Vice President of Operations, Part 2
Vice President of Operations, Part 2
Apple Inc. Corporation was the production company that was opted for deliberation within this paper. Apple Inc. denotes the multinational company that produces mobile phones that are inclined with the latest technologies. As a result, it has earned the mobile platform the name smart phones due to the features that they have on them. That substantiated that the corporation was well renowned and that its operational strategy was working as it was expected. The operational strategy can, therefore, be abided by to offer the company with all that is needed for it to achieve its full potential. It can, therefore, be designated as operative especially for the company. It is from that rationale that this paper would endeavor at evaluating the weaknesses evident within the Apple’s life cycle as well as designing strategies that might be adopted by the organization to strengthen the operation. Moreover, the paper would identify the total quality management tool identifying and analyzing the future issues not forgetting to mention that the qualitative and quantitative forecasting approaches would be expounded as well.
Product life cycle (PLC) denotes all the phases that a product/service has to go through in its entire lifespan. Comparable to animal or human beings, products are represented through various phases such as the introduction stages, growth stages, maturity, and finally the decline stages. It is without a doubt that Apple’s products under go through the same phases. One of the main weakness that would be deduced from the organization’s product life cycle is the fact that their products are not given an opportunity to shift from one life cycle to the next. For instance, most of the company’s products are stack at the introduction stage as well as the growth stage. In other words, the organization does not allow its products to go through the phases mentioned exceeding (Yadegari, 2012). By illustration, the company endeavors at adding and improving the features of their products something that would be termed as backward movement of the product cycle. Equally, they are on record to be doing so through the improvement of technological applications as well as products elegances adopted. As a result, their products fail to enter into the maturity stage which is the next stage of the product’s life cycle. Consequently, the company fails to enjoy all the benefits that comes along with their products reaching that stage. Constant technological advancements would be termed as the second weakness attributed to the Apple’s cooperation product life cycle. Since their products are to have the latest technological advancements, they are forced to make changes on their products from time to time. Failure to which, their products would be termed to have technological imperfections as a result of the outdated technology that was used (Yadegari, 2012).
Grounded from the above justification, Apple Inc. Cooperation would adopt various stratagems that are aimed at reinforcement their procedures. For instance, the company would ensure that they adopt the latest technological advancement in the production of their products. Apart from that, they ought to ensure that they take time in the development stages something that would ensure that the produced products would have less technical setbacks that might force the products back to development phase. For that to become a reality, devoting more resources into their research and development department would be another strategy that might be opted for (Yadegari, 2012). By so doing, the company would reduce the chances of their products being outdated technology-wise at a faster rate something that would force them to return the products back to the first product life cycle. Offering products that both attractive and functionally up-to-date would be the third strategy that strengthen the operation of the company since it ensures that they have royal customer base regardless of the prices the products would be charged.
Key components of supply chain management
Comparable to any other global organization, the Apple Inc. Corporation have key components of supply chain management enabling it to remain competitive as well as preferred by customers. They include but not limited to demand management, communication, cooperation, and incorporation among many more. Certainly, such components have enabled the company to remain ahead of their competitors in addition to explaining why it was termed as the best in the world for several past years. One of the major reasons that would be attributed to that success in their ability to sources their materials from various suppliers (Pender, 2001). That ensures that they never lack the required materials apart from the fact that they get only the best. In addition, the company’s products are all assembled at a single location something that allows uniformity as well as quality of the products. Worth mentioning also is the fact that the company’s products are redistributed from a single location that is central to all the retailers as well as distributors. One advantage that would be attributed to that is that it enables its customers to return the company’s products once their product life cycle is returned to production of technological improvements (Lu, 2014).
However, there are several concerns that might be tabled the supply chain of the company. For instance, global economy would irrefutably affect the supply chain of the company. Equally, the fact that inventories would be superseded as compared to the products demand, and competitors might have access to their products becomes of the issues that might hinder their supply chain management. While sourcing from genuine suppliers, adopting sound structural bases, and ensuring sound inventories would be solutions to the issues, determining and adopting efficient ways of engaging company resources for increased sales would be more applicable (Pender, 2001).
Total quality management tool
A Total Quality Management (TQM) designates the contrivances might enable an organization to ascertain, as well as scrutinize and evaluate its non-quantifiable and quantifiable aspects of a business that would enable it to remain relevant in the market. Enhancing effectiveness, efficiency, and normalization becomes the overall objective of the total quality management tool (Kanji & Asher, 1996). Without such undertakings, the future aspects of the company would not be anticipated resulting to poor judgments that would put the company at risk of losing its market control. The main rationale for the development of a TQM tool would be main to prevent mistakes such as technological defects from happening. However, the tool plays an imperative role in detecting defects at an early stage to prevent them from affecting the value of the company similarly to stopping the production if the defects recur pending the correction of the defects (Kanji & Asher, 1996).
There are various TQM tools that might be opted for. For instance, pie charts/bar graphs, tree diagram, Pareto charts, focus groups, and affinity diagrams among others. By illustration, the Apple Inc. Cooperation would adopt the focus group as one of the TQM tool. From that tool, the company would be in a position to plan, deploy, review, and act accordingly to ensuring that they remain competitive in the market. Moreover, inspection-quality control-quality assurance-total quality management would be the best tool that Apple Company would put in place (Kanji & Asher, 1996).
The just-in-time philosophy
The Just-in-Time (JT) philosophy signifies the manufacturing procedure that plays a significant influence on not only Apple Inc, but also every other company’s affiliation with their suppliers as well as customers and the entire workforce. Under the attitude/viewpoint, all the aspects that do not add value to the end users are eliminated resulting a continuous benefit and improvement. Likewise, the philosophy lay emphasis on proper utilization of resources that include time, material, and the human resource. There are several benefits that would be accrued by apple for adopting the philosophy (Cheng, Podolsky, & Jarvis, 1996). For instance, thanks to the JIT values, the company is in a position to balance the inventory costs while ensuring that the customers are not affected by stock outs. That implies that their customer’s needs would be meet through the replenishment of stocks as well as pull back of their stocks without undergoing extra productions expenses. The other benefit that Apple Inc would benefit from by adopting the JIT would be the enhancement of an environment that encourages continuous improvements rather than undergoing wastes through sub-standard products (Cheng, Podolsky, & Jarvis, 1996).
Indubitably, the process of JIT enables the company’s workforce develop a better relationship with the management. By so doing, the company will have constructed an all-inclusive problem-solving as well as decision making approach. Positively, there would be an impact on the quality of the products that the company is producing. By illustration, it is on record that an employee was fired for stating that a certain technological advancement would not be applicable on their products. That was based on the fact that negative attitude were not welcomed since it was a way of hindering self-imagination that was driving the company ahead of the rest in the market. With the employees getting involved in the decision-making process, the product quality are positively impacted. Besides, the products quality remains constant as a result of better relationship with the suppliers something that results to sufficient provision of the materials necessary (Cheng, Podolsky, & Jarvis, 1996).
Qualitative and quantitative forecasting method
Forecasting connotes the process of anticipating future outcomes of events that have not yet taken place. Qualitative and quantitative are the two methods that are applicable in such determinations.
References
Cheng, T. C. E., Podolsky, S., & Jarvis, P. (1996). Just-in-time manufacturing: An introduction. London, Angleterre: Chapman and Hall.
Kanji, G. K., & Asher, M. (1996). 100 methods for total quality management. London: Sage.
Lu Clara, (2014). Apple had the best supply chain in the world for four years-here is what you can learn from it. Retrieved on 16th November 2014; from http://blog.tradegecko.com/apple-had-the-best-supply-chain-in-the-world-for-the-last-four-years-here-is-what-you-can-learn-from-it/
Pender Lee, (2001). The Five keys to successful Supply Chain management. Retrieved on 16th November 2014; from http://www.cio.com/article/2441430/supply-chain-management/the-5-keys-to-successful-supply-chain-management.html
Yadegari, Samed, (2012). Apple Inc. and the product life cycle. Retrieved on 16th November 2014; from https://symkt.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/apple-inc-and-the-product-life-cycle/
