Lenovo Case Analysis free essay sample

Case Analysis Situation Analysis Chinese super brand Lenovo, once in the past framed as Legend, has seen itself ascend from being a negligible imported parts merchant into its country’s biggest PC producer just as being the world’s fourth. The organization presently has branches worldwide and has encountered effective developments since its foundation in 1984. Lenovo SWOT breakdown: Strengths: Lenovo has a mass and solid relationship with their residential client base. Being a homegrown organization absolutely helped Lenovo in comprehension and trim its PC lines into items that Chinese shoppers reliably spoke to. The organization additionally since quite a while ago settled effective circulation and promoting capacities. Shortcomings: In the finish of 2003, they encountered a falling stock value, decreases in PC shipments and administrative disarray. But a solid client relationship and dissemination framework, they despite everything fall behind what Dell has particular. Openings: Domestically, PC shipments in all areas of China is anticipated to increment so Lenovo can acquire those requests. Also, the medium to higher market fragments, for example, medium organizations and the administration keep on having a predictable increment in PC utilization. Internationally, there are significant increments sought after and shipments of PCs particularly in Asia. Dangers: The greatest danger the organization has is confronting expanded rivalry from brands from both abroad and in China, particularly from Dell where it held the subsequent piece of the overall industry in the Chinese market. The market has gotten a lot of immersed and the shopper point of view move from PCs being ‘luxurious’ to ‘commodities’ type items could go hazardous to Lenovo. Issue/Key Issue The changing elements of the PC business would be the premise of the issues experienced by Lenovo (and different firms in the market). Market immersion, entering and overhauling skills of new and existing firms, the point of view of ‘commodity’ PCs by customers and the need to make new strategies for selling and administrations all add up to the troubles Lenovo is confronted with a harder market. Elective Actions 1. Keep working with advancements †As anticipated deals and shipments propose that the organization can at present develop and addition more or if nothing else similar benefits, there is no scramble for Lenovo to change any of their working methodologies for a while. 2. Change the company’s item blend †In this proposal, Lenovo would need to move from their significant accentuation on PCs to versatile handsets. 3. Solidify its different organizations (centering locally) †By combining its various organizations of work areas, PCs, handheld PCs and portable handsets and concentrating on just a single primary business. 4. Underline remote tasks (centering abroad) †Lenovo would pool in assets to focus on outside activities; entering, infiltrating and increasing new piece of the overall industry or improving outside existing piece of the overall industry. Assessment of Alternatives 1. Keep working without modifications †I) Advantages: Ability to keep up high benefit levels, zero expenses of progress executions, II) Disadvantages: Prone to future dangers of buyer request change or new contenders, would not have the option to get new pieces of the overall industry, 2. Change the company’s item blend †I) Advantages: Expanding organizations not specific previously (portable handhelds), II) Disadvantages: Complications on choosing which items to practice 3. Unite its different organizations (centering locally) I) Advantages: Lowering costs, accentuating the qualities on assembling PCs, brings down dangers, pooling of assets II) Disadvantages: Lower dangers implies lower returns, 4. Stress remote tasks (centering abroad) I) Advantages: Gaining new pieces of the overall industry II) Disadvantages: Uncertain market information signifies dangers Recommendation The following stage from the previously mentioned opportunities for Lenovo to pick best would be a blend of the first and the fourth suggestion. I. Vital Intent: To be capable as a PC producer locally and universally. II. Vital Mission: A continuation on local mastery by offering reliably up-to-standard items and to enter/gather a huge improvement in outside business sectors. III. Key Result Areas (KRAs): A. Global Department: Lenovo must guarantee that this office is set up proficiently to lead exchanges, dealings and deals abroad. They would need to isolate their area of expertise into various divisions that have practical experience in finding, entering, infiltrating, and increasing remote information. B. Innovative work Department: Since showcase immersion will make issues the firm, Lenovo’s RD office must be exceptional, imaginative, creative and would should push towards developing new advancements. IV. Systems: (Two options are chosen. The principal elective will proceed out of sight while the subsequent elective will be the strategy that Lenovo would do widely. ) A. Beginning Phase: The worldwide office would initially assemble information and data of different nations at that point would designate a nation as the most conceivable up-and-comer e. g. Thailand or India in view of their PC utilization development. B. Item Modification: Once the objective nation is chosen, the nation and the purchaser information would be gathered. When picked up, these information would be utilized to adjust the PC models to suit the chose nation. The way toward entering would likewise be picked. C. Remote Phase: The changed item would be gone into the nation and the global division would screen its encouraging. D. Foundation Operations: Lenovo would even now be making and putting resources into innovative work. They would need to guarantee that they assign fitting assets and assets towards the RD division. V. Goals: 1. To keep up critical piece of the pie in the Chinese residential market. 2. To keep carrying inventive items into the market locally. 3. To build unfamiliar to household deals proportion.

Administration and Executive support Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organization and Executive help - Essay Example Then again, other than key aptitudes clerical specialists must have certain key characteristics that will make them viable and productive. A portion of the key characteristics incorporate the capacity to organize too resist the urge to panic inside the association. What's more, a clerical specialist must have the nature of working under tension while staying centered. The purpose for such characteristics is the way that MA (clerical specialist) job is generally straightforwardly under the supervisor who may move their worry to the colleague or even pressurize them when activities are not going on as arranged (Frisch, 2002). (b) Demonstrate with the utilization of a visual guide (singular Action plan), the various strategies for building up your MA aptitudes to assist you with developing in your job in supporting conventional gatherings, activities and individual planning Archive creation, recording, and dispatch preparing will give a chance to the clerical specialist to figure out how to deliver reports, record the equivalent, just as dispatch the archives to different offices or people inside the association Through secretariat courses, authoritative people will have the option to create information and abilities that are engaged with liaising as well as performing different elements of a secretary, which straightforwardly associates to the supervisor or job performed, for example, going about as close to home colleague In the occasion that bookkeeping and account division can't deal with insignificant money inside the manager’s office, the clerical specialist ought to be given the order to deal with such money. Be that as it may, taking care of such money requires bookkeeping aptitudes possible through bookkeeping and account courses (a) Define the term partner and produce a table to distinguish and order at any rate ten diverse partner gatherings (both inner and outer) for this association. For every partner distinguished, clarify their capacity and impact. A partner is characterized as any individual, gathering,

Growth of Slavery free essay sample

From the mid 1600s to the mid-1700s bondage turned into a basic piece of the British states. Numerous elements energized the development of servitude to the point that it became during the 1600s. Elements of financial matters incorporate the way that dark slaves had the option to create more item along these lines getting more cash. Socioeconomics assumed a job in the development of servitude in light of the rich useable soil in the southern and Chesapeake Colonies. Development of bondage was supported by social components since it was anything but difficult to subjugate a particular race. Servitude started in America in Virginia in 1619; extraordinary quantities of Africans were brought to North America without wanting to. Slaves were principally brought to America because of the short life expectancy of contracted hirelings. The obligated hirelings passed on rapidly in the field as a result of sicknesses, for example, jungle fever and yellow fever. Slaves were additionally brought to the Americas on account of rich white men in England that didn't wish to accomplish the work themselves however rather employed captives to cultivate the yields while the rich man would receive the rewards of the benefits. Subjection in the southern settlements happened on the grounds that the dirt of the Bahamas was worn out by past harvests. Monetary elements energized subjection the manner in which it did as a result of its free work. Obligated workers cost a great deal of cash on the grounds that the ace would be required to give them a pontoon ride to America and give them land after their administration was finished in the event that they were as yet alive. In subjugation the slave is in the owners’ ownership for the slave’s whole life, which as a rule was long in light of the fact that Africans were less defenseless to sickness then English individuals. Since African slaves were the most cheap type of work it prompted the ascent of the need of bondage for business cultivating. Since bondage is the nearest to free sort of work it was a major drive in the British pioneer monetary components of support of the development of servitude. Another financial factor was that African slaves can deliver more item than other white contracted hirelings. In the Middle and Southern Colonies mosquitoes were a gigantic issue with the wellbeing of the laborers. African slaves had the option to work in poor conditions and were less vulnerable to mosquito related illnesses, for example, intestinal sickness and yellow fever. While others would become ill African slaves had the option to chip away at and create more harvests. At the point when business ranchers needed to develop yields, for example, rice, African slaves were experienced rice cultivators and could develop a greater number of harvests than the normal English obligated workers. In general, African slaves were much more profitable than normal English obligated hirelings and could get more cash-flow for the rich white manor proprietors. Geologically, the development of subjugation was an empowering factor in America mostly on account of land depletion in the Bahamas. Initially when slaves were brought to the Bahamas they were utilized to create sugar. Following quite a while of developing and selling sugar the land at last got depleted and not, at this point useable so ranch proprietors had to make a trip to the states to start developing there. Because of the rich soil and a for the most part great area of the land it was the most intelligent spot to move the estate s to. The Southern provinces were the spot to develop crops, and when upper classes extended to greater ranches the requirement for unpaid assistance rose and dark slaves were utilized. Bondage of dark individuals prospered as a result of the high measures of land available to white individuals. Geographic variables were one of the most significant jobs in the consolation of subjugation. Another piece of the geographic factor was the state of land in the Northern provinces. After the Ice Age and the ice sheets had liquefied the dirt had been left stone y and loaded with flotsam and jetsam in view of all the dissolved ice. Because of these conditions, cultivating was impossible in the Northern Colonies so business cultivating was dense toward the Southern states. Because of the gathering of business cultivating the necessity rose, and in light of the fact that there was a high prerequisite for items estates would be compelled to grow, in the long run making the requirement for African slaves produce items for the entirety of the states. The Middle Colonies were Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey. The Southern Colonies were Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia Social factors likewise assumed a job in the support of the development of bondage. As expressed in the past passage cultivating was unthinkable in the Northern provinces and intensely depended on the South to deliver items. The Southern Colonies, which incorporate Maryland and Virginia, were the principle creators of materials for the Colonies as well as England. The south was feeling the squeeze to address issues of the north and England and had to create items rapidly and in extraordinary amount. The south would deliver and the north would exchange the products causing Another social factor that supported subjection was the way that a gathering of dark individuals were simpler to oppress than to attempt to subjugate a specific gathering of white individuals among progressively white individuals. Since there was a differentiation of shading among free and subjugated it made a social limit that positively affected the states. Monetary, geographic, and social factors all energized the development of subjection all through the Colonies during the 1600s through the 1700s. Elements of financial aspects incorporate the way that dark slaves had the option to create more item in this way getting more cash. Socioeconomics assumed a job in the development of servitude in view of the rich useable soil in the southern and Chesapeake Colonies. Development of subjection was0 .

Effects of Radiological Dispersion Device Research Paper

Impacts of Radiological Dispersion Device - Research Paper Example Impacts of Radiological Dispersion Device as of late, the U.S, Great Britain and the greater part of Europe have seen the utilization of radiological dispersal gadgets by psychological militants as a key frailty danger (Runge and Buddemeier, 2009). Notwithstanding the dangers, the effects that accompany the explosion of the radioactive gadgets in broad daylight places have a few impacts relying upon various elements like breeze and temperature among others. The likelihood that psychological militants can utilize a radiological dispersal gadget in an open territory has even extended the worries of governments and the open in regards to such weapons. A Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) is a contraption planned for spreading radioactive materials to cause demolition, wounds and harm to the living spaces around the explosion site (Radiological Dispersal Device, 2005). A reasonable case of a RDD is a filthy bomb which is generally made of explosives that scatter radioactive materials up on explosion which is in opposition to the standard that RDDs don't require explosives. RDDs are typically utilized with goal to cause wounds or harm, which are basically the objectives of fear mongers. As indicated by Radiological Dispersal Device (2005), a RDD is any sort of gadget that outcomes in the purposeful spread of radioactive issue with no atomic explosion. The method of scattering of these radioactive materials is normally by means of a filthy bomb which detonates to discharge radioactive residue in addition to radioactive and nonradioactive shrapnel (Runge and Buddemeier, 2009). The impacts of the blast incorporate radiation defilement, introduction to radiation in specific conditions, physical wounds, consumes, frenzy and dread. Different strategies for scattering incorporate dynamic or inactive scattering of wellsprings of radioactive materials that are unlocked with pollution of the individuals originating from the air, food, soil or water. Harper, Musolino and Wente (2007) contend that the impact of RDD blast is neighborhood in spite of the fact that the mental effect it has is worldwide just as the consideration of the media; consequently an overestimation of the impacts of the presentation may result. Furthermore, Musolino and Harper (2006) confirm that RDDs are normally found or somewhat positioned in sudden territories; in this manner when they detonate, the blast and the chose area will astonish many. The drawn out impact of radioactive scattering will be anything but difficult to acknowledge yet the present moment might be hard as it requires some investment to find the contamination’s source. The underlying pointers of defilement incorporate earlier dangers, routine checking methods and exercises to distinguish the specialists on call, observing of exercises of suspected gatherings by the knowledge network or doubtlessly by some coincidence. Urban populace is typically high in numerous countries of the world. It is consequently t hat psychological militants least incline toward RDDs since it is dubious to plan one that will control copious portions of radiation to bring about quick wellbeing absconds in a thickly populated region (Management of Terrorist, 2001). Accordingly, Tochner and Glatstein (2008) discussed and reasoned that a RDD is probably going to be utilized to; I. Cause anxiety in individuals who are of the view that they have been uncovered or are presented to the radiation. ii. Disturb the lives of individuals by polluting the offices they use or the spots they work or live. The specialists proceeded to decide the components that influence the proficiency of the RDD assaults which incorporate climate conditions, neighborhood geography, physical and compound organization of the

RENT THE BROADWAY PLAY essays

Lease THE BROADWAY PLAY expositions I as of late went to see RENT done by On Tour LLC Inc on the ninth of Feb. in Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh. This was in any event the third time that I have considered RENT to be it is on of my preferred musicals and I attempt and try to see it each opportunity it comes to Pittsburgh. The structure of the gathering was that it was a symphony. The crowd was not in the most conventional clothing however they were not in pants and t-poos. I myself wore a couple a kaki dress jeans and an apprehended polo poo, which the vast majority of the men at the show likewise were wearing. The ladies either had dress pants on or a dress on. Concerning the crowd reaction it was regular for a Broadway melodic, after a tune was sung the crowd would applaud until the following piece of the melodic went on. Toward the finish of the presentation when the cast took the bow the crowd demonstrated what I expected in that they gave the cast, the ensemble and furthermore the conductor an overwhelming applause. The music played was that of rock and elective sort music, the sort you would have heard in the time the melodic is set which is during the 90s. I truly had fun but since I experienced childhood in a family that appreciates going to see musicals so I have seen numerous Broadway musicals and plays. Obviously I would go to another sort of music even like this since I grew up with this kind of melodic occasion. All in all I found that I have just observed one other melodic done so well and that was Starlight Express in Las Vegas when the show actually came out into the crowd. After the show my mom and I were examining if CALU could ever have a creation of RENT at the school however we both concurred that we felt that the network would not permit the school to do it thinking about the questionable subject material. In spite of the fact that I would trust that the school would permit something with as my disputable issue required to created for pretty much just to make the understudies and network mindful of these things. ... <!

Systems Maintenance HU Example

Systems Maintenance HU Example Systems Maintenance HU â€" Assignment Example > Introduction iBay company high depends on IT since it has its market depending on IT infrastructure. It uses phone, online and catalogue orders for its products. The company’s objective is to grow its sales despites global economic recession. This can only be achieved if the current customers are happy and more customers are being recruited to the companies’ market. This can only be achieved through success in the IT department and the marketing departments. The marketing department has deliberate effort towards achieving the same. This leaves the challenge to the IT department. SLA system is supposed to meet the company needs. It should facilitate communication in the company as well as meet the routine cores that any IT system in the company is supposed to meet. However, there are complaints from the users of the system. SLA system does not meet the requirements and expectation of its users. IT in this company should champion in the process of realizing the company objective s, (Information Systems Audit and Control Association, 2002). It should provide reliable sources of data, information and services. The system should give a framework that that will help the company achieve its objectives. Discrepancy reportThe company has several Discrepancies in the IT department. To begin with, currently the company is outsourcing web maintenance. Some computers in the company are very old especially those that are used for the training and call centre sales staff. All the 10 computers in the second floor are out of warranty. Another major problem in the company is lack of audit/inventory information about the IT assets in the in the company. There is shortage of human resource in the IT department in the company. First of all, the IT manager left, the personnel in charge of hardware and software works only 20 hours a week. The person in charge of software and hardware some times does not attend software problems yet he is in charge. The IT personnel also do no t meet and interact with the other company staff; in fact, there are complaints that they are not always in the office. It is evident that the IT staff lack motivation, competency experience in their work since most of the work is unattended. According to a research done by Jarrod; the person in charge of the hardware and software issues in the company, remote logging software should be implemented. Nobody in the IT department can help handle the problem since the office there are busy handling daily routine jobs on top of lack of commitment and skills required. Current network infrastructureIn a business entity, IT infrastructure should meet the company needs. It should aid in supporting the organizations’ effort in striving to achieve set goals and objectives. IT should also come handy to facilitate communications and meeting the business objectives. The company uses token ring networking technology which is a LAN network. It has a 10/100 layer-2 Ethernet switch, the switch is running on cat 5e cables. The architecture used here is routed backbone. It also has a server. It has routers and gateways. It has three levels of network users, these are administrations office, call center level and management level all being LAN which uses Ethernet technology. Except 10 PC which are in the second floor, all the PC in the company is covered by limited warranty from the vendor.

Supplier Relationships Importance And Supply Chain Management - Free Essay Example

In todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s increasing economic environment, organisations are looking for new techniques to improve their competitive advantage. The focus of my research is in the area of purchasing which have now become a strategic function and a key reason in positioning competitively among all other competitors. The paper discusses that in recent years, the relationships between buyers and suppliers have been continuously receiving a considerable attention for effective operations within organisations. Traditionally, supplier-buyer relationships were regarded as adversarial, armà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s length transactions. However, the approach towards managing this relationship is changing and moving towards a more collaborative approach due to the fact that now suppliers are important sources to gain competitive advantage to operate in global markets in terms of their expertise, knowledge and ability of sharing risks. [Research paper à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Journal] The research aims to provide an understanding of supplier relationship management, factors of supplier evaluation and selection process, and the elements that contribute to the establishment of a productive customer/vendor relationships. Such a study is important for buyers to build and maintain effective relationships with their suppliers for consistent cost reductions while working together to mutually create revenues and other benefits. The paper recommends that this information may work as a reference guideline for buyers when initiating cooperative relationships with their supply sources resulting in advanced purchasing and strategic supply chain management in their organisation. The research method adopted in this dissertation is secondary exploring various business journals, business websites, textbooks and articles. Due to continuous new product developments, product innovations and increase in costs, managing supplier relationships will further become crucial in the near future. Due to this reason, therefore, this paper discusses the requirement of supplier relationships and how this shift in organisational strategy towards building relations has and will going to change the employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s role, companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s processes and organisational goals. The findings from this research provides an evidence of how companies have improved their supply chain operations through understanding the importance to develop effective supplier relationships as part of their core business activity for not only to achieve success within procurement department but also to successfully complete other supply chain cycle such as maintaining production flow at all times, planning accurately, inventory handling, logistical issues and achieving financial benefits. Examples included findings from large organisations of Hong Kong, Rolls Royce, GE, and Japanese firm Toyota. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that every organisation must emphasise the need to actually develop world class suppliers that helps in building long-term relationships, reduction in costs, improved QCDS (quality, cost, delivery and service) criteria, improved customer service, mutual information sharing, reducing the NPI (new product inspection) costs and becoming world class organisation in the market. Introduction Nowadays, the majority of Organisations believe that their companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s real assets are embedded in the quality of the relationships shared between the business and their stakeholders such as clients or customers, employees and suppliers. Developing and managing supplier relationship will be the main subject throughout this project. The objective of this research is to investigate the importance of the need to focus more on building collaborative relationships with their strategic suppliers by large manufacturing companies. With increase in globalisation and restructuring of several organisations, procurementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s role has changed focusing more towards costs, quality, flexibility and technology. [Herbig and Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Hara, 1995; Goh and Lau, 1999] In the previous years (traditionally), purchasing was considered as a secretarial function in which the buyer-supplier relationships were viewed as being adversarial and unsurprisingly results in a win/lose outcome. Before, business operations from manufacturing to assembling the finished goods were prepared in-house but now many organisations have moved towards a more combined approach where manufacturing firms have started concentrating more on their core competencies only and rest outsourcing nationally and internationally to satisfy their customer expectations. Organisations are going lean i.e. working towards continuous improvement, adopting just-in time and total quality management and eliminating wastes. This highlighted the requirement for most of the lean organisations to grow cooperative supplier-buyer relationships to achieve real productivity, improved design and quality that are unattainable unless the supplying partners assist in product innovation. Hence, several manufacturers have recognized their ability to become world class competitors based on establishing high levels of trust and cooperation among their suppliers. [They and Briggs (1994)] For example, highlighting the case of Rolls Royce, the engine manufacturer, that outsources 70% of their material from external supply chain and thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the reason Rolls Royce try to encourage their suppliers to work openly and jointly contributing to their performance. Rolls Royce belief in building good supplier relationships assures quality and competitiveness to their product offerings and helps to achieve customer standards. The growing face of domestic and global competition has led to understand the manufacturing companies to practise global sourcing which is a strategy to improve companies competitiveness in the international market through reducing costs, improving quality, increased exposure to universal technology, and improving delivery and reliability. A à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"connection or associationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is known as a relationship. Relationships are said to be when individuals, organisations and internal or external groups to an enterprise interact. At recent times, relationship marketing describes long-term marketing strategy that emphasise on building and maintaining long-term relationships with customers rather than just focusing on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"one-timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ sale approach. At business level, relationship marketing is applied to variety of purchasing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" supplier relationships in the context of a broader network of interconnected purchasing, supplier and competitor organisations. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Supplier relationship is defined as a systematic approach to supplier evaluation, selection and ongoing relationship management with the goal of cutting the costs of goods and services boosting profits.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Supplier relationship management is a proactive approach of an ongoing business links to secure a competitive advantage within the organisation, focusing more on overall relationships between the supplier and the customer (buying organisation) rather than focusing on specific contracts. The idea is to develop trust and understanding of each otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s requirements and interests while providing assistance to each other. For example, Rolls Royce sends their experts to their sub-contract suppliers to improve their technology and performance standards. Such relationships bring profit and provide competitive advantage. [https://www.ogc.gov.uk/process_supplier_performance_and_contract_management_6368.asp] Today, most of the companies have realised that doing business jointly with their strategic suppliers will enhance their organisational ability to respond quickly to demand changes, focus on core business only and hence, results in implementing best practises. For example, Rolls Royce believes their supplier make very essential contribution to their business performance as over 70% of their manufacturing costs comes from external supply sources. focus more on their core competencies such as encouraging suppliers to work with transparency, openly and together to enhance continuous improvements. rather than Small to Medium size Enterprises and many local businesses use Transactional Purchasing whereas Large Enterprises use Relationship Purchasing to compete strongly in this economic climate. Transactional Purchasing Relationship purchasing Focus on short, discrete purchasing Focus on supplier retention Short-term orientation Long-term orientation Arms length Closeness Simple buyer-seller relationship Complicated, including internal relationships Emphasis on price, quality and delivery in the offered product No Innovation Emphasis on price, quality, delivery other factors, like innovative design as a collaborative exercise b/w purchaser and supplier Moderate supplier contacts High level of supplier contact with each contact being used to gain information strengthen the relationship Little sharing of information Significant sharing of information, including cost information and transparency Introducing Supply chain management The project is focused on process for choosing world class suppliers, importance of building supplier relationships, various supplier development approaches and process of negotiation required in purchasing that plays a vital role in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s supply chain management. Explaining what is supply chain management and its various elements that are necessary for the movement of goods and services within the business. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Supply chain management consists of the intra à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and inter-organisational co-ordination of business functions that act as both transformative and support functionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. This emphasises managing supply chain effectively must be a key activity within the businesses. [Mentzer et al. (2001)] Supply chain combines flow of materials, goods, and information (includes money) that floats within and between organisations linking with a variety of tangible and intangible facilitators, e.g. relationships, processes, activities and integrated information systems. Different views of supply chains are implemented in terms of a process when operations are emphasised, a logistical channel when emphasises marketing, a value chain whey looking at value added activities, and a demand chain when considering customer satisfaction. [Peck H. (2006)] Key elements of supply chain The key elements of supply chain are that links with each other by the movement of products. The following explains that supply chain starts and ends with the customer: [https://logistics.about.com/od/supplychainintroduction/a/into_scm.htm] Customer à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" This is the customer that starts the value chain by deciding to make a purchase of a particular product for example, in an aviation industry procuring turbine blades or a fan shaft which is offered for sale by an organisation. At this stage, the customer contacts the sales team and places purchase order with a right quantity and delivered on a right date. If in case, this product needs manufacturing then the purchase order includes a requirement that must be fulfilling by the production facility. Planning à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" The requirement for planning occurs when customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s purchase order is received and processed with other existing orders. Production plans are created by the planning department to generate products to accomplish the customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s order. If manufacturing requires, then raw materials are purchased to complete the process. Purchasing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" The list of materials e.g. raw materials and services is obtained which is required by the production department to complete the purchase order. Then purchasing team issues purchase orders to procure raw material from selected suppliers on their manufacturing site on a requisite date. Inventory à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" The raw materials that are received from suppliers are checked for quality and moved into the warehouse. The invoice is received for the parts that are delivered by the supplier and then materials are stored until there is a demand from a production area. Production à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" According to the production plan, the raw materials from the inventory are moved into the production area where product manufacturing takes place and creates the finished product. Once the parts are completed, they are again sent back to the warehouse and stored prior to delivery to the ultimate customer. Transportation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Logistics department then finds the most efficient shipping method in order to achieve on-time delivery at the right date mentioned by the customer. After goods are received by the customer, an invoice is sent by the organisation (supplier) for delivered products. Outlining Case study: GE-Aviation In this project, there will be discussion on relationship purchasing within aviation industry considering GE Aviation as a case study. Suggesting methods of procurement and ways of maintaining GEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s existing and new relationships with suppliers. On-line procurement is one of the major processes that I will be focusing in my project which GE adopts within their business that not only reduces the cost and saves time but also provides the right amount of communication with its suppliers at the right time. For example, GE-Aviation has its own department for RB211 jumbo jet engine where there are teams responsible for engineering, operations, purchasing and billing. The engine gets repaired and maintained on site. For RB211 engine type, GEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s biggest supplier is Rolls Royce who is the OEMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and can provide material many times. Using SAP software within the whole organisation saves a huge amount of time for purchasing transactions and also makes easy for GE purchasing team to analyse demand raised and provide forecasting to their suppliers for each product by just looking into the system and working through its historical past. GE uses Relationship Purchasing in which they believe to maximise their revenue it is very important to have good supplier relationships. Some of the key approaches/strategies required before working towards building relationships are as follows: Selecting a world class supplier Companies that outsources internationally their materials opens the opportunity to identify potential suppliers, evaluate and reasonably short list them that result with the best supplier. This is considered as one of the most important process to perform by the procurement team that aims to choose the best supplier that ensures reliable supplies with low risk involved and maximises the overall value to the buyer. The following are the seven key steps involved in supplier evaluation and selection process: (Fig 7.5 Supplier evaluation and selection process [pg 163]) Recognise the need for supplier selection The first step is to recognise the actual need for selection of supplier. Purchasing team must work with new product development department in order to recognise future buying behaviours. Purchasing groups proactively select suppliers and anticipate demands rather than wait until a demand rises. The process to start this evaluation arises due to the following scenarios: Through new product development Poor performance received from existing internal and external suppliers Closure of the contract Procuring new tools and equipments Thinking to expand business into new markets or products Due to inadequate capacity of existing suppliers Throughout outsourcing and re-engineering analyses Deciding to reduce the size of the supply base Identifying the main sourcing requirements All the way through evaluation process, procurement team must keep an eye on what they are intended to do. Acquiring materials is not just important but also focus to meet specific requirements set by the other internal customer and indirectly by other supply chain members. For example, an aviation company like GE that makes engines has to buy all the machinery and spare parts along with buyers taking care to ensure a perfect quality products are delivered on time. Establishing sourcing strategy Developing purchasing strategies results in long term alliances that buyers look each time to compete in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s growing competition. Several vital strategic decisions that affect the selection of suppliers are: Picking single or multiple suppliers Creating short-term or long-term contracts Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s wish to develop working partnerships rather than armà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s length relations Working with suppliers that can provide support with product designs rather than those who cannot modify designs Having choice of local, domestic, foreign or global suppliers Therefore, sourcing strategies and policies must be carefully re-evaluated during supplier selection as requirements changes frequently in shorter times because of changing market conditions, changing consumer preferences and accustomed corporate goals. Identifying potential suppliers This stage identifies a list of suppliers that can actually have the capability to deliver of what is required by the customer. Buyers can use various numbers of sources to develop the preliminary list of supply sources by a quick search of company websites as well as long and detailed search for companies that can support with design and make specialised products. A rule of thumb must take place to determine the effort to be used into supplier selection by comparing the existing supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s efficiency and strategic importance of an item because too much effort and expensive resources are wasted; too little effort and potential suppliers might be missed in this initial search criteria. Following are the sources of information widely-used to identify potential suppliers: Current suppliers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Using existing suppliers who are already on the preferred list which are consistently meeting buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s requirements that reduces the purchasers time and effort in evaluation of supplier capabilities. But at the same time, existing supplier may not always provide the world class long term results and that is the reason why organisations scan information continuously to recognize potential new sources. Sales representatives and agents à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Marketing information received from these individuals can become a valuable source of information for new product offerings. Buyers keep this information in their file for future reference even if there is no urgent requirement for a supplier service. Internet searches à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Nowadays suppliers launch customer websites as part of their marketing approach and help the buyers with detailed information from a simple search of possible suppliers. Various other websites can also help in discovering and assessing important information like reviews, comparisons, comments, analyses and case studies of potential suppliers. Experience à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Experienced individuals working within purchasing team generally carries a wide knowledge about various capable suppliers as experienced buyers have already worked in a particular industry for many years and familiar with the main suppliers and their features. Internal sources à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Operating different business units within large organisations, each may have their own procurement department. Therefore, other units in the same organisation becomes a valuable source of information exchange to buyers through informal meetings, formal team sessions, an internal database, purchasing newsletters, etc. Limit suppliers in the selection pool At this stage, the procurement team must consolidate and analyse the information gathered on potential supply sources that helps them to make informed decisions. Getting a long list of suppliers is just the initial task but buyers then have to eliminate the weakest suppliers until they attain the strong shortlist. Therefore, the final supplier is then selected from this list. The following are the entry qualifiers features that influence buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s final decision [Howard (1998)]: Financial strength Appropriate business strategy Strong supportive management Proven manufacturing capability Design capability There are also many reasons that influence buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decision to procure material on the following basis: Buying directly from the original manufacturer or distributor à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Original equipment manufacturers mostly offer lower prices that avoid the costs of wholesalers and retailers along with profit margins. The final choice must be considered on the basis of four factors including the size of the purchase, the manufacturerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s policies of direct sales, availability of storage at buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s facility, and the required additional services. Local, national, international and global suppliers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Choosing international suppliers are more favourable as they usually offers the best price along with technical support but these have to be balanced by higher shipping costs, stocks, communication problems and common risks involved. Also, choosing local suppliers are considered more responsive to fluctuating demands, small deliveries and regular changes in purchase orders using Just-in-time method that not only supports local suppliers and allows the buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s to enhance local economy but also helps in building community goodwill. Large or small suppliers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Usually buyers focus on supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capability to do the work rather than selecting on the basis of its size. But a buyer must keep in mind the unexpected increase in demands that can only be dealt by larger firms providing extra capacity to overcome these fluctuations. At the same time, in order to create a diversified supply base, buyers intentionally deal with smaller suppliers. Multiple or single sourcing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" When there are numerous different suppliers available then it becomes very difficult to make a decision of how many to use? Most of the organisations have chosen a trend to reduce the supply base that will benefit them accordingly. Determining method to select supplier This is the last stage where buyers are left with four to five suppliers in their shortlist and decide to evaluate these remaining organisations by looking at the alternatives in more detail for example, using supplier-provided information, supplier/customer visits, preferred list of suppliers and third-party information. Supplier-provided information à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Detailed information can be acquired through requesting price quotations. Information received from quotations are then used to understand the product description and supply which is then followed by another requests of a detailed cost breakdown of the price quoted by suppliers initially that must include the costs of labour, materials, overheads and profit as buyers also require operational details to finally evaluate them. Supplier visits à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" One of the most efficient ways of getting an overall view of supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capabilities and performance is to visit supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s facilities by a cross-functional team. Generally, these visits are expensive and time consuming so a buyer must balance their desire to gather as much information as possible confidentially. The following table shows important information points that a buyer must collect during its visit: Management capability Quality management Technology levels Planning and scheduling effectiveness Financial strength Personnel relations E-business capabilities Sophistication and efficiency of operations ISO certifications Skills, knowledge and experience of workforce Evidence of good management and housekeeping Types of inventory Nature of the goods inwards, stores and outwards areas Environmental practices Employee employment contracts Any significant changes planned or expected Contact details of key decision makers Use of preferred suppliers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" This is a list of suppliers created by the purchasers to reward their best suppliers that consistently meets their strict performance criteria. The list can also be used as an incentive to improve the existing supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance and assessed accordingly. External or third-party information à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" This consists of all the other information available about a potential supplier. For example, Total quality management is a system that insists suppliers to meet the quality standards as similar to buyers and generates a flow of related information throughout the supply chain. Selecting supplier and signing agreement This is the final step to choose the supplier followed by signing a contract. This includes different purchasing orders required for routine and major items, i.e. using standard purchase orders for routine items whereas, detailed negotiation is required to agree on specific details for major items that increases the complexity in the purchase order. Supplier evaluation criteria After considering various steps in selecting suppliers, the buying organisation must analyse the following questions with the supply organisation in order to progress outside their traditional purchasing relationships and possibilities for long term relationships with them: [Spekman (1988)] Has the supplier signified a dedication or willingness for a longer term relationship? Is the supplier enthusiastic to perform resources to develop this relationship? Is the supplier willing or able to participate at the early stage or throughout the stage of product design? Has supplier brought any unique service to the business? Is the supplier showed their interests or commitment towards customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s problems and effectively solving them together? Is the supplier is interested in improvements and innovations in the operations? Is there any openness of sharing and exchanging information between both companies? How much knowledgeable is the supplier about the customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s industry and business? Is the need for confidentially exchanged information taken seriously? Supplier management and development In todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s time, the need to improve supplier performance is open in large or small organisations and for this reason; the purchasing teams must introduce a supplier relationship management (SRM) approach to achieve their organisational goals and success in global purchases of technology. Therefore, this calls for managing resources efficiently throughout supply chain collaborations, dedication required from supply managers, creating standardised best practices effectively and tools required for tracking and evaluating the results. The process must begin with effective supplier performance measures required to undertake strategic supply or procurement decisions for the organisation. [Minahan T. And Vigorose M. (2002)] Effective supplier performance measurements What to measure The factors important to assess the performance includes: Delivery performance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" The purchase orders that are sent to suppliers involves all the appropriate information on deliveries, with quantities, lead times and due dates. Therefore, it is buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s responsibility to check regularly that how well a supplier actually meets their expected conditions. Cost performance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" There are many ways that can measure cost performances for example, monitoring real price delivered by the supplier after adjusting increase in the prices (inflation). Quality performance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" In order to measure quality, the best criteria for buyers is to check that products are delivered in 100% perfect condition with no defects. This also includes comparing previous performances, latest performance with mutually agreed standards and various other figures. Other qualitative factors in supplier performance Factor Explanation Problem solving Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s attention to provide solutions to the problem Technical skills Comparing supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s manufacturing capacity with other business suppliers Reporting progress Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s incomplete reporting of existing problems and identifying and communicating other potential problems Corrective action Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s timely response to requests for corrective actions and requests for changes Cost-reduction plans Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s enthusiasm to find techniques that helps to reduce the total purchase cost New-product development support Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capability to reduce time and cost required for new product development Buyer/seller compatibility Rating subjectively how well a purchasing firm and a supplier work together Therefore, the above are various other factors that help the buyers to measure the supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s technical ability and closeness of both partiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ relationships. Reporting frequency à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" This includes preparing reports to provide a clear feedback to supplier on their performance. Purchasing management must communicate with their buyers to send these reports by reviewing them weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually which is then followed with more face-to-face team meeting that reviews their actual performance, discussion on targets, identify potential improvements, examine changes, and so on. Any problems (for example, supplier fails to meet the required standard) occurred during crucial time must be addressed with special reports and meetings to avoid any financial and operational problems. Use of measurement data à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Procurement staff can make use of data collected from its measurement systems in many ways including: Identifying suppliers which are not meeting the performance goals and highlighting areas that calls for improvements, followed by corrective actions taken to raise the performance to acceptable levels or else finding new suppliers. It helps in discovering excellent performances achieved from supplier which then helps identify preferred suppliers that qualify for long term alliances. It also recognises the worst performing suppliers that are continuously not improving and needs to be removed from supply base whereas offering more work to superior suppliers. Supplier measurement techniques à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" There are three techniques discussed for evaluating performance of suppliers, each differs in their use, level of subjectivity, resources required and implementing cost. Categorical techniques à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" These techniques considers a particular aspect of performance, for example lead time and classifies a set of categories for performance rating as excellent, good, fair or poor and therefore, helps buyers in deciding which supplier is good or bad. This is an easiest system of measurement, easy to use, comparatively inexpensive and also the most subjective. There are some drawbacks of using this technique as they do not provide a clear analysis of performance, slower than automated systems and regarded as the lowest of the three techniques in terms of reliability. Scoring model This method overcomes the subjectivity of categorical technique by calculating a weighted score for different performance categories. This is more reliable and requires reasonable implementation cost providing flexibility for buyers to change the categories included as well as weights allocated to each. Cost-based techniques à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"This technique is the most comprehensive that can help the buying organisation to look for the total cost required for doing business with a particular supplier by identifying the lowest purchase price is not always the lowest cost of acquisition. Hence, this technique works through collecting data from the purchasing firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s information system, analysing the total cost including the additional occurring costs whenever a supplier fails to perform as per expected by the buyer. This can be calculated using formula of supplier performance index (SPI) SPI = Total purchase costs + Non-performance costs Total purchase costs Supplier Development Approach Supplier development is an approach which was initially started in Toyota, Nissan and Honda in the 1930à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s time. Toyotaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s emphasised the need to treat suppliers as a major part of their company though working together to develop their businesses collectively. The approach consists of all the initiatives that buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s can undertake to improve supplier relationships, performance or capabilities to meet the buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s short or long-term supply requirements. [Sako, M. (2004)] Procedures required for supplier development are as follows: [Handfield et al., 1998] Step 1: Identification of critical items/parts for development It is not important for every organisation to seek development approach within their business but when we talk about companies operating within aviation industry automatically needs to develop these approaches as work is involved on engines which require careful attention to crucial and specific parts. Following are some example of questions that must be answered yes by the procurement team in order to adopt the supplier development process: Do material procured account for more than 50% of product value? Is the existing or potential supplier can bring competitive advantage? Do you currently procure, or intend to procure on the basis of total cost or considering initial cost only? Can existing suppliers are able to meet the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s competitive needs for 5 years from now? Do the company wants the most responsive suppliers to demand and supply change? Is the buying organisation willing to become more responsive to the supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s needs? Does the buyer intend to treat their suppliers as partners in the business? Do the procurement staff plans for open and long-term trustworthy relationships with suppliers? Therefore, if the answers to above questions is yes, then it is worth introducing resources into supplier development programme followed by focusing on core activities first, for example analysing and defining a portfolio of the purchased critical items (materials) where solid benefits can be achieved from supplier development. Step 2: Identifying critical suppliers for development This step involves targeting those suppliers that needs development. The most common method could be the routine analysis of supplier performance such as using measurement approaches discussed before in the project. Suppliers producing unique and essential products with a difficulty to replace them if they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t achieve the pre-determined targets are considered for development. Step 3: Forming cross-functional development teams Case study à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Accentureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strategic supplier relationship management Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. They collaborate with their clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The Accentureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s supply chain department works with customers across a broad range of industries to develop and execute operational strategies that allows profitable growth within existing and new markets. Their commitment is to help customers achieve high performance through supply chain excellence with a combination of global industry expertise and skills in supply chain strategy, sourcing and procurement, supply chain planning, manufacturing design, fulfilment and service management to help organisations transform their supply chain capabilities. Accenture defines SRM à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A systematic approach to manage suppliers in order to optimize the value delivered through the relationship over its life cycleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. In todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic environment, every organisation must adopt strategic approach to supplier relationship. Accentureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strategic SRM methodology helps their customers to handle procurement costs and risks to achieve high performance in both good and bad economic times. Factors that emphasise the need for more strategic approach to SRM à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Increasing global competition and shorter product life cycles continues to call the need for strategic SRM. Factors are as follows: Volatile commodity prices