Supply Chain Plan

Availability and quality of suppliers

N & S is an established organization and the issue of supplies would not really be stressful. However, entry into the new country as a subsidiary company requires the identification of new suppliers for raw materials necessary in the production process. The new market is still within the developed countries and has a stable distribution of supplies necessary for the running of the company. Ideally, the company should formulate networks to aid in the identification of high quality supplies from recognized suppliers in the region (Christopher & Lee, 2014).

Third Party service providers

The nature of service that the company specializes in requires that it contracts third party service providers. Unlike most organizations, however, N & S will not outsource the service of technology to a third party since it is a critical department in the company. Instead, the human resource management will be outsourced to an international organization in a bid to cut costs. Still, the risks are quite high and the company anticipates such occurrences due to the complexity of handling third party service providers. Nonetheless, the region is well developed and offers competitive third party service providers.

Sourcing and Procurement strategy

It is very important that a company of such magnitude implements a procurement strategy in advance. In view of the same, the company should set standardized contracting strategies to ensure fairness and timely delivery of procured services. Moreover, legal documents should be signed in advance to ensure strict compliance with timelines thus guaranteeing a continuity of operations. Moreover, the company’s website shall maintain an updated procurement status detailing the list of shortlisted parties and tenderers. In addition, the company benefits from its rich strategy in ensuring quality delivery of procured products and materials.

Planning and forecasting strategy

The company’s entry into a new region would require the commitment of large resources to the process of planning and forecasting. N & S realizes the value of planning and forecasting in the success or failure company in the region. In view of this, the company shall employ software to help in the two processes of planning and forecasting. Obviously, time series forecasting would be out of the question for the new company (Lummus et al, 2008). Instead, scenario writing technique will be used in the financial planning and forecasting.

Inventory management strategy

The success of N & S is highly dependent on the effectiveness of its inventory management strategy. The company will employ the economic order quantity model in managing its inventory. As thus, the inventory levels will be monitored continuously to ensure a specific volume of inventory after every purchase. The assumption is that inventory depletes at an almost fixed rate until it is cleared (Christopher, 2016). The company shall thus determine a specific reorder point which is timed to ensure that materials are received when the company requires them. In so doing, the company will avoid overages or shortages of the supply industry.

Transportation strategy

N & S will continually deal with both inbound and outbound materials as part of their production. In attaining efficient transportation, the company aims to reduce outbound transportation costs while managing inbound transportation. The company further realizes that a reduction in costs cannot entirely guarantee efficient transportation but it must be structured to respond to the dynamics of the business. The timely movement of shipments will be effected through a well coordinated strategy thus ensuring all customer requirements are met in time. In ensuring the flexibility of the strategy, benchmarking measures (Lummus et al, 2008) must be put in place in advance.

Warehouse strategy

In maintain efficient warehouse strategies, N & S aims at mediating variability such that there is an economical flow between demand and supply. The target of the company would be to deal with the customers directly and not through wholesalers. Normally, the picking of materials is more time consuming that bringing in material with the former taking up most of the labor (Christopher & Lee, 2014). In maintaining efficient warehouse management, the company will optimize slotting thus ensuring storage profiles match the details of goods flowing in a specific warehouse. Moreover, goods and materials should be arranged depending on the urgency of their requirement with fast moving goods being ion the most accessible positions.

Outsourcing strategy

The nature of the company’s operations warrants the use of outsourcing as well as third-party logistics. Being a relatively new subsidiary company, it is in order for the company to outsource some of its operations including but not limited to the human resource management department. Unlike most organizations, however, N & S will not outsource the service of technology to a third party since it is a critical department in the company. Instead, the human resource management will be outsourced to an international organization in a bid to cut costs. Still, the risks are quite high and the company anticipates such occurrences due to the complexity of handling third party service providers. Nonetheless, the region is well developed and offers competitive third party service providers.

Customer relationship management

Obviously, the effectiveness of customer relations is a critical step in the success of N & S subsidiary company. In attaining the same, the company intends to provide the services that customers want thus increasing their sales. Part of the strategy includes the personalization of online experiences through the maintenance of active online portals (Christopher, 2016). Customer databases shall also be updated and kept to date to ensure communication with customers for feedback and proposals. The company will run software through which customers can help themselves and send emails for queries that cannot be answered in real time.

Supply Chain Integration

The volume of operations within the company’s supply chain requires the adoption of coordination and close alignment to ensure standardized operations. First, different components of the ERP will be linked to achieve a harmonious supply chain. Moreover, customers will be segmented with the intention of anticipating their changing needs with time. Moreover, the focus of supply chain integration should be on the company’s core competences while assuming the strengths of other companies in similar industry. Still, the entire processes that the company conducts must be maintained in one database. This is in a bid to ensure that the information is available on a need to need basis to all the users of the information.

Performance management strategy

In testing the success of the company, it is necessary that strategies be put in place to measure the performance of the company’s resources. In so doing, Key Performance Indicators are necessary and should be identified in advance. The strategy includes the identification of the correct and realistic KPIs for business performance. Part of the strategy should include the motivation of employees as well as the efficient management of employees. In addition, the goals of the business should be analyzed to achieve a trusted strategic planning process. Tracking of the strategy should be done on a continuous basis to check whether the strategy is working in harmony with the realization of the company’s goals.

Next Steps

Once the plan is approved, it is expected that the company will set base in the new region and commence operations immediately. Obviously, the process must be preceded by the supply of necessary set up materials to aid in the process of operations. Next, the organization will start receiving supplies to use in the process of production. In addition, the company should then tackle outbound materials while receiving resources such as money. Eventually, the organization will handle both inbound and outbound logistics as it serves the new region with its products.

Conclusion

The success of the company is largely dependent on the efficiency of the supply chain plan and its implementation. In this regard, the managers should work towards the realization of the company’s goal by ensuring that all systems work as desired. Ultimately, the company is bound to succeed in this new region as long as the plan is strictly adhered to. Evidently, some of the business operations need to be outsourced to attain the requisite efficiency in service delivery. In addition, customer relations must be maintained at high levels to ensure customer satisfaction. Eventually, the success of the company’s entry into the new region as well as the achievement of its business goals is dependent on the efficiency of the supply chain plan.

References

Christopher, M., & Lee, H. (2014). Mitigating supply chain risk through improved confidence. International journal of physical distribution & logistics management, 34(5), 388-396.

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

Lummus, R. R., Vokurka, R. J., & Alber, K. L. (2008). Strategic supply chain planning. Production and Inventory Management Journal, 39(3), 49.

 
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