Supply Chain Plan Part 2. Materials Requirements Planning. Management Essay

Supply Chain Plan Part 2
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Supply Chain Plan Part 2
Chapter 9 Considerations: Materials Requirements Planning
Importance of having a robust standard material requirements planning program
The company will also need to ensure that its material requirement planning is effective. This will enable it to enjoy various benefits;
A robust MRP will provide detailed and rich information that the company can use in such core functions as decision-making in management operations, planning, and production, and thus improve the overall efficiency of the company (Ke, Chen, Chen, Wang, & Zhang, 2020).
The MRP will also help in reducing the overall workload and improving maximum efficiency; this is achieved if the company manages the MRP system effectively at all times.
Data obtained and analyzed through MRP can enable the company’s management to plan ahead and also forecast how much planning needs to be done so as to improve the efficiency and overall profitability of the company (Melchor-Pereda, Sбnchez-Partida, Martнnez-Flores, & Cano-Olivos, 2020).
Planning using a robust MRP would also make the company more efficient in operations and productivity, thus eliminate unnecessary expenses and thus maximize profitability altogether.
A robust MRP is an effective, innovative, and highly competitive tool that is more efficient than the traditional systems used for stock management and control (Melchor-Pereda, Sбnchez-Partida, Martнnez-Flores, & Cano-Olivos, 2020). Therefore, it would help in improving stock management and control within the company.
A robust MRP software system that is fully automated is easy to use, and it can be used in efficiently formulating a production schedule that can save the company a large amount of time, money, and labor (Melchor-Pereda, Sбnchez-Partida, Martнnez-Flores, & Cano-Olivos, 2020).
Provide examples that support the following elements
Material Requirements Planning involves various elements. They include forecasts of demand, firm orders, engineering design changes, and inventory transactions. Examples of the same are presented below.
Forecasts of Demand
Structured Analogies; a business may find it useful to rely on its past in predicting the future, especially when the past scenario is similar to a future situation (Gold & Gold, 2016). In such cases, the business may depend on expert skills and using structured analogies in forecasting demand. An example is where an expert estimates the possible demand based on their review of historical data on similar products introduced in other markets.
Judgmental Decomposition; this involves a business owner deconstructing a marketing scenario and then addressing the various elements of the scenario separately (Boykin, 2020). The individual forecasts are then combined to produce the demand forecast for a service or product.
Expectations Survey; using this approach involves asking the existing and potential consumers of a business to state how they would behave in a certain scenario (Kumar, Raju, & Janardhana, 2020). The expectations of the surveyed individuals are a reflection of their beliefs on some event that may or may not occur in the future.
Firm orders; an example is an order which has been left open or even standing by an investor. This also means that the order cannot be cancelled and thus remains open indefinitely (Jones, Pergl, Hooft, Miksa, Samors, Ungvari, & Lee, 2020). An example is when an investor buys shares in a company but leaves the order open, meaning it is not cancellable. In such cases, the two involved parties have to follow through the transaction, and this is what makes it non-cancellable.
Engineering Design Changes; Examples include ECOs, which are used for making changes to assemblies, components, associated documentation, as well as other types of production information.
Inventory transactions; they help a business in effectively managing the complex accounting functions and recording which are involved in moving inventory in and out of locations. For instance, one can use the issue transaction in removing goods that are obsolete or damaged from their inventory (Lukina, Korshunova, & Dobrolyubova, 2020). Similarly, one can use the transfer transaction in moving their inventory from one plant or branch to another.
Chapter 14 Considerations: Location, Logistics, and Distribution (Week 4)
Detail out a location, logistics, and distribution plan with areas of identified risk.
Location
The business operates in the sale of the juices and cold drinks. As such, the company can operate efficiently in a location with a population with consumers who are progressives; progressives are individuals who are intellectual and open-minded (Blank, 2020). They strongly value knowledge and use such information in making informed decisions. They also like learning and travelling to experience different cultures. During such adventures, they enjoy such refreshments as juices and cold coke. Therefore, the business can place outlets along highways and near motels.
Logistics
The business utilizes the Manual Distribution Center (MDC) model for its logistics and operations. The model is mainly utilized in areas which are densely populated such as large cities and towns (Blank, 2020). MDCs are independent businesses that are linked to the local bottler to get technical support and credit the same to the MDCs. Owners of such MDCs own the bottles and crates that they use and advertise wholesale prices. First time consumers pay for the crates and bottles that they take and the liquid contained in them. Notably, distribution from such MDCs is done manually; the crates are loaded on to bicycles and handcrafts, among other means. This model has promoted the efficiency of logistics within the company.
Distribution Plan
The business uses various distribution channels in distributing its products. They include the following;
Retail stores; they include such convenient stores as supermarkets.
Vending machines and self-service slot machines; they are mainly common in schools as well as other miscellaneous businesses.
Ho-Re-Ca; this stands for Hotels, Restaurants, Cafes like Fast food outlets and cuisine restaurants, among others.
Mobile carts; whereas some re mechanized, others are non-mechanized.
Entertainment zones; they include Disneyworld, theme park, among others.
Chapter 10 Considerations: Quality Management and Six-Sigma
Provide examples of each dimension of quality.
Garvin's eight dimensions can also be applied in this case to improve the overall efficiency and performance of the company. Some of the ways through which the dimensions can be improved include the following;
Performance; the business should improve the quality of services and performance so as to improve its ranking.
Features; additional characteristics can be added to the services and products to make them more attractive to customers.
Reliability; the company should improve the reliability of its products by ensuring that they are of high quality and that they do not fail within a short time. They should improve their shelf life.
Conformance; it should also ensure that its products and services meet the specified standards. This also ensures customer satisfaction and adherence to specific market regulations.
Durability; the company’s products should have a long product life so as to ensure that the product can be used for a long time. This improves customer satisfaction as they can use the products for a long time without complications.
Serviceability; the products the company sells should be easy to use and take short time to get back to use after they are damaged or when they break down. The service persons should also have outstanding competence and good behavior.
Aesthetics; the company should improve the response of consumers to its products and services by improving quality to influence their purchasing behavior.
Perceived quality; the quality that consumers attribute to the company’s products and services based on indirect measures should be as high as possible. This can be achieved through providing high quality services and products.
Describe how the concepts of Six Sigma could be applied.
The concepts of Six Sigma can be applied in this case to identify issues within production and supply chain of the company and hence address the issues (Al-Refaie & Hanayneh, 2014). The concepts help business managers to run smooth supply chain operations by concentrating on consumer needs and expectations and thus eliminating everything else that hinders them from achieving the same. In this case, the company can apply the concepts through the following approaches (Al-Refaie & Hanayneh, 2014);
Identifying defects/the root causes of variations in product and service quality within production and supply chain operations.
Eliminating variations actively and ensuring continuous improvement within the procedures.
Focusing on consumer requirements and expectations always.
Ensuring that teams and leaders are trained on the use of Six Sigma’s methods to serve properly and effectively.
Ensuring that change and flexibility are a priority in the business operations.
Explain how the analytical tools for Six Sigma and continuous improvement (DMAIC) could be applied to optimize the supply chain.
Evaluating the existing variation is important, and it is notable that eliminating variation to zero is impossible since variation is inherent (Patyal & Koilakuntla, 2016). However, it can be reduced indefinitely. Reducing it requires that it is measured, and measuring variation requires one to focus so as to achieve improvement. This is achieved through a process. In this case, the Six Sigma approach can be applied. If achievement is achieved, it is shown as increased productivity, better quality, reduced wastage, a higher consumer satisfaction rate, and reduced production and operational costs (Patyal & Koilakuntla, 2016). Therefore, Six Sigma and DMAIC can be applied in reducing variation.
Chapter 12 Considerations: Lean Supply Chains (Week 5)
Explain how a value stream map would be useful.
Value stream mapping helps in understanding how a business works and assists managers in making the appropriate changes in business processes with clarity and efficiency (Reynolds & Holwell, 2020). In this case, it ...