Vice President of a Supply Chain - Case Study Example

Basically, in the supply chain, there are intermediaries such as wholesalers, agents and brokers as well as other facilitators who help to transfer products and services between businesses. Thus, in order to be effective, the business needs to be able to “access the suppliers at the right time, quantity, quality and price,” (Hoffman et al. 2007). This notion is also supported by Robson (1997) who posits to the effect that in order for the supply chain to be effective, the goods to be supplied should match the description, be fit for the purpose and satisfactory quality.

In other words, effort should be made to ensure safe passage of the goods being supplied at each stage along the supply chain. Efficiency can be achieved through implementing various measures. It is also essential for businesses and suppliers to create quality relationships in order to improve their operations in the supply chain. Thus a clear supply network ought to be created so as to be in a position to achieve the desired goals. This is known as the value delivery network which is made up of the firm, suppliers, distributors and ultimately customers who partner with each other to improve the performance of the entire system (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010).

In such a scenario, all the parties involved should be coordinated in such a way that there is efficient passage of the goods from one point to the next. The channels upon which the goods will be delivered should be clearly identified so as to avoid confusion. Transport logistics ought to be clearly defined so as to enable the suppliers to efficiently move different goods and products from one point to the other. The other measure that can be taken in order to ensure efficiency is to make sure that the goods supplied do not outstrip the capacity to store them.

This means that the inventory at one stage should not be larger than the storage place available. In order to measure the benchmarks of success of this initiative, I will make a follow up to ensure that there are no breakages and that all goods have been delivered as per expectations. It is also imperative to engage all members involved so as to be able to gain feedback from them to ascertain if they are satisfied with the distribution system implemented by the suppliers. The limited number of breakages and complaints from the customers is another benchmark that can be used to make sure that the initiative has been a success.

The period taken for a particular product to be delivered from the manufacture to the retailer can also be used as a benchmark to measure success of the distribution system implemented. This can be done through comparing previous periods with the current period in order to ascertain if there have been any positive changes. Reductions in transport costs can also be used as a benchmark to measure the success and efficiency of the distribution system implemented by the organization. References Hoffman, E. (2007). Operations & Management principles for contact centers. CT:JUTA.Kotler, P.

& Armstrong, G. (2010). Principles of Marketing. CT: Pearson. Robson, W. (1997). Strategic management and information systems. 2nd Edition. London: Prentice Hall.Strydom, J. (2004). Marketing. CT: JUTA.