LGMT 683 ASSIGNMENTS

LGMT 683:

Post your answer to only one of the topics below. Begin your post with the question you are answering and then make your response.

1. What is the purpose of benchmarking and how can benchmarking be used to improve supply chain performance? Give at least one industry example to illustrate your point.
2. The text states that the intercompany scope of strategic fit is essential today because the competitive playing field has shifted from company versus company to supply chain versus supply chain. Briefly describe at least one industry example to illustrate this important point.
3. The text states that a company’s partners may determine the company’s success. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Reply to at least two of your classmates on different topics than your original post.

CLASSMATE POSTS:

1) Jacob Jorgensen

What is the purpose of benchmarking and how can benchmarking be used to improve supply chain performance? Give at least one industry example to illustrate your point.

When assessing the health and efficiencies of one’s supply chain, many companies evaluate and monitor various aspects of their supply chain. Essentially, companies evaluate their “drivers of supply chain performance”, to help with identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks within their supply chain. Chopra and Meindl (2013), describe how that in-order for companies to understand their supply chain performance “in terms of responsiveness and efficiency, we must examine the logistical and cross-functional drivers of supply chain performance: facilities, inventory, transportation, information, sourcing, and pricing” (pg. 44). Each of these focus areas, has a large impact on determining the successes and failures of a company’s supply chain and are areas companies must continuously monitor and optimize.

One tactic companies use to optimize these areas, is benchmarking. Benchmarking can be defined as “the process of studying industry or competitive practices, functions and products and finding ways to meet or improve upon them. Companies from all different industries use benchmarking to gauge their successes and pinpoint their shortcomings. The general process of benchmarking involves identifying problem areas, selecting top competitors who excel where a company falls short and making the necessary changes” (Suttle, n.d., para. 1). The process, tools and techniques, used by these “top companies” whom companies benchmark, have typically been adopted and created methods that are considered industry “best-practices”. These best-practices, over time become industry standards and are leading reasons many companies choose to model their business after them. Benefits of benchmarking, include: understanding your performance relative to your competitors, compare performance between product lines/business units in your own company, can help with holding people more responsible for their performance, enables the ability to drill down into performance gaps, can help with developing standard processes and metrics, enables a continuous improvement mindset, and can help companies better understand what makes a company successful (Roberts, 2014, para. 1). Manufacturing companies in particular, often benchmark industry leaders to help with streamlining their processes, decreasing their flow-time and to help with optimizing their overall supply-chain. Toyota, is an example of a company that is often benchmarked for their manufacturing practices. The company is considered an industry leader in the practice of Lean Manufacturing and has been a beacon that many companies have swarmed to over the decades.

References:

Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2013). Supply chain management: Strategy, planning, and operation

Roberts, M. (2014, January 7). 7 Benefits of Benchmarking Your Manufacturing Performance [DATA]. Retrieved October 26, 2015, from http://blog.lnsresearch.com/blog/bid/192183/7-Benefits-of-Benchmarking-Your-Manufacturing-Performance-DATA

Suttle, R. (n.d.). The Advantages of Benchmarking for an Organization. Retrieved October 26, 2015, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-benchmarking-organization-30952.html

2) Steve Lee

The text states that a company’s partners may determine the company’s success. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

I agree that a company’s partners may determine the company’s success because in a competitive environment, a company’s ability to harness and improve its relationship with other members of its supply chain will enable it to reduce cost, which leads to improved supply chain surplus. This is accomplished through the concept of intercompany scope which “two parties work together to reduce the amount of inventory required” (Chopra & Meindl, 2013) by communicating essential information from both parties which reduces the total cost. The reduced costs and increase in profits benefit all members of the supply chain since they are an interconnected network. Different companies in the supply chain have to realize that they do not need to compete with other companies on the supply chain but work together to make mutually beneficial decisions. Technology has allowed supply chains to become more fast-paced, resulting in companies of various sizes depending on just-in-time inventory to reduce their overhead costs by getting their product to the customer/market faster without excess inventories to maintain. On the opposite spectrum, if a company along the supply chain only acts in their own best interest, they hurt the supply chain surplus since costs will be higher for the final product and a decrease in competitive edge. The end result would be higher costs and risks which will affect the company’s success.

References

Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2013). Supply chain management. Boston: Pearson.

PS: PLEASE RESPOND TO MY CLASSMATES POSTS. YOUR RESPONSE CAN BE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, AND RESPOND AS YOU TALKING TO THEM DIRECTLY.

2.3)

CHAP 2 // QUESTION 6: GIVE ARGUMENTS TO SUPPORT THE STATEMENT THAT WALMART HAS ACHIEVED GOOD STRATEGIC FIT BETWEEN ITS COOPERATIVE AND SUPPLY CHAIN STRTEGIES. WHAT CHALLENGES DOES IT FACE AS IT WORKS TO OPEN SMALLER FORMAT STORES IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS?

CHAP 3 // QUESTION 5: MOTOROLA HAS GONE FROM MANUFACTURING ALL ITS CELL PHONS IN-HOUSE TO ALMOST COMPLETELY OUTSOURCING THE MANUFACTURING. WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF THE TWO APPROACHES?

CHAP 3 // QUESTION 7: WHAT ARE SOME INDUSTRIES IN WHICH PRODUCTS HAVE PROLIFERATED AND LIFE CYCLES HAVE SHORTENED? HOW HAVE THE SUPPLY CHAINS IN THESE INDUSTRIES ADAPTED?