The Success of Panasonic - Case Study Example

Business Panasonic Supply Chain Security Panasonic Company is one of the organizations that provide security for the company’s supply chain to ensure that the goods and the staff are secure during the production, transport, storage and sale of goods. The success of a business organization depends on its ability to maintain security on its goods from the time the raw materials are obtained from the supplier to the time that they delivered to the customer. One of the areas that Panasonic has strived to maintain security of products is during the transportation stage of the supply chain of an organization. As Arway states (34), the security of good during the transportation of goods ensure that they are not subject to malicious actions such as theft and terrorism. The engagement of a system to protect not only the goods but the staff involved in the transit of goods ensures that the organization's operations are secure and any threats are mitigated. This is a fundamental requirement for any organization that intends to remain profitable in the market must bear in mind. Panasonic employs technology to ensure security of goods in transport in various ways. First, the organization provides a sustained surveillance and monitoring system to ensure that both the employees and the goods are safe especially in high traffic areas that are sensitive to criminal acts. The system has a provision to scan the faces if the staff involved in the transportation process and keep a survey if any interrupting person gets in the transport vehicle. This system ensures that only the authorized members are allowed into the vehicle. Any extra person getting in the vehicle will be detected and the system will trigger an alarm to notify about the intrusion. Consequently, any entry of unauthorized systems will be captured and the staff will be prompted to respond to the intrusion as necessary (Burges 49). This is a critical dimension of security that contributes to safety during the transportation stage of the supply chain. The organization has also paid attention to cargo management as a prerequisite to ensure that the safety of the cargo is maintained all through the transportation journey. Panasonic has developed the Panasonic Toughbook gadget that helps to monitor and track the location of the products that are being carried either by a train, a plane or even an ordinary vehicle. The transportation stage is usually subject to a lot of external threats and the knowledge of a cargo location is a vital aspect of the security of cargos. For instance, often, gangsters may take a cargo and divert it away to a different location (Panasonic). In such a case, the managers will monitor the location of the cargo and if it diverts away from the predetermined route, a security response can be initiated to secure the cargo, hence avoiding the consequential loss that is likely to occur in the event of such an attack. The Toughbook Computer enhances mobile computers have feature to ensure that the management staff can be able to monitor goods from the time they are loaded into the vehicle up to the moment they are offloaded at the destination of the vehicle. This security measure helps to guarantee to a great percentage the safety of goods and to ensure that the entire load arrives at its destination safe and sound. Inspection solution is another way that Panasonic provides security to its clients during a transportation process. Software driven Toughbook mobile computers is an innovative method of securing sustenance during transportation of goods. The gadget is GPS enabled and has a wireless connection to ensure remote connectivity and monitoring of large trucks or mobile vehicles that are likely to cause damage to the cargo on its way to its destination. The development of this system is such that the system will approximate the distance of the cargo from a threat accident and provide a warning precautionary measure that helps the driver to avoid or take a proactive action to avoid possible damages (Panasonic). Apart from this kind of monitoring, the system helps to inspect the loaded vehicle and detect any signs of fire and provide a siren to warn against such a danger. In case of a fire, the system allows the staff to remotely assess the damage and generate a report of the damages, and provide figures of any salvage. These security services are provided in the real time and longer life batteries provided with these gadgets ensures that the chances of system breakdown during operations are minimal. This puts in an aspect of system reliability which a desirable feature of any security system. In retail stores, Panasonic recognizes the essence of ensuring goods safe from the various security threats associated with stores. While the goods are in storage, the staff may have a hard time to physically monitor the data that is associated with every good, given the wide variety of goods that in a typical retail store. The invoice data, security codes and identification details of each particular good need to be captured in the books of record in an organization. Traditionally, organizations relied on manual entry of data, a method that was slow and subject to erroneous inputs, aspects that culminated to business efficiency (Burges 46 : Arway 134). In the modern times, accuracy and speed are all desirable features in customer service system and monitoring and scanning of the systems provides the best elements of modern business service. With Toughbook, the staffs are able to collect all the details of products and ensure that they are linked to the system statistical software that is responsible for conducting financial security. To beef up the security, Panasonic provided RFID scanners at the entrance of the stores to ensure that the each item is captured and entered in the system (Panasonic). Consequently, no customers or employees can leave a store with un-purchased goods without being detected. This security measure ensures that all stocked goods are safe, sold goods are authorized and records are maintained at par with the operations of the organization. Panasonic has been lauded as global best video surveillance service provider, a critical aspect of the storage and selling. For instance, in a supermarket, the room is too spacious and human surveillance may be quite complex and inefficient. Automated monitoring to avoid instances of a threat is an aspect of business in the 21st century. Burges (64) urges all business managers to avoid loopholes in the supply management chain as the best way to remain accountable for every item that is produced in the market. Unlike the old business systems where monitoring was manual and the business stores were much smaller, currently many organizations have extended stores that are visually hard to monitor and employing human labor for this purpose would be a more expensive, but inefficient method. Panasonic provides a wide range of CCTV cameras that are effective in maintaining a visual contact of every corner of the room to ensure maximum security of the products (Panasonic). Analogue and digital cameras developed by this organization are effective in providing reliable and efficient coverage of the stores and recording the video coverage that can be reviewed in case of an incident. This kind of monitoring ensures that all the goods are safe from malicious customers, an aspect of the supply chain that ensures optimal profit for all the goods. Communication is an important security measures that many organizations ignore while modeling their supply chain security from the time of production, transport, storage and selling to the customer. At the production stage, the employees are required to co-ordinate with the management to ensure that only the desired quality is achieved. On the other hand, in transport, storage and in sales, authorization is necessary to ensure that all security aspects are required (Burges 76). Panasonic provides a touch tablet that is digitally enhanced to enhance signature and fingerprint authorization process from a remote location. For instance, organizations may intend to offer discounts to various groups of customers during an offer period and the management may be put in charge of authorization of the process. In such an instance, the manager will have a challenge to grant authorization while in their office and have to keep moving from one cashier to the other to make conduct the authorization. With a security enhanced table or a digital phone, the manager is able to sign or provide a thumbprint as an authorization in such a scenario hence reducing delay and redundancy in the process. This is a vital aspect of supply chain security that reduces the chances of manipulated authorization, which may impact loss to a business. In conclusion, Panasonic is an organization that intervenes in the security aspect of the supply chain to ensure that the products of an organization are safe from the time of production to the moment it gets in the hands of a customer. As supply chain designers point out, even the least loss of products in a business organization will be consequential to the management goals. This implies that security of goods in production, transport and in storage is a crucial aspect of business efficiency. Panasonic provides visual aided monitoring and risk assessment to ensure that the risk of losing goods in an organization is minimal. In addition, the organization provides technology driven communication services through wireless and remote access devices to ensure that vital information about the organization is conveyed as the product traverses the supply chain. The technological aspect of the Panasonic’s security system allows the organizations to maintain efficiency, speed, and accuracy along the transactions of goods delivery. By enhancing the product’s data collection process, the systems ensure that the documentation of the business operations is easier and operations. In this regard, Panasonic is an ideal innovative organization that provides supply chain security in the most efficient manner. Works Cited Arway, Arthur. Supply Chain Security: A Comprehensive Approach. New York: CRC Press. Burges, Dan. Cargo Theft, Loss Prevention, and Supply Chain Security. S.l.: Butterworth- Heinemann, 2013. Print Panasonic. Supply Chain Management: Solution For Business. Accessed from: Accessed on [1st Nov, 2013] Read More