Supply Chain Management and Distribution

Supply Chain Management and Distribution

Johnson Toy Company

Johnson Toy Company’s return policy cannot give accurate financial records of the toys in distribution, since they lose track of individual items and quantities. Another problem is that they do not have good control on the actual items allowed for return. Johnson Company could use two solutions to their problems, one being defining the goods that could be returned. In this circumstance, Johnson should specify that the products not sellable due to the bad press could be returned to the company through the suppliers. Refund can be made in the same way, and retailers who choose to return directly have to pay for the fright costs. Another solution to the return problem is to tell all retailers and suppliers that they need to present receipts for their purchase, to avoid fraud from people who may take advantage through already sold toys that might de returned by buyers. The solutions will determine what can be returned, and ensuring people do not take advantage of the situation. However, this might face many critics, especially the part of paying for freight and producing receipts.

A SCOR model entails delivery and fulfilling of order performance, allowing flexibility of production, giving warrant and providing return costs, all being factors to evaluate performance of supply chain. In the GSCF model, eight processes are involved, starting from customer service and relationship management, demand , order fulfillment, supplier management, product development and returns to, which are managed by cross functional teams such as people from various departments. Technology has had a strong impact on chain supply management, since it makes operations easier using internet where inventories can be changed with information and production can be specific to what the customer asks for.

Just in Time System in Kalamazoo

            In this system, companies produce goods only when demanded, and hence there is no need of maintaining stock of raw materials. However, in order to deliver goods in time to customers in case production delays, it is good to have some little stock of finished goods. When Ballenger firm adopts just in time system, its suppliers will be required to supply more small orders to them, and timely delivery will be expected to ensure smooth operations using the Just in Time systems (John, Falasca & Nadler, 2006).

Examples of information management systems are Document Management Systems, DMS, for storage and retrieval electronic data resources for purposes of providing flow of documents from a centralized point and content management system, CMS, designed for distribution publishing and managing information from a website. Another example is records management system, RMS, for record keeping in a way that is easily available and accessible together with digital imaging system DIS, which helps in converting paper documents into electronic version such as PDF for records. Customer relations management systems are used for keeping record of customers’ relation through feedback. Their advantages are such as helping the management in its operations, and customer related systems help to make operations according to customer needs. Their disadvantages arise when the systems are affected by other corrupt software that causes loss of data or information.

Applying technology in chain management helps the organization to make fast decisions since they can access quick information about customers, and one can know the specific place to distribute. Use of internet helps chain management in exchanging information with the customers hence service can be well directed to them.

Handy Andy, Inc

            In this case, it is hard to identify any problem of customer service because there are no complaints and the sales are not affected, and this serves to extend the service to them easily. We cannot tell whether there is a problem since there are no feedbacks from the customer, which is a problem in itself. While it appears that the factory distributors are exploiting the smaller dealers, their lack of complains illustrates that they are okay with it, and they may not be affected, since they could have already done so, unless they are afraid of doing so.

Order management is about how a firm handles its customers’ orders, from when the orders are placed to delivery. This involves the smooth flow of orders from time they are made to when they are delivered with fulfillment. The time when a customer places an order to when they receive it is called the order cycle, which has several stages, the first being the placement of the order by customer. From there the components of the order are processed, and then order picking and assembly follows. After the product is made or assembled, it is then sent to the customer, which is the last stage. Customers demand high services because efficient and reliable service will help customers maintain little inventories since getting what they want is fast, hence reducing costs.

Let There Be Light Lamp Shade Company

            The intermodal container can hold up to 2,560 A style shades, but it will still have a space of about six inches at the top, which could be because of the packaging. In packaging, this can be considered to maximize transport. The total cost of delivering the style A shades is $31, 336, where the costs include the cost of the shade, packaging, container drayage to port, insurance, ocean freights (a) and (b) rates and a pick higher of ocean freight (a) or (b), where the higher rate is picked and added back to the costs.

Building blocks concepts are the concepts used in the packaging that allow them to fit in each other, and the carriage too in order to protect the goods and limit much movement during movement. The blocks are supposed to stick in each other, or probably allow them to be loaded in equipments fitting easily. It can also refer to the design of containers to hold products that are stack in each other. This can aid in maximizing of loads that can be carried by a container by ensuring that no space is wasted. A firm could adopt environmentally packaging such as using few packaging materials to avoid waste going to landfills, use environment friendly materials that can decompose quickly, make use of recyclable materials and ensure participation in collection of used up packages for recycling. With these strategies, a firm will ensure minimum waste and pollution of environment that is a current issue.

Chippy Potato Chip Company

            If I worked for this company, I would ask for a classification in packaging where I would opt to use tubular packaging that are less bulky and in turn would reduce the weight of the package, due to the lower density of the new package, and more weight per space could be carried. The reason for changing this would be the classification of density in transportation, where transporters may not want to carry the low-density goods. This way, I would reduce the costs associated with transport.

After changes in classification occurred, the value of service has change since the tubular package is studier, transportation does not require much handling to avoid damage, hence the cost of service has lowered, and with the increased density per cubic meter due to the tubular package, more weight can be carried per space available. The weight break concept is where weight of a shipment is large enough to qualify for lower freight rates that are offered for them, as opposed to lower weights, which will be charged relatively higher. The weight break concept means having the maximum load for freight or not having less-than-truckload weight to ensure optimum transport for each rate.

Factors used for determining classification for products’ freight include, density, which is the weight of a product in relation to size and stowability, which refers to ease at which the product can be handled. Other factors include the liability of the products loss to others incase of damage, and value of the good together with its perishability.

Minnetonka Warehouse

            In the team size of 2, the number of truck in queue waiting to be unloaded is 3.2 trucks, while for team size 3, it will be half a truck waiting, and 0.27 of a truck waiting in queue fro team size 4, and the last team, size five, only o.12 of the truck will be waiting in queue. The cost of the four work size teams are $268 for the team size of 2, which is the highest mostly due to the time taken. Team of size 3 costs the warehouse $102, $96 for the team of 4, and $95.32 for the team of five. It shows that the bigger the team, the lesser the cost.

Private warehousing has the advantages of flexibility to fit specifications of users and design of operations is easy. The degree of control in private warehouse is better, since users can control their needs such as movement and storage. There is less likelihood of damages or errors. The disadvantages of private warehousing include higher operating costs than public warehouses. In response to external forces, private warehouses are a bit rigid, and may not adapt to changes easily since most are specialized.

Warehouses exist in supply chain as a strategy for enabling supply of products since production could vary and some items may need storage for sometime before use or as temporally storage. Warehouses enable easy and fast access and movement of goods between manufacturers together with buyers, or channels of distribution.

Inventory management

            Inventory management refers to the seamless flow of goods in and out of the inventories, in order to maintain the cost of inventory at minimum, and at the same time maintaining a level of stock that is neither too high nor too low (Business logistics, n.d). Vendor management inventory is where the manufacturer takes the responsibility of maintaining the inventory level of a distributor through getting information of the stock that he needs and how much he sells. The distributor is supposed to give information about current inventory levels to the manufacturer who will then decide when and how much to deliver. Dead inventory refers to goods that cannot be sold because they are not needed, which could result from overproduction. In addition, specific goods produced for particular customers may not get to them, resulting in dead inventory, and more so goods that are no longer needed now or not likely to be bought are dead inventories.

The four types of inventory classification include materials of production, used to produce the goods or operations of the business. Work in progress classification refers to inventories of goods that are partially complete or still under assembling. Finished goods classification refers to the full produced goods ready for sale. Damages and superseded goods are a classification of goods or stock that are lacking in one way or another, and cannot be sold. These classifications help ease inventory management since the value of stock in place is known, including goods damaged and incomplete (Toomey, 2000).

 

References

Business logistics. (n.d). Warehouse Logistics Case Study: How We Helped a Client Reduce Stock-Outs and Overall Distribution Costs. Retrieved from http://www.buslog.com/warehouse-logistics/case-study1.html

John, K., Falasca, M. & Nadler, S. (2006). Impact of just-in-time inventory systems on OEM suppliers. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 106 (2), 224-242.

Toomey, J. (2000). Inventory management: principles, concepts and techniques. New York, NY: Springer.