocery stores where individuals enter the store with a set list and find that many of the items on the list have been discounted by the store. Still, another economic principle that occurs in humans’ daily lives is that of market efficiency. Market efficiency measures the degree to which stock prices reflect all available information ("Market efficiency," 2011). This is a prominent consideration when individuals invest in the stock market as it indicates that because of the efficiency of the markets investors will not be able to significantly capitalize on information as a means of profiting as the market almost immediately reflects all available

Supply chain management - IKEA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Supply chain management - IKEA - Essay Example This means that from management, everyone in the company is motivated to do their best in their department to ensure that the company produces the best products possible. For example, the company makes sure that it employs the best people who will ensure quality in the company’s products. Irrespective of the position being hired, the company ensures that it hires people with the best qualification and credentials. The human resource department ensures that it does back ground checks before hiring any employee to make sure that the credentials and qualifications they use to apply for job vacancies are true, and they possess the skills that they claim they have. This ensures that everyone in the supply chain of the IKEA company is a professional hence they will go about their duties as professionals which results in the success that the company experiences. Another supply chain management strategy that should be used in order for a company to maximize its profits is the Just in Time manufacturing (JIT) supply chain management concept. This is a strategy whereby a business establishment tries to increase their return on investment of the company (Inter IKEA Systems, 2012). The business organization does this by minimizing in processes associated with carrying cost and inventory. Carrying cost is the whole cost a business establishment incurs in its attempt of holding inventory. This cost includes rent salaries and other financial costs such as opportunity cost. Inventory is a term used to refer to any good or service that a company has (Cousins & Lawson, 2008). These goods and services are specifically stored for the purpose of reselling them. When one considers the two definitions and considers the IKEA... Another supply chain management strategy that should be used in order for a company to maximize its profits is the Just in Time manufacturing (JIT) supply chain management concept. This is a strategy whereby a business establishment tries to increase their return on investment of the company (Inter IKEA Systems, 2012). The business organization does this by minimizing in processes associated with carrying cost and inventory. Carrying cost is the whole cost a business establishment incurs in its attempt of holding inventory. This cost includes rent salaries and other financial costs such as opportunity cost.   Inventory is a term used to refer to any good or service that a company has (Cousins   & Lawson, 2008). These goods and services are specifically stored for the purpose of reselling them. When one considers the two definitions and considers the IKEA Company, then one will arrive at the conclusion that the IKEA Company has implemented this strategy in their business operation s. When one considers the company, it has various stores in different countries. Hence, the company minimizes all its inventory and carrying cost. The company does this by making sure that it sells all its stock, and if any inventory is left in one branch then it is transferred to a branch that is in need of such inventory. This minimizes the company’s total stock since the company does not buy equipment that is unnecessary since such equipments can be gotten from other branches that the company holds.