Importance of Lean Supply Chains

¶ … supply chain operations, the four companies that clearly stand out from the list provided are Apple, Wal-Mart, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble. The author chose Apple because they are very present or dominant in several major consumers electronics realms including computers, MP3 players and smartphones. Wal-Mart gets a nod because they move a ton of product every year. They are the top retailer in the world and it is not even close. They alone comprise three percent of the GDP of the United States.

PepsiCo gets a nod because they are like Apple and Wal-Mart. They are a giant in their field (like Wal-Mart) and they have their tentacles in several different markets including the soft drink market, the energy drink market and, at one time, fast food. Regarding the latter, Yum Foods owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and Yum used to be a Pepsi subsidiary. Be it not surprising that most Yum restaurants still serve Pepsi, rather than Coca-Cola, to this very day.

Procter and Gamble is much like the others in that they have dominant brands names in multiple markets that all do well. Indeed, when looking at things like health/beauty aids, OTC medicine, detergents and cleaners, firms like P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and just a few others dominate everyone else (Yahoo Finance, 2016). Question Two A few things come to mind. Keeping things as efficient and simple as possible while also fulfilling the needs of the companies that are serviced is paramount.

This statement infers a balance and that is precisely what can and should be the case. The term JIT, short for just in time, comes to mind because it speaks to getting supplies just before they are needed rather than too far in advance or too late to make a difference. Getting a huge stockpile early on may seem like a good idea but it is bad supply chain management because the bulk of it would not be usable yet and those materials or goods have to be stored somewhere.

When it comes to good supply chain management, enough goods, services, materials and so forth are on hand and ready to go with a nominal amount in reserve. Anything beyond that is wasteful as space, time, procedure and shipping must all be kept as small in scope and complexity as possible. A small cushion is needed because there are unexpected surges and events sometimes.

Indeed, a coming hurricane may cause panic for some but hardware stores and gas stations love it because the demand for their services/goods skyrockets in such an event (Harps, 2006). Question Three When it comes to the terms agility, real-time, lean and optimal capacity utilization, a lot of that was covered in the prior section.

The idea of going "lean" means that the workforce, waste and supplies/materials are kept on hand as needed but little to nothing beyond that is usually kept on hand because it is not really needed. At the same time, firms want to be agile because they need to be able to shift and adjust quickly if things change.

For example, the prior hardware store would probably try to cram orders so that they don't run out of everything (or at least as quickly) so that they can maximize what is on hand and ready to sell. Since the demand for products will go up, the sales will as well. Such reactions and adjustment are part of working in a real-time manner. The optimal capacity utilization was partly explained by the second question's answer in that keeping too much of anything on hand is a bad idea.

Concurrently, the goods and items on hand need to be arranged in a way that minimizes the time and effort it takes to grab them and utilize them. Arrangement should also be based on frequency and importance of use. For example, a widget that is used on every product and in many instances should be close to all production lines and should be a priority when it comes to position and handling.

On the other hand, parts and supplies that are less commonly used would be less accessible but should be on hand nonetheless (Oracle, 2016). Question Four As far as how strategic business objectives, supply chain strategy and supply chain management innovation are related, the first of the three could and should lead to the other two. Indeed, there should be a strong correlation between what a company's strategic objectives are and how the supply chain of the firm operates and functions.

At the same time, the people on the front lines of managing and handling supply chain business should make every attempt to keep perfecting and innovating. This should be driven up the chain to management and the strategic directives can be shape d to utilize the same.