Morrisons Logistic and Management

The lean manufacturing and JIT are unified with each other with the goal of eliminating the excess inventory tied up in the hands of a typical manufacturing company. The lean manufacturing is based on the principle that they need only produce what is needed at the moment. There will be no production of excess items to reduce the capital tied down in the form of inventories. The JIT process supports this goal by creating a production line that produces products according to the demand only. The time it takes to produce the item and the item it is needed is calculated to meet.

After the product has been produced, the production is stopped immediately to make way for other demands from the sales department (Collins, 1994). The lean manufacturing allows the company to focus their time and resources on the products that are immediately sold. There is no excess inventory that could drag the whole company down. The JIT process also saves a lot of warehouse space and the need for excessive logistical investments. The suppliers of the company are alerted to the needs of the company in precise numbers and details of the inventory needed.

The resulting manufacturing chain results in very efficient use of personnel time and equipment.

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The logistical operations and their management, involved in the supply chains of the company and its suppliers The management has intimate relationships with its supplier to deliver goods on a timely basis. The inventory system Morrisons have directly reports to their suppliers regarding details on the exact number of items needed to be restocked. Quantity and specifications like size and color of the inventory are all detailed in the purchasing reports.

The result is a seamless coordination between the retailer and their manufacturers. The logistical operations have to employ sophisticated IT applications to handle the complexity of the information needed. The resulting ability to control the operations with a glance of the software screen allows for tremendous efficiency. There are no chances for typo or calculation errors since it is the computer that does these tasks. The only possible way the logistical chain can commit a wrong action would be through erroneous input of information by the operators of the IT system.

The information from these IT systems are transmitted immediately to suppliers to gain advance information beforehand to prepare for the eventual request to purchase the depleted items.

The role of quality in those four activities. The quality of the logistical operations entails the use of software and other efficient system to handle the identification of repurchasing needs. The management of these systems have to be responsive and continually vigilant in spotting potential problems that might occur due to delays in transportation.

The supply chains of the company are simple enough to provide cost savings to the end buyer. The company tries to buy directly from the producers of their products if possible to save on costs.

Planning

The planning aspect of the logistical operations involves a lot of calculation at the start. The IT integration of enterprise software to supply systems allows ease of computations. The time capacity is easily laid out. The route and estimated times of delivery can be seen at a glance with a few inputs from the operator (Collins, 2003).

The planners need only change the variables to see the best combination of actions that will yield the most profitable course of action for the company. The routes for delivery are chosen as well as the best mix of items to be purchased are chosen. The role of quality in this aspect is the prevention of a lot of potential mistakes at the very start. The operation will still be subject to a lot of unexpected situations but the possibility of mistakes is greatly minimized where possible. Execution The execution simply involves the request of the items to be delivered from the supplier to the company.

The role of quality in the aspect is the thorough check of the details of the purchase request. The possibility for typo errors in the identity as well as the number of items requested is reduced to almost nil. Control The role of quality in the control aspect is huge. The exactness of actions to be performed determines quality. The more precise the actions done, the better the quality of the operation is in the perspective of the company. The control allows the company to determine the quality that will result. There is no quality if the events simply happen without any direction at all.

There are check points along certain parts of the process to provide for control and decision making. The logistical aspect would require certain people to check if the time table calculated at the planning stage is met or not. Any changes in these details would result to the controller deciding to increase or decrease certain aspects of the process to compensate for the mistake (Wee, 2001). For example, a delay in the delivery would trigger a controller to hasten the current processing of items in order to compensate for the lost time. An excess of anything would trigger the controller to eliminate the waste generated.

For example, if the loading capacity of the trucks used for transport is not fully utilized, the controller might wait for additional requests in order to fully utilize their equipment and time.

Monitoring of supply chain activities

The role of quality in the monitoring aspect is huge. There are deviations bound to happen from the planned details no matter how good the plan is. These uncontrollable events can only be navigated upon in order to come up with efficiency in the operations. Each aspect in the logistical chain should be monitored to see if they are right on schedule.

In cases where the operation does not proceed as intended, the delay can be eliminated by hastening the next step in the process (Bodie, 1999). Any part of the process that breaks down unintentionally can be remedied by using additional resources. For example, a transporting truck breaks down while in transit. The operations center should immediately dispatch a repair team and an extra truck to take over the load carried by the previous one to deliver it to its final destination. The targeted time and amount of deliveries can be met with the use of additional resources to compensate for the delay.

The constant changes in the situation are unpredictable that is why it is very important to monitor the changes as they happen to provide the best solution as soon as possible.

Identify the supply chain/s that is/are present in the operations of your chosen company

The supply chain present in Morrison does not involve a lot of third party operators. The company sources their agricultural products straight from the farmers. The poultry and the fruit inventories are similarly sourced from local producers in UK. The products are either delivered by the farmers themselves to the company’s warehouses or via delivery trucks of the company.

Small producers or suppliers that don’t have their own delivery vehicles are supported by the company with the use of company owned delivery trucks.

Identify the geographical extent of those operations.

The geographical extent of the company’s operations is within UK only. They are usually sourcing from nearby agricultural producers for all farm products. The short distance traveled contributes to the fast re-stocking of all items on the shelf. The food items offered are easily guaranteed to be fresh because of this set-up.

Identify and discuss the logistical activities which are provided within the supply chain/s.

The products have to be counted and confirmed to be in good condition by all purchasing officers in each retail store. The products delivered by suppliers have to go through a checking phase to ensure accurate records. All of these records are important for the accounting department and the company. The profit margin of the company might suffer if inaccurate recording of goods are bought and sold by their control points. All of these check points are separated for each individual store to ensure speed of processing.

Identify and discuss:

a) the transport modes involved, and

b) the ways in which the physical distribution is carried out within those supply chains.

The transport modes are done via trucks for areas that carry huge amounts of products from suppliers. Transport routes that will pass by several suppliers are also serviced by trucks to accommodate the huge amount of supplies transported. Economies of scale and efficiency are created with the use of this system. All other routes that are servicing smaller suppliers or smaller amounts of goods are serviced by smaller vans. All of these are simply a reflection of the need for the size of transportation needed.

Identify the way in which quality is assured in all these activities and enhanced.

The system controller in the company’s headquarters monitors the reports done by various points in the logistical system. The time tables are checked by the logistical officer from the different suppliers needed to fulfill the order (Bruner, 1999). Communication is done either by email or by phone.

Critically analyze the logistical methods employed in the physical distribution of three of the supply chains you have identified.

One type of supply chain involves other companies. These units are coordinated with the company’s own logistical unit to ensure smooth operations (Graham,2006). The second type of supply chain is the internal supply chain composed of the company’s own departments and involved business units. All of these interact to produce timely and accurate requests for goods and merchandises to sell. Another type of supply chain involves the interaction of multiple suppliers to meet the demand of the company. This is possible in instances where a single supplier could not possible meet the demands of the company’s logistical needs.

The competing supplier actually cooperates with each other in order to benefit from the combines efforts. All of them will lose the contract if the demand requested by the company is not in a timely manner. It is better for them to have a smaller slice of the market rather than have nothing at all. An example is shown below showing a merchandising company and its possible sales figures and resulting demand in the logistical chain. The income statement and balance sheets are shown also to indicate the potential effect of interruptions in the supply to their financial statements.

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