Supply chain management - Essay Example

Many managers of the supply chain are now coming to the realization that the traditional approaches are not sufficient in keeping up with the changes. These traditional approaches do not give the incentives or even means to make continuous changes that are necessary to remain competitive. In order for them to stay in business, the managers of the supply chain need to act, as well as think, differently with the changes that they are required to institute being profound. What makes a difference between leaders and “laggers” is the ability to give services and products in a sustainable and consistent way that are reflective of higher agility, higher transportation speed, lower prices, and higher quality (Wisner et al, 22).

Some of the concepts that would be proposed in the pursuit of achievement of the goals are environmental sustainability, quality practices and better designs, and lean manufacturing. These concepts need to be assessed and their adoption facilitated in New Zealand. In recent times, New Zealand has seen a significant increase in awareness, generally, of strategies of quality improvement, supplier integration, and lean manufacturing. . It is, therefore, vital that all producers comprehend good agricultural practice and their supply chain (The Agri-chain Center 1).

The supply chain also consists of quality assurance where freshly produced goods have quality assurance services that are inclusive of product assessments with basis on sound knowledge of the product, as well as a thorough comprehension of plant pathology after harvesting. The consumer is the next link in the supply chain; they have an increased awareness in relation to quality and safety of the products. The organization must ensure that they meet the demands through a conduction of consumer and climate survey (The Agri-chain Center 1).

Product safety solutions are yet another link in the supply chain management. The organizations offer a wide array of product-safety training, as well as support options that adhere to the necessities of consumers and the regulatory institutions (The Agri-chain Center 1). In the transportation of products internationally, organizations also require that imported goods on the high seas to the consumer comply with bio-security requirements of the Ministry for Primary Industries. These organizations now have at their disposal an array of services that ensure they achieve compliance with the Ministry of primary Industries.

Finally, there is training for most organizations in areas of quality and safety of products, as well as bio-safety (The Agri-chain Center 1). Over the last fifteen years, most organizations in New Zealand are now making genuine improvements as they move to customer focused and quality based strategies of supply chain management away from strategies and tactics based on cost (Wisner et al, 32). There are also significant increases in the awareness, generally, on strategies of