1) Listed a wide ranging number of common logistics/supply chain practices and strategies. In your view are all of these undertaken regularly by all organization or are some of them specific to certain types of organizations?
Answer: The common strategies and practices that supply chain and logistics managers usually have to consider has listed below. It is an extensive list that illustrates the diverse multifaceted area of activity in which logistics and supply chain managers have taken into consideration.
Search for strategies based on agile principles, lean and variation along with combination of both. Postponement/Mass customization. Managing reverse logistics flows. Operating in more sustainable fashion, especially by exploiting scale and seeking out greater efficiencies. Operating account transport against the use of LSPs with regards to identifying and selecting LSPs for determine whether employ is following $PL approach or not. Managing, coordinating transport flows and directional imbalances to select routes and modes.
Use of electronic logistics markets. Integration of business process. Collaboration with supply chain partners by utilizing strategies such as VMI AND CPFR. Managing cross docking facilities and distribution centers. Application of factory gate, pricing and consolidation.
2) Why is it important to synchronize product design and supply chain design? What are the implications of this from an environmental perspective?
Answer: Design for manufacturing in which engineers and designers move from solely focus based on designing product considering to add the actual manufacturing process when designing products is not only about designing quality products, but also that can be manufactured efficiently and cheaply .They note that recently similar transformation has begun in SCM, whereby managers have started to realize that to take supply chain related concern into account in the product and design phase, it is very essential to bring possible operation into existence that are way more efficient in terms of supply chain and Mass customization. For Example: it can enable through designing postponement into the production process. Also, this can be something straight forward such as delaying product differentiation will enable through downstream supply chain partners.
Notwithstanding all of this, it is of course important to note that no matter how well a supply chain has designed, it cannot completely compensate for poor products .Synchronizing product design and supply chain design is also important from a sustainability perspective. We have noted that greening a supply chain is largely about forward planning with some commentators noting them that was over 80 % of carbon savings and are only achievable at the supply chain design stage. We also noted that while various initiatives such as switching to hybrid fuel vehicles are obviously welcome and generate publicity benefits for the companies. From a societal perspective supply chain design is not just concerned with sustainability issues. Sustainability is one part of the wider framework of CSR.
It is often the case that supply chains hasn’t designed as initio often an extant supply chain has already in place, but may need for a variety of reasons to modify or design. For example: In many countries the supply chain for blood transfusion products that need to redesign by following on some very significant concerns in terms of product traceability and integrity that has witnessed in the recent years. Moreover, awful scandals around the issue of contaminated blood products are infecting already ill people. Indeed more general is that the area of pharmaceutical SCM has undergone significant transformation in the recent years and this area together is what it has become and known as GDP in detailed case study on GDP.
3) Summarize the various costs incurred in a typical supply chain.
In designing and modifying supply chain through one of the key considerations is to know what costs have incurred. Also, where they have incurred and how can they manage. Conversely, business people needs to understand about the cost to minimize value and also maximize value. Through meeting with different categories of costs in distinct parts of the book, it is worthwhile to summarize them.
Optimization Techniques
Optimization techniques have used to determine the supply chain networks that will produce minimum total transport cost solution. In application where the data on transport costs are not available these techniques have used to determine minimum total tons of kilometers and its solutions. Optimization techniques have used for modelling network designs based on static model only on a given set of origins and destinations. The optimal solution is consisting of supplier that are requiring supply in which distribution center has achieved its minimum total cost of single product. If new suppliers have added in the network the model need to be return with a new formulation and a new data.
Simulation Techniques
Simulation techniques are used for modelling dynamic systems as they include variables that could change time to time. Two types of models commonly used for supply chain simulation have system dynamic models and discrete event simulation .System dynamics models capture physical flows of freight and information flows as well as the factor affecting the responses of the design in a casual loop diagram. The casual loop diagrams are used to draw closed loop block diagrams clearly depicting the linkages and feedback loops in the system. The linkages and feedback loops represent supply chain in terms of inputs outputs and transformation capturing the dynamic of order policies, difference of lead times against target, actual output or correction mechanism. SD simulation has extensively used for supply chain designed model for example, assess the impact of new inventory management strategies.
4) Summarize the various costs incurred in a typical supply chain
Answer: Supply chain costs typically represents 60% to 80% of a company's total cost structure and just a 10% reduction yield a 40% to 50% improvement in per tax profits.
5) How might a supply chain be redesigned to allow for transfer pricing?
Answer: Transfer pricing has concerned with the applications of the arm’s length principle to cross border transactions between related parties. The arm’s length principles defines that the term and price in which controlled transactions occur should be the same as if the parties were dealing with each other as unrelated entities.
When tax authorities are investigating transfer pricing transactions they are interested in the attribution of income amongst the related parties. The attribution of income should reflect the functions performed by each entity taking into consideration the assets used and the risks assumed. This area of transfer has notable overlap with supply chain restructuring. As companies centralize or shift operations they are essentially functioning considering risks and assets.
VCTM ensure compliance with transfer pricing rules and that transfers of assets between related parties are at arm’s length and that profits are subsequently aligned with the functions risks and assets of each entity.
5) Describe the various approaches for modelling supply chains.
The objective is to build a chain of suppliers that focuses on maximizing value to the ultimate customer. Supply chain modelling is the integration of the activities that procure materials and services transforms them into intermediate final products and goods and deliver them through a distribution system.
Competition is no longer between companies it is between supply chains. Important activities include determining. Transport Vendors. Cash transfer and Credit.
Suppliers. Distributors. Receivable and accounts payable. Inventory and warehousing, order fulfillment, forecasting, sharing customer and production information
6) To what extent do you believe a supply chain can be redesigned to compensate for poor product design or poor product quality?
Answer: It is very essential while designing supply chain that all configuration should be accurately done. It should be true reflection of the prescribed design and modelling techniques that have utilized for it. The seven transformations in the table provide a good depth into a shape of new emerging concept i.e. logistics and supply chain managers are operating on a huge number of scale. Sustainability.
The influences of oil prices on cost to serve. Outsourcing. The adoption of supply chain principles through service organizations. Vulnerability of supply chain designs and embedded resilience. The rise of genuine collaboration in supply chains.
Increased use of talent. Learning to design and manage multiple organization formats. Increased geographical spread of supply chain networks. Adopting whole of enterprise mindset in managing supply chain operations. Collaborating with the enemy.
Learning to manage inherent complications in supply chains. Again the ever changing and challenging concept in which logistics and supply chain managers have to operate evidences from the wide ranging list of issues. SD simulation has extensively used for supply chain designed model for example, assess the impact of new inventory management strategies. We also noted that while various initiatives such as switching to hybrid fuel vehicles are obviously welcome and generate publicity benefits for the companies.
7) Why do you think logistics and supply chain managers require a T-shaped skills profile?
Answer: T-shaped is proper procedure that dig out management skills based on logistics. It is very important for the supply chain managers to get the knowledge over wide areas of subjects based on asset management, costing relevant to the activity and engineering procedure.
T-shaped follows a procedure that has known as cross functional skills for effective management. It has mainly the skills of manager’s expertise based in depth research that has connected to see the link of it with others associated to this procedure.
Further, this T-shaped skills chart will help the managers to understand at what level and position in supply chain requires expertise of each member that has involved in the task of designing or creating under the logistics and supply chain.
