Gucci Case Essay Example

Gucci Case Essay Group A Anna Abrell, Lottie Batchelor, Ankita Choudhary, Yuou Du, Marianne Halmela, Martin Zirfas Table of Contents Guccis strategy! The luxury goods sector! Gucci SWOT analysts: Strategic group analysis! Future predictions Is Gucci good at strategy? When Tom Ford was in charge, the business was more design-focused control was centralised there were disputes between Tom De Sol regarding managerial control With the appointment of Robert Polet, control became decentralised and each brand was given direct control over its label appointed relatively unknown designers # very controversial move PPR bought back the 20% stake that LVMH owned, acquired more brands and entered into franchising Although some brands in the Gucci Group portfolio are not very profitable, they still have a high brand equity, which contributes positively towards the strategic advantage # Although Guccis strategy was controversial and risky at the time of its conception, it has influenced current businesses and helped the company become more profitable # Gucci is good at strategy The Luxury Goods Sector Products Apparel, leather goods, shoes, fragrance, cosmetics, Jewellery, watches # Accessory pending to experience most growth, whilst watch cosmetics cons umption has slowed (Bain Company, 2013) Geographic scope USA, Europe, Central South America, Asia, Middle East Buyers High-class middle. class. Intelligent, individualistic individuals with strong values principles. Are demanding, have high expectations a disposable attitude. We will write a custom essay sample on Gucci Case specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Gucci Case specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Gucci Case specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Competitors Kering, LVMH, Richemont Group, smaller niche brands (eg Goyard) Suppliers Specialised, often family-run production sites East Substitutes Wines Spriits Potential entrants High-tech luxury goods Level of profitability but also factories in Asia Middle- Revenues expected to grow 50% faster than global GDP 4-5% growth expectancy for 2013 5-6% annual average growth expectancy through 201 5 (Bain Company, 2013) Long-term profitability Predicted to be 5x larger in 2025 than it was in 1995 Recent likely future changes China to become highest consumer of luxury goods Middle east south-east Asia sales growing Importance of menswear to increase E-Tailers that sell luxury goods to create own-brand luxury good offerings? Aspects that may be affected by competitors, new entrants or potential entrants Importance of customer experience Retail management Talent within the company Threat of new entrants Low Bargaining power of suppliers Medium high High switching costs for industry players Medium to low degree of product differentiation Low supplier substitute availability Low threat of forward integration into the industry High capital requirements High demand-side benefits of scale economies of scale Rivalry among existing competitors Medium High amount of Medium High exit barriers High rival familiarity Medium price competition Threat of substitutes High High offer of attractive priceperformance tradeoff Low switching costs Bargaining power of buyers Medium brand loyalty (more brand loyalty is at the very high end of the luxury sector) High fixed costs Medium to high product standardisation High importance of product Medium to low price sensitivity Stable There is relatively litt le threat of new entrants Longitudinal the industry is not as gravely affected by economic downturn Difficult supply-chain management because there is a trade-off to having sustainable, specialised suppliers # they have higher negotiating power High threat of substitutes Customers are loyal and do not have as much bargaining powers as they do in the high-street sector Rivalry between competitors is not as high as it is in the high- street sector What does this imply about the strategy Gucci should adopt? Strengthen the brand image to combat the threat of substitutes Strengthen the relationship with their suppliers Gucci SWOT Analysts Strengths Worlds third largest luxury retailer Strong managerial presence since the arrival of Polet Brand portfolio is easy to handle Perceived quality value of the leather goods Strengths of brands such as Bottega Venetta, Alexander McQueen etc that have recently established themselves Shift to decentralised control (with 3-year business plans ) Opportunities Expansion into the growing luxury Enter the technological sector Update store concept retail experience more technology Collaborations with other brands celebs Weaknesses Less diversified brand portfolio than other competitives in the sector Residue of cheapened brand image YSL being unprofitable Timing of new strategy implementation Appointment of relatively unknown designers Disruption when three dozen managers left upon Tom Fords leave Robert Polets lack of experience in the ashion sector or luxury markets Threats Economic downturn/instability Imitability fast fashion Less licensing Prada entering into the technology sector LVMH, especially Louis Vuitton Strategic group analysis Hermes Luxury Bottiga Venetta Burberry Celine Givenchy GUCCI LV Kenzo Loewe Traditional Innovative Marc Jacobs Ralph Lauren Longchamp Affordability Michael by Michael Kors How should Gucci adapt its strategy to maintain its position? It might be the time to change the strategy again! Should position themselves to become more innovative make their product offering more varied (include more very high riced, limited items) Refresh their image become more edgy and contemporary ! Eg create cooperations between different brands within the portfolio ! Strengthen the Gucci brand further before adding even more brands to the portfolio ! Celebrity endorsements Prediction for the future of Gucci The brand needs some help to reinvent itself its image through contemporary advertising campaigns, better visual store concepts, social media techniques etc otherwise it may run the risk of losing its brand voice Create a new values Thank you! If you have any questions please feel free to ask

Descriptive Paper About the Eiffel Tower Essay Example

Descriptive Paper About the Eiffel Tower Essay Example Descriptive Paper About the Eiffel Tower Essay Descriptive Paper About the Eiffel Tower Essay I slowly lay back in the grass. The sight in front of me is too much to take in while standing. The wetness of the grass sends a chill running down my spine and along my arms. My sweatshirt cannot warm me from this chill tonight. It is the infamous chill that one receives when something really touches them. When you hear a story and it makes you happy or sad or when someone tells you that they love you. It is a meaningful chill, one you will never forget. All of the lights begin to dim and the people stroll quietly underneath her. She is so beautiful. I had seen pictures and read all about her. I never dreamt I would meet her face to face. I have to admit that I am nervous. What if I do not like her? What if I wish I were somewhere else? These thoughts run in and out of my mind as I lay there. Finally it is our turn to venture up into this great monument. Our decision to take the elevator is a wise one, though I would be taking the stairs when I went down. We pack into the elevator. â€Å"We’re as tight as sardines†, exclaims a really loud lady from the back of the pack. The stench of body odor is almost too overwhelming. The French do not see the need to bath as regularly as us Americans. So once I reach the top, and the doors open, it is a mad dash to the doors. The first one out can breathe all the fresh air. Let’s just say I tied for first. A slight welcoming breeze rustles my hair as my gaze wanders from side to side. Everything looks so small from up here. This huge vastness makes me feel but of a tiny existence. Her beauty brings a bit of rosiness to my cheeks. The moon now smiles down on me when only moments ago it was the sun. How long have I been up here? Is my group looking for me? These questions only visit my mind for a second or so then they are gone like the wind. Perhaps they are carried away by the same wind that so sweetly caresses my skin. I do not mind the occasional bump I receive from a random passerby. This sight is big enough to share with many people. I allow my mind to relax, and the many different languages flow fluently from the mouths of others. Of course I do not understand what they are saying, though it still brings a smile to my face. It almost seems like Dean Martin should be standing beside me, serenading the crowd with his warm Italian words. The shuffling of feet drowns out the voices from the crowd. It is like white noise all around me. I can hear the people but it eventually grows into nothing but a faint whisper. The honking of vehicles and the blaring of sirens seems a million miles away. It is only me, the Eiffel Tower, and the moon standing there. Nothing else matters at that moment. The sight is breathtaking. I drag my hand along the railing. The texture is cold and rough. Many hands have also been drug along this same railing. The feeling of cold metal upon my hand helps to keep me in reality, because at this moment in time it is so easily to just slip off into a dream land. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the sky and the ground. It was almost too much at once. My camera couldn’t take pictures fast enough and I was worried I would drop it too! Which it didn’t matter if I dropped the camera anyways, I could never forget this image. The flashing lights from the cameras should be blinding to me, but they only adds an emphasis to the scene. The flashes appear to be like stars dancing around the moon. The sky is not black tonight, but more like a navy blue. The moon is a deep yellow color. The two colors appear to be made for each other. Almost like one would not be without the other. I tear my eyes away from the view to acknowledge my surroundings for the first time in hours, so it seems. Actually when I look at my phone only ten minutes has passed by. There are several people surrounding me now. Most of them are reacting the same way I did. They are totally perplexed by the Eiffel Tower and her beauty. As I am looking amongst the crowd, one certain couple catches my eye. They are fairly young and I can tell how in love they are. They are definitely in the right place for a romantic night. I can tell from the look on the young man’s face that he seems a little nervous. Of course the young lady doesn’t notice his awkward look because she is too busy looking around. Before I know it the young man gets down on one knee and the girl turns around surprised. A proposal! I have heard of this before but never thought I would get to see someone proposed to on the Eiffel. This clearly was a night to remember. Unfortunately I run into my group leader and he informs me that it is time to leave. My heart drops to my feet. â€Å"But we have only been here twenty minutes,† I told him. He looks at his watch and replies back that we have indeed been there for more than two hours. How quickly the time has flown by! I pucker out my bottom lip and obediently follow my group as we head out. Reluctantly I must leave. This time I do take the stairs. With every step my sadness begins to grow. When will I be back? Will she still be here? These are now the questions that run through my head. The stairs continue to wind downward forever and ever, never seeming to end. Then I see the last stretch of stairway, I walk so slowly. â€Å"We just met,† I proclaim. There was so much I did not get to ask her. I hit the last stair and linger just a minute. Slowly I turn around to gaze at her one last time. With that one last gaze is a promise that I will indeed be back and she will indeed be there when I get back. Only this time I will get to ask her as many questions as I want. â€Å"I will come back,† I promised her.

Strategic Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Strategic Management - Research Paper Example Chinese market offers one of the most lucrative investment avenues owing to the rapid economic progress that it made during the recent past. Etisalat- a UAE based telecom company is planning to make an entry into the Chinese market. Being one of the emerging firms in the world offering telecommunication services, the entry of Etisalat into the Chinese market will mark a new beginning in the history of the firm. However, Chinese market poses different types of risks and offer new and unique opportunities therefore it is necessary that Etisalat must do its homework and assess the situation with the help of different strategic frameworks and models in order to gain significant insight into the Chinese market. Etisalat (firm) started its operations in 1976 and primarily served UAE market by providing telecommunication solutions. Over the period of time, however, it became one of the leading telecom services providers in the Middle East Region and expanded its operations in more than 18 countries of Asia, Africa as well as Middle Eastern countries. Serving a total customer base of 94 million, Etisalat is considered as the 13th largest mobile services provider in the world. Such high level of penetration into the market therefore indicates that the firm has the capability and will to expand into new markets to create further value for its shareholders. The majority shareholder is UAE government. (Huawei) Started as a joint venture between the local partners from UAE and Britain’s International Aeradio Limited, Etisalat is now largely owned by the UAE government with 60% shareholding whereas remaining 40% is publically held. It is also because of this reason that Etisalat held the official patronage of being the only firm in UAE allowed to telecommunication services within the country and outside the country. The official support of the firm therefore further increased its

Fair Shares Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fair Shares - Essay Example Despite (or perhaps because of) your love of all things amphibious, you currently lack the funds to pay each of the others their probable fair share. You will not receive the collection, but wish to receive as much money as possible. You have no knowledge of the amounts in each of the sealed bids, but strongly suspect that Abraham will bid between $10,000.00 and $12,000.00. Soln. As I know that I cannot pay the others their probable fair share and so I won’t be able to win the collection and I also believe that Abraham will bid between $10000 to $12000 than I would think about putting a value that is just below the one that Abraham will put which in this case would be $9999. The reason for putting this value is that it will give me the highest possible fair share without having a chance of winning the items as the fair share that I will get if Abraham bids $10000 and wins it would be: And so the total amount that I will receive would be 2499.75+250.0625=$2749.8125. This is the highest amount that I can win considering that I cannot win the collection and Abraham’s bid will be between 10000 to

Future of the Court POLS640.F.8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Future of the Court POLS640.F.8 - Essay Example For instance, President Eisenhower appointed both Chief Justice William J. Brennan and Justice Earl Warren. He was later disappointed by their broadminded inclinations on the Supreme Court and referred them to as â€Å"the biggest damned-fool mistakes† (Kommers et al 13). A justice can be appointed for life especially if he or she has a long and distinguished career in law and a good record of public service. Majority of justices start their careers as members of congress, aspires of presidency, and judges of lower courts (Gibson and Thurgood 111). There is a need to appoint justices for life when it comes to handling cases in the Supreme Court. This is because the longer the Justices remain in court; the more they become experienced when it comes to making decisions in Court. Deciding on which cases to be heard, requires effective decision making procedures. When petitions are reviewed and summarized by law clerks, the Chief Justice is required to make a good list of petitions to be discussed. In this stage the Justices agree on which petitions to reject and accept for discussion (Kommers et al. 18). The surviving petitions are then discussed in the conference at the beginning of Court’s term. The â€Å"Rule of Four† criterion is used by justices to decide on the cases to be heard. If four Justices disagree to hear a case, then the petition is dismissed (Gibson and Thurgood 85). Cases that qualify to be heard must always have various factors. These factors include the magnitude of the issue raised by the case; clarity of the involved issue; development of a complete and clear record of the case by the lower court; and the case’s potential impacts on the Court’s own prestige and credibility (Kommers et al. 18). Highly experienced Justices are able to make effective voting on cases, as well as, writing opinions. Each Justice reveals his or her views on the case being discussed and indicates how he or she intends to

Arguments for Restricting the Supply Chain to Europe

Arguments for Restricting the Supply Chain to Europe Preface This report describes project work carried out in the Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Science at Sheffield Hallam University between June 2009 and January 2010. The submission of the report is in accordance with the requirements for the award of the degree of MSc Logistics and Supply Chain management under the auspices of the University. ANALYSIS OF THE ARGUMENTS FOR RESTRICTING THE SUPPLY CHAIN TO EUROPE Abstract This dissertation briefly discusses about the supply chain issues faced and their impact with respect to global supply chain. Also discusses about the need for smarter supply chain. In the recent European Union policies and trading benefits, a study is done on why not to trade locally than internationally by utilizing a proper supply chain system. This report analysis will also discuss about the recent developments in supply chain management that have concentrated on the benefit of global supply chain. The project investigates the case for limiting the supply chain to organizations within European Commission. In particular it identifies when it is better to source locally rather than globally. ABBREVIATION BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CIBC Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CIPS Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply CSCMP Council of Supply Chain Management Professional EC European Commission ECB European Central Bank EIA Energy Information Administration EMU Economic and Monetary Union EU European Union FDI Foreign Direct Investment GDP Gross Domestic Product GM General Motors GVA Gross Value Added ICT Information and Communication Technologies IMF International Monetary Fund JIT Just-In-Time NBER National Bureau of Economic Research PLC Product Life Cycle PSC Procurement Strategy Council Q3 Quarter 3 RFID Radio Frequency Identification RSCM Reverse Supply Chain Management SME Small and medium enterprises TEU Twenty-foot equivalent TPR Trade Policy Review UN United Nation WTI West Texas Intermediate WTO World Trade Organization CHAPTER 1: Introduction This chapter discusses about the general agenda of research involved. 1.1 gives an outline about the background of the research. Section 1.2 will state about the objectives of the research. Section 1.3 will state about the scope involved and section 1.4 will present a structure of the dissertation and some brief summary of each chapter. In this section the reader would gain a birds eye image on what the research is about. 1.1 Background of Research The supply chain for the future is not to wait and react as the traditional way but the attitude is â€Å"drive fast†. Because of the demands, new technologies and new capabilities the vision on supply chain needs to be a more monitored and a smarter supply chain is what the world is looking for. After globalization the world has become a single unified market and the needs for trading is effectively high with more collaboration strategy. Due to globalization the recession which started in United States in financial crisis 2007-2009, it had spread across the world because of the inter dependence in global economy which resulted in a major downturn. According to IMF (international Monetary Fund), an economic growth of less than 3% or less is considered to be as a global recession. The recession has hit almost every country across the globe and after experiencing the tough time each one of them wants to self sustain in their internal economy. Because of the outsourcing mostly the products across countries away from Europe, It has been become in a format that Europe have disabled in some fields for the future. Either we would be transferring our industries to make as foreign direct investment in other nations or we would be making products based on our requirements in their specialized fields which would be in more dependent criteria as which cant be produced in house. Manufacturing companies and the business nowadays is going down and they are forced to think for a new way to compete and to produce products in cost effective manner and more customer oriented. The survival had become an important issue for the industries along with competition. Now it has an impact on the unemployment as because of companies started to move their new units in other countries because of cheap labor and availability of resources. Which in turn is a huge lose for the country and for the future as it would be affecting the countries growth as a whole. There are number of other strategies that have made the companies to go for a change in supply chain to get rid of various issues they experienced in the past. The mobile industry such as Nokia produces mobiles with various advance technologies and manufacture across the globe. The theft in the technology and the innovations of it has lead the local Asian market for an availability a far cheaper mobile with all the technologies of Nokia in local brand names. This makes the original manufacturer a vulnerable market and looses the value for product. Similarly, the Hongqi HQD is the car model which was released by manufacturer of china which is as same as Rolls Royce Phantom model. In automobile sector, Daewoo Matiz verses Chery QQ, Vauxhall Frontera verses Landwind, Honda CRV verses Laibao SRV, Mercedes C verses Geely Merrie 300, Neoplan Starliner verses Zonda A9 (Bus Model), Smart verses er. Chinese Smart, Toyota Prado verses Dadi Shuttle, Nissan XTrail verses Greatwall Sing, BMW 7 ve rses BYD F6 are the very interesting copied models far across every company of the worlds luxurious cars been produced in China in a large scale industries with conveniently a lower price. The interesting news is all that these cars are not only look alike the same in appearance and aesthetic, but also the performance and quality records is being similar to the original ones. The international court which handles these cases results in vain for the car manufacturers as the design produced has some variation than the copyrighted original ones. It crosses from automobiles, electronics, computers, pharma industries, telecom industries, electrical items, aerospace etc. The original origin company loses a very high investment in research and development to produce a new product and the rate of return for them takes ages than the actual predicted period. Shutting down or transferring the production plant has also become a part for industries. For example, Vestas, a wind power manufacturin g unit had built a new wind turbine production plant in China due to the local market demand and thereby keeping business profitable. The purpose and motivation for me to study in this topic is because I had been studying the various reasons behind the problems that the companies faced during recession and hard to survive criteria with more problems leaving them to bankruptcy. Even the giant manufacturers in automobiles such as General motors, Ford etc, were one of the victims who were about to face the bankruptcy. The other reasons includes the design theft, information leakage, irresponsive supply chain strategy, poor visibility in supply chain, vendor management, gap between supplier and customer in 3Ts (time, Transparency, Trust) , degree of control, responsiveness (change in market demand), lead time issues, global CO2 emissions, etc are the other threatening factors what the Business face. Hence, I decided to come up with a further study and development of my knowledge on these areas and come out with a report regarding the various controls that management could be able to gain to trade within near shore to s urvive and what are the strategies can be adopted to restrict the supply chain within Europe. This study has basically two main elements which deal about the various past experiences faced by the companies in sourcing across supply chain as well as future supply chain needs and the benefits and positive factors that show a better scope in near future for European market. It deals with the various concepts of supply chain, relationship management strategy in sourcing, and some strategies followed by world class companies. I believe that this dissertation would be useful as a reference for sourcing companies in future as well. Student might gain some benefits from this dissertation as this helps students to further understand the theories and other concepts involved in supply chain that have been dealt while considering some real case examples. 1.2 Objective of Research The aims of this dissertation are basically: 1) To analyze the current and past strategies in supply chain issues 2) To analyze about the expectation for future supply chain 3) To analyze the about the advantages in trading within European Union 4) To analyze the impacts of recession on Europe and UK 5) To study the various techniques used by the world class companies to overcome the supply chain issues 1.3 Scope of Research The scope has been narrowed down to European market in this research. The area of research has been identified after a deep analysis on the literature review. The literature review gives a general idea and background about the various supply chain requirements about the past and for future. The study is discussing about history of the European Union and trading benefits. The comparisons of the advantages and the benefits that could be available in the Europe have also been discussed. The limitations are that it is a general idea about the various issues in supply chain and a theory behind supply chain. The scope environment is for the very big companies who has already started practicing near sourcing and for the medium size companies. It would not be a better option of trading for the small companies. 1.4 Structure of thesis Chapter 1: Introduction The background of this dissertation will be introduced in this chapter. The objectives of the research are stated. Scope of the project is identified and the structure of the thesis is presented. The reader can obtain an overview of the thesis from this chapter. Chapter 2: Supply chain and Issues in Supply chain All the relevant information and materials has been gain from journals, articles, news, magazines, reference books and internet will be summarized, concluded and organized in a systematic way in both chapter 2 and chapter 3. In this chapter, general information about supply chain and Issues in supply chain faced will be presented. About the supply chain, smart supply chain, traditional issues, credit crunch impact on supply chain, various issues faced by the current and past sourcing business faced are discussed. The contents has discussed about the past and the present scenario. Chapter 3: European Union benefits and sourcing strategies This chapter mainly concentrates on the EU benefits provided for its fellow country members and the various advantages it has for the near and long future. The discussion about the logistical issues, Impact of recession on EU has also been made. Reader can identify a general idea about the benefits of EU for the future in trading within Europe. Chapter 4: Methodology This chapter discusses about the research design and methodology employed in this research. This report would carry based on the study on articles, journals, up to date news and reference books. In the literature review part, all the relevant information is compiled based on the summary of reading of reference books, journals and articles. In the case study part, several case studies of strategies adopted by world class manufacturers to counter the recession will be discussed. The strategies included the manufacturing strategies and marketing strategies. Chapter 5: Case study and Discussion In this chapter, several strategies adopted by various world class manufacturers are presented and some discussion will be made. The discussion part includes the understanding and comparison of the literature review with the case studies towards the strategy. Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendation This chapter will summarize this whole dissertation and point out several vital of the research. Limitation in this research will be carried out and recommendation for future research would be made. Chapter 7: References All the sources for this dissertation will be arranged according to alphabetical order in this chapter. Readers can refer to the sources for further study. CHAPTER 2: Supply chain and Issues in supply chain This chapter discusses mainly is to present some literature review and theory from journals, conferences, magazines, text books and online news. As it is literature review all the latest information is quoted and are compiled from internet. Section 2.1 share with a general introduction on supply chain management and the traditional supply chain management worries. Section 2.2 addresses the smart supply chain and the expectations in the smart supply chain and need for it. Section 2.3 cope for global supply chain issues faced while recession and before. Section 2.4 handles the issues in supply chain faced. 2.1 Supply Chain Management As per CIPS the definition of Supply chain could be defined as â€Å"The supply chain conceptually covers the entire physical process from obtaining the raw materials through all process steps until the finished product reaches the end consumer. Most supply chains consist of many separate companies, each linked by virtue of their part in satisfying the specific need of the end consumer.† Supply chain management may be thought of as the management of all activities aimed at satisfying the end consumer; as such it covers almost all activity within the organization. It has been suggested that it incorporates a number of key success factors which include a clear procurement strategy, effective control systems, and development of expertise. Supply chain management therefore represents and reflects a holistic approach to the operation of the organization. As per Stevens.J (1989), supply chain could be defined as a system whose constituent parts include material suppliers, production facilities, distribution services and customers linked together via the feed forward flow of materials and the feedback flow of information. Supply chain management is the oversight of materials, information and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. The efficient supply chain management system is the one which concentrates in reducing inventory. The flow in supply chain is divided in to three main streams: the product flow, the information flow, the finances flow. 2.2.1 Traditional Supply chain issues Supply chain is not a very new term in business and management. Since the day from which trading begun in the world, supply chain has been a part of the business. The overcoming of the current issues and risks involved has become a part of supply chain management challenges. The four level supply chain issues stand in upstream from market place via the retailer, downstream flow activity, distribution and warehouse to factory and material flow in the form of products. There are more driving forces in a supply chain based on the industry because of the value adding operations involved. Based on (Towill, D.R., 1992), the light of information available the issues what a supply chain would get struck are perceived demand for products, which may be just a forecast from sales department, a production or value added process, information on the current performance, disturbance owing to machine / equipment or breakdowns, decision points, where the information is brought into action, transmission lags, decision rules, which is taken based on various internal decisions made in company for changing stock levels, placing new orders, etc. The basic problem in supply chain is the demand forecasting. The operations in the supply chain gets complicated by the demand forecast (Forrester, J.W. (1961)), The smaller the lead time has also a very important and critical role to play in determining the stability of supply chain (Inger et al.), especially as Companies move into just-in-time (JIT) operations. In practice JIT pushes the effects of unpredictability upstream in the supply chain (Mallman, D. (1995)). Apart from the lead time cycle time involved plays a very critical role. In a discussion of Dr. Carlos Mena, from Cranfield University, explains the longer distance movement is the more the cycle time involved in the supply chain. Where the problems faced by the companies include the degree of control, lead time issues, additional inventory, and most importantly the cash tied up in a single place for a very long time which could be used by the companies for various other investments and the fluctuating interest rates acr oss the companies for its money value is an interesting issue to concentrate. Other problems also include the responsiveness of the market that involved in the cycle time and delays or because of the excessive cycle time makes a very big problem and leads to trade off. The other issues faced in the traditional supply chain as per the report by S.Mehra on International journal of production research(Aug 2005), are the strategy involved in procurement as competition on product and price, driving inventory out of supply chain, complicated Communication towards supplier making complex Supplier relationships, higher customer expectations and higher variability in demand, Contract complication leading to huge loss of business, bad Anticipation in supply chain, bringing more suppliers and going for new products are getting more complicated, achieving the entire supply chain visibility and responsibility of suppliers and customers towards the requirements, Responding quickly and critical understanding on the business on contribution on revenue and Real time information sharing. 2.2.2 Smart Supply Chain The smart supply chain is the answer what the companies are expecting for because of the issues in supply chain faced by them and the need to go for a permanent solution. They have become used to supply chains day to day challenge because of the repeating issues. The smarter supply chain is nothing but monitoring the entire supply chain design with more focus on transparency in entire chain with more interconnected in network and relatively a good level of collaboration with supplier and customer. The following are some of the components of the smart supply chain and some discussion on its advantages have been cited. Supply chain reengineering: Supply chain problems are acute with long lead time replenishment and maintaining a believable and tolerable customer service in product availability. The supply chain reengineering is the key process of identifying and designating specific tasks to the staff by making a complete involvement of staff with a two way communication in terms of openness from management. It is atomizing the cost and time over improving the customer experience. Modifying the bad practices by identifying from the experience is a fundamental thing. Reducing cost is only key term in order to maintain and grow with margins in the current scenario. Considering the facts from the customer perspective and designing towards the source of the goods. It is done by gathering data, drawing the process map ideally starting from the customer point of view defining the problem statement, specific goal and measurable objective. A structured decision making system should be made based on prioritizing the resources and cost based on the fine target specified in the problem statement. These will give an idea of the actions to eliminate or to restructure the process for obtaining more efficient organizational structures. Challenges in current thinking give a more insight into the problem and which gives a prioritized list of alternatives to face the challenges. Planning state of identify ing the causes and preventive actions should be analyzed to restructure the design or process model recommending the risk considerations. . The hardest part of reengineering is not process redesigning it but to implement it. It involves change in culture and behavior not assistance. Active tracking is needed and degree of seriousness only defines a success or failure scenario in redesigning. As per the case study done by Littlewoods chain stores, the initiatives taken on reengineering includes a strong focus on customer management, redesign of the entire supply chain network from suppliers to stores in replacing the distribution chains and cross docking â€Å"flow through†, rebalancing the supplier base from far east to local procurement for quicker lead time and quick response, making a strong partnership with suppliers, evaluation of transportation costs by rationalizing the practices to single carried containers, reassessment of physical handling patterns, new design for better tracking and managing both product volumes and financial implications providing a scope to accelerate product flow in a more informed and cost effective way, an organizational aligned way and focus on the entire supply chain of improving the total performance and customer needs. Supply chain E-Procurement As a major part of supply chain management (Leenders and Fearon, 1997; Monczka et al., 1997), supply chains in procurement are traditionally supported by information technology. The main idea of e-procurement is to include the end-user (requester) in the procurement process via an electronic multi-vendor catalog and to close the process gaps (e.g. re-entry of data) in the supply chain for indirect goods (Neef, 2001). According to Dolmetsch et al., (2000), e-procurement deals with the management of supply chains in the procurement of indirect goods are based on Internet information systems and also e-markets. The e-procurement reduces the operational functions, with increased efficiencies regarding the process and procurement costs. (Aberdeen Group, 2001); According to these studies,(Eyholzer and Hunziker, 2000; Arthur Andersen Business Consulting, 2001). e-procurement enables companies to decentralize operational procurement processes and centralize strategic procurement processes as a result of the higher supply chain transparency provided by e-procurement systems. The use of technologies like Internet in procurement is concentrated mainly in realizing the needs and to react faster and in more efficient operational procurement processes which bypass the purchasing department and enable those people to concentrate on more strategic tasks (Giunipero and Sawchuk, 2000;). In e-procurement, end users could directly search for and select products in electronic catalogs which are authorized and negotiated by strategic procurement in advance example- E-bay, Amazon etc. The issues are really a challenge in identifying the right e-procurement strategy which is crucial to the success by selecting the right commodity of a companys solution. A second strategy is one which uses outwardly hosting catalogs on a suppliers website is also could be called the punch out mechanism. The punch out scenario helps customers to access external catalogs via their own e-procurement system (Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). A third strategy would be the use of external multi-vendor product catalogs that are hosted on electronic marketplaces. Similarly, implementing an e-procurement system in isolation without considering the entire procurement process and the systems involved will not be sufficient (Deise et al., 2000). Technological approach With todays emphasis on the need for improvements on cost cutting and streamlining expenses, many companies are looking out for improving their bottom lines with more effective supply chains. Technology implementation is a key term which could be used in supply chain to relate and improve the supply chain beneficiaries. By understanding the process clearly involved in supply chain processes makes supplier collaboration on a whole leading a better job in avoiding risks and much lesser repetition of mistakes. Usage of technologies like RFID, simulation, better communication software etc, leading to an advantaged scenario in understanding and maintaining supply chain visibility, online tracking, traffic management, warehouse management, reporting and analysis, order management and labor management. In the Supply chain digest 2007, the various supply chain technologies and strategies that could be implemented in supply chain are cited. E-auctions for bidding contract, Labor management system in distribution a collaboration of software, engineering and mindset to improve the logistics productivity Spend management visibility software used to calculate the spending of company, when, where and with what vendors providing the expensive vendor management Demand management by utilizing the use of technological tools, integrating the demand and sales side of the company by unifying the financial and operations plan. The consistent feedback on a regular basis brings about a structural demand. Supplier portals providing a demand visibility from purchase order to advance ship notice and generating an inbound shipment management by providing barcodes, RFID or other automated tracking technologies. Network optimization supporting global sourcing strategies, more short time inventory planning, new product introductions, sales and operations planning could be optimally balanced. Transportation management system software technologies used by shippers to calculate, plan and execute connection electronically with carriers by reducing costs optimal mode of transport selection, carrier assignment, consolidation of shipment and use of continuous moves in freight. Strategic / Global sourcing More integrated approach towards supplier selection and procurement considering the facts of time, cost, purchasing power by considering the strategies tied to off shoring and global sourcing strategies. Wireless in warehouse usage of wireless technologies inside the warehousing leads to a clear picture of the stock / inventory available and helps in calculating the cost involved in storage and money as inventory. As well as picking in warehouse should be automated where possible, so more visibility is available. Yard management system and Dock door scheduling It gives a visibility in yard inventory and schedules, executes on inbound and outbound docks. Reverse Supply Chain management (RSCM) The Council of Logistics Management defined reverse supply chain as the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal. RSCM is defined as the effective and efficient management of the series of activities required to retrieve a product from a customer in order to either dispose of it or recover value (Prahinski and KocabasoÄÅ ¸lu , 2006; Defee et al., 2009). Fleischmann et al., (2000) base the growing importance of RSCM basically on agreements for excess products and extended producer responsibilities. As per Harvard Business review 2002, In general, the companies that create what so called as a closed-loop system, have enjoyed most success with RSCM by having a close coordination in their forward supply chain. For example, they make product design and manufacturing decisions with eventual recycling and reconditioning in mind. The definition of reverse logistics from an environmental perspective in the forward supply chain is focus on taking return of recyclable or reusable products and materials. Reverse logistics, flow of materials from the customer to forward supply chain, is the least studied operational function (Sarkis, 2003). 2.3 Global supply chain issues Oil pricing The growth in oil price will always lead to a substantial slow down in international trade because of the transportation dependency on oil market. According to the report of EIA (Energy Information Administration) (2007) the 96% of the US transportation works on the fuels, 43% of the industries runs on the fuels, 21% of the residential homes and commercials and 3% of the electric power works with the help of the fuels. This means that the US economy is related to each other and this made an impact in all areas due to the increase in oil price. In the June 2008 the price of WTI reached the maximum and that was 145 US dollars per barrel the all time highest price which US market has seen. So this made the price for the gasoline high in July 2008 to 4.10$. Based on a CIBC report 2008, the trade price increases by 1 % in every increase in 1$ for a barrel. Because of the increase in oil price directly affects the wages to decline and increased product cost. The increase in oil prices lead s to elimination of importers and need to go for local suppliers. The analysis of rising oil prices would impact profitability as well as the core supply chain design. The impact for a supply chain design would lead to tradeoffs among transportation, inventory, and distribution and in all sections of supply chain. By Dr Bassam Fattouh (2007), the volatility of oil prices had lead to a challenge for the supply chain and could slow down economic growth, also can cause inflation pressures, can Create global imbalances, Volatility increases uncertainty discourages much needed investment in oil sector, tight market conditions raised fears about oil scarcity and concerns about energy security. Collaboration The measurement of supply chain collaboration has received a little attention to date (Sanders and Premus, 2005: Jap, 1999: Injazz and Paulraj, 2004). At about that time, an ongoing discussion emerged that supply chain management should be built around the integration of trading partners (Barratt and Oliveira, 2001), the sharing of information and benefits (McLaren, 2004) and the collaboration of organizations (Patrakosol and Olson, 2006). Collaborative Planning is a first step on the road to Extended Supply Chain Management with specific customers It has a seamless fit with PSC (Procurement Strategy Council) strategy and as such is an excellent opportunity to create Customer Intimacy Through follow up implementations, we can created the chances to start gaining the first Business Benefits. Economist Intelligence unit (2006) says that the cooperation of the government and UN to designate the standards are one of the key issues faced by the SMEs. Manufacturers are more concerned about the interoperability than the responds overall. A majority of survey results cites that trust in payment would be certain as a major factor that assists the companies to integrate their operations with global supply chain. In a report of ECOlogistics (2007) explains the communication gap in between the supplier and customer leads to problems in scalable issues regarding quality. The collaboration missing of the government regarding with the trading sector leads to complication in global supply network. Variation in theme of a support by the market incentives, and networks of local, social, political and moral enforcement leading to missing in regulatory systems. There â€Å"glocal† needs to be implemented, which means the global standards in the local market, Which in turn produces cost effective system with improved standards. Public Private Partnerships in Standards Compliance Arguments for Restricting the Supply Chain to Europe Arguments for Restricting the Supply Chain to Europe Preface This report describes project work carried out in the Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Science at Sheffield Hallam University between June 2009 and January 2010. The submission of the report is in accordance with the requirements for the award of the degree of MSc Logistics and Supply Chain management under the auspices of the University. ANALYSIS OF THE ARGUMENTS FOR RESTRICTING THE SUPPLY CHAIN TO EUROPE Abstract This dissertation briefly discusses about the supply chain issues faced and their impact with respect to global supply chain. Also discusses about the need for smarter supply chain. In the recent European Union policies and trading benefits, a study is done on why not to trade locally than internationally by utilizing a proper supply chain system. This report analysis will also discuss about the recent developments in supply chain management that have concentrated on the benefit of global supply chain. The project investigates the case for limiting the supply chain to organizations within European Commission. In particular it identifies when it is better to source locally rather than globally. ABBREVIATION BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CIBC Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CIPS Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply CSCMP Council of Supply Chain Management Professional EC European Commission ECB European Central Bank EIA Energy Information Administration EMU Economic and Monetary Union EU European Union FDI Foreign Direct Investment GDP Gross Domestic Product GM General Motors GVA Gross Value Added ICT Information and Communication Technologies IMF International Monetary Fund JIT Just-In-Time NBER National Bureau of Economic Research PLC Product Life Cycle PSC Procurement Strategy Council Q3 Quarter 3 RFID Radio Frequency Identification RSCM Reverse Supply Chain Management SME Small and medium enterprises TEU Twenty-foot equivalent TPR Trade Policy Review UN United Nation WTI West Texas Intermediate WTO World Trade Organization CHAPTER 1: Introduction This chapter discusses about the general agenda of research involved. 1.1 gives an outline about the background of the research. Section 1.2 will state about the objectives of the research. Section 1.3 will state about the scope involved and section 1.4 will present a structure of the dissertation and some brief summary of each chapter. In this section the reader would gain a birds eye image on what the research is about. 1.1 Background of Research The supply chain for the future is not to wait and react as the traditional way but the attitude is â€Å"drive fast†. Because of the demands, new technologies and new capabilities the vision on supply chain needs to be a more monitored and a smarter supply chain is what the world is looking for. After globalization the world has become a single unified market and the needs for trading is effectively high with more collaboration strategy. Due to globalization the recession which started in United States in financial crisis 2007-2009, it had spread across the world because of the inter dependence in global economy which resulted in a major downturn. According to IMF (international Monetary Fund), an economic growth of less than 3% or less is considered to be as a global recession. The recession has hit almost every country across the globe and after experiencing the tough time each one of them wants to self sustain in their internal economy. Because of the outsourcing mostly the products across countries away from Europe, It has been become in a format that Europe have disabled in some fields for the future. Either we would be transferring our industries to make as foreign direct investment in other nations or we would be making products based on our requirements in their specialized fields which would be in more dependent criteria as which cant be produced in house. Manufacturing companies and the business nowadays is going down and they are forced to think for a new way to compete and to produce products in cost effective manner and more customer oriented. The survival had become an important issue for the industries along with competition. Now it has an impact on the unemployment as because of companies started to move their new units in other countries because of cheap labor and availability of resources. Which in turn is a huge lose for the country and for the future as it would be affecting the countries growth as a whole. There are number of other strategies that have made the companies to go for a change in supply chain to get rid of various issues they experienced in the past. The mobile industry such as Nokia produces mobiles with various advance technologies and manufacture across the globe. The theft in the technology and the innovations of it has lead the local Asian market for an availability a far cheaper mobile with all the technologies of Nokia in local brand names. This makes the original manufacturer a vulnerable market and looses the value for product. Similarly, the Hongqi HQD is the car model which was released by manufacturer of china which is as same as Rolls Royce Phantom model. In automobile sector, Daewoo Matiz verses Chery QQ, Vauxhall Frontera verses Landwind, Honda CRV verses Laibao SRV, Mercedes C verses Geely Merrie 300, Neoplan Starliner verses Zonda A9 (Bus Model), Smart verses er. Chinese Smart, Toyota Prado verses Dadi Shuttle, Nissan XTrail verses Greatwall Sing, BMW 7 ve rses BYD F6 are the very interesting copied models far across every company of the worlds luxurious cars been produced in China in a large scale industries with conveniently a lower price. The interesting news is all that these cars are not only look alike the same in appearance and aesthetic, but also the performance and quality records is being similar to the original ones. The international court which handles these cases results in vain for the car manufacturers as the design produced has some variation than the copyrighted original ones. It crosses from automobiles, electronics, computers, pharma industries, telecom industries, electrical items, aerospace etc. The original origin company loses a very high investment in research and development to produce a new product and the rate of return for them takes ages than the actual predicted period. Shutting down or transferring the production plant has also become a part for industries. For example, Vestas, a wind power manufacturin g unit had built a new wind turbine production plant in China due to the local market demand and thereby keeping business profitable. The purpose and motivation for me to study in this topic is because I had been studying the various reasons behind the problems that the companies faced during recession and hard to survive criteria with more problems leaving them to bankruptcy. Even the giant manufacturers in automobiles such as General motors, Ford etc, were one of the victims who were about to face the bankruptcy. The other reasons includes the design theft, information leakage, irresponsive supply chain strategy, poor visibility in supply chain, vendor management, gap between supplier and customer in 3Ts (time, Transparency, Trust) , degree of control, responsiveness (change in market demand), lead time issues, global CO2 emissions, etc are the other threatening factors what the Business face. Hence, I decided to come up with a further study and development of my knowledge on these areas and come out with a report regarding the various controls that management could be able to gain to trade within near shore to s urvive and what are the strategies can be adopted to restrict the supply chain within Europe. This study has basically two main elements which deal about the various past experiences faced by the companies in sourcing across supply chain as well as future supply chain needs and the benefits and positive factors that show a better scope in near future for European market. It deals with the various concepts of supply chain, relationship management strategy in sourcing, and some strategies followed by world class companies. I believe that this dissertation would be useful as a reference for sourcing companies in future as well. Student might gain some benefits from this dissertation as this helps students to further understand the theories and other concepts involved in supply chain that have been dealt while considering some real case examples. 1.2 Objective of Research The aims of this dissertation are basically: 1) To analyze the current and past strategies in supply chain issues 2) To analyze about the expectation for future supply chain 3) To analyze the about the advantages in trading within European Union 4) To analyze the impacts of recession on Europe and UK 5) To study the various techniques used by the world class companies to overcome the supply chain issues 1.3 Scope of Research The scope has been narrowed down to European market in this research. The area of research has been identified after a deep analysis on the literature review. The literature review gives a general idea and background about the various supply chain requirements about the past and for future. The study is discussing about history of the European Union and trading benefits. The comparisons of the advantages and the benefits that could be available in the Europe have also been discussed. The limitations are that it is a general idea about the various issues in supply chain and a theory behind supply chain. The scope environment is for the very big companies who has already started practicing near sourcing and for the medium size companies. It would not be a better option of trading for the small companies. 1.4 Structure of thesis Chapter 1: Introduction The background of this dissertation will be introduced in this chapter. The objectives of the research are stated. Scope of the project is identified and the structure of the thesis is presented. The reader can obtain an overview of the thesis from this chapter. Chapter 2: Supply chain and Issues in Supply chain All the relevant information and materials has been gain from journals, articles, news, magazines, reference books and internet will be summarized, concluded and organized in a systematic way in both chapter 2 and chapter 3. In this chapter, general information about supply chain and Issues in supply chain faced will be presented. About the supply chain, smart supply chain, traditional issues, credit crunch impact on supply chain, various issues faced by the current and past sourcing business faced are discussed. The contents has discussed about the past and the present scenario. Chapter 3: European Union benefits and sourcing strategies This chapter mainly concentrates on the EU benefits provided for its fellow country members and the various advantages it has for the near and long future. The discussion about the logistical issues, Impact of recession on EU has also been made. Reader can identify a general idea about the benefits of EU for the future in trading within Europe. Chapter 4: Methodology This chapter discusses about the research design and methodology employed in this research. This report would carry based on the study on articles, journals, up to date news and reference books. In the literature review part, all the relevant information is compiled based on the summary of reading of reference books, journals and articles. In the case study part, several case studies of strategies adopted by world class manufacturers to counter the recession will be discussed. The strategies included the manufacturing strategies and marketing strategies. Chapter 5: Case study and Discussion In this chapter, several strategies adopted by various world class manufacturers are presented and some discussion will be made. The discussion part includes the understanding and comparison of the literature review with the case studies towards the strategy. Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendation This chapter will summarize this whole dissertation and point out several vital of the research. Limitation in this research will be carried out and recommendation for future research would be made. Chapter 7: References All the sources for this dissertation will be arranged according to alphabetical order in this chapter. Readers can refer to the sources for further study. CHAPTER 2: Supply chain and Issues in supply chain This chapter discusses mainly is to present some literature review and theory from journals, conferences, magazines, text books and online news. As it is literature review all the latest information is quoted and are compiled from internet. Section 2.1 share with a general introduction on supply chain management and the traditional supply chain management worries. Section 2.2 addresses the smart supply chain and the expectations in the smart supply chain and need for it. Section 2.3 cope for global supply chain issues faced while recession and before. Section 2.4 handles the issues in supply chain faced. 2.1 Supply Chain Management As per CIPS the definition of Supply chain could be defined as â€Å"The supply chain conceptually covers the entire physical process from obtaining the raw materials through all process steps until the finished product reaches the end consumer. Most supply chains consist of many separate companies, each linked by virtue of their part in satisfying the specific need of the end consumer.† Supply chain management may be thought of as the management of all activities aimed at satisfying the end consumer; as such it covers almost all activity within the organization. It has been suggested that it incorporates a number of key success factors which include a clear procurement strategy, effective control systems, and development of expertise. Supply chain management therefore represents and reflects a holistic approach to the operation of the organization. As per Stevens.J (1989), supply chain could be defined as a system whose constituent parts include material suppliers, production facilities, distribution services and customers linked together via the feed forward flow of materials and the feedback flow of information. Supply chain management is the oversight of materials, information and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. The efficient supply chain management system is the one which concentrates in reducing inventory. The flow in supply chain is divided in to three main streams: the product flow, the information flow, the finances flow. 2.2.1 Traditional Supply chain issues Supply chain is not a very new term in business and management. Since the day from which trading begun in the world, supply chain has been a part of the business. The overcoming of the current issues and risks involved has become a part of supply chain management challenges. The four level supply chain issues stand in upstream from market place via the retailer, downstream flow activity, distribution and warehouse to factory and material flow in the form of products. There are more driving forces in a supply chain based on the industry because of the value adding operations involved. Based on (Towill, D.R., 1992), the light of information available the issues what a supply chain would get struck are perceived demand for products, which may be just a forecast from sales department, a production or value added process, information on the current performance, disturbance owing to machine / equipment or breakdowns, decision points, where the information is brought into action, transmission lags, decision rules, which is taken based on various internal decisions made in company for changing stock levels, placing new orders, etc. The basic problem in supply chain is the demand forecasting. The operations in the supply chain gets complicated by the demand forecast (Forrester, J.W. (1961)), The smaller the lead time has also a very important and critical role to play in determining the stability of supply chain (Inger et al.), especially as Companies move into just-in-time (JIT) operations. In practice JIT pushes the effects of unpredictability upstream in the supply chain (Mallman, D. (1995)). Apart from the lead time cycle time involved plays a very critical role. In a discussion of Dr. Carlos Mena, from Cranfield University, explains the longer distance movement is the more the cycle time involved in the supply chain. Where the problems faced by the companies include the degree of control, lead time issues, additional inventory, and most importantly the cash tied up in a single place for a very long time which could be used by the companies for various other investments and the fluctuating interest rates acr oss the companies for its money value is an interesting issue to concentrate. Other problems also include the responsiveness of the market that involved in the cycle time and delays or because of the excessive cycle time makes a very big problem and leads to trade off. The other issues faced in the traditional supply chain as per the report by S.Mehra on International journal of production research(Aug 2005), are the strategy involved in procurement as competition on product and price, driving inventory out of supply chain, complicated Communication towards supplier making complex Supplier relationships, higher customer expectations and higher variability in demand, Contract complication leading to huge loss of business, bad Anticipation in supply chain, bringing more suppliers and going for new products are getting more complicated, achieving the entire supply chain visibility and responsibility of suppliers and customers towards the requirements, Responding quickly and critical understanding on the business on contribution on revenue and Real time information sharing. 2.2.2 Smart Supply Chain The smart supply chain is the answer what the companies are expecting for because of the issues in supply chain faced by them and the need to go for a permanent solution. They have become used to supply chains day to day challenge because of the repeating issues. The smarter supply chain is nothing but monitoring the entire supply chain design with more focus on transparency in entire chain with more interconnected in network and relatively a good level of collaboration with supplier and customer. The following are some of the components of the smart supply chain and some discussion on its advantages have been cited. Supply chain reengineering: Supply chain problems are acute with long lead time replenishment and maintaining a believable and tolerable customer service in product availability. The supply chain reengineering is the key process of identifying and designating specific tasks to the staff by making a complete involvement of staff with a two way communication in terms of openness from management. It is atomizing the cost and time over improving the customer experience. Modifying the bad practices by identifying from the experience is a fundamental thing. Reducing cost is only key term in order to maintain and grow with margins in the current scenario. Considering the facts from the customer perspective and designing towards the source of the goods. It is done by gathering data, drawing the process map ideally starting from the customer point of view defining the problem statement, specific goal and measurable objective. A structured decision making system should be made based on prioritizing the resources and cost based on the fine target specified in the problem statement. These will give an idea of the actions to eliminate or to restructure the process for obtaining more efficient organizational structures. Challenges in current thinking give a more insight into the problem and which gives a prioritized list of alternatives to face the challenges. Planning state of identify ing the causes and preventive actions should be analyzed to restructure the design or process model recommending the risk considerations. . The hardest part of reengineering is not process redesigning it but to implement it. It involves change in culture and behavior not assistance. Active tracking is needed and degree of seriousness only defines a success or failure scenario in redesigning. As per the case study done by Littlewoods chain stores, the initiatives taken on reengineering includes a strong focus on customer management, redesign of the entire supply chain network from suppliers to stores in replacing the distribution chains and cross docking â€Å"flow through†, rebalancing the supplier base from far east to local procurement for quicker lead time and quick response, making a strong partnership with suppliers, evaluation of transportation costs by rationalizing the practices to single carried containers, reassessment of physical handling patterns, new design for better tracking and managing both product volumes and financial implications providing a scope to accelerate product flow in a more informed and cost effective way, an organizational aligned way and focus on the entire supply chain of improving the total performance and customer needs. Supply chain E-Procurement As a major part of supply chain management (Leenders and Fearon, 1997; Monczka et al., 1997), supply chains in procurement are traditionally supported by information technology. The main idea of e-procurement is to include the end-user (requester) in the procurement process via an electronic multi-vendor catalog and to close the process gaps (e.g. re-entry of data) in the supply chain for indirect goods (Neef, 2001). According to Dolmetsch et al., (2000), e-procurement deals with the management of supply chains in the procurement of indirect goods are based on Internet information systems and also e-markets. The e-procurement reduces the operational functions, with increased efficiencies regarding the process and procurement costs. (Aberdeen Group, 2001); According to these studies,(Eyholzer and Hunziker, 2000; Arthur Andersen Business Consulting, 2001). e-procurement enables companies to decentralize operational procurement processes and centralize strategic procurement processes as a result of the higher supply chain transparency provided by e-procurement systems. The use of technologies like Internet in procurement is concentrated mainly in realizing the needs and to react faster and in more efficient operational procurement processes which bypass the purchasing department and enable those people to concentrate on more strategic tasks (Giunipero and Sawchuk, 2000;). In e-procurement, end users could directly search for and select products in electronic catalogs which are authorized and negotiated by strategic procurement in advance example- E-bay, Amazon etc. The issues are really a challenge in identifying the right e-procurement strategy which is crucial to the success by selecting the right commodity of a companys solution. A second strategy is one which uses outwardly hosting catalogs on a suppliers website is also could be called the punch out mechanism. The punch out scenario helps customers to access external catalogs via their own e-procurement system (Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). A third strategy would be the use of external multi-vendor product catalogs that are hosted on electronic marketplaces. Similarly, implementing an e-procurement system in isolation without considering the entire procurement process and the systems involved will not be sufficient (Deise et al., 2000). Technological approach With todays emphasis on the need for improvements on cost cutting and streamlining expenses, many companies are looking out for improving their bottom lines with more effective supply chains. Technology implementation is a key term which could be used in supply chain to relate and improve the supply chain beneficiaries. By understanding the process clearly involved in supply chain processes makes supplier collaboration on a whole leading a better job in avoiding risks and much lesser repetition of mistakes. Usage of technologies like RFID, simulation, better communication software etc, leading to an advantaged scenario in understanding and maintaining supply chain visibility, online tracking, traffic management, warehouse management, reporting and analysis, order management and labor management. In the Supply chain digest 2007, the various supply chain technologies and strategies that could be implemented in supply chain are cited. E-auctions for bidding contract, Labor management system in distribution a collaboration of software, engineering and mindset to improve the logistics productivity Spend management visibility software used to calculate the spending of company, when, where and with what vendors providing the expensive vendor management Demand management by utilizing the use of technological tools, integrating the demand and sales side of the company by unifying the financial and operations plan. The consistent feedback on a regular basis brings about a structural demand. Supplier portals providing a demand visibility from purchase order to advance ship notice and generating an inbound shipment management by providing barcodes, RFID or other automated tracking technologies. Network optimization supporting global sourcing strategies, more short time inventory planning, new product introductions, sales and operations planning could be optimally balanced. Transportation management system software technologies used by shippers to calculate, plan and execute connection electronically with carriers by reducing costs optimal mode of transport selection, carrier assignment, consolidation of shipment and use of continuous moves in freight. Strategic / Global sourcing More integrated approach towards supplier selection and procurement considering the facts of time, cost, purchasing power by considering the strategies tied to off shoring and global sourcing strategies. Wireless in warehouse usage of wireless technologies inside the warehousing leads to a clear picture of the stock / inventory available and helps in calculating the cost involved in storage and money as inventory. As well as picking in warehouse should be automated where possible, so more visibility is available. Yard management system and Dock door scheduling It gives a visibility in yard inventory and schedules, executes on inbound and outbound docks. Reverse Supply Chain management (RSCM) The Council of Logistics Management defined reverse supply chain as the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal. RSCM is defined as the effective and efficient management of the series of activities required to retrieve a product from a customer in order to either dispose of it or recover value (Prahinski and KocabasoÄÅ ¸lu , 2006; Defee et al., 2009). Fleischmann et al., (2000) base the growing importance of RSCM basically on agreements for excess products and extended producer responsibilities. As per Harvard Business review 2002, In general, the companies that create what so called as a closed-loop system, have enjoyed most success with RSCM by having a close coordination in their forward supply chain. For example, they make product design and manufacturing decisions with eventual recycling and reconditioning in mind. The definition of reverse logistics from an environmental perspective in the forward supply chain is focus on taking return of recyclable or reusable products and materials. Reverse logistics, flow of materials from the customer to forward supply chain, is the least studied operational function (Sarkis, 2003). 2.3 Global supply chain issues Oil pricing The growth in oil price will always lead to a substantial slow down in international trade because of the transportation dependency on oil market. According to the report of EIA (Energy Information Administration) (2007) the 96% of the US transportation works on the fuels, 43% of the industries runs on the fuels, 21% of the residential homes and commercials and 3% of the electric power works with the help of the fuels. This means that the US economy is related to each other and this made an impact in all areas due to the increase in oil price. In the June 2008 the price of WTI reached the maximum and that was 145 US dollars per barrel the all time highest price which US market has seen. So this made the price for the gasoline high in July 2008 to 4.10$. Based on a CIBC report 2008, the trade price increases by 1 % in every increase in 1$ for a barrel. Because of the increase in oil price directly affects the wages to decline and increased product cost. The increase in oil prices lead s to elimination of importers and need to go for local suppliers. The analysis of rising oil prices would impact profitability as well as the core supply chain design. The impact for a supply chain design would lead to tradeoffs among transportation, inventory, and distribution and in all sections of supply chain. By Dr Bassam Fattouh (2007), the volatility of oil prices had lead to a challenge for the supply chain and could slow down economic growth, also can cause inflation pressures, can Create global imbalances, Volatility increases uncertainty discourages much needed investment in oil sector, tight market conditions raised fears about oil scarcity and concerns about energy security. Collaboration The measurement of supply chain collaboration has received a little attention to date (Sanders and Premus, 2005: Jap, 1999: Injazz and Paulraj, 2004). At about that time, an ongoing discussion emerged that supply chain management should be built around the integration of trading partners (Barratt and Oliveira, 2001), the sharing of information and benefits (McLaren, 2004) and the collaboration of organizations (Patrakosol and Olson, 2006). Collaborative Planning is a first step on the road to Extended Supply Chain Management with specific customers It has a seamless fit with PSC (Procurement Strategy Council) strategy and as such is an excellent opportunity to create Customer Intimacy Through follow up implementations, we can created the chances to start gaining the first Business Benefits. Economist Intelligence unit (2006) says that the cooperation of the government and UN to designate the standards are one of the key issues faced by the SMEs. Manufacturers are more concerned about the interoperability than the responds overall. A majority of survey results cites that trust in payment would be certain as a major factor that assists the companies to integrate their operations with global supply chain. In a report of ECOlogistics (2007) explains the communication gap in between the supplier and customer leads to problems in scalable issues regarding quality. The collaboration missing of the government regarding with the trading sector leads to complication in global supply network. Variation in theme of a support by the market incentives, and networks of local, social, political and moral enforcement leading to missing in regulatory systems. There â€Å"glocal† needs to be implemented, which means the global standards in the local market, Which in turn produces cost effective system with improved standards. Public Private Partnerships in Standards Compliance

Compare the presentation of the Duke and Porphyrias lover in My Last E

Compare the presentation of the Duke and Porphyria's lover in My Last Duchess and Porphyria's lover Browning has presented The Duke and Porphyria's lover as obsessive and controlling in the two poems. Telling the stories from the characters point of view makes it clear that they both feel threatened by their partners, and wish to regain the lead role they should have as the men in their relationships. Rather than confronting their significant others, they kill them because of their obsessive nature and lack of communication. The Duke on one hand feels that he can only possess the Duchess in a painting because he can control who looks upon her, where as Porphyria's lover wants to capture Porphyria when he finally feels in control. The characters of both the Duke and Porphyria's lover are noticeable through the relationships they have with their partners. It is clear that they both have very similar intents, although for different reasons. They are portrayed as jealous and untrusting of their partners because of obvious insecurities they have in their relationships. The Duke suspected that The Duchess was having an affair with "Fra Pandalf": " 't'was not/Her husband's presence only, called that spot of joy into the Duchess' cheek' " This implies that the Duchess blushed for others and therefore was adulterous. He also suggests his wife gave sexual favours in return to politeness when he says; "She thanked men - good!". Instead of being concerned about losing her he was only worried that she would make a fool of him and hurt his pride, as their relationship was not based on love or passion but was merely a way for the Duke to show off. The Duke only saw his wife as and object and not as a person a... ...shows he has little in his life accept Porphyria. The Duke has many objects and pieces his art, showing his love for things not people. It also reminds us of the Renaissance setting and shows that his is wealthy. Comparing the two poems shows that Browning has a very pessimistic view of relationships. It seems he feels that relationships without love and admiration can never work and will end in disaster as is apparent from "My Last Duchess". Ironically he also feels that a relationship with love cannot be sustained either, which is evident from "Porphyria's Lover". In "My Last Duchess" she dies because she did not give the Duke the admiration he desired, but when in "Porphyria's lover" Porphyria made her love for her lover clear, he kills her anyway. This perhaps shows the aggressive nature of men and how at the time they were very dominant in society.

Market Force Description and Analysis of Impact on Product Services Essay

Communications-Security System Services-These devices and systems have a wide range, specifically, home and car. The demand is driven partly by home sales, new home construction and office construction. Most security systems like Brink Security have warning decals on the windows or in the yard to advertise. Commercial marketing usually consist of a direct sales force that call on owners and operators of commercial building companies that provide security monitoring services often have large account recieveable and credit problems with payments from subscribers, defective or poorly installed equipment or poor service, can have expensive consequences and Law suit risk in false alarms and frequent investment in new technology, The demand for residential and commercial construction and sales, need is in customer service and product, the companies increase their and systems and services by going to the senior citizens and dual income families. In their growth over the next 10 years included will be monitoring and security systems that include devices that measure environment factors, such as humility and quality of air and water. Healthcare-Nursing Home and Assisted Living-over 5 million elderly, mentally ill and, other physically and mentally challenged people need healthcare. The healthcare industry provide long-term care , includes onsite healthcare, counseling, medication dispensing, may become more prevalent. Demand for residential care facilities will grow as the baby boomers age, spurring investments in new construction, upgrades for existing facilities, additional beds, labor and services. The healthcare facilities industry faces a nurse shortage and is pressuring colleges to graduate nurses. To overcome threats, in the nursing facilities background checks, monitoring of the patients making sure they are changed, bath, and fed, also for the ones in assisted living, this is to insure that injuries to the elderly are not caused. The rise in Healthcare has risen by 80 percent. The risk with healthcare is that is not being made affordable and the premiums have sky rocketed, to were the elderly have a hard time getting the medicine and supplies. I do have love ones in the Nursing Home, and when I go and visit, I see the elderly just sitting there, not one of the staff takes time to ask them if they want to be moved, or just to check on them, some do not get bath until the end of the day, and there clothes are soiled, it is like they have been thrown away, The strategies I would use would to be train nurses aid how to care and properly change and check on the patient, there tone of voice used, close supervision of the elderly. General Business-Laundry Detergent-In the U. S. oap and detergent has over 650 companies worldwide. Detergent is packaged in cartons, bottles, pouches, or bags. The growth rate is low, because there are new and cheaper products available. One company is Proctor and Gamble, they are a household name they serve 180 countries, they strive and produce, superior quality and values, that improve the lives of the Consumer’s. Demand for soap and detergent result in wide swings in production, capacity planning is difficult. Challenges P&G face is the manufacter must comply with different state and country environmental regulations. The soap and detergent industry will impact the nation because its represented in over 145 nations, the marketing of such companies as P&G has been proven to be the best in strategy brands most important to retailers, strong business , and fundamentalist. In using, Gain and Tide, they over the consumer dye free and perfume free products, as well as the different soaps. The soap and detergent companies have Capitalized on opportunities by, having antibacterical hand soaps and bath soaps. Another stragedy that these companies have utilized is environmental friendly products, that are safe for our environment. Let’s take soap its used for animals and people and washing cars, and just about everything. Many big companies, do not see the threat of little companies with products such as Power Soaps and detergents this company is out of South India, they spend a lot of money on advertising. Marketing plays the pivotal role in making or breaking any product or service. In my closing, I will sum up all three subjects starting with the Security.

Consequences of Transfer essays

Consequences of Transfer essays For some time now society along with politicians have found it to be beneficial for juveniles to be transferred to adult criminal court. In the past, two types of cases were transferred: seriously violent offenders and chronic offenders. The reasoning behind this was because for serious violent offenses the public demands harsh punishment or penalties. As far as chronic offenders it was thought or perceived that the juvenile justice system was not working for, or equipped for these types of offenders (Bishop and Frazier, 2000). Some justice officials and legislators see juvenile transfers as a deterrent. If young offenders realize that they have a chance of being transferred to adult criminal court they then will think more about their actions and not commit the offense. This view is different from Moffit, who believes that juveniles dont think about their actions because they have short term perspectives. According to Donna Bishop scared straight approach of transferring juveniles has had little research or studies done on it. The research that has been conducted did not support the ideas of legislators or juvenile justice officials. In fact the results seem to be the exact opposite. More of the offenders in the juvenile justice system reform, than that of the juveniles in the adult system. Research by (Fagan, 1991, 1995, 1996) indicated that transfer was associated with re-arrest: the percent of juveniles processed in criminal court were 76% re- arrested, compared to only 67 percent of those juveniles processed in juvenile court. The outcome was similar when the incarcerated rate was looked at, 56% of the juveniles in the adult court system were incarcerated while only 41% of the juveniles in juvenile court system were incarcerated. Five other studies similar to the Fagan study return the same summarizing results. Making transfer more detrimental to a juvenile, because the criminal c...

How Making My Book Available in Print Landed It In The Guardian

How Making My Book Available in Print Landed It In The Guardian How Making My Book Available in Print Landed It In "The Guardian" When Katja Meier set out to write  about the joys and challenges she encountered when running a refugee home in Tuscany, she had only planned to publish an ebook. Little did she know, her memoir had other (bigger) plans, that hinged on being available in print as well. This is how she found herself desperately searching for a typesetting solution in the middle of the night, with a launch date looming... Saved by the Reedsy Book EditorI discovered the Reedsy Book Editor late one night when desperately raking the internet for a solution to my haphazard typesetting attempt. I signed up for a free account immediately, started to upload the 23 chapters of my manuscript at midnight, and by 2 AM, I downloaded the print-ready PDF.It looked great but had one issue I couldn’t sort out myself: Across the Big Blue Sea includes an excerpt of a research article which focuses on little-known facts linked to human trafficking in Europe. I had the author’s permission to include the text but only if it was formatted differently from the rest of the book. Since the excerpt is several pages long, simply putting it in cursive wouldn’t do.I sent Reedsy an email at 3 AM, trying hard to come across as a calm, seasoned professional (and not as the freaked-out, first-time author who had set herself the wrong launch date). In the morning, I woke up to a message from Matt Cobb (Reedsy co-f ounder and designer), who promised to investigate the issue. And that very same week, I received a new version of my manuscript with the excerpt beautifully set apart in a sans-serif font and the comforting knowledge that I’d be able to make my launch date.From self-published memoir to Guardian â€Å"best summer book†Some things you can plan, others you can’t. I had sent an email to The Guardian’s book-reviewing team a couple of months before the book was published. Not surprisingly, especially for an indie author, I never heard back.Luckily, a few months earlier I had taken marketing advice from Jesse Finkelstein of pagetwostrategies.com and written to some of my favorite authors asking for endorsements. This is not an easy thing to do - it takes courage to ask time from authors who are probably already flooded with similar requests. But it's well worth asking, especially if you feel the author might be truly interested in the topic of your book.By seem ing-providence, at the same time that The Guardian wasn’t getting back to me, one of the writers I had contacted for endorsements wrote back and said she’d be happy to receive a copy (and four more followed suit!). Taiye Selasi, author of the wonderful Ghana Must Go, didn’t just write an insightful endorsement for me to use, she also remembered Across the Big Blue Sea when The Guardian asked her for her favorite books of the summer. And unknown to me, Taiye had already mentioned my book a few months before in The Guardian’s â€Å"Books That Made Me† series.I got lucky twice, and I’m afraid I’ll have to contradict Louis Pasteur’s famous quote here: it turns out that chance doesn’t just favor the prepared mind, it also favors the well-prepared book and the courageous author. (Hell, it takes guts to contact your favorite writers for endorsements)!Print is far from deadFrom the day the book was first published in February 20 17, I have been selling more print books than ebooks. I wouldn’t want to miss out on the ebook version - after all, I care about people who live in forlorn places without a reliable postal service. But my sales would look dire if it wasn’t for the print edition. Whatever retailer I look at, the paperback fares better.And when I meet the American students whose universities use Across the Big Blue Sea as a textbook for their study abroad programs in Italy, I’m each time surprised and honored anew that they travel with a print copy in their backpacks.Back to the Reedsy Book Editor once moreWith Italian and German translations in the pipeline, I’ll be back for a few night-time dates with the Reedsy Book Editor early next year (beware Matt, more desperate 3 AM emails coming your way). But being able to easily update my book proved useful and necessary for the already-published English edition too. I already updated the manuscript once to add two pages of end orsements at the beginning of the book. And while we’re working on the film adaptation of Across the Big Blue Sea, I’m planning to keep readers jour of the progress there too.But being able to amend the manuscript doesn’t just mean I can shamelessly brag about film rights and cool reviews in The Guardian: more importantly, I can update the information on how to support the migrant women mentioned in my book. And that is, after all, why I sat down to write it in the first place.How has publishing print copies of your book affected your publishing experience? Leave any thoughts or questions for Katja in the comments below!

Management Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management Leadership - Assignment Example How does one become an authentic leader?First, acknowledge that authenticity in leadership is a learned skill and not inborn. Second, discovering potential means being independent of approval to from individuals or parties outside the support team regarding decision-making process. Third, one has to be devoted to building one’s personality to exploit the full potential as a leader.What are the steps to build a support team?First, include an individual with whom one has a past with and can be free and open with at all times. This person is important since it is whom one can communicate the truth with only. Second, allow the relationships amongst the support team members to grow with you by expressing mutual principles and a common aim. Third, become a mentor capable of changing the lives of his or her support team’s members. Fourth, strengthen each of the member’s behaviors by discussing their reliance on fellow team members in an orderly manner.Describe the struc ture of the support team for an authentic leadership.A support team suitable for an authentic leadership is often multilayered since they include family members, spouses, close friends, and coworkers. Such a support team develops its networks over a given period, during which its members share their experiences, preferences, and histories. At this point, support team members can share truths about personal and formal issues, which creates trust and confidence within the team (George, Sims, McLean, and Mayer 2).

Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Law - Assignment Example Thus the issues of racial profiling and discrimination are intimidating although Joe was arrested for â€Å"interfering with official police conduct†. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution challenges racial profiling and guarantees the safety of U.S. citizens from unreasonable search and seizure without probable cause (Weitzer and Tuch). Those in the enforcement community opposed to racial profiling term the practice unfortunate if ethnic and racial profiling is considered effective and necessary. Although the supporters of this practice content that due to socio-economic and demographic factors crime is reported highly in some communities that feel as a minority, and therefore the profiling cannot be avoided, lest the crime persist. Fundamentally, the case United States v. City of Los Angeles, the United States alleged that the Board of Police Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department (â€Å"LAPD†) engaged in the practice of depriving individuals of constitutional rights by using excessive force, false arrests, improper searches and seizures, all in violation of 14141 42 U.S.C. 14141. From the support of the some officers and a number of community groups and individuals, especially being people of color that attested to have suffered the injustices, formed the basis of the suit against the City defendants. The court on the basis of permissive intervention held that the community interveners had a right of a proposed government decree. Furthermore, it required that the City defendants shall seek declaratory relief from the district court to resolve the issue. Despite Joe’s harassment and eventual arrest for â€Å"interfering with official police conduct†, the police department overlooks the practice terming Officer Jones’s actions as well with official duties. Instead of the authorities being objective about the case, their support for the racial –profiling is unethical; and furthermore