Evolution of Supply Chains and Logistics Operations †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Evolution of Supply Chains and Logistics Operations. Answer: Introduction The term supply chain management is related with the flow of goods and services. It is the systematic and co-ordinated mechanisms of supplying goods and products to the end consumers. The prime operations are the movement and storage of materials or goods, inventory which is work in progress and also the delivery of finished goods to the destination point. The term supply chain management is referred to an integral concept for every business organization as it enables to optimize and increases the efficiency of the operations and speed of the work flow. The below executed analysis has been summarized on the supply chain management adopted by Toyota which is an Automobile manufacturing corporation. The business entity is one of the leading brand names in offering automobiles all over the world. The report mainly concentrates on the flow of supply chain system for the organization (Fredendall, Letmathe, Uebe-Emden, 2016). Toyota Motor Corporation has been ranked as one of the leading multinational automobiles manufacturing business entity of Japan. The company is headquartered in Aichi, Japan. The employees of this company are 364,445 approximately worldwide. Akio Toyoda is the present CEO of Toyota Company. It is the fifth largest company in all over the world in the context of revenues. As of now, Toyota is the largest automotive manufacturer company in all over the world. It was first automobile manufacturer that produced more than 10 million vehicles per year. Toyota Car Manufacturer Company has been using its principles to manufacture the reliable car as well as sustainable development of society through occupies innovative and super quality products and services (Bhasin, 2016). Further, it shall be noted that Toyota is using the differentiated cost and low cost techniques in their organization process so as to gain competitive advantage in the target market. The philosophy which runs in the mind of the management of Toyota is people and perfection. It states that the tools and techniques shall be designed in such a way that it assists the working of the people and help them to improve their abilities as well. Like, the one piece flow is most prominent in the company which rapidly surfaces the fast solutions required (Sindi, Roe, 2017). Key Flows of Supply Chain Supply chain management refers to the organized flow of goods, services, material and information in the internal and external environment of the organization which relates to the suppliers, distributors, and consumers. This process mainly lays stress on the flow of information, product, cash and return flow of goods as well. This process helps the organization to initiate a systematic flow of goods and services in the organization which also initiates effective flow of work as well. This organized activity is one of the major reasons for the rise up in the level of satisfaction of customers as well. Along with the creation of brand images, such techniques also help the organization in analyzing and evaluation the threats and opportunities present in the market (Christopher, et. al., 2017). Further, the ways in which Toyota applies the supply chain strategies are discussed below: Information flow can be regarded as one of the most important aspects of the supply chain management process in the organization. As this flow help the management of the company to supply the detailed information about the tasks which are to be done and the targets of the company. Also, this flow helps the management to gain knowledge about the trends present in external environment and issues of lower level management as well. Toyota initiated information flow which involved quotation of prices, demand, product description, change demand, purchases of raw material, requests and feedback from customers and grievances sought. The company displayed their product in front of all the people present in the market (internal and external); along with which they also issue various linked with the product such as price quoted, availability, material used etc. The quotation of the company effective in increasing the sales as it gave heavy discounts which attracted the prospective buyers presen t in the market. Also, the management published the entire information on social media websites as well so as to generate authenticity of their work and gain the trust of customers (Bhasin, 2016). The flow of goods and services from the manufacturer to the prospective customers is called product flow. The product flow shall be initiated in a systematic manner so as to meet the demand of customers present in the market. Toyota developed Toyota Production System (TPS) which is an integrated tool of socio-technical system which assists the management in organization flow of work. The company initiates to reduce the costs of the product and thus enhance the demand. In relation to which this process aptly helped the company, as it managed interaction logistics of the company including interaction with customers and suppliers as well. The production flow of the company was divided into two aspects that are just in time and Jidoka which displayed their own characteristics (Matsuo, 2015). The company manages the cash flow process wisely and effectively. The cash flow statement of Toyota gives a view about the cash transactions made by the company. The company recorded all the cash transactions which helped them to accurately foresee all the payments made and receipts received by the company. In Toyota, the management normally expects up to 3% to 4% price reduction price reduction after every year after launching the new model (Matsuo, 2015). The company uses both inbound and outbound logistics techniques for handling the flow of returned goods in the organization. Further, there is two operation managed by the organization for returned goods. First one is related to the local suppliers and part of transport in the organization and the second one relates to the relation of the company with the manufacturers and delivering of logistic services. Also, the outbound services of the company are considered as product distribution (Schaltegger, Burritt, 2014). Thus it is recommended to Toyota that the company shall pay more focus on their return flow structure so as to increase the level of satisfaction of customer. Also, management shall provide after sale services which shall enhance the image of the company currently present in the market (Agus, Ahmad, 2017). The Make Process The production planning process is an important aspect for the company Toyota as it decides the product, sourcing, planning, and design of the products according to the trends present in the target market. The production process of Toyota is discussed below: Product, planning, and design design for flexibility design for logistics Purchasing annual sales and operational planning process (Stadtler, 2015) It has been evaluated that most of the costs of the company (80%) are incurred at the manufacturing stage the production system used by Toyota is enhancing its production system by eliminating the waste and making the production system more efficient and effective. just in time and Jidoka are the two process used in the manufacturing process of the organization to add value to the goods. Jidoka is technical software which analyses the actions which shall be implemented by the organization and works on them by eliminating the errors in the different stages of production. The machinery used in the manufacturing process have the skills to analyze the issues and prevent them from occurring in the organization (Swink, et. al., 2014). A display board naming andon is used to display such issues and provide information regarding the issues and its solutions. Whereas, just in time refers to the process of making the product only when it is actually demanded in the market. Toyota mainly focuse s on delivering the new collection at the right time in the right market and with the right quantity so that the products face no hindrance and initiates sales with time. The Kanban system resent in Toyota helps the organization to centralize the just in time process and develop a method to restock the parts to the line side (Tang, Musa, 2011). Master Production Scheduling (MPS) Master production scheduling is a planning process developed by the companies to manage the staff and handle the inventory used in the production process as well. With the help of this process, the cost of production is reduced making the product cost effective and efficient as well. Toyota uses highly integrated plant which represents the flow and production of vehicle from the Toyota plant. This production schedule of Toyota is developed every month from the sales order to forecast. The initial step of supply chain is process is to utilize the sales order and number the vehicles accordingly. With the help of this process, the products are given reference numbers which show their product slot. Later the vehicle identification number is used to differentiate the unique vehicles sold by Toyota (Roscoe, Baker, 2014). Thus, it shall be recommended to the company Toyota that they shall apply various strategies to the supply chain management process so as to resolve various issues and complaints faced by customers and other people resent in the market. The company needs to regularly maintain the check on their products that they are being served according to the standard quality or not. If the company divides the work according to per tier working to the employees, then it will enhance their skills and will also improve the quality of products as well (Ross, 2013). Demand forecasting and Planning Process The management of Toyota mainly lays stress on the demand forecasting and the demand planning in the supply chain management process. Technology and innovation are the tools which play the major role in assisting the organization with this process. The company aims to maximize the level of satisfaction of the customer by providing them vehicles according to their expectations. For that purpose, the management of the company successfully forecasts the demand of the product present in the environment; they analyse the barriers present in the target market and the actual demand and supply of the current target market. According to this data, the company produces the customized vehicles and names them accordingly so that differentiation is created in the mind of employees and customers as well (Lu, Swaminathan, 2015). Market place, public conditions, system improbability are the few factors which are being overlooked. Since the company produces the products which are modern and differen t specification also, so it cost more due to its differentiated features. For, that purpose it is important for the company to accurately evaluate the demand of the customized products of the company and then create such valuable vehicles because if such vehicles are supplied more than demanded then it will lose its identity. Thus, demand forecasting and planning are one of the major tasks which shall be focused on the management (Shafiq, et. al., 2016). Recommendations It is recommended to the company that they shall lay more focus on the demand forecasting process and the actual requirements of the customers and prospective buyer with this information it will become easier for the company to develop the products and satisfy their expectations as well. Apart from that the technology used by the organization shall be used wisely so that no wrong interpretation is made by the management. Lastly, all the function implemented in the organization shall coordinate with each other so as to create competence in that target market (Brandenburg, et. al., 2014). Conclusion Thus in the limelight of above mentioned events, the facts that shall be noted is that Toyota is one of the most prominent manufacturing company which has effective production system as well. Also, the supply chain management process helps the company to ace the market as well. The process initially supplies all the information relating to the flow of good, quantity of raw material, quality of final goods, needs of customers etc. to the workforce of the company on the basis of which they can work effectively. Further, the report covered the key flow of supply chain, the making process of vehicles and demand forecasting of Toyota vehicles in adequate target market. References Agus, A., Ahmad, S. (2017). The Significant Impact of Customer Relations Practices (CRP), Information Technology (IT) and Information Sharing between Supply Chain Partners (IS) on Product Sales.Gading Journal for the Social Sciences,12(01), 65-85. Bhasin, H, (2016). Marketing mix of Toyota Toyota Marketing mix. Retrieved on 13th November 2017 from: https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-toyota/. Brandenburg, M., Govindan, K., Sarkis, J. and Seuring, S. (2014). 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