Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Supply Chain Management

Introduction

Organizations have seen the need for employing sales and operation planning in supply chain integration. This is the decision-making process that involves top leaders in a company having sit downs and having to review said objectives for demand, supply and the final monetary results. It also provides critical communication links for top management to coordinate the various planning activities in a business.

How do sales and operations planning in supply chain integration impact the company overall? What would Amazon’s medium- and long-term forecast inform the operations management department? How do logistics, transportation modes, and warehouse locations impact Amazon’s competitiveness?

The main objective is to develop an overall business plan, which integrates various functional planning efforts, and if S&OP is not integrated and working to a cross-function plan, the business can fail. The use of sales and operations planning has enabled different department of the company to be able to set collaborating strategies that are able to produce same figures rather than having every department have their plan that may lead to diverting from the company goal, and this results in negative operational impact.

 Jeff Bezos issued a manifesto: “It’s all about the long term,” he said. He warned shareholders “we may make decisions and weigh tradeoffs differently than some companies” and urged them to make sure that a long-term approach “is consistent with your investment policy.” For this reason, the long and medium forecast has been made to go in line with the company’s policies and also keen on customer satisfaction. The planning team in Amazon is therefore responsible for communicating with the Operations department the tactics needed to be improvised by all other departments to reach the ultimate company goal.

Amazon has now an upper hand in their line of business. The company has realized that to do well in the work they have to be recognized by the public and this and led to the company improving majorly on its logistics, transportation modes and their warehouses’ locations. Having invested quite a chunk of cash in their supply chain department of 1.2Billion shillings Amazon has now set plans of leasing at least 20 cargo jets. Having your own delivery company means you are at a better position to expand beyond your walls. Amazon has been able to create offices and warehouses around the countries they offer their services, and they were keen enough on choosing strategic locations that were accessible to both the clients and their delivery department.

How does global sourcing and procurement impact the overall effectiveness of the supply chain? What are the benefits and challenges that have occurred when outsourcing logistic and other functions?

While there is considerable risk in global outsourcing, top managers and company leaders have seen the importance of this. With keen research and partners who are credible then a business can prosper in this manner. By a company exploiting global outsourcing, they minimize the overall cost of the company. By doing this, a company can be able to use the expertise and knowledge to reduce the levels of expenses. In most cases, an outsourced company is going to work on reducing the cost of the client resulting in more significant financial returns. By outsourcing the SCM, it makes the job more comfortable to do as the company doesn’t have to face the enormous frustrations brought about by the hidden charges that may result to wastage of time and customer satisfaction at the end.

Nevertheless, outsourcing of supply chain management across the board might too face challenges along the way. When a company sets for outsourcing the SCM, this might hinder them from achieving their goal. First, your product may face quality hitches where your third party in the delivery of the product to a consumer decides to either use substandard materials or other unethical means. Such could lead to reduced sales and lose brand legitimacy. That’s not all, and outsourcing could be the grand opening for more setbacks in the business if timelines are not observed keenly. This could bring upon nightmares to the chain of product delivery and lead to the loss of revenue. Also, the could arise unexpected cost when a company decides to outsource SCM. In many occasions, the third parties are known to have many hidden fees that led to the loss of profits.

How has Amazon successfully leveraged e-commerce strategies to promote supply chain integration and boost sales and growth for the organization? Which strategies have been particularly effective and why?

Amazon has been able to penetrate the online market using e-commerce strategies that have aimed at promoting supply chain integration and also boost the company’s sales and growth. They have been able to understand the importance of having content that can and will retain their customers. Amazon has made its website very engaging, and this has facilitated smooth running in the supply chain by encouraging feedback and acting upon it, and asking for the opinion of items like books. Also, they have made sure that their online presence is felt all the time by using keywords and Meta tags to raise their Google ranking. To be able to grow and develop more, you may require to the potentials of the third-party logistics providers in managing complex orders. Amazon has been able to implement this, and this avoids wastage of time in processing orders in batches rather than have the same day order delivery network, this has given them a competitive advantage. These strategies incorporated by Amazon include

Letting your customers help you in proving the webpage with fresh content all the time. Those have been one of the most effective methods that Amazon has used to drive page visits and let customers offer an opinion that helps in the perfection of the chain of product delivery.

Do you feel that Amazon sets an example for other companies to model regarding supply chain integration? Be sure to explain your rationale. Consider the ethical implications in your response.

Amazon sets an example to other companies regarding supply chain integration. This can be emulated by other companies in Xiamen, China, where I come from and that are in seek for growth development. Secondly, products that are frequently purchased and require same-day delivery are stored in their warehouses where access is easy resulting in quality goods and timely deliveries that led to customer satisfaction.

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