Global Supply Chain Management

997 Words2 Pages

Lean manufacturing and just-in-time processing are great business strategies that can severely stress a supply chain. The supply chain and supply chain management is a critical operations management element for any major company to succeed and remain competitive in the global market. The supply chain is one of many pieces critical to maximizing value to the end customer and requires close management to minimize external impacts. If a company is relying on another company to supply the raw materials needed for their production line, then impacts to this other company could impact their supply chain. Careful risk management is needed to optimize performance. As a company expands into global markets and global suppliers, this risk and management challenge is multiplied. The global nature of the company could impact important activities such as transportation, funds transfers, suppliers, distributors, accounting and information sharing. Disruption to the supply chain can significantly reduce revenue, cut market share, inflate costs and threaten production. A major disruption would have obvious impacts to profit, but could have additional intangible impacts to the credibility of the company if products are not delivered on time. Global Supply Chain Management Outsourcing labor and materials in a global market can significantly stretch the supply chain structure. This can have both positive and negative effects. Looking to different countries provides the opportunity to access different markets and find the lowest possible manufacturing costs. Many companies also embraced the Toyota Motor Corp. model of just-in-time inventory and other lean manufacturing techniques that emphasized speed and cost reduction (Bosman, 2006... ... middle of paper ... ...y plans to react to the unforeseen. Implementing good contingency plans in conjunction with a robust PDCA cycle is a great step toward success for a company in the global market place. Works Cited Bosman, R. (2006). The New Supply Chain Challenge: Risk Management in a Global Economy. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from FMGlobal: www.fmglobal.com Burnson, P. (2011, April 19). Preparing for the "unthinkable". Retrieved April 20, 2011, from Supply Chain Management Review: http://www.scmr.com/aarticles/supply_chain_risk_mitigation_moves_to_the_c-level_suite/ Chu, J. (2011, April 18). Japan's supply chain ripple effects. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from PHSYORG.com: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-japan-chain-ripple-effects.html Heizer, J. &. (2011). Operations Management Tenth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ, U.S.: Prentice Hall.

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