Supply Chain Management: Its role in improving the value of the product or service to customers

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

6 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

05/31/2009

Category :

Business & market

Sub category :

Management

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Summary :

Introduction
Introduction to Toyota Motors Corporation
Just in time and total quality strategy of Toyota
Material requirements planning (MRP)
Enterprise resource planning
Supply chain management: In focus
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

With growing competition among companies in the different industries, an efficient operation is essential for firms to offer quality goods and services at competitive prices. This can be made possible through the adoption of appropriate production technology, having a customer-oriented philosophy, and good management of the company's resources. Also, the ability of the company to develop and maintain competitive advantages depends on what it does well. The effective and efficient management of a company's supply chain is a possible source of competitive advantage as long as the company can manage its better than its competitors.
Change is pervasive not only in people's individual lives but also in business organizations - for profit or not. Change is inevitable; it is also one of the constants in this world. It doesn't matter if an organization is doing something about the impact of change - technological, societal and market - on how they do business. These changes will still impact on them and those who react fastest and most constructively will survive. management theories emerged as a result of change. From the scientific management to centralized organization; from a decentralized management to empowered workforce; and from a knowledge management to learning organization. In order to protect its current status, Toyota Motors Corporation, as they say, must run faster to stay in place. First and foremost, it must embrace change whole heartedly - this means the entire organization as a whole rather than its parts individually.
The above changes unfortunately results to a more cutthroat competition not only in the automobile industry but in all industries affected by these changes. Sustaining status quo or surviving in a highly competitive environment is expensive. Companies, to maintain their standing in the market, have to spend more and more in advertising and other activities to sustain the market's interest in their products and services. This practice is fatal in the long run. Certainly a company can not indefinitely spend its scarce financial resources in activities which can only sustain what is. To survive the company must not only please existing customers, but make new ones too.