Strategic Sourcing Application Suites - Essay Example

Logistics Name Course Institution Professor Date Introduction Logistics management implies to the process of controlling the movement of goods from the manufactures to the ultimate consumers. Activities in logistics management involves management of transportation inside a company as well as outside it, the handling of materials, management of inventory, warehousing, fulfillment of orders, the management of fleet and supply and demand planning (Commonwealth, 2007). Additionally it involves customer service, sourcing, production arrangement, packaging and procurement. There are three levels of planning and implementation that logistics management form part they include; tactical, operational and strategic level. Basically, logistics management encompasses the process of amalgamation that ensures coordination between all activities that involve transportation and merging transport activities with other activities in business for instance marketing, information technology, manufacturing and finance. In this case, it may be understood that logistics management is constituted in the control of supply chain processes of goods. These processes involves the arrangement, execution and control in an effective and efficient way product storage and services aimed at meeting expectations from customers (John and Langley, 2002). Activities of online logistics for instance operations that involve sourcing, international transportation as well as customs and quarantine and inspection clearance can greatly contribute to there being products of low costs and increased value to both time and place utility. This is an analysis of logistics management being a case study of an online store in the state of Australia. Low Cost Singaporean sourcing operations, supplier selection, evaluation and procurement, international transportation from Singapore to Australia and Australian Quarantine and Inspection clearance may contribute to lowered products costs in Australia. The named three activities may be carried out in the online store leading to a competitive advantage. This may be in regards to how the products are priced. Singaporean sourcing operations supplier selection, evaluation and procurement would aid in there being low priced products in Australia due to the fact that Singapore is capable of manufacturing goods at costs that are very low. Additionally the new Australian online store can get goods from Singapore through there being a link with operations that involve suppliers in order to be able to access goods from the store (Commonwealth, 2007). Therefore the online store will thus be able obtain goods from Singapore at prices that are low leading to lowly priced Australian goods. In Singapore, there is greater ease with which one can acquire goods. Therefore Singaporean goods having low costs of manufacturing may contribute to products in the online store in Australian being of low costs. International transportation from Singapore to Australia can also contribute in lowering costs of products in online store Australia. The reason behind this is the existence of few barriers to trade in Singapore which enhances the reduction of transportation costs from Singapore to Australia. Transporting internationally can result to low cost products in Australia since there is bulk transportation of goods for instance through the use of ships. Bulk transportation is mostly associated with reduced transportation costs. In this case the ultimate impact is that through such transportation the will be enhancement of low cost products in Australia. International transportation of goods from China to Australia will allow overseas suppliers to deliver their products to various international centers and then transport the goods to Australia in bulk form thus leading to low cost of transportation and consequently low product cost. In addition, the international transportation of online goods will reduce the time spend in transporting the goods and this will lead to low product cost (Commonwealth, 2007). Moreover, international transportation can reduce the supply chain and this helps to lower the cost of transporting goods. In this connection, international transportation will help to lower product cost In Australia. The Australian Quarantine and Inspection clearance may contribute in the reduction of product costs in the online store in Australia. There quarantine service In Australia which is scientifically based that serve the purpose of retaining the reputation of the country in line with its good products in markets internationally. These products that are of good quality may contribute in lowering product costs since the need to carry out intensive marketing may not be a necessary. In Australia there are high regulations as far as the clearing imports is concerned. This may contribute products in the online Australian store having low cost. For there to be low cost products Australia makes sure that the import clearance procedures are prepared and completed in a correct manner. In this case the online store in Australia can make use quarantine and clearance inspections in order to guarantee products that are of low costs. Place Utility Singaporean sourcing operations, supplier selection, evaluation and procurement, international transportation fromSingapore to Australia and Australian quarantine and inspection clearance may contribute in enhancing place utility for Australia’s online store. Place utility may be understood to be the act that ensures that goods are available to customers by moving them from where they are lowly valued to places where their value is greater (John and Langley, 2002). Singapore sourcing operations supplier selection, evaluation and procurement may aid in increasing the value of place utility for the online store. The reason behind this is that it will ensure that there I provision of goods to people who are in need of them. Additionally Singapore sourcing will aid the online store in Australia in the process of acquisition of goods from Singapore distributors providing them to markets in Australia making them available and accessible to customers. Singapore’s sourcing operations also aids owners of online stores in Australia to be able to select good suppliers, carry out evaluation of goods and transporting them to markets in Australia where their demand is high (Jacoby, 2009) .in this case, Singapore’s sourcing operations supplier selection, valuation and procurement will highly contribute to the existence of increased value in place utility for the online store in Australia. International transportation from Singapore to Australia may assist the Australian online store in achieving increased value in place utility for its products. Singapore has few barriers to trade which is has resulted to long retail chain being established which can assist in making sure that products reach the intended customers in a timely manner (Commonwealth, 2007). It may therefore be concluded that the new online store can depend on international transportation logistics management from Singapore in a bid to attain place utility for the goods .International transportation also enables goods to move from manufactures to consumers thus achieving place utility. Australian quarantine and inspection clearance is capable ofassisting in the achievement of place utility for the goods of the new Australian online store. In Australia there are strict regulations in place in regards to quarantine formalities that are meant to ensure that there is ease with which goods are moved to the places that they are intended (James and Lambert, 2008). Additionally Australia’s quarantine and inspection clearance contributes to the achievement place utility since they make sure that goods which do not follow the right procedures are heavily fined. This will aid the Australian online store to attain for its goods place utility. This is a clear indication that Australian quarantine and inspection clearance would definitely contribute in aiding the Australian online store to achieve place utility. Time Utility Time utility implies to process involved in ensuring that that goods aremade availableand in a timely manner to the ultimate consumers. Singaporean sourcing operations, supplier selection, evaluation and procurement, international transportation from Singapore to Australia and Australian Quarantine and Inspection clearance contributes tothe enhancement oftime utility forAustralia’s online store (James and Lambert, 2008). Singaporean sourcing operations, supplier selection, evaluation and procurement is vital in as far as the process of timely delivering of goods to customers is concerned. Therefore, Singaporean sourcing operations, supplier selection, evaluation and procurement is essential due to the fact that it will aid the new Australian online store to acquire goods from Australia and deliver them in timely way to the customers (James and Lambert, 2008). This activity of logistic management aids in adding value to the goods sold at the online store due to the fact time utility is offered for the goods being sold. International transportation from Singapore to Australia is a logistics management activity which may be seen as to add value to the goods being sold at the online store in Australia. The major is that international transportation from Australia may contribute in the process of delivering products to the online store in a timely way as well as add value to the good since makes sure that customers are reached at, at a time that is right (Wilson, 2010). International transportation from Australia faces very limited challenges hence ensuring that goods sold to the online store in Australia reaches the targeted customers on time. Therefore, international transportation from Singapore to Australia will make facilitate bulk transportation hence making it easier for customers to access the goods at the point of their need without any delays. This way the value of goods is increased (John J & Langley, 2002). Another crucial activity involvinglogistic management is the Australian quarantine and inspection clearance. It aids in ensuring that the new Australian online stores attains increased product value through the achievement of time utility. Australian quarantine and inspection clearance would lead towards achieving time utility through ensuring that goods undergo delivery to customers at a time that is right. Australia’s clearance regulations in regards to imports and exports are very strict this will make sure that consumers get the right goods. Additionally, inspection and clearance would facilitate the on time arrival of goods to the online stores (James and Lambert, 2008). Time utility would also be achieved if procedures of goods are rightfully prepared and completed for them to be cleared and later without any delays being taken to the customers. In Conclusion, activities of logistic management being carried out online can lead to low costs of products as well as increased value of both place and time utility for goods sold in the new online store in Australia. The logistics activities as discussed namely the Singaporean sourcing operations, supplier selection, evaluation and procurement, international transportation from Singapore to Australia and Australian Quarantine and Inspection clearance are quite vital for marketing the goods for the online store. This is demonstrated through products being made available to customers that are low making it possible for the company to gain competitive advantage in the market. These logistic activities ultimately results to products in Australia being of less costly making it easier to meet customer expectations in a timely way such that their trust and loyalty is gained. By having the above logistics management activities in place the new Australian will with no any doubt perform well in the word of business. References Commonwealth 2007, Australian Manufacturing: Today and Tomorrow, House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics Finance and Public Administration, Commonwealth of Australia, Sydney. David, B 2010, Supply Chain Management Best Practices, London, John Wiley and Sons, Hines, T 2004, Supply chain strategies: Customer driven and customer focused, Oxford, Elsevier. Jacoby, D 2009, logistics Management, New York, Bloomberg Press James, S and Lambert, D 2008, Strategic logistics management; New York, McGraw Hill John, J and Langley J 2002, Management of business logistics: A supply chain perspective, New York, South Western College Publishing Mentzer, J.T. et. al. 2001, logistics Management, in: Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 22, No. 2, p. 45-67. Wallenburg, C., Cahill, D., Michael Knemeyer, A. and Goldsby, T. 2011, Commitment and Trust as Drivers of Loyalty in Logistics Outsourcing Relationships. Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 32, No. 1, p. 3-23. Wilson, D 2010, Strategic Sourcing Application Suites, New York, Gartner, Inc. Read More