The Importance of Business Operation Strategy - Research Paper Example

? Operation strategy Introduction An operation strategy is the most critical and major part of any business. This is because the operation strategy presents the company’s plan of action that will be used to execute the company’s vision. A strategy therefore ensures that a company is able to effectively manage its daily business activities by providing the best services and offering the highest quality of product so as to ensure customer retaining. An operations strategy must include the processes that are performed on a daily basis so as to serve customers, and the overall business milestones that the company must overcome and attain so as to be able to be successful (Slack, & Lewis, 2008, p. 44). The operations strategy of my business involves the use of low inventory levels as this will help to keep the prices low thus generating faster sales because of the low prices and the high value of the products. Furthermore, keeping of low levels of inventory will help to ensure that the business will be able to keep the prices low for the customers. This will help to maintain the existing customers and attract new customers as well. The use of low inventories will help to ensure that products are replaced with new items as soon as the inventory is exhausted and as a result this will increase the demand of the products. Increased demand, coupled with low prices, will lead to increased sales for a company and therefore this will in turn lead to increased profits for my business (Slack, & Lewis 2008) Supply chain management Supply chain management involves the active management of supply chain activities so as to ensure that customer value is maximized and a sustainable competitive advantage is achieved. Supply chain activities involve product development, product and material sourcing, production, logistics and the necessary information systems that help to coordinate these activities. Efficient supply chain management strategy will ensure that the print business is exposed to several opportunities that will provide competitive advantages. Examples of the competitive advantages that will be achieved include lower product costs for the materials that have been produced, reduced carrying costs in relation to the inventory because of the fact that no inventory will be kept, improved in store value and selection due to the different materials that will be produced, and finally a very competitive pricing for the customers. This therefore will work to ensure that the print business will become a dominant force to reckon with and to ensure that the focus is maintained on innovative processes and systems which work to improve the supply chain and achieve greater efficiency (Mentzer 2001). The key elements of a supply chain include structuring, sourcing, purchasing, and managing. The supply chain will begin with structuring and this usually involves the creation of the organization and forming together with recruiting members into the organization that are able and willing to take the business to a higher level. The staff that has been recruited will then allocated to different sections of the business for instance in my print business; sourcing manager will be recruited who will help to source for materials, purchasing managers who will ensure that the required materials are purchased on time and finally managers will be involved with the overall management of the business. Sourcing as a component of supply management involves the process of sourcing for items to print from clients. This is done by the sourcing managers who will deal with souring for product suppliers and vendors and also procuring the products that are used on printing at prices and terms that ensure the profitability goals of the firm are met (Mentzer 2001). Purchasing element in the supply chain will involve determining the products that the business requires and then procuring them from the client at a favorable price. The other element in the supply chain is the managing element. This usually focuses on demand planning, forecasting, and inventory management. The forecasts should estimate the customer demand that will be manifested, and this is usually based on historical data and other external drivers which include sales and promotions, and any changes that may result due to competition. The print business will therefore be involved in recruiting personnel with great experience who will be useful in the structuring, sourcing, purchasing, and managing the business effectively and practicing the highest levels of integrity (Mentzer 2001). Total quality management Total quality management process is a major strategy for gaining competitive advantage for this type of business. It is a management approach to ensure long term success through customer satisfaction. In upholding total quality management, all the members of an organization should ensure that they strive to be part of improving the processes, products, services, and the culture/background in which they work in. Total quality management should be adopted by any organization that is customer based. The use of the strategy, data, and effective communications should be applied so as to integrate the element of quality in the culture, systems, and activities of the organization. Customer focus is a key element in the total quality management since the customer is the person who ultimately determines the quality of products. Therefore, taking into consideration the requirements of the customers will help to ensure that the business has a competitive advantage over other businesses in the global market. Total employee involvement is another element that should be taken into consideration so as to achieve a competitive advantage in business. This is achieved when employees feel confident and are properly empowered. Provision of a safe and conducive environment for working should also be provided so that the employees can be able to feel safe and thus participate in working towards a common goal for the organization. High performance wok systems should alsobe integratedinto the business so as to ensure improvement in business operations. Formation of self-managed work teams should also be adoptedby the employees as a form of empowerment. Communication is another important element that plays a great role in time of organizational change, maintaining morale, and in motivating employees at all levels of the business. In maintaining total quality management, the business should also ensure that data is continually collected and analyzed so as to improve decision making accuracy which will ensure that consensus on matters is achieved and also give room for predictions. The business should also ensure that there is continuous improvement on the daily processes which will ensure the business becomes more creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations. Just in time manufacturing Just in time manufacturing is basically a form of production model whereby the items for sale are only created or manufactured to meet the demand. For instance, when the items are required that is when they are manufactured. In just in time form of production, the items are manufacturing when they are needed and the business does not keep surplus materials or materials for advance needs. There are certain key elements that are associated with just in time production model. These elements include: a system of material flow that is efficient, small amounts of stock that do not have to be kept and stocked thus leading to incurring of stock charges, a flexible work force, and standardization of components and work methods. These key elements of just in time production will help to ensure that the objectives of the business are met efficiently. For instance, a system of material flow that is efficient will ensure that the business will respond only to actual demand. For this to be achieved, there has to be rapid transmission of demand by the customer to the business so that the business managers are able to be aware of demand early enough so as to be able to take advantage of the opportunity and offer the best services. The production system should also be fast and flexible so that the business is able to respond very fast to changes in demand by the customers. The just in time production model will also ensure that wastes are minimized and quality of the products manufactured is increased (Cheng, & Podolsky 1993). However even with all the positive advantages and factors that are associated with just in time model of production, it also has its own flaws that make business managers hesitate in their decision to adopt it as a production model in their businesses. This is because of the fact that this production model relies on the managers accurately anticipating demand and thus they have to decide on the amounts of materials that they need based on the sales figures of the present and the past. Due to the reliance that is placed on the sales, forecasts from the past manufactures may face a problem in case there is a rise in demand or a fall in the demand of the product since their forecasts will not be consistent with the demand and therefore this will lead to the business facing some pitfalls. This production model that involves just in time production involves ensuring that the manufactures have reliable sales forecasts that can help them to make reliable forecasts and thus avoid problems with inventory and manufacturing processes (Cheng, & Podolsky, 1993). Conclusion In conclusion therefore, the operations strategy for the business will involve the use of low levels of inventory so as to avoid accruing high costs that will be accumulated from the keeping of stock, this will also ensure low prices for customers, high value products, reduced costs of production and thus increased profits for the business. This strategy will ensure that the product design and process selection is maintained at high levels. The process of supply chain management has been formed to consist of activities that will ensure effective product sourcing and product development and these includes structuring, sourcing, purchasing, and managing. Total quality management has also been discussed as a move to ensure competitive advantage for the business as compared to other businesses. Furthermore the concept of just in time was discussed and its elements thoroughly analyzed. References Cheng, T. C., &Podolsky, S. (1993). Just-in -time manufacturing an introduction. London: Chapman & Hall. Mentzer, J. T. (2001). Supply chain management. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications. Slack, N., & Lewis, M. (2008).Operations strategy. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Read More