Operation management and strategic management of global supply chain sample

Introduction of Operation management and strategic management of global supply chain

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One of the main notions behind conducting this is tow show the concepts related to global supply chain management. The entire study will be based on two selected topics from the module which are operation management and Strategic Management of Global Supply Chains. Both the selected topics plays a major role is proper flow of supply chain management in a company. In order to do the study the three selected companies are Toyota, Ford and General Motor. The theories that will be used in the study are lean manufacturing and Materials Logistics Management theory. Based on the study the managerial implications for global supply chain management and also weakness will also be identified.

Brief about the 3 companies

In order to do the proper analysis of the selected concepts three top automobile companies which have been selected are discussed in detail below.

Toyota: Toyota Motor Corporation was launched in Japan in the year 1937 and in the post-war period of modern disturbance, it turned into the biggest vehicle maker in the nation.. It started working in India since the last part of the 1990s as the unit official known as Toyota Kirloskar Motors. Toyota is known for its luxury cars, vans as well as trucks that built up the norms for long-haul re-deal worth as well as robustness. The main competitor of Toyota is Nissan, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, Honda, Chevrolet and Volkswagen.

Ford Motor Company: Ford Motor Company is an American worldwide vehicle producer whose main office is located in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was established by Henry Ford and consolidated on June 16, 1903. The organization sells cars and commercial transports beneath the Ford brand, and extravagance vehicles beneath its Lincoln extravagance brand. Ford Motor Company rivalries comprises of Dodge, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Chevrolet and Nissan. With Ford's protected plan and creativity, particularly in their F-Series, their endeavors in producing their cars green and fit for self-driving innovation offers with them an edge amongst different brands.

General Motors: General Motors Company (GM) is an American global auto-producing firm whose main office is located in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The organization is the biggest car producer situated in the United States and one of the biggest around the world. It was the biggest automaker worldwide for 77 continuous years. The organization has producing plants in 8 nations. Its four center vehicle brands are Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac.

Brief about the two selected topics

In this segment of the study the two topics from the given module list will be discussed in detail. The two selected topics is one operation management and the other is Strategic Management of Global Supply Chains.

Operation Management: The term operation management can be defined as the management of business exercise with an intention to build up the maximum degree of efficacy possible inside a company. The operation management is usually focused on transforming elements as well as employee within product and amenities as effectively as possible in order to increase the revenue of a company.

Strategic Management of Global Supply Chains: Strategic global supply chain upholds proper masses on attaining the pace, worth, expense as well as flexibility all through their chains within the international place of market. This "blend" of the SQCF components creates the tactical worldwide inventory chains flourish where different chains battle. Executing these systems will empower organizations to satisfy client need and lift benefit. In business, worldwide store network the board is characterized as the dissemination of labour and products all through a trans-nation the very best for what's to come organizations' worldwide organization to amplify benefit and limit squander.

Relevant theories and how companies are using these theories in practice

The two selected theories related to the two topics selected are lean manufacturing and Materials Logistics Management theory.

Lean manufacturing can be defined as a kind of manufacturing technique which is relied in the notion of increasing the efficiency while concurrently decreasing the squander inside a production function. The lean standards looks squander as a thing which does not add any sort of worth which the clients are eager to fee for. On the other hand Materials Logistics Management theory can be defined as the notion that restrict or get to gather beneath single corporal element which is ultimately accountable for

1. Measuring the production needs
2. Development the production technique
3. Attainting, up keeping as well as dispersing of components on time inside a stipulated expense

Materials logistics administration also involves stocks as well as creation prerequisites for arranging and command to guarantee materials are accessible as expected to gain the creation plans. This material arranging incorporates overseeing coordinated factors, the degree of inventories, materials quality as well as expenses. Now the focus of the study will be provided on how all the selected three companies are using the mentioned two theories within their function.

Theories	Toyota	Ford	General Motors
Lean Management	Toyota Lean Management is an administration reasoning that shows group associates the technique to take care of issues in a manner that is viable and practical. By surfacing the issues and afterward considering the process to tackle the issues, Toyota shows the group the process to contemplate and accept accountability.	For Ford's situation, the use of lean management shows that the stream began with unfinished products and finished with a client heading out in another vehicle. The coordination of individual parts, human exertion and moving transport denoted whenever that Lean standards first were incorporated. Basically, Ford developed them	GM Manufacturing is committed to lean management and normal as exhibited by a sole, worldwide assembling move towards - a procedure that is fundamentally having an impact on the manner in which it plans its items, spreads out plants, chooses gear and configuration every get-together plant administrator's work
Materials Logistics Management	Being a business sector pioneer in the materials logistics handling gear and planned operations fields, Toyota Industries helps clients worldwide in achieving more prominent strategies efficiencies by conveying coordinated factors arrangements ideally customized to their particular requirements.	Considering the theory of materials logistics management Ford usually focused on using JIT process which needs on-going scrutiny to regulate the logistics as well as deceasing the cost too.	The Materials Logistics Management of General Motors usually denotes obligation to create as well as cultivation contractor alliances which is created on the basis of trust as well as mutual norms.

Global supply chain management practices

The concept of global supply chain management is interpreted as the diffusion of welfare and assistance across an international hierarchy to earn maximum revenues and underrate the trash for an international hierarchy of forthcoming large corporations like Toyota, Ford, and General Motors. Practically, global supply chain management is the equivalent of supply chain administration, but it concentrates on international corporations and institutions (Gaultier and Marcello, 2021).

Prosperous universal supply chain administration transpires when executing reasonable and appropriate consolidated framework, acknowledging with worldwide statutes established by parliaments and NGOs, recognizing and properly dealing with the hazards implicated, while earning utmost revenues and minimizing the waste. Here it has been discussed about three renowned companies that is Toyota, Ford and General Motors.

Toyota

One of the leading companies, Toyota's global supply chain administration or management is a crucial portion of the corporation's operating strategy founded completely on the Toyota Production System which is also abbreviated as TPS. It was expanded by Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo in the mid-1940s. As Toyota's achievements and accomplishments have been widely documented around the nation, other corporations have also put up with attention in TPS, the doctrines of which are communicated through the words of Lean Manufacturing (Ni, 2019).

Toyota relies on one of the systems which have helped the corporation to be where it is now, which is the JIT System. It is a system that governs the ebb of resource data and development making statutes, facilitating the corporation to understand the advantages and usefulness of JIT precepts. Components of just-in-time policies are proactive crisis disclosure, pull production based on Kanban principle, total integrity administration, elimination of trash, inventory deduction by suppliers in the planning procedure, consecutive development and modification, enhanced machinery, and an emphasis on the coordinated operation. The technique of capacity planning is a fraction of the global supply chain administration of this specific corporation. Toyota's strategy for this theory of capacity planning is to attempt to eradicate inventory. To accomplish this, Toyota depends largely on the pull system. Commonly speaking, the major objective is consecutive development and innovation (Dave, 2020).

Ford

Ever since Henry Ford executed the world's introductory contemporary vehicle assembly chain, Ford has been recognized for its game-altering global supply chain administration or management practices. Today, the corporation's supply chain strategy has changed positions to assist enormous sustainability, enhance efficiency, and pave the path for superfast automotive supply convoy optimization (Mao, 2018).

The Ford Corporation has given rise to substantial modifications to its global supply chain management practices. This encompasses shoving away from massive dependency on tiered sourcing configurations for tremendous translucency and explicit meeting and engagement with the manufacturers or producers of semiconductors and additional significant electronic elements. Through closer connections and further transparent conversation and information of technological roadmaps, Ford can incorporate their proficiency and understanding on how to forage and feed into their layouts and techniques to align adequately in their global supply and demand.

The corporation furthermore facilitates lengthy-term forecasting and mitigation of risk by accumulating key elements, dual sourcing, and assuring design equivalence from a solitary source. They positioned further priority on make-to-order deals banks than the barely low index. Ford has understood that, yes, utilizing limited automobiles on the lot is barely feasible, but adequate for consumers, traders, and even for Ford (Bhuyan, 2019).

General Motors

The global procurement and supply chain of General Motors closely governs material and logistics expenses and benefits GM's multinational or global rollout by guaranteeing that the true quantity of elevated integrity portions is in the right spot at the perfect moment. For the General Motors company, suppliers are a significant component. They are the clue to their product advancement, development, product generation, and dependability. Assisting General Motors to confront customer intentions for automobile availability, affordability, and integrity (Chuang and Zhao, 2019).

Over the preceding year, General Motors has changed its global supply chain strategy to a web-founded supply chain. General Motors understands it can recoup a huge amount of money by curtailing inventory statuses at plants before properties are given rise. General Motors expects to concentrate on curtailing logistics expenses and enhancing dealer trustworthiness and speculate this is the reasonable path to perform that. Web-designed global supply chain planning furthermore enhances on-time releases while furthermore curtailing stock-outs. General Motors borrows an outlet named Supply Power as their bureau of supply, where all proposals and decrees move through before being transported to plants and factories. With numerous varied suppliers and injunctions being refined every day, General Motors utilizes the strategy to regulate their global supply convoy further efficiently to decrease order pause times.

Managerial significances for global supply chain administration

Corporations today are compelled to regulate in a challenging enterprise realm entirely of skepticism and uncertainty. Administrators of those corporations like Toyota, Ford, and General Motors can foresee market volatility and respond rapidly with the least adjustment expenses and constructive acknowledgment strategies. Accordingly, formulating flexibility in modifying to dedicate and abrupt modifications in international markets, reserve availability, and the outset of economic and political catastrophes comes to be a crucial portion of a beneficial management technique. Managerial significance for supply chain administration illustrates an extremely significant region where this flexibility is significant to accomplishing invariably successful accomplishments (Dewitz, 2019).

Toyota

To curtail the logistics about stimulating cars and portions, Toyota has dissipated its operations across numerous assistance providers, which assisted the denomination inadequately managing each industry instead of attempting to monitor and regulate the whole industry. Data was ascertained into the Toyota Supply Chain Management elements that impact numerous company operations and advancement. Toyota is furthermore leveraging their data by examining the data sources employed to observe particular company manufacturing, customer, and functional procedures to assist companies to give rise to further knowledgeable judgments about their undertakings.

By producing and developing graphs and numerical outcomes, the Toyota administration can foresee future tendencies founded on prior data. Data analysis consists of compiling numerous forms of data from which particular algorithms are equipped to assess and infer particular activities and directions that can be utilized to give rise to future projections. This is significant because it will assist the company to discern the parameters that influence business undertakings or operations, founded on which companies can give rise to mindful judgments to fulfill the necessities of each lover (Li, 2018).

Ford

Perhaps the most crucial aspect of any corporation, especially Ford, is organizing and managing their global supply chain and how they get involved and interact with their valuable suppliers. For a corporation like Ford, with thousands and thousands of suppliers for a category of criteria, proper coordination and dealings between Ford and the valuable suppliers are significant to the accomplishment of the company. In extension to examining the strategies Ford is utilizing, the paper will analyze the hazards and pitfalls correlated with global supply chain administration and management, and what can be accomplished to prevent and eradicate these expensive losses that can influence the corporation beyond the period of the incident.

Another difficulty with any institution is inner problems that can influence Ford Motor Corporation's supply chain administration or management efficiency and productivity and the efficiency of numerous regions of the corporation. As will be examined further, Ford has withstood various modifications within the corporation, occurring in a downshift in output generation. This is an issue that must be dealt with in global supply chain supervision because if there is inadequate capability in one region of the corporation, other divisions will not be competent enough to compose for this product generation shortfall (LeClair, 2018).

General Motors

During the existing economic downturn, the important dynamics of the U.S.-based auto industry, particularly General Motors' global supply chain and inventory administration technology, are spotting substantial burdens on supplier integration connections. Categories of procedures and techniques are reported, with particular intensity on General Motors chronology, sales diagrams, and modern commodity improvement. Some of these modifications to the global supply chain and inventory administration policies and supplier connections, General Motors wielded before and during the recession were quite successful. There is sufficient documentation that moderately impoverished supplier integration and antiquated inventory surveillance settle General Motors at a competitive phase. drawback comparative to a widespread recession, which will barely stimulate the prophecies of decades of mismanagement (Zhu et al., 2019).

The Six Sigma strategy or technique implemented by General Motors concentrates on the consecutive modification of the design, not only over the ultimate inspection because elevated integrity and integrity is the need and objective of the empowered consumer, which is furthermore a commodity of the Six Sigma method (Free and Hecimovic, 2021).

Weaknesses and developments required

Toyota

Toyota's global supply chain management is a critical portion of the corporation's operating policy founded completely on the Toyota output Production System. Toyota's product generation operation is constructed to fulfill the subsequent criteria that are the quality which should assure the elevated integrity of the finished commodity, which should be existing at every phase of the procedure; Cost or expense, and trash must be restrained to a minimum quantity in all elements of the firm. In the delivery procedure, the Toyota Production System procedure is founded on just-in-time salvage of commodities and procedures. TPS is a path to curtail the moment between client injunctions and automobile delivery. To attain this, the whole production operation till the delivery is performed in one consecutive procedure. The result will be better than ever. Toyota will have elevated statuses of productivity, limited time, wealth and accomplishment, and reasonable quality.

Toyota's approach for capacity planning is to attempt to eradicate inventory. To accomplish this, Toyota should depend heavily on the pull system. Their fundamental purpose is consecutive development. Just-in-time inventory administration will authorize companies like Toyota to attain a robust and powerful objective by not retaining to maintain huge inventories in warehouses and merely ordering portions when required (van Hoek, 2021).

Ford

In this planet of technology and invention, even Ford Motor Company should invest in current technologies to enhance their global supply chain management, establishing an atmosphere where every bureau and supplier should interact to dwindle the bridges between them. This corporation has renovated itself from the ancient impression of being discerned as a manufacturer to a customer to render convinced they provide what they expect. Ford's supply convoy vitalities and shortcomings are wherever they expect, how they expect them, should be accessible. Customer gratification is the top preference of the corporation's administration. To convince their customers, corporations should incorporate their clients with their supply ground.

One of Ford Motor Company's shortcomings is the restrictions of its system of production capabilities, particularly when associated with Toyota's vast international hierarchy. Ford had also closed some of its European output creation capabilities in recent years, further worsening the shortcoming. So, it should expand its production activities. Also, correlated to adversaries such as Toyota, Ford's expenses and taxes are somewhat elevated, and its invention procedure is somewhat stagnant to concede to modern or arising trends. This should be checked (McMillan, 2018).

General Motors

General Motors is a corporation largely concentrated on convincing clients and getting them the ultimate commodity as promptly as feasible. That is why it should make a primary undertaking to formulate global supply chains that can facilitate and speed up the whole procedure. The peculiarity of this General Motors corporation's global supply chain is that the fundamental emphasis is on legitimate compliance, particularly about credentials and criteria for the output of auto parts acquired from their suppliers.

Similarly, it should be contemplated as a contractual promise to furnish customers with elevated integrity and comfortable products. Beyond that, General Motors should stay apprehensive with human confidence, which is why outstanding awareness should be reimbursed for furnishing reasonable functioning circumstances for all workers. The global supply chain management will increase its width if this thing should be kept in focus. General Motors established supply chain should be regulated by universal substance and logistics governed institutions that manage and distribute corporation reserves founded on the corporation's demands and needs around the planet. A corporation's supply convoy has numerous major aspects. Importantly there should be some suppliers of fresh materials and vehicle components that are not compiled by the corporation itself (H?bek and Villahoz, 2020).

Improvements that could be done for the next three – five years

It can be observed that the automobile corporation in the modern times is compelled to regulate their performance in an environment of high uncertainty. Through studying the performance of the automobile companies Toyota, Ford and General Motors over the years, it can be observed that the companies have been performing quite well. Their revenue have also increased over the years. However there are many measures that the companies can follow to improve their performance in the next three to five years.

Toyota

Toyota is multinational car company that is mostly headquartered in Toyota, achi, Japan. They have employed over 300,734 people all over the world. The company is quite successful. However there are some measures that the company can take to further improve their performance in the future (Mehri, 2018). Company should stick to its globally accepted Toyota production system (TPS). In this the quality of the produced car is very important. Secondly the company should train the staff so that they can check the quality of the products. Toyota should also increase their level of skilled labor. In current times, the market is getting bigger. Hence to survive as well as grow in the current market the company should focus on the customers instead of focusing on the total cars sold. Next it is known that Toyota is Asian car manufacturing giant. Hence it is likely that they can easily manipulate the Asian, market. Moreover they can properly utilize the Asian market through introducing cars that are highly fuel efficient. After this it can be mentioned that the world is growing smarter every day. Hence the company invest for the advancement of technology. Lastly, to improve their performance in the coming three to five years, the company should produce cars that are highly eco friendly (Ohno and Bodek, 2019).

Ford

Slightly different from Toyota, Ford is a luxury car company. The company is quite successful and over the it has grown its business. However there are some measures that the company can take to further improve their performance in the upcoming three to five years. Firstly the company should introduce low-=cost vehicles throughout China. In China, every people are achieving the income threshold where purchasing a car is a necessity. The company and its joint venture in China sold nearly 935,813 vehicles in 2013. This was 49 percent increase compared to the previous year. Hence introduction of low cost vehicle will further help them to improve their sales (Pang, et al., 2020). Next, the company should focus expanding the commercial line of trucks throughout Unite States. This particularly involve creating as well as selling medium duty dump trucks for meeting the growth demands of the recovering economy. Throughout United States, the demand for commercial construction vehicles is growing. Hence, seizing this opportunity to expand into commercial line of trucks will be particularly suitable. Thirdly the company should focus on selling eco-friendly vehicles in Thailand. It will be better for the company if they focus on selling eco friendly vehicles to the local customer.

General Motors

General Motors is an American multinational automobile company. It is the largest manufacturer of automobile throughout the world that is based in US. The company needs to implement strategic reform for business resillence. These reforms must address the weakness of the company. From the performance of the General Motors it can be observed that the company has been quite successful. However some measure can be adopted by the company to further improve theor performance in the upcoming years. Firstly the company should continue to reform the culture of the organization to address the different burecreacy issues within the company. Secondly the company should opt for growing the dealership network for expanding the market presence of General Motors in different developing countries (Leslie, et al., 2021). Moreover the company should also focus on increasing their innovation rate for gaining competitive advantage. This will also help them in protecting the company from potential automotive disruption. Next, General motors should opt for increasing the R and D investment for supporting product enhancement and development specifically for addressing the demand for addressing hybrid and electric vehicles. Lastly to further improve their performance, the company should expand their dealership network within the developing countries.

Conclusion

Througout the report three automotive companies namely Toyota, Ford and General Motors have been discussed. Relevant theories inrelation to the given topic has been discussed. Next, Global supply chain management of the three selected companies have been analysed and their weaknesses and major areas of improve have been provided.

References 

Bhuyan, A.H.M.M.I., Toyota’s Supply Chain Management: Supply Chain Optimization and Theoretical Applications in Practices. In MESSAGE FROM THE CONFERENCE CHAIRS (p. 230).

Chuang, C.H. and Zhao, Y., 2019. Demand stimulation in finished-goods inventory management: Empirical evidence from General Motors dealerships. International Journal of Production Economics, 208, pp.208-220.

Dave, P.Y., 2020. The History of Lean Manufacturing by the view of Toyota-Ford. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 11(8), pp.1598-1602.

Dewitz, P., 2019. Industry Initiatives Towards Environmental Sustainability in the Automobile Value Chains. In Sustainable Global Value Chains (pp. 565-583). Springer, Cham.

Free, C. and Hecimovic, A., 2021. Global supply chains after COVID-19: the end of the road for neoliberal globalization?. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.

Gaultier, C. and Marcello, K., 2021. VOLKSWAGEN GROUP SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYSIS IN EUROPE. African Journal of Emerging Issues, 3(8), pp.1-10.

H?bek, P. and Villahoz, J.J.L., 2020. Socially Responsible Supplier Development. Practices of Automotive Industry. Multidisciplinary Aspects of Production Engineering, 3(1), pp.707-719.

LeClair, D.R., 2018. General Motors: Globalization, Disruption, and Sustainability. In Business Despite Borders (pp. 165-177). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

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Li, Z., 2018. Business Network Positioning Analysis of Toyota. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 8(07), p.1693.

Mao, C., 2018. Research on competitive advantages of supply chain based on its time competition: Case analysis of automobile industry.

McMillan, C., 2018. Organizational Identity, Corporate Strategy, and Habits of Attention: A Case Study of Toyota. In Strategic Management-a Dynamic View. IntechOpen.

Mehri, D., 2018. Notes from Toyota-land. Cornell University Press.

Ni, T., 2019. SUPPLY CHAIN RELATIONSHIP FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT: EMPIRICAL TESTS ON PRINCIPAL AGENT THEORY (Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University Graduate School).

Ohno, T. and Bodek, N., 2019. Toyota production system: beyond large-scale production. Productivity press.

Pang, Y., Cao, Y., Chu, Y., Liu, M., Snyder, K., MacKenzie, D. and Cao, C., 2020. Additive manufacturing of batteries. Advanced Functional Materials, 30(1), p.1906244.

van Hoek, R., 2021. Lessons from CSCMP Supply Chain Hall of Famer Henry Ford and the research that they call for in modern supply chains. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management.

Zhu, Q., Sarkis, J. and Lai, K.H., 2019. Choosing the right approach to green your supply chains. Modern Supply Chain Research and Applications.