Technological Applications Related To Supply Chain Management

Pick a company or organization with a global supply chain and document their best practices with regard to any one of these categories of concern:  humanitarian (child labor, slavery, sweat shop), conflict free materials, or “green” issues.

Your research must include company or organization authored material, as found on their website.  Your research should also include at least one independent third-party source to validate or repudiate company or organizational authored material.

Assignment Outcomes

Apply procurement and manufacturing activities that support supply chain management

Incorporate emerging relevant technologies applicable to the Business environment

Demonstrate ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology

Analyze and evaluate your overall comprehension of the course relative to a broad-based evaluation of your understanding of the course concepts

Deliver an effective oral presentation through an informative and persuasive presentation.

Table of contents

Introduction 3

Process of Procurement 3

Supply chain activity management 4

Technological applications related to supply chain management 4

Ethical practices in supply chain management 5

Green issues of the BMW 7

Conclusive analysis and evaluation 8

Reference list 9

Introduction

This is the 21st century, and in this era, there is a huge competition in every possible field of the market starting from the retail to grocery to manufacturing even the factor of competition is so intense that the online services are also fighting it out now a days. Hence to get ahead in the competition market, it much needed to create a cost-effective strategy and make the proper implication of the strategy in order to keep in the race. One of the most important aspects of the strategy formation is the part that deals with the supply chain management. The supply chain is the most important and the integral part of every company. If a company wants to go ahead, it must be complimented a well-furnished supply chain. A Proper and diverse supply chain with a very vast choice of alternative is the key to being successful in the concerned field of business. The supply chain remains in the backstage of every successful company as the pillar based on which the overall outcome is very much affected. Concerning the requirement of the study project the company that is chosen which has a global supply chain is the BMW which is one of the giants in the field of manufacturing and engineering. The BMW company is so successful and the fact that it has conquered the global market on the basis of some critical and tactful strategies with the aid of a supply chain that is also spread globally. The focus is also concentrated on the best practices that are being done in the concerned company with all the relevant and detailed information’s and the mainly focusing on the fact of the green issues aspect of the company. In the essay, focus is also given in the fact of the authorized material of the concerned company. At the end part, an evaluation of all the practices and the discussed issues and also the possible recommendations in order to overcome the problems is also stated in the essay.

Process of Procurement

In the successful management of the supply chain and its activities, the process of procurement is one the important aspect that every gives the priority as the procurement process means the gathering of the required material for the purpose of manufacturing using calling tender. In this, a certain company finds the best possible material as per quality standards at a price that is very much cheap (Stadtler, 2015). Procurement Strategies which are being implemented by the concerned company is much diverse as some procurement is done by a direct mode such the procurement of the of the goods material while the other aspects are pretty much done by the indirect mode such as the procurement of the materials of the maintenance parts and the products related to outsourcing. All the costly products are always done on the mode of indirect mode of procurement. The basic aspect of the management of the proper procurement is to gain all the desired materials at the least amount of time and from which the company, as well as the supplier’s, gets benefitted (Beske & Seuring, 2014). The factors of purchasing are very much in a relation with the communication systems also as the uses of certain technical tools by the company to maintain the proper workflow is very much the key to success for the faster management of the whole process by the company.

Supply chain activity management

There are diverse type’s activities that take place in the field of manufacturing industry and the supply chain of the concerned association. The chosen company that is BMW is very much organized to better performance of the whole process. The activities related to supply chain mainly involves the proper planning of the concerned resource, the sourcing process from where the supply of the materials will be taken. A proper negotiation is always at the best practiced which is subsequently followed by the placement of the order and the required transportation to make faster delivery of the material (Estampe et al. 2013). The aspects that follow after this is the fact of storing the material in the proper space and the handling measures of those products.

For the concerned company that aspects of transporting the product from the suppliers, the storing of the products and aspects related to this are all very much given to certain logistics providers to maintain the professionalism factor and also keep the keep factor in control to make faster production and delivery of the manufactured items. In this process the monitoring team is always very much active to keep a close eye on all the logistics providers whether they are meeting the standards that are being mentioned by the company or not as there is also very much a keen competition is going on inside logistics providers also, so the company is aided with a diverse choice (supply-chain-management 2017).

Technological applications related to supply chain management

The factor of competition in the manufacturing field is very high, and in order to gain an advantage over the rest, the implementation of technical tools and aspect is very much important. Enhancing the supply chain using application of some simple technical aspect can create a better reputation of the company in the global market. The tools are mentioned below,

Shipment of the material and the proper tracking of the products if made in a computer-based manner can save the time as well as the cost of transportation. Application of certain tools that are of web-based and certain software like the TMS is very much used by all the company. By this software a company reduces the overall cost of the product and all the errors that come along with the supply chain (Fahimnia et al. 2015). Making the whole concept computer based has also made the customers of a certain company with the provision of tracking of the order in a digital way.

The identification of the radio frequency or termed as RFID is very much another tool that can benefit the company in a numerous way. The fact that the provision of making a track of the inventory is a key aspect which this piece of software takes care of. This RFID chip improves the visibility of the whole supply chain concept and thus facilitates the quick correction of any mistake that is made in the process by any of the employees (Stadtler, 2015). The chip is also used by most of the logistics providers that will enable the company to make a better navigation on them.

The third point in the context of emerging technical aspect is the incorporation of the social media platform in order to make the activities of the supply chain very much transparent. The social media in the present time is considered to be one of the most important tools to make direct communication with people or more specifically the customer and even the possible customers in a most convenient way as it the most followed trend around the globe. By virtue of the social media such as Facebook, some campaign and the process of the short online survey can hugely be beneficial (Fahimnia, Sarkis & Davarzani, 2015). A proper infographic by using the social media covering the four basic aspects of the supply chain such as the managing the events related to supply chain, managing the relation with the customers as well as the logistics, collaborations between the different supply chains and the technology related to the available information, is a proven concept.

Managing a big data pool with some of the tools that are very much analytical in the context can be very much helpful to make the company records in a clean way (Khajavi, Partanen & Holmström, 2014).

Ethical practices in supply chain management

In the context of the chosen company, the ethical issues that are being strictly maintained by the company are very much a key factor in the determination of the success of the company. There are some ethical concerns at which the company mainly focuses on. These are stated below,

All the commitments that are being with the suppliers should be very much clear for the cases related to the cost charge and the labor charge issues. All the records regarding the deal are always in place to be on a safe side.

Using some of the web portals that deals with the strengths and the weaknesses of a certain supplier have been of high benefit as managing all the information of the global suppliers and identifying the associated risks is very much helpful.

Proper accreditation is the fact that has been the key concern for the company in many aspects as the company is keen to get the accreditation from the relevant govt. Agencies in order to avoid the issues related to the legal framework of the nation (Ellram & Cooper, 2014). The company also looks after the accreditation and all the legal papers of the different suppliers across the globe.

The company has made a gradual, but drastic effort in the field of involving the local suppliers who are very much famous in the locality and reputed are taken in the company program as the locals will provide the better observatory measures for the company (Beske, Land & Seuring, 2014).

Maintaining the auditing issues in the proper manner is one of the main ethical practices for the company. The post agreement settlements between the suppliers and the concerned company are very much a key factor that is looked after.

All the legal liaison for the company in association with the supply chain is very much maintained by the legal team of the company. To keep a good relationship with all the relevant suppliers, the proper maintenance of the deal is the much a work ethic that is being done by the company (Beske & Seuring, 2014).

The process of testing by utilizing some independent methods in order to establish a robust process for the supply chain is very much a key concern of the company regarding the ethical issues.

In the ethical segment maintained by the company, the last one but not the least is the fact that getting quality service from the respective suppliers or not. Based on the work ethic of BMW, the company pays a high amount of sum to the suppliers as the company has been keen on the quality factors (Ahi & Searcy, 2013). Hence the suppliers are providing quality service or not are the key part in the legal aspect of the company.

Green issues of the BMW

Being one of the leaders in the field of manufacturing industry, the BMW Company has developed some critical strategies in order to move ahead from the rest but has never compromised with any of aspects whether it is legal issues or the issues related to the environment. The company is always keen to maintain the environmental standards as per the laws and regulations specified in the environmental protection act (Christopher, 2016). The green initiatives taken by the company are stated below,

The first initiative that the company has made in order to maintain the environmental standards is the reduction in the consumption of the non-renewable resources such as the petrol and diesel. The company has been much keen in using the resources that will give lower carbon emission. In the context of the global warming factor, the reduction in the carbon emission and the lowering the usage of the non-renewable resource is very much welcomed all over the world (Pagell & Shevchenko, 2014).

The second initiative of the company involves the usage of the resources that are much more eco-friendly and with very low rate of carbon emission. The renewable energy resources are most preferred by the company by the company as it focuses on achieving to 100% usage of renewable energy resource in the coming years. In a sense the company has already tested the sources such as the wind power and the hydropower as the possible replacement of the non-renewable energy resource and has been backed up the data that shows 35.4% less consumption of energy has taken place since 2006 (Fawcett, Ellram & Ogden, 2014).

The third initiative of the company is to reduce the wastage of water as water is valued as one of the most important and valuable assets by the company. Hence the company is focused on using water from the from cycle method reducing wastewater. The recent statistical data shows that since 2006, 31% of less consumption of water has taken place (Wisner, Tan & Leong, 2014).

For the better preservation of nature and natural resources, the company has managed to reduce the waste production and also recycle of the products in the most sustainable way. In order to achieve this company has always used the management of the resource in a perfect closed loop manner and has given a result of 81.5% of less disposal of the waste material (Rushton, Croucher & Baker, 2014).

Conclusive analysis and evaluation

The essay is all about the various aspects and strategies regarding a company of choice that is the BMW. The strategies involved in the supply chain management are the matter of concern in the essay. The various aspects of the supply chain management of BMW have been put forward here. The company is very much successful in the management of the supply chain with proper measures of procurement and the selection of the source. The company is also very much successful in implementing the technical issues that have enhanced the reputation of the company in a great deal. Based on the data are given above the company can be classified as very much ethical in the regards of the supply chain management as the company has carefully checked and measured all the legal aspect in the concerned area. The green is another aspect that has been discussed in the essay. This aspect of the company is very much updated as shown by all the supportive data. The usage of nonrenewable resources like wind power and hydro power and the reduction of water usage in the workplace has been very reputation booster for the company all over the globe. Despite all these factors that have been in favor of the company there are some factors and aspects where the company can improve possibly. The first and the foremost is the reduction of cost of transportation by the company. The reduction in the cost of the supply chain ultimately proves to be cost effective to the entire production process. The second fact is the company uses the facilities of the Autobahn which is the central highway system in the Germany. The process of transportation if done in the mode of this highway then all the process can be very much smooth and time-saving. The last fact comes as far recommendation is a concern is the fact of managing the human resource in a better and organized way. Human workforce if fully utilized by the company. As a result the basic errors that occur due to the possession of some semi-skilled workers can be very easily mitigated.

Reference list

Books

Christopher, M., (2016). Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.

Fawcett, S.E., Ellram, L.M. & Ogden, J.A., (2014). Supply chain management: from vision to implementation. London: Pearson.

Wisner, J.D., Tan, K.C. & Leong, G.K., (2014). Principles of supply chain management: A balanced approach. Cengage Learning.

Rushton, A., Croucher, P. & Baker, P., (2014). The handbook of logistics and distribution management: Understanding the supply chain. Kogan Page Publishers.

Journals

Pagell, M. & Shevchenko, A., (2014). Why research in sustainable supply chain management should have no future. Journal of supply chain management, 50(1), pp.44-55.

Ahi, P. & Searcy, C., (2013). A comparative literature analysis of definitions for green and sustainable supply chain management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 52, pp.329-341.

Ellram, L.M. & Cooper, M.C., (2014). Supply chain management: It’s all about the journey, not the destination. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 50(1), pp.8-20.

Beske, P., Land, A. & Seuring, S., (2014). Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the food industry: A critical analysis of the literature. International Journal of Production Economics, 152, pp.131-143.

Beske, P. & Seuring, S., (2014). Putting sustainability into supply chain management. Supply Chain Management: an international journal, 19(3), pp.322-331.

Fahimnia, B., Sarkis, J. &Davarzani, H., (2015). Green supply chain management: A review and bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Production Economics, 162, pp.101-114.

Stadtler, H., (2015). Supply chain management: An overview. In Supply chain management and advanced planning (pp. 3-28). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Fahimnia, B., Tang, C.S., Davarzani, H. &Sarkis, J., (2015). Quantitative models for managing supply chain risks: a review. European Journal of Operational Research, 247(1), pp.1-15.

Khajavi, S.H., Partanen, J. & Holmström, J.,(2014). Additive manufacturing in the spare parts supply chain. Computers in Industry, 65(1), pp.50-63.

Estampe, D., Lamouri, S., Paris, J.L. & Brahim-Djelloul, S., (2013). A framework for analyzing supply chain performance evaluation models. International Journal of Production Economics, 142(2), pp.247-258.

Websites

supply-chain-management (2017). bmwgroup.com Retrieved 23rd May 2017 Available at https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/responsibility/supply-chain-management.html