Which concepts covered in the textbook and Power Points were important to understand for the simulation, and why?
I played the role of a reseller in the Simulation. The first step of the simulation was to set up 12 international sales offices and/or regional web-centres for e-Commerce. This required me to understand the process for conducting Facility Location Analysis as detailed in the textbook, which is a part of Logistics Network Design. A site location would affect the time and place relationships between facilities, markets, or between supply points. It could also impact the transportation costs, service, and inventory requirements . The Power Points talked about the specialized functions that are needed for both the resellers and the suppliers to be able to satisfy the market together. This showed that it is a collaboration and not competition. As a reseller, I had to research the market, do branding, pricing, and advertising, open up sales channels (either through the web or through physical offices), performed sales force management, and financial management. The supplier also researched the market, did capacity investments to produce the goods required, scheduled production accordingly, manufactured in a lean manner to reduce costs and improve margins, performed quality control activities to ensure the quality of goods, and performed financial management. We negotiated about shipping prices, quantities, shipping options, improvements for the supply chain, and any special payments. These factors were important because they have an impact on the channel partners. The order quantities, the price, the mode and frequency of delivery, details about who is responsible for paying the freight, how the information flows through the system, and penalties for failure and incentives for positive behaviors, and quality control, as well as marketing decisions, are important as they impact the channel partners. The power points also talked about performing analysis to find out the capabilities of other members of the supply chain and how these can be brought together to enhance the value for the customer. There was also a focus on the type of relationships that have to be maintained between members of the supply chain. A need for assessing the lacunae of any customer-valued competencies was also stressed upon. This is followed by an assessment as to which member organization can develop these competencies.
What did you learn about supply chain management from running your own supply chain?
I learned that it is better to have multiple suppliers when the demand is cyclical and highly flexible as a single supplier may not be able to manage the supply. A high level of integration includes being involved in partner decision-making process, having total access to past history of each other’s decision-making process and access to historical performance related to costs and margins. This will help in making decisions after studying the market together and for making better recommendations. This is a state that the partners should strive to achieve. This way, instead of competing, both try to optimize their operations. Apart from this, I understood the intricacies of the supply chain management such as supply chain strategy, which seeks to leverage the skills and resources of all the partners in the supply chain to deliver exceptional value to the client. It taught me how to look at the overall supply chain’s value proposition and the part my company plays to drive that. I had observed that all the costs that impact a facility have to be considered. A system-level approach to cost-effectiveness is needed for the entire supply chain’s value proposition to be effective. There are activities that can be classified as operational (those that deal with the day to day activities), tactical (those that have a short-term focus), and strategic (those that are done with the long-term in focus). All these are important. The supply chain is fraught with inherent uncertainty and risk and hence a constant monitoring is required to ensure success.
Give examples of how you applied “thinking like a supply chain manager” to the simulation.
It is always risky depending on a single supplier. In case the demand is high or flexible, a single supplier may not be able to deliver. This will put my entire operations at risk. So, in the supply chain management simulation, I used two different suppliers so that I could reduce the risk of relying on one supplier. This is the first step and after achieving this, I looked at improving efficiencies by a better coordination of activities and investments to reduce costs. These are; 1) upgrading (Management Information Systems) MIS, 2) put in place quality improvement plans, and 3) better demand forecasting methods to reduce the lag and lead times so that it brings cost savings for both the supplier and the reseller. I wanted to have a level III MIS. We developed an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system that could be used between us and the suppliers, which cost me $900,000. I did this so that I could develop full integration with the supplier. I performed risk management and prepared a risk management plan for most risks that could be identified. The risk management plan included risk mitigation, risk avoidance or risk acceptance strategies. This helped the company to be ready for any eventuality. I developed a good rapport with the suppliers and customers so that it will help me in further activities.
What aspects of the simulation did you do well in? Why do you think you did well? What aspects of the simulation could you have done better on? What could you have done to improve your performance?
I did well in tasks that required me to develop insight into selling and purchasing as I knew what was needed by me to be successful in those cases. I was able to manage conflicts and cultivate trust as those are my natural traits. I also did well in managing dependence and dealing with ethical issues as I could think through those situations and come out with the right solutions. I also did well in delivering service quality. My team had the best financial performance because we invested wisely in opening new sales offices and advertising. We also hired a number of sales persons because we understood that it was important to have sales. I did not do well in situations that needed using power and influence as my nature held me back. Due to this, my negotiation skills were not at their best. I realize that I was able to develop good business-to-business relations due to the fact that I did not negotiate well and conceded too much ground to the other party, so they were always happy to negotiate with me. The relations were good as they were always gaining. This had resulted in me having to go the extra mile to deliver what was promised. However, it was good that even after negotiating badly, I was able to deliver a good financial performance. This meant that my understanding of the fundamentals of the supply chain management was good. This knowledge helped me to focus my expenditure and energies on things that really mattered most for the functioning of the business. This can be ascertained from the actions that I had taken. However, I feel the need to improve my negotiation skills. This will help me get a better deal without jeopardizing my relations with the business partners. I have identified ways to do that, but I have to put them in practice. I did well in working with and managing the supply chain as I could clearly understand what needed to be done. I did well in market research, advertising, and branding due to my perseverance. However, I have to understand how to price my products so that I can get more margins. I did really well with sales force management as I am a natural leader. As explained earlier, I had a good understanding of the nuances of supply chain management so I could do well in the financial management. This included correctly ascertaining the shipping options, deciding on the type of supply chain improvements needed and identifying other supply chain related issues. This was due to the fact that I had done a lot of research. I did particularly well in framing the service level agreements as I realized that the SLAs can affect the profitability of a firm adversely if they were not properly framed and properly implemented.
References
John, C. J., John, L. C., Robert, N. A., & Brian, G. J. (2013). Supply Chain Management: A Logistics Perspective (9th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.
