Strategies for Supplier Relationship Management

Strategies for Supplier Relationship Management Supplier Relationship Management (including analysis) is the management an ongoing business relationship to guarantee competitive advantage for an organisation. The focus is on overall relationships between the supplier and the buying organisation rather than a focus on a specific contract. Its aim is to support purchasing and business management to develop an orderly understanding of the nature of current relationships that exist within and between the organisation and the suppliers (OGC, 2009). Supplier relationship management is a comprehensive approach to managing an enterprises interactions with the organizations that supply the goods and services it uses. The goal of supplier relationship management (SRM) is to streamline and make more effective the processes between an enterprise and its suppliers just as customer relationship management (CRM) is intended to streamline and make more effective the processes between an enterprise and its customers (SAP 2008). Buying organisations have a need to manage not only their contracts but also their suppliers. A number of suppliers will have multiple contractual relationships with individual departments and it is therefore important for them to be proactively managed. The process will be supported by information generated from the performance management arrangements that will be in place for each of the contracts, but this process is much more about the overall relationship rather than on activity on a specific contract (SAP.com 2008). OBJECTIVES The objectives for SRM include: Reduction in costs Service improvement Solution development Flexibility and mutual benefit (Adapted from Procurement Leadership 2006) There will also be the opportunity for improvement in the overall relationship with the supplier progressing in the direction of increased partnering type arrangements. This will potentially include: Established communication channels at all levels, up to and including CEO, between the organisations Joint planning and forecasting at a strategic level Increased trust Enhanced collaborative approaches and perspective Improved value for both parties (Adapted from OGC 2009) Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) is aimed at streamlining the supply chain by improving the communication between an enterprise and its suppliers. (PROCUREMENT -LEADERS, 2006). It streamlines the processes between an enterprise and its suppliers in the same way Customer Relationship Management (CRM) makes the processes between an enterprise and its customers more effective. In actual fact SRM practices enable a common frame of reference to improve communication between enterprise and supplier who may be used to different practices and terminology. Eventually SRM software can lower production costs and result in a higher quality, lower priced end product (SAP 2008). Modern SRM solutions support the whole procurement process in the company, including procurement strategy, qualification of suitable suppliers, tenders and contract design, and monitoring supplier performance. 2.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTING SRM STRATEGY/PLAN SRM is becoming progressively more important for enterprises because, in the competitive global environment, purchasing-related savings are equally important as sales. In the past ten years, significant results have been generated through rationalising supply bases, introducing competition and moving to low cost countries. But recently results from these activities are diminishing, which is where SRM comes in (PROCUREMENT LEADERS 2006). When SRM is effective, companies improve on profitability, growth, market share and reputation. SRM is especially important when there is a limited supply base for a product and in this case, the peanut company has one supply and it is a major priority of the peanut company to maintain a good relationship with the supply. This is to say that the cooperative society has a full monopoly on the supply of nuts to Peanutty. A good relationship is necessary to avoid sudden increase in price, supply of quality products, and also the supply can decide not to supply to Peanutty. They therefore have a need to manage not only their contracts but also their suppliers. There will also be the opportunity for improvement in the overall relationship with the supplier progressing in the direction of increased partnering type arrangements.ÂÂ   This will potentially include: Established communication channels at all levels, up to and including CEO, between the organisations Joint planning and forecasting at a strategic level. Peanutty should encourage their suppliers to focus more on the strategic path to cooperative success and enhanced collaborative approaches and perspective Increased trust between the supplier and Peanutty, by finding compromise solutions to problems enhance both Peanutty Company and the cooperative supplier work towards achieving the long-term benefits Improved value for both parties, the demand of the product enhances the ability of both Peanutty and the cooperative supplier to have a clear vision towards its benefits. 3.0 QUESTION 2: What activities could be developed by Peanutty to reduce or manage the power of its customers to minimize risks and maximize profitability? Peanutty is a manufacturer of ingredients for the food industry and also a service provider of food items for large companies in the sector. Peanutty should use the strategies of customer relationship management (CRM). 3.1 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, is an important part of modern business management. Customer Relationship Management concerns the relationship between the organization and its customers. Customers are the lifeblood of any organization be it a global corporation with thousands of employees and a multi-billion turnover, or a sole trader with a handful of regular customers. Customer Relationship Management is the same in principle for these two examples it is the scope of CRM which can vary drastically. Customer Relationship Management focuses on the relationship Successful organizations use three steps to build customer relationships: determine mutually satisfying goals between organization and customers establish and maintain customer rapport produce positive feelings in the organization and the customers In the business world, the organization and the customers both have sets of conditions to consider when building the relationship, such as wants and needs of both parties these conditions include; organizations need to make a profit to survive and grow customers want good service, a quality product and an acceptable price CRM can have a major impact on an organization through: shifting the focus from product to customer, streamlining the offer to what the customer requires, not want the organization can make and also highlighting competencies required for an effective CRM process The ultimate purpose of CRM, like any organizational initiative, is to increase profit. In the case of CRM this is achieved mainly by providing a better service to your customers than your competitors. CRM not only improves the service to customers though; a good CRM capability will also reduce costs, wastage, and complaints (although you may see some increase initially, simply because you hear about things that without CRM would have stayed hidden). Effective CRM also reduces staff stress, because attrition a major cause of stress reduces as services and relationships improve. CRM enables instant market research as well: opening the lines of communications with your customers gives you direct constant market reaction to your products, services and performance, far better than any market survey. Good CRM also helps you grow your business: customers stay with you longer; customer churn rates reduce; referrals to new customers increase from increasing numbers of satisfied customers; demand reduces on fire-fighting and trouble-shooting staff, and overall the organizations service flows and teams work more efficiently and more happily. 3.2 Features of good CRM The old viewpoint in industry was: Heres what we can make who wants to buy our product? The new viewpoint in industry is: What exactly do our customers want and need? and What do we need to do to be able to produce and deliver it to our customers? This is a significant change of paradigm and a quantum leap in terms of how we look at our business activity. What do customers want? Most obviously, and this is the extent of many suppliers perceptions, customers want cost-effective products or services that deliver required benefits to them. (Benefits are what the products or services do for the customers.) Note that any single product or service can deliver different benefits to different customers. Its important to look at things from the customers perspective even at this level. More significantly however, customers want to have their needs satisfied. Customers needs are distinctly different to and far broader than a product or service, and the features and benefits encompassed. Customers needs generally extend to issues far beyond the suppliers proposition, and will often include the buying-selling process (prior to providing anything), the way that communications are handled, and the nature of the customer-supplier relationship. Modern CRM theory refers to the idea of integrating the customer. This new way of looking at the business involves integrating the customer (more precisely the customers relevant people and processes) into all aspects of the suppliers business, and vice versa. This implies a relationship that is deeper and wider than the traditional arms-length supplier-customer relationship. The traditional approach to customer relationships was based on a simple transaction or trade, and little more. Perhaps there would be only a single point of contact between one person on each side. All communication and dealings would be between these two people, even if the customers organization contained many staff, departments, and functional requirements (distribution, sales, quality, finance, etc). The modern approach to customer relationship management is based on satisfying all of the needs people, systems, processes, etc across the customers organization, such as might be affected and benefited by the particular supply.(business balls 2002). Designing and implementing a successful CRM programme: Step 1: Creating the CRM plan Activities : Understanding the objectives, fit with Peanuttys strategy, development of software, costing and training Step 2: Involve CRM users from Outset Peanutty should establish a project/management team from all affected organizational area. Step 3: Select the right application and provider Use of internal IT tools to analyse and compare available products and suppliers Step 4 :Integrate Existing CRM application Centralised database containing customer information for all CRM associated user to actively involved in each customer. Step 5 : Establish Performance measures Use of performance measurement to evaluate if strategies have been met or not Step 6 : Providing CRM training for all users During implementation, Peanutty should provide training to all employees actively associated with CRM about it benefits and objectives. (MARKETING TEACHER 2000) 4.0 QUESTION 3: evaluate the benefit of performance measurement systems to this company? 4.1 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Performance refers to output results and their outcomes obtained from processes, products, and services that permit evaluation and comparison relative to goals, standards, past results, and other organisations. Performance can be expressed in non-financial and financial terms. Measurement refers to numerical information that quantifies input, output, and performance dimensions of processes, products, services, and the overall organisation (outcomes). Performance measures might be simple (derived from one measurement) or composite (BPIR 2007). Performance measurement system is an assessment system of measurement that represents a formal efficient approach to observe performance Performance measurement is the process whereby an organization establishes the parameters within which programs, investments, and acquisitions are reaching the desired results. This will be needed most especially in the roasting and peanut preparation line, so that the target of 12 hour per day will be attained. 4.1.1 PM focuses on results, rather than behaviours and activities A common misconception among supervisors is that behaviours and activities are the same as results. As a result, an employee may appear extremely busy, but not be contributing anything toward the goals of the organization. An example is the employee who manually counts the number of peas processed. The supervisor may conclude the employee is very committed to the organization and works very hard, thus, deserving a very high performance rating, where by his output is poor. 4.1.2 Aligns organizational activities and processes to the goals of the organization PM identifies organizational goals, results needed to achieve those goals, measures of effectiveness or efficiency (outcomes) toward the goals, and means (drivers) to achieve the goals. This chain of measurements is examined to ensure alignment with overall results of the organization. This is due to the fact that the employees complain about not knowing the direction and goals of peanut company. 4.1.3 Produces meaningful measurements These measurements have a wide variety of useful applications. They are useful in benchmarking, or setting standards for comparison with best practices in other organizations. They provide consistent basis for comparison during internal change efforts. They indicate results during improvement efforts, such as employee training, management development, quality programs, etc. They help ensure equitable and fair treatment to employees based on performance.mr Carmelo doesnt treat the employees like they are part of the organisation, probably because he is not aware of the effort these workers put into the company. therefore wit performance, he will be able to quantify the level of dedication and then will he will recognise their capability and potential, and thus give them Moore responsibility. Performance measurement will clarify expectations of roles and responsibilities of all the work stations in the peanut factory. It will also make it possible for the director, supervisor and the employees to discuss work related issues and develop solutions The will also be able to formally review performance and achievement of agreed goals and objectives Provide two-way face to face feedback and also link individual performance to broader strategic plans and key objectives. (Adapted from Supplychainer 2005) Overall, this will help Peanutty to set their long term strategy goals, work on their objectives, meet their target and measure the performance. 5.0 QUESTION 4. The supply chain process i would suggest is the lean manufacturing process. 5.1 Lean Manufacturing is an operational strategy oriented toward achieving the shortest possible cycle time by eliminating waste. It is derived from the Toyota Production System and its key thrust is to increase the value-added work by eliminating waste and reducing incidental work. The technique often decreases the time between a customer order and shipment, and it is designed to radically improve profitability, customer satisfaction, throughput time, and employee morale (ROCKFORD 1999). The characteristics of lean processes are: Single-piece production Repetitive order characteristics Just-In-Time materials/pull scheduling Short cycle times Quick changeover Continuous flow work cells Collocated machines, equipment, tools and people Compressed space Multi-skilled employees Flexible workforce Empowered employees High first-pass yields with major reductions in defects The term Lean is very apt because in Lean Manufacturing the emphasis is to cut out the fat or waste in the manufacturing process. Waste is defined as anything that does not add value to the customer. It could also be defined as anything the customer is unwilling to pay for. For example, if you order a shirt to be custom made, it may take 6 weeks. However the actual time the tailors or seamstresses are working on the shirt is only 5 hours. The rest of the time is taken up by such things as material ordering, waiting between processes and inefficient shipping practices. This extra time does not add value to you, the customer. As Lean Manufacturing principals are applied to the shirt-making process, one would see a reduction in delivery time from 6 to 5 to 4 weeks and even less. The ideal shirt-making operation would be streamlined to give you, the customer, what you want, when you want it at the lowest possible cost within the least amount of time (CONTINENTAL DESIGN ENGINEERING 2008). 5.2 Lean identifies seven types of waste: Over-Production Obviously a product that cannot be sold or has to be dumped at a reduced price is wasteful. Also producing product before the customer needs it requires the part to be stored and ties up money in inventory. Inventory Excess Inventory ties up a great deal of cash, which is wasteful. Stockpiling inventory between processes is wasteful. Conveyance Unnecessarily moving a part during the production process is wasteful. It can also cause damage to the part, which creates wasteful rework. Correction Having to re-work parts because of manufacturing errors is a large source of waste. Additionally, sorting and inspecting parts is wasteful and can be eliminated by error proofing (designing your processes so that the product can only be produced one way, which is the correct way, every time). Motion Unnecessary or awkward operator motions put undue stress on the body and cause waste. Improvement in this area should result in reduced injury and workmans compensation claims. Processing Unclear customer requirements cause the manufacturer to add unnecessary processes, which add cost to the product. Waiting The operator being idle between operations is wasteful. It is acceptable for the machine to wait on the operator, but it is unacceptable for the operator to wait on the machine. The 5S is a core method of lean manufacturing. Sort: The first stage of 5S is to organize the work area, leaving only the tools and materials necessary to perform daily activities. When sorting is well implemented, communication between workers is improved and product quality and productivity are increased. Sort is the act of throwing away the unwanted, unnecessary, and unrelated materials in the workplace. Straighten (Set in order): The second stage of 5S involves the orderly arrangement of needed items so they are easy to use and accessible for anyone to find. Orderliness eliminates waste in production and clerical activities. Shine: this means keeping everything clean and swept. This maintains a safer work area and problem areas are quickly identified. An important part of shining is Mess Prevention. In other words, dont allow litter, scrap, shavings, cuttings, etc., to land on the floor in the first place. Standardize: The fourth stage of 5S involves creating a consistent approach for carrying out tasks and procedures. Orderliness is the core of standardization and is maintained by Visual Controls. Sustain: This last stage of 5S is the discipline and commitment of all other stages. Without sustaining, your workplace can easily revert back to being dirty and chaotic. That is why it is so crucial for your team to be empowered to improve and maintain their workplace. When employees take pride in their work and workplace it can lead to greater job satisfaction and higher productivity. 6.0 SUGGESTION FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 6.1 BENCHMARKING 6.1.1 Benchmarking is a continuous measure of products, services and practices against firms best competitors. It is the process of evaluating and understanding the current position of a business in relation to the best practice to identify areas that need improvement and the means of improving performance. Benchmarking involves looking outward (outside a particular business, organisation, industry, region or country) to examine how others achieve their performance levels and to understand the processes they use. In this way benchmarking helps explain the processes behind excellent performance. When the lessons learnt from a benchmarking exercise are applied appropriately, they facilitate improved performance in critical functions within an organisation or in key areas of the business environment (Tutor2u). Application of benchmarking involves four key steps: Understand in detail existing business processes Analyse the business processes of others Compare own business performance with that of others analysed Implement the steps necessary to close the performance gap The goal of benchmarking is to identify the weaknesses within an organization and improve upon them, with the idea of becoming the best of the best. The benchmarking process helps managers to find gaps in performance and turn them into opportunities for improvement. Benchmarking enables companies to identify the most successful strategies used by other companies of comparable size, type, or regional location, and then adopt relevant measures to make their own programs more efficient. Most companies apply benchmarking as part of a broad strategic process. For example, companies use benchmarking in order to find breakthrough ideas for improving processes, to support quality improvement programs, to motivate staffs to improve performance, and to satisfy managements need for competitive assessments. I choose Benchmarking because it targets roles, processes, and critical success factors. Roles are what define the job or function that a person fulfils. Processes are what consume a companys resources. Critical success factors are issues that company must address for success over the long-term in order to gain a competitive advantage. Benchmarking focuses on these things in order to point out inefficiencies and potential areas for improvement (Reference for Business 2010). By using all types of benchmarking (Internal, external, functional Generic) Peanutty will be able to identify internal or external standard recognized leaders and compare the current process that was implemented for its process. Benchmarking performance measurement system will allow Peanutty to have clear vision towards its current process (internally) and its competitors (competitors) in order to have continuous improvement to achieve its goals on cost reduction and high quality products.

Intolerance: Minority Group and Society Essay

1. What are some of the ways groups of people are identified? There are many ways that a group of people can be identified but the four criteria for classifying minority groups are race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. Race is mainly determined by the color of someone’s skin, hair (in some instances eyes), height, and bone structure of the human body: big head, narrow eyes, tall short. Ethnicity is determined by where you were born and raised and what cultural patterns. Religion and is determined by what your beliefs and religious group you are a part of. Gender is determined easily enough but it does matters if you are male or female for the fact that each is treated differently. Males seem to have it easy most of the time and woman are always treated as though they are weaker. These four criteria’s are the main ones but there are so many more such as age, disability status, physical appearance, and sexual orientation they all are used to group people. There is always another factor that is sometimes over looked and that is our appearance; skinny, fat and even what we wear are we well dressed and clean all of the time or are we in regular day to day clothes or are we dressed in rags torn, ripped and dirty clothing. Also there is the money factor how much does one have or don’t have to many people the money factor matters most people like to know that they know people with money. Are these people wealthy with more money than they will every need or do they just have enough or do they struggle or worse yet do they not have anything leaving them going from home to home or street to street or going to government and privet programs for help. 2. Why do people label and group other people? I have thought about this question and it made me realize that not only do people label and group other people but we also label ourselves putting ourselves in categories that please us. Plus it gives us our sense of belonging to something that most people â€Å"need† to feel. Getting back to the question; I think it is something that we all do whether we realize it or not. Labeling and grouping help people to determine who we should or who we should not interact with. It helps people and sometimes it does just the opposite and destroys people it’s like having a power a power to have some control over other people. I can almost see it in another time a man running through the streets with a label machine placing labels on everyone’s forehead yelling â€Å"You are who I say you are! † Scary thought! We constantly label people in a negative light due to difference of opinion due to religion, political view, sexual preference, parenting method you name it we do it, even children do this and it is not done intentionally they were not taught this, too me it almost seems like it is a defense mechanism keeping themselves even ourselves safe from what we may consider to be harmful. In the end people are just that â€Å"people† we are nothing more and nothing less. People label others either to feel empowered or to praise someone but in the end we are Human Beings and that is it. We may think and act differently but we are what we are and if people could just except that then the future might not ever have to deal with the positive and mainly the negative effects that come with being labeled and tossed into a group that was thought up by others. Resources Schaefer, R. T. (2012). (Ch. 1 & 2) Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

The Industrial Revolution and Romanticism

The Industrial Revolution and the Romantic Spirit The Industrial Revolution refers to a series of significant shifts in traditional practices of agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation, as well as the development of new mechanical technologies that took place between the late 18th and 19th centuries in much of the Western world. During this time, the United Kingdom, as well as the rest of Europe and the United States soon after, underwent drastic socio-economic and cultural changes during this time.These changes in part gave rise to the English Romantic spirit, especially in the United Kingdom. During the late 18th century, the United Kingdom's economic system of manual and animal based labor shifted toward a system of machine manufacturing while more readily navigable roads, canals, and railroads for trade began to develop. Steam power underpinned the dramatic increase in production capacity, as did the rather sudden development of metal tools and complex machines for manufac turing purposes.The Industrial Revolution had a profound effect upon society in the United Kingdom. It gave rise to the working and middle classes and allowed them to overcome the long-standing economic oppression that they had endured for centuries beneath the gentry and nobility. However, while employment opportunities increased for common working people throughout the country and members of the middle class were able to become business owners more easily, the conditions workers often labored under were brutal.Further, many of them were barely able to live off of the wages they earned. During this time, the industrial factory was created (which, in turn, gave rise to the modern city). Conditions within these factories were often dirty and, by today's standards, unethical: children were frequently used and abused for labor purposes and long hours were required for work. A group of people in the United Kingdom now as the Ululated felt that industrialization was ultimately inhumane a nd took to protesting and sometimes sabotaging industrial machines and factories.While industrialization led to incredible technological developments throughout the Western world, many historians now argue that industrialization also caused severe reductions in living standards for workers both within the United Kingdom and throughout the rest of the industrialized Western world. However, the new middle and working classes that industrialism had established led to arbitration throughout industrial cultures, drastic population increases, and the introduction of relatively new economic system known as capitalism.The Romantic Movement developed in the United Kingdom in the wake of, and in some measure as a response to, the Industrial Revolution. Many English intellectuals and artists in the early 19th century considered industrialism inhumane and unnatural and revolted?sometimes quite violently?against what they felt to be the increasingly inhumane and unnatural mechanization of modern life. Poets such as Lord Byron (particular in his addresses to the House of Lords) and William Blake (most notably in his poem â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper†) spoke out?and wrote extensively bout?the psychological and social affects of the Sailor URL: http://www. Layer. Org/ courses/engaged/ The Sailor Foundation Sailor. Org Page 1 of 2 newly industrial world upon the individual and felt rampant industrialization to be entirely counter to the human spirit and intrinsic rights of men. Many English Romantic intellectuals and artists felt that the modern industrial world was harsh and deadening to the senses and spirit and called for a return, both in life and in spirit, to the emotional and natural, as well as the ideals of the pre-industrial past. Sailor URL: http://www. Sailor. Org/courses/engaged/ Page 2 of 2

George Orwell s Animal Farm - 1376 Words

George Orwell or Eric Blair, the author of â€Å"Animal Farm†, was a man who was best known for his journalism, writing, and political insights. He was able to bind all the corruption caused by the Russian Revolution, Stalinism, and Communism in an allegorical book, â€Å"Animal Farm.† In his book, he symbolized all the leaders and significant people involved in the Russian Revolution from Karl Marx to Tsar Nicholas II to Hitler, in the setting of a rebellion of animals towards humans. In Orwell’s allegory, there were many leaders who rose and fell, had their advantages and disadvantages, influenced positively and negatively, etc. However, two of the main characters that really stood out were Napoleon and Old Major (pigs). Napoleon and Old Major†¦show more content†¦At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from hi s place just in time to escape their snapping jaws.† (Orwell 52). Napoleon and Snowball are rivals against each other. In this scene, the animals were gathered together to listen to each, Napoleon and Snowball’s speeches and vote on whether the windmill is built or not. Napoleon shows in this quote that he is very selfish, controlling, and a cheater. Clearly, his mentality is based on dominating everyone without care for anyone but himself. Instead of being fair and just by letting the animals vote on whether they wanted to carry on with his idea or Snowball’s, he decided to expel Snowball (his rival) off the farm to achieve authority and power over the rest of the animals easily; â€Å"The three hens who had been the ringleaders in the attempted rebellion over the eggs now came forward and stated that Snowball had appeared to them in a dream and incited them to disobey Napoleon s orders. They, too, were slaughtered. Then a goose came forward and confessed to ha ving secreted six ears of corn during the last year s harvest and eaten them in the night. Then a sheep confessed to having