Operations and Supply

Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management Fifth Edition Cecil C. Bozarth Robert B. Handfield Solution Manual for Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management Geoff Willis All Chapters/Supplement files download link at the end of this file. 1 / 3

• One could argue that Alcoa is not the first entity in the supply chain because other companies

supply it with the tools and materials to get the aluminum out of the ground. Other suppliers for Anheuser-Busch would be the company that provides the hops and grains required to make its beer, and the supplier of brewing equipment. Anheuser-Busch needs to share sales information and forecasts with its suppliers so that they can plan capacity and production levels. All of the companies within the supply chain need to be as transparent with their data as possible so that products can be made and shipped out to the customers with a minimum of waste.

• While it is true that operations management and supply chain management are integral to

manufacturing firms, it is false that operations and supply chain apply only to manufacturers.Service industries also source products and services, and in some cases, need to consider how these will be delivered to the final customer. Amazon, which uses UPS to make deliveries, is a prime example.

• There are many different supply chains that support products like the Apple iPhone, and without

these the iPhone would not be nearly as successful. Apple has a company that creates the physical phone itself, suppliers that make the electronic components that go inside the phone, and even partner companies that monitor satellites to give the phone navigation capability. Apple uses the “App Store” to virtually manage the software application on phones, and through this store they can market apps, create the purchase transaction, and simultaneously deliver the good to the consumer.

• There are numerous examples of where poor supply chain management undercuts a business. For

example, a product may be well-designed, but if the company cannot source quality inputs, cannotproduce the product to cost or quality targets, and cannot deliver it in a timely manner, the productwill fail in the marketplace.Chapter 1

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The key advantage of releasing a new product during the late-year holiday season is the potential1.spike in demand, especially for consumer goods like the iPod. The large seasonal “bumps” from the introduction of new generations of products coupled with the holiday shopping season pose significant challenges for its supply chain partners since they need to respond quickly to new requirements. Apple’s business strategy puts a premium on suppliers that can demonstrate volume flexibility (not to mention, high levels of quality conformance) because Apple sells considerably fewer iPods from March to September than October to February, and Apple needs suppliers that can give them varying amounts of product in limited time frames. The match between supply and demand for the iPhone X is not as good as recent model introductions; demand far exceeded supply.One example is2.McDonald’s; their mission statement is as follows: McDonald’s brand mission is to “be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat.” McDonalds’ worldwide operations have been aligned around a global strategy called- ‘Plan to Win,’ centering on the five basics of an exceptional customer experience—People, Products, Place, Price, and Promotion. This is a useful mission statement because it addresses different functional areas of the company and in the end focuses on people and the customers’ experience. Their operations and supply chain strategies are consistent with the mission statement because they execute their worldwide operations through an interconnected global strategy -.The business strategy and the operation strategies are so interconnected that they can flow both3.ways, and core competencies derived within the operations and supply chain areas can be exploited through broader business strategies. Examples will vary.Strategy experts have long said4.it’s not what a strategy document may say; it’s what the firm does that counts. For example, if the strategy document says that the firm will place a premium on introducing new, innovative products, but the firm’s actual investments are in producing large quantities of standard products at the lowest possible cost, then it is the pattern of decisions it makes that set the strategy. The risk of not having an explicit rendering of the firm’s strategy i s Chapter 2 .

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