Role of Innovation in Logistics towards Development of Global Business - Coursework Example

Role of Innovation in Logistics towards Development of Global Business Name Id Course Instructor’s name Institution Affiliation Location Date Introduction Logistics is the detailed organization and implementation of complex operation of any activity with the aim of obtaining a specific target I the field of business (Grabara, Kolcun and Kot, 2014). In the context of global business, it is through organization of different supply strategies that ensures global supply takes place with little interferences. Innovations have taken center stage in ensuring that international businesses grow positively (Grabara, Modrak and Dima, 2014). It is important to understand that without innovations and appreciation of changes in the consumers’ behavior, then the industry of business would have greatly collapsed. As businesses grow, their production rate increases and there is a need for them to extend their market share. With the increasing competition globally and the growing use of the internet as well as the application various media for communication, several companies have gone globally in supplying their products (Mcoe, 2014). Transformation and innovation have therefore become important factors in facilitating supply of goods in the global business. This paper evaluates the role that innovations in logistics have played in the emergence and development of international business. The paper evaluates the role of innovation through looking at the critical success factors that enables the companies to reach their goals in innovations. It proceeds further to look at various innovations in the logistics sectors with the effects they have brought into the supply within the global business. It then closes with provision of the challenges encountered in realization of the innovation roles in the global business. Critical success factors for reaching goals in innovation In every innovation activity, a good environment must be created to ensure that employees are greatly motivated and given awareness training towards new ideas creation (Verburg et al. 2013). Some of the important factors to consider in reaching the goals in innovation include; first, the culture and leadership which are mainly influenced by the management and leadership of the organization (Cheng et al. 2013). Understanding and appreciating different cultures in the economy ensures that different ideas are brought into the business. When leadership combines the diversified cultures and ideas of the employees under their organization, they easily acquire knowledge and develop different innovations towards supply. Infliction of culture of innovation by the management to the employees as well as commitment by the leadership towards new idea creation is important in the development of the global business sector (Verburg et al. 2013). Secondly, every kind of business atmosphere needs the utilization of different approaches in determining the business success which has been determined to be the case for change (Ram, Corkindale and Wu, 2013). The logisticians must become innovative and must be ready to handle change in the global market in order to remain relevant. They need to show the desire of doing an activity in a different way rather than sitting back and watching the same activity repeats itself (Savery, 2015). In the field of supply, the consumers’ needs changes daily and it is only through innovations that their demands can be met. Thirdly, for innovation to take place there must be people to facilitate the whole process (Disterheft et al. 2015). Innovation involves looking for employees who are innovative and creative in entrepreneurship as well as those willing to change with the diversity in the global market. The staffs or employees when rotated in the field of business ensure drive in innovation as they bring different viewpoints and approaches in addressing challenges. The global business is characterized by several challenges hence require innovative ideas and rotation of the staffs to view the situations at different viewpoints (Verburg et al. 2013). Various logistics innovations in the global business Logistics operations in the global business have grown through different stages. Every stage of growth has been a success due to the practice of the innovative ideas in the supply chain and incorporation of different technologies (Herrmann et al. 2015). First innovative idea that has played a role in development of the global business is the big data way ideas (Klievink and Zomer, 2015). Several data exists that helps in the analysis of the trends in supply, the location of the target consumers as well as their cultural considerations. With the innovation of software and instruments like the GPS trackers and the RF sensors, the management is able to track the location of the consumers as well as their demand (Herrmann et al. 2015). The technology innovation helps the suppliers to determine the specific time that the good can be delivered to the consumer and even the condition of the goods. The application of the delivery scheduler in supply ensures that customers in the global market are given the exact time of goods delivery which ensures that their loyalties are maintained in the global market without disappointments. The innovation has ensured that several benefits are generated in the supply system which has greatly reduced the risks of losing goods as the GPS can be used to track the goods until delivery (Pessoa, and Júnior, 2016). It has also resulted to the payment of goods in relation to the consumers locations making the prices to be flexible in relation to the area of locality. The wide data kept are analyzed by the software which helps to obtain the information concerning the delivery efficiency, performance tracking of the products and the daily operation range of the business in local and the global market. The data stored from these innovations has helped in planning and offering good services to the consumers without disappointments. The second role that has been achieved by innovation in ensuring development in the global business is the codding of the customers (Wang and Alexander, 2015). The innovation has ensured that the business uses the addresses of those placing the order to geocode them in different blocks in relation to their coordinates references. Once the mapping has been done, the system identifies the nearest supply stores which can serve the customers or plans a system through which delivery will be done in the cheapest means possible (Wang and Alexander, 2015). The idea ensures that global supply is done without delay as well as reduction in the cost of distribution to facilitate increase in demand. The innovation has developed global business sector through making the globe smaller through its control at the software of our machines creating faster and simpler means of supply. Global business has been made easier through code mapping ensuring that every part of the world can be reached through grouping into blocks facilitating faster supply. The locality identification is used by the firm to ensure that total cost is put on goods with relation to the total block orders which makes the goods to reach the consumers at a cheaper price due to sharing of the transportation cost. Thirdly, innovation has ensured electronic data interchange among different companies and organizations around the world (Herrmann et al. 2015). The exchange has ensured that information regarding business is shared and different ideas provided concerning the operation of the businesses. The pricing, the challenges and nature of market in different countries are shared which help every globally operating business to make good decisions in their business. The data enables the businesses to compare and contrast the trend of businesses all over the world and identify the gaps that have been left in the market sectors forming opportunities for the businesses (Pessoa, and Júnior, 2016). It has facilitated sharing of the experts in different business sectors making the global business to operate under the advice of recognized experts. Fourthly, innovation has resulted to the development of sustainable supply chain networks all over the world (Sharma and Iyer, 2012). Since data has been made available, it is readily shared on the electronic platforms of different firms operating in the global markets as the opportunity to learn and study from the data. They analyze the data and use it to build up their outlet stores in areas of maximum demand to ensure constant supply in the areas. The stores are tracked from the head office by the top management despite being controlled by the outlet managers. The idea ensures that supply cost is reduced and the prices are also lowered for the products through cutting out of the middlemen. The track of events in the outlets by the main supply area is facilitated by different innovating software which ensure instant data transfer and problem correction among the employees (Sharma and Iyer, 2012). The construction of the outlets also ensures that the consumers get first-hand information from the outlet leadership creating the supplier to consumer interactions. Fifthly, according to Chiva, Ghauri and Alegre (2014) the innovations have ensured cultural harmony and understanding of different communities in the development of the global business. Good innovations are ensured through integration of different cultures in the societies by good leadership. The sign of developing different strategies towards supply means all cultures have been put in place to critically do away with the conflicts which may be realized as a result of cultural abuse. The innovation of mapping as well as creating outlets at different countries is an indication that the individuals employed there have the ability to understand their local cultures and operate as directed by the norms of the area. Lastly, the innovations have played a role in ensuring that the environment operates towards green and healthier business (Klassen and Vachon, 2012). Through sharing of data and working towards a specific goal, the businesses have been encouraged to conserve the environment. Working on the same platforms enables the businesses to create common policies which guide every part of their operation in the global market. In their working, they understand that operating with healthy environment will facilitate their success in the economy. They have invented different ways through which they conserve the environment as well as ways of involving the community in every operation. Through information sharing, they have discouraged engagement in business activities which are harmful to the environment. They have also developed the monitoring devices which they use to scrutinize the business activities of every global business all over the world (Klassen and Vachon, 2012). Challenges in realization of the roles of innovation The roles that innovations play in the global business experience different challenges from different sectors of economy argued by Arlbjørn and Paulraj (2013). First, the political atmosphere of different countries interferes with the successful implementation of the ideas. Some countries do not like implementing changes that are practiced by fellow countries due to pride of remaining unique. This political ideology makes the innovation process hard fought situation to be implemented. Secondly is the secrecy that is practiced by some business toward providing their information. Some businesses operating globally do not want their strategies to be copied by others due to fear of competition hence slowing down the rate of information sharing among the global businesses. Lastly, the innovation is challenged by the inability of the countries to accept one currency for the operation of the businesses. This reluctance has resulted to several countries withholding their information as well as reducing the prices to the level that makes the developing countries to be thrown out of the global business. Conclusion From the discussion, the paper has looked at the roles innovations in logistics have played in the global business by looking at it in three parts. First, it has looked at the success factors for innovations where it has analyzed the culture and leadership in the business. It has looked at the effects of call for change towards innovation and concluded the first part by looking at the various success actions of people in business innovation and development. Secondly, it has looked at various roles innovations have played in the global business which included; data sharing, mapping of the customer locations, sharing of the experts, environmental conservation, and development of cultural harmony and ensuring sustainable supply chain in the economy. It has concluded by looking at the challenges towards achieving the roles where it has looked at politics as a factor, reluctance in sharing the information and variation in the currency being used. It is therefore the mandate of the businesses that operates globally to ensure that they strategies to ensure development of the business sector. The management is to realize the diversity in the economy and motivate the spirit of innovation towards ensuring business success. They should work towards eliminating all the challenges that have been mentioned as they collaborate with the political set-up of different countries. References List Arlbjørn, J.S. and Paulraj, A., 2013. Special topic forum on innovation in business networks from a supply chain perspective: current status and opportunities for future research. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 49(4), pp.3-11. Cheng, C.F., Chang, M.L. and Li, C.S., 2013. Configural paths to successful product innovation. Journal of Business Research, 66(12), pp.2561-2573. Chiva, R., Ghauri, P. and Alegre, J., 2014. Organizational learning, innovation and internationalization: A complex system model. 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