Supply Chain Strategy for British Army - Assignment Example

 Supply Chain Management (British Army) Theme A - Contemporary issues in supply chain management Introduction Supply chain management can be referred as “the systematic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions with in a particular company and across businesses with in the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole” (Mentzer, 2003). Today, with increased competition the companies cannot be complacent on its core competencies and should strive to use the available resources optimally. With emphasis upon the proper use of resources, companies are emphasizing more upon having efficient supply chain management through effective supply chain strategy. Supply chain strategy calls for alignment of the strategy of the business house with that of suppliers, distributors and even customers to have improvements in operations, shipping and logistics. However supply chain management have gained significant importance in the recent past, it has its own complexities and challenges. The supply chain management is complex due to its organic nature and the boundaries of its stability are not defined. The lack of visibility and inability to identify constraints leads to issues like increased cost, time and risks. Also managing bottlenecks is a major issue in supply chain management. Thus there is a constant need of models that can comprehend the complexities and provide a better visibility of the supply chain management. There is a need for developing better processes for standards and also the need for international e-commerce, e-business and e-supply (Birchak, n.d.). The British Army is considered to be one of the most reputed armies in the world because of their discipline. Apart from fulfilling their duties of protecting their own country they have also been involved in some major operations to help build a safer world in places like Balkans, Gulf, East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq. Due to their huge presence globally there is an inherent need of the latest supply chain management techniques that would deliver the right ammunitions and resources at the right place and of course with military precision timing. Thus the role of supply chain management is huge in the British Army (Army, n.d.). E-supply/procurement/commerce/business E-Supply chain is driven by the internet enabled information and is significance in the global arena. Supply chain visibility is necessary requisite for e-supply chain. The visibility can be achieved by integrating the information system of all the supply chain partners. By automating the supply chain greater productivity can be achieved through flexible e-supply chain. E-supply is customer oriented and promotes outsourcing of its non-core activities (Viswanadham, & Gaonkar, n.d.). E-Procurement can be defined as automation of the procurement process by means of the web enabled tools. The tools of e-procurement are usually solicitation development tools and reverse auction capabilities. Gathering of information and quotes from suppliers is referred to as solicitation. The process may be through verbal communication or via electronic document, however in the case of the latter the quality is enhanced. The solicitation process includes request for information, request for quotation and request for proposal. These are the three steps through which solicitation can be approached. In case online reverse auction the lowest price for the supply of a product or a service can be achieved. There are opportunities for the suppliers to reduce their bids and win a business. Due to the presence of the web technology the suppliers have access to the procurement process and can hence forth bid anonymously (NC State University, n.d.). E-Commerce & E-Business E-commerce is responsible for introducing the practices of supply chain management and making it technically viable. It is also responsible for shifting the focus from efficient manufacturing process to effectively coordinate the activities of supply chain network. Supply chain management is information intensive as a result a successful SCM has two pre requisites, firstly the need of a secure electronic medium through which real time information can be shared and secondly a high bandwidth environment that can accommodate the whole SCM support service. E-commerce technologies are most favourable in dealing with these demands and promoting new forms of SCM (Shen, Hawley & Dickerson, 2004). E-Business brings in a dimension to competition that is characterised by speed, change, risk, innovation and technological advancement. These characteristics often define the success parameters and increase the scope of supply chain management (Shen, Wu, & Simchi-Levi, 2004). In case of the British Army due to its vast network spread all over the globe it important that their units are replenished with adequate resources form time to time. For an army to survive in the fronts it is necessary that they have adequate resources to hold their grounds and keep their units prepared. The major problem that an army has to overcome is to deliver the required resources in any part of the world within the given time frame. Sharing information between each other so that the delivery of the proper goods is made on the right time at the right place is very important. As a result the role of e-supply, e-procurement and e-commerce is vital for the Army. The Army relies on these techniques of supply chain management in order to coordinate their resource allocation. With the advent of e-commerce and e-procurement it has been made possible to share information in real time over a geographical barrier. A part of the success of the British Army can be linked to theses modern techniques of supply chain management. Global Sourcing and supply The international supply chain that supports the globalisation process is an integration of two sub processes namely the internal supply chain and external supply chain. The internal supply chain is where in the British Army supplies its resources like ammunitions within its own army regiments, where as external supply chain has a global sourcing perspective where the British Army supplies weapons and ammunitions to armies of other countries. However to live up to its reputation the British Army needs to effectively manage both its internal as well as external supply chain processes. Partnership in supply chain The Partnership model identifies the different components of the supply chain process. They are namely the drivers, facilitators, components and outcomes. The drivers must be evaluated while approaching a potential partner. The facilitators help in determining the relationship between the two partners that are involved in the supply chain process. Components refer to the elements that are controlled by the management depending upon the type of partnership. Lastly outcomes are the means by which the two partners are able to benefit out of each other (Lambert, 2008). In context to British Army the partners of it supply chain refers to those contractors who help the British Army deliver their resources timely to the designated place. Since the Army is known for its discipline it carefully chooses its partners that would be able to meet their level of dedication in their work. The partnership model can be an effective tool in determining with whom the British Army wants to enter in to partnership. The advantage of having partnership is that some parts of the supply chain process can be outsourced to a different party that has its synergies in performing the outsourced task. This can increase the efficiency of the entire process. On the other hand the disadvantage of having partners in a supply chain is that the desired quality may be compromised by outsourcing some parts of the supply chain process. For the British Army, or the fact that for any army the quality of the supply chain cannot be compromised with. Moreover the involvement of a partner leads to sharing of information with an outsider, which may not go very well with the army. The Army may not like to disclose any information as it may harm their strategy as a result they would prefer not to outsource their supply chain process to a partner unless it is reliable. Supplier based rationalisation The suppliers are an important part of the British Army, as they make sure that the army is being delivered its resources on time which can prove vital for the survival of the army. The Army need to maintain a good relationship with its suppliers and share limited but sufficient informations that can help the suppliers serve the army in an efficient manner. Quality and the supply chain The quality of the supply chain is a major issue that needs to address by the British Army. It has a reputed image as a prestige organisation in the world. As a result its supply chain needs to up to the standard to live up to its image. The supply chain is the lifeline of the British army that has its units all over the world. Recently there are reports suggesting the army has faced problems regarding supply chain management. In the Afghanistan fronts reports suggests that 57% of the equipments reach on time and spare parts of helicopters arrived late. Obstacle like these can be related to the quality of the SCM that is in place. However constant improvements and technological advancements are adopted by the Army to give it the edge so that it remains competitive. (Defence Talk, n.d.). Theme B - Challenging the future Introduction The future of the supply chain lies in adopting the latest technologies that come up every day and making it more efficient. As every organisation tries to use its resources optimally, utilisation of time in an effective manner ensures competitive advantage. With time as a major constraint the emphasis lies on the fact of sharing real time information. This is made possible by the evolution in the field of technology. Internet has been a technological boom which allows sharing informations in real time. Virtual supply chain Virtual supply chain management refers to the electronic commerce that has made procurements electronic which involves less paper work. The introduction of the internet has made it possible to make procurement over geographically separated areas. This has lead to effective time management and increased efficiency level. In fact the virtual supply chain is entirely based on the internet and adopts modern techniques of SCM like JIT. The role of the internet With advancements made in SCM, the internet has a major role to play in the evolution of the process. Internet makes data sharing effective and instantaneous and also enhances the supply chain visibility. With the advent of internet and the high bandwidth data communication networks, it has immensely boosted the contribution of the supply chain management to an organisation’s success (Raju et.al. n.d.). Emerging techniques and technologies The constant evolution in SCM has lead to the inclusion of emerging techniques like inventory control supply chain, demand forecasting supply chain and inventory management along with Just In Time Delivery. Some of these techniques are incorporated within the British Army; however more intensive use of these techniques will ensure efficient functioning of the system. Theme C - Review of learning Review of Supply chain strategy In UK the lack defence spending have affected the aerospace industry. Within the period of mid 80s to mid 90s the UK share of aerospace market fell from 13% to 9%. In response to this the industry has taken the initiative of supply chain relationship in Aerospace which aims at increasing the value delivery of the chain by greater coordination in the industry’s supply chain (Cox, 2003). The supply and the value chain is constantly being strained by the national governments reduce defence spending. At the same time however the supply chain is a necessary part of the British Army as it helps its different troops across the globe to survive and come out triumphant from some of the harshest environments in the world. The supply chain management may be considered as the backbone of the Army. From the innumerable success and milestones achieved by the British Army it can be concluded without doubt that the supply chain process of the British Army is one of the most effective in the world. Reference Army., No Date. Operations. Operations and Deployment, [Online] Available at: http://www.army.mod.uk/operations-deployments/operations/default.aspx [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Birchak, J., No Date. Supply chain Management Challenges. Strategic Manufacturing Programs Intel Corporation, [Online] Available at: http://www.ise.ufl.edu/Supplychain/Done/Day1/Birchak/sld011.htm [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Cox, A.W., 2003. Supply Chains, Markets and Power: Mapping Buyer and Supplier Power Regimes. Routledge. Defence Talk, No Date. Britain Struggling to Re-supply Afghan Frontline. Defence Talk. [Online] Available at: http://www.defencetalk.com/britain-struggling-to-re-supply-afghan-frontline-18939/ [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Lambert, D. M., 2008. Supply chain management: processes, partnerships, performance. 3rd Ed. Supply Chain Management Inst. Mentzer, J. T., 2001. Supply Chain Management. Sage. 2nd Ed. Thousand Oaks. NC State University., No Date. E-Procurement. NC State University. [Online] Available at: http://scm.ncsu.edu/public/procurement/6eprocurement.html#1 [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Raju, S, Fayad, M , Rajendran, P & Kottapalli, V. R., No date. Secure Information Exchange System. San Jose State University, [Online] Available at: http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/fayad/current.courses/cmpe232-fall04/docs/Secure-IXS-PS.pdf [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Shen, L, Hawley, J. & Dickerson, K., 2004. Abstract. E-Commerce Adoption For Supply Chain Management in U.S. Apparel manufacturers, [Online] Available at: http://www.tx.ncsu.edu/jtatm/volume4issue1/articles/Shen/shen_full_97_04.pdf [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Shen, Z. M, Wu, S.D. & Simchi-Levi, D., 2004. SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYSIS AND E-BUSINESS An Overview. Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. [pdf] Available at: http://www.ieor.berkeley.edu/~shen/handbook/Chapter1.pdf [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Viswanadham, N. & Gaonkar, R., No Date. Understanding E-Supply Chains Design And Future Trends. [Online] Available at: http://www.isb.edu/facultydetails/Viswanatham/Download/Vis.WP6.pdf [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Bibliographies Anderson, S., et. al., 2003. Supply Chain Management. WSI. [Pdf] Available at: http://www.ws-i.org/SampleApplications/SupplyChainManagement/2003-12/SCMUseCases1.0.pdf [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Byrnes, J., 2005. Achieving Supply Chain Productivity. Harvard Business School. [Online] Available at: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4682.html [Accessed Aug 6, 2009]. Read More