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Hub You - Supply Chain Agilit - Inducing World Class Performance for the 21st Century
Bar code label printers are special, small sized printers that are capable of printing bar code labels. They are used in businesses wherever inventories are required to be recorded such as in retail and departmental stores, ID card offices, warehouses, etc. General purpose printers can be used to print bar code printers. There are also thermal bar code printers specially for printing bar code labels.General purpose printers are in fact normal printers. They are capable of printing bar codes on white sticker papers. Laser printers are much better than inkjet printers, as they give more clarity and a faster printing rate. General purpose printers are very slow at printing – they may print as much as 3 to 7 inches per second. They are suitable if the number of bar code labels to be printed is less per day, or if it is a temporary business.Thermal printers and thermal transfer printers are much more efficient and faster at printing bar code labels. These printers have a thermal head that selectively apply heat on a specially coated paper that darkens the area. The thermal head may be heated directly or indirectly. Such printers can produce better quality images. They are ideal for fast printing, such as in departmental stores, where several goods are sold over the counter every minute. However, one problem with thermal printers is that their thermal heads wear out from time to time and need replacement.Bar code label printers require regular cleaning of the ribbon and the print head. Specks of dust may cause distortion of the bar codes. The outputs of these printers using ANSI software need to be continuously checked in order to check for system malfunctions.Most printers are compatible with Windows drivers. They can be connected to computers to check the type of printout they would produce. Software is available to design labels that are exactly printed by the printers. However, many printers are standalone and do not hookup to another computer. Simply feeding the numerical code can generate the requisite bar code label.
Stage 3, Building Capabilities, is the stage of the effort when detailed plans to achieve world-class supply chain agility and performance are executed. New technology, capital, people, and resources are effected through team building and high involvement activity. New plant and distribution locations are leased or constructed, master contracts with new component and transportation suppliers are signed and implemented, new equipment and information technology are purchased and implemented, and new inventory stocking policies are executed where required to achieve world class performance.
Stage 4 Performance Results, is the stage when results of the plan are measured for performance success of the five drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The master plan is a continuous closed loop process, and once performance drivers are assessed, the major activity returns to stage 1 for further diagnosis and development. This allows each company to select certain keyholes to leverage initially and work on others in subsequent iterations of the closed loop.
Second Dimension: Six Keyholes
To develop and implement supply chain agility, there must be an optimal balance in six key areas. The second dimension consists of six keyholes to be assessed and leveraged either individually or in combination.:
· Production
· Supply
· Inventory
· Location
· Transportation, and
· Information
The following describes each of the keyholes:
1. Production
Strategic decisions regarding production focus on what customers want and the market demands. This first stage in developing supply chain agility takes into consideration what and how many products to produce, and what, if any, parts or components should be produced at which plants or outsourced to capable suppliers. These strategic decisions regarding production must also focus on capacity, quality and volume of goods, keeping in mind that customer demand and sat
Change can be good or it can be bad, change of any kind good or bad has an effect on individuals. This effect is some times positive. However, most of the time it is negative. People naturally resist change and this resistance to the change cause's stress and then stress leads to other problems. If we work in an environment where change is occurring all the time, employees will be under constant stress, quality and quantity of production will be lower. We must make changes if we are to improve our operations. The challenge then becomes how do we make changes without creating stress in the work place.A major change, like relocating a business or a total remodeling creates a lot of change at one time and this is not quite the same as when you make changes at an established work place. People are expecting changes when they move or remodel and they are prepared to cope with the stress that comes with it. With a major move it is the best time to make changes and most if not all companies change all the layout and procedures when making a move. I don't think you would ever see a move where everything was put in the same place and everyone conducted business exactly the same.Changes at an established work place can be quite different and you can never know how it may affect different individuals. We are usually reluctant to discuss changes until we are ready to implement them, the person who comes up with the change is then fully prepared for the change and eager to get started. However the surprise to others may be more than they can handle.Here are some simple guidelines that may help when implementing changes in the work place.1. Establishing a sense of urgencyFirst comes the idea for a change to address a problem. While the idea is fresh write down why the change is needed. Get it on paper or in the computer. There must always be a reason for a change and you should be able to fully explain the reason. The stronger the urgency the greater the need for a change.2. Creating the Guiding CoalitionMake others aware of the need and seek their input on how to address the problem. Create a guiding coalition to support you as you explore the possibilities.3. Develop a Vision and StrategyNext des
A supply chain is the stream of processes of moving goods from the customer order through the raw materials stage, supply, production, and distribution of products to the customer. All organizations have supply chains of varying degrees, depending upon the size of the organization and the type of product manufactured. These networks obtain supplies and components, change these materials into finished products and then distribute them to the customer.
Managing the chain of events in this process is what is known as supply chain management. Effective management must take into account coordinating all the different pieces of this chain as quickly as possible without losing any of the quality or customer satisfaction, while still keeping costs down.
The first step is obtaining a customer order, followed by production, storage and distribution of products and supplies to the customer site. Customer satisfaction is paramount. Included in this supply chain process are customer orders, order processing, inventory, scheduling, transportation, storage, and customer service. A necessity in coordinating all these activities is the information service network.
In addition, key to the success of a supply chain is the speed in which these activities can be accomplished and the realization that customer needs and customer satisfaction are the very reasons for the network. Reduced inventories, lower operating costs, product availability and customer satisfaction are all benefits which grow out of effective supply chain management.
The decisions associated with supply chain management cover both the long-term and short-term. Strategic decisions deal with corporate policies, and look at overall design and supply chain structure. Operational decisions are those dealing with every day activities and problems of an organization. These decisions must take into account the strategic decisions already in place. Therefore, an organization must structure the supply chain through long-term analysis and at the same time focus on the day-to-day activities.
Furthermore, market demands, customer service, transport considerations, and pricing constraints all must be understood in order to structure the supply chain effectively. These are all factors, which change constantly and sometimes unexpectedly, and an organization must realize this fact and be prepared to structure the supply chain accordingly.
Structuring the supply chain requires an understanding of the demand patterns, service level requirements, distance considerations, cost elements and other related factors. It is easy to see that these factors are highly variable in nature and this variability needs to be considered during the supply chain analysis process. Moreover, the interplay of these complex considerations could have a significant bearing on the outcome of the supply chain analysis process.
The Challenge
In today's world, competing is taking on new dimensions. A global resegmentation of markets is imposing stiff foreign and domestic competition on worldwide economies. The ability to compete is being determined by the degree of responsiveness to customers and key markets: how fast you deliver, how good the quality is, what the price is, and what value the customer perceives he is getting. Markets are demanding quick customizing of products.
Over the next ten years, worldwide manufacturers will be faced with stiffer competition in most markets. Clearly the pressure is on to be the best, nothing less. They must concentrate on satisfying the demands of the market: designing and building the best quality product in the shortest time possible. Taking dramatic steps to become agile in the supply chain is necessary to be a manufacturing contender in the next century.
Organizations must focus on moving information and products quickly through retail, distribution, assembly, manufacture, and supply. All physical and logical events within the supply chain must be enacted swiftly, accurately, and effectively. The faster materials, information, and decisions flow through an organization's supply chain, the faster it can respond to the demands of the market. The keys are flow and time.
The next ten years will emphasize radical development of the corporate supply chain infrastructure, inducing major changes to the organization. The focus will be on quickly introducing new customerized high quality products and delivering them with unprecedented lead times.
The end result will be a new effective organization capable of making swift decisions, and manufacturing and delivering products with high velocity. Large scale changes in the way we operate in the office, in the factory, with our suppliers, and how we market and move products to the end customer are required to achieve this degree of performance.
Those successfully emerging from this radical transformation will be the winners and leaders: quick, and resourceful enterprises. These enterprises will be world-class competitors, organized to respond to a dynamic market with precision and unprecedented speed and agility in delivery and new product introduction. They will be capable of achieving world class quality, with substantially less nonvalue-added cost. Each company will be developed uniquely to suit its particular needs, but one characteristic will fit them all--they will all be agile.
Becoming agile means competing and leading in the next century. Companies require an overhaul of their infrastructures to be able to introduce and build new products quickly and accurately, but also need an acculturation process fueled by heavy involvement. It takes time to enact changes of major proportions, and it takes careful planning. How do you get your arms around this?
Our Approach: A Comprehensive, Systematic Master Plan is Required
A comprehensive and systematic master plan is needed to effectively manage a large-scale effort. Our Supply Chain Development Model(TM) provides state-of-the-art technical application tools and emphasizes a continuous improvement approach. This exclusive management transformation program creates a master plan that systematically enacts supply chain agility. It encompasses the full supply chain from customer through production, assembly, supply, warehousing, and distribution.
The Supply Chain Development Model TM
At the heart of our supply chain management program is the supply chain development model. Managing large-scale change requires a comprehensive master plan as well as manageable stages in order to successfully accomplish the work. The integrated model provides that plus more. It is the shell for a master plan to manage a large-scale transition of capability in your company. It consists of three dimensions. · First Dimension: The Closed Loop
· Second Dimension: Six Keyholes
· Third Dimension: Performance Drivers For Success
First Dimension: The Closed Loop
Large-scale change requires managing the effort in phases or stages to effectively control progress. The first dimension consists of four stages, looped as a continuous process: (1) Diagnosis and Concept Development, (2) Detailed Action Planning, (3) Building Capabilities, and (4) Performance Results.
The following describes each of the stages:
Stage 1, Diagnostics and Concept Development, assesses the supply-chain competitiveness of the organization and builds a vision the desired supply chain. The evaluation begins with a diagnosis and comparison of business objectives against existing capabilities and performance. A rigorous diagnostic effort in all supply chain keyholes, production, supply, inventory location, transportation, and information, reveals where the existing supply chain can achieve immediate competitive advantage.
A vision of where the company should be is developed with respect to the five performance drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The performance gap between today’s performance and that of the vision is identified, and recommendations are made on which keyholes to leverage to obtain world class performance. This could be a strategic combination of one or several keyholes: production, supply, inventory, location, transportation, and information.
An action plan is developed to close the performance gap for those keyholes to be leveraged. Supply chain simulation models are developed where appropriate for extensive analysis and comparison of alternatives.
Stage 2, Detailed Action Planning, is the engineering phase that further develops the master plan in detail that is created in Stage 1. This effort focuses on the specific keyholes to be leveraged: any combination of production, supply, inventory, location, transportation and information. During this phase, the long-term supply-chain structure is designed in detail using new process and information technologies, organization structure, suppliers, inventory stocking policies, modes of transportation, new locations of plants and distribution centers. The focus is to streamline product, part and information flow, create operational flexibility, induce velocity of parts products and information, improve quality of performance, reduce overall cost and substantially improve customer service. This effort positions the company for long-term world-class supply chain performance.
Stage 3, Building Capabilities, is the stage of the effort when detailed plans to achieve world-class supply chain agility and performance are executed. New technology, capital, people, and resources are effected through team building and high involvement activity. New plant and distribution locations are leased or constructed, master contracts with new component and transportation suppliers are signed and implemented, new equipment and information technology are purchased and implemented, and new inventory stocking policies are executed where required to achieve world class performance.
Stage 4 Performance Results, is the stage when results of the plan are measured for performance success of the five drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The master plan is a continuous closed loop process, and once performance drivers are assessed, the major activity returns to stage 1 for further diagnosis and development. This allows each company to select certain keyholes to leverage initially and work on others in subsequent iterations of the closed loop.
Second Dimension: Six Keyholes
To develop and implement supply chain agility, there must be an optimal balance in six key areas. The second dimension consists of six keyholes to be assessed and leveraged either individually or in combination.:
· Production
· Supply
· Inventory
· Location
· Transportation, and
· Information
The following describes each of the keyholes:
1. Production
Strategic decisions regarding production focus on what customers want and the market demands. This first stage in developing supply chain agility takes into consideration what and how many products to produce, and what, if any, parts or components should be produced at which plants or outsourced to capable suppliers. These strategic decisions regarding production must also focus on capacity, quality and volume of goods, keeping in mind that customer demand and sati
Probably the biggest objection that we get from potential business sellers is, "I'm not going to pay you a monthly fee only a success fee when you sell my business." These business owners have met with business brokers that do not charge a monthly fee and believe that a Merger and Acquisition Advisory Firm should agree to the same pricing structure.For many types of businesses I would agree that a seller should hire a business broker and not pay a monthly fee. If that business is a smaller "Main Street" business like a dry cleaner, gas station, convenience store, restaurant, or other business to consumer organization, a business broker will be fine. They generally are selling these businesses to individual buyers and not to corporations. A very important point, an individual buyer will never pay strategic value for a business. He is buying a job. The Main Street business sells for a rule of thumb financial multiple.For business brokers the selling approach is more passive than the approach of a M&A Advisor because a BB has to have a large number of transactions going at one time. He is therefore limited in the time he can devote to each contingent engagement. Their selling approach is often comprised of putting the listing on a business for sale Web Site, placing a business opportunity ad in the Sunday paper, and sending a mass email to their accumulated list of individual buyers.A business that is business to business or B2B is more likely to be acquired by a corporate buyer. Reaching these buyers is far more difficult and far more labor intensive. Mailings are no longer effective, email does not work, business for sale Web Sites are not visited. The method that works is the old fashioned dialing for dollars approach. Reaching the targeted decision maker takes an average of ten phone dials.When you do get through, you have about 30 seconds to articulate the opportunity and establish your credibility. The M&A firm's objective is to interest multiple strategic corporate buyers and get a competition going. That can result in some very lucrative exits for their business owner clients.Another common objection that we hear from business owners about the monthly fee is, "We want you to have skin in the game. If you get the business sold and we win then you win." At the lower end of th
Structuring the supply chain requires an understanding of the demand patterns, service level requirements, distance considerations, cost elements and other related factors. It is easy to see that these factors are highly variable in nature and this variability needs to be considered during the supply chain analysis process. Moreover, the interplay of these complex considerations could have a significant bearing on the outcome of the supply chain analysis process.
The Challenge
In today's world, competing is taking on new dimensions. A global resegmentation of markets is imposing stiff foreign and domestic competition on worldwide economies. The ability to compete is being determined by the degree of responsiveness to customers and key markets: how fast you deliver, how good the quality is, what the price is, and what value the customer perceives he is getting. Markets are demanding quick customizing of products.
Over the next ten years, worldwide manufacturers will be faced with stiffer competition in most markets. Clearly the pressure is on to be the best, nothing less. They must concentrate on satisfying the demands of the market: designing and building the best quality product in the shortest time possible. Taking dramatic steps to become agile in the supply chain is necessary to be a manufacturing contender in the next century.
Organizations must focus on moving information and products quickly through retail, distribution, assembly, manufacture, and supply. All physical and logical events within the supply chain must be enacted swiftly, accurately, and effectively. The faster materials, information, and decisions flow through an organization's supply chain, the faster it can respond to the demands of the market. The keys are flow and time.
The next ten years will emphasize radical development of the corporate supply chain infrastructure, inducing major changes to the organization. The focus will be on quickly introducing new customerized high quality products and delivering them with unprecedented lead times.
The end result will be a new effective organization capable of making swift decisions, and manufacturing and delivering products with high velocity. Large scale changes in the way we operate in the office, in the factory, with our suppliers, and how we market and move products to the end customer are required to achieve this degree of performance.
Those successfully emerging from this radical transformation will be the winners and leaders: quick, and resourceful enterprises. These enterprises will be world-class competitors, organized to respond to a dynamic market with precision and unprecedented speed and agility in delivery and new product introduction. They will be capable of achieving world class quality, with substantially less nonvalue-added cost. Each company will be developed uniquely to suit its particular needs, but one characteristic will fit them all--they will all be agile.
Becoming agile means competing and leading in the next century. Companies require an overhaul of their infrastructures to be able to introduce and build new products quickly and accurately, but also need an acculturation process fueled by heavy involvement. It takes time to enact changes of major proportions, and it takes careful planning. How do you get your arms around this?
Our Approach: A Comprehensive, Systematic Master Plan is Required
A comprehensive and systematic master plan is needed to effectively manage a large-scale effort. Our Supply Chain Development Model(TM) provides state-of-the-art technical application tools and emphasizes a continuous improvement approach. This exclusive management transformation program creates a master plan that systematically enacts supply chain agility. It encompasses the full supply chain from customer through production, assembly, supply, warehousing, and distribution.
The Supply Chain Development Model TM
At the heart of our supply chain management program is the supply chain development model. Managing large-scale change requires a comprehensive master plan as well as manageable stages in order to successfully accomplish the work. The integrated model provides that plus more. It is the shell for a master plan to manage a large-scale transition of capability in your company. It consists of three dimensions. · First Dimension: The Closed Loop
· Second Dimension: Six Keyholes
· Third Dimension: Performance Drivers For Success
First Dimension: The Closed Loop
Large-scale change requires managing the effort in phases or stages to effectively control progress. The first dimension consists of four stages, looped as a continuous process: (1) Diagnosis and Concept Development, (2) Detailed Action Planning, (3) Building Capabilities, and (4) Performance Results.
The following describes each of the stages:
Stage 1, Diagnostics and Concept Development, assesses the supply-chain competitiveness of the organization and builds a vision the desired supply chain. The evaluation begins with a diagnosis and comparison of business objectives against existing capabilities and performance. A rigorous diagnostic effort in all supply chain keyholes, production, supply, inventory location, transportation, and information, reveals where the existing supply chain can achieve immediate competitive advantage.
A vision of where the company should be is developed with respect to the five performance drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The performance gap between today’s performance and that of the vision is identified, and recommendations are made on which keyholes to leverage to obtain world class performance. This could be a strategic combination of one or several keyholes: production, supply, inventory, location, transportation, and information.
An action plan is developed to close the performance gap for those keyholes to be leveraged. Supply chain simulation models are developed where appropriate for extensive analysis and comparison of alternatives.
Stage 2, Detailed Action Planning, is the engineering phase that further develops the master plan in detail that is created in Stage 1. This effort focuses on the specific keyholes to be leveraged: any combination of production, supply, inventory, location, transportation and information. During this phase, the long-term supply-chain structure is designed in detail using new process and information technologies, organization structure, suppliers, inventory stocking policies, modes of transportation, new locations of plants and distribution centers. The focus is to streamline product, part and information flow, create operational flexibility, induce velocity of parts products and information, improve quality of performance, reduce overall cost and substantially improve customer service. This effort positions the company for long-term world-class supply chain performance.
Stage 3, Building Capabilities, is the stage of the effort when detailed plans to achieve world-class supply chain agility and performance are executed. New technology, capital, people, and resources are effected through team building and high involvement activity. New plant and distribution locations are leased or constructed, master contracts with new component and transportation suppliers are signed and implemented, new equipment and information technology are purchased and implemented, and new inventory stocking policies are executed where required to achieve world class performance.
Stage 4 Performance Results, is the stage when results of the plan are measured for performance success of the five drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The master plan is a continuous closed loop process, and once performance drivers are assessed, the major activity returns to stage 1 for further diagnosis and development. This allows each company to select certain keyholes to leverage initially and work on others in subsequent iterations of the closed loop.
Second Dimension: Six Keyholes
To develop and implement supply chain agility, there must be an optimal balance in six key areas. The second dimension consists of six keyholes to be assessed and leveraged either individually or in combination.:
· Production
· Supply
· Inventory
· Location
· Transportation, and
· Information
The following describes each of the keyholes:
1. Production
Strategic decisions regarding production focus on what customers want and the market demands. This first stage in developing supply chain agility takes into consideration what and how many products to produce, and what, if any, parts or components should be produced at which plants or outsourced to capable suppliers. These strategic decisions regarding production must also focus on capacity, quality and volume of goods, keeping in mind that customer demand and sat
In business, good design isn’t a luxury. It’s an absolute necessity whatever business your in, the right company image is vital if your business is to develop, grow and reach its full potential.At good graphic design companies aim is to help businesses of all sizes get their message across with professional, high-quality, cost-effective, creative graphic design and advertising.We believe that design is not mere decoration, but a means of achieving a predetermined purpose. It can influence the way people behave, it can act as a visual stimulus in the case of branding, it is the best and most direct way in promoting your business presence and give brand recognition, it encourages understanding, it can change the way people perceive your business, your products and services. That’s why we will always go right back to the drawing board to make sure that all our designs make a difference to your business.A company logo is usually the first thing a potential customer sees and identifies with. There are many choices to consider when deciding on the best corporate identity (logo) that suits your business. In the end, it's not a personal choice - it’s really down to how audience will perceive your company a poorly designed logo could be a potential disaster. At G3 Creative we design and create superior quality corporate identities which will not only raise the visibility of your company, and add a professional look to your business, but will make it stand out ahead of the competition. Our aim is to help businesses of all sizes get their message across with professional, high-quality, cost-effective, creative graphic design.In logo design colour plays a big part in brand recognition, but should not be an integral component to the logo design, which would conflict with its functionality, for instance certain colours can convey different emotions and that’s why colour is very useful association tool for linking certain types of products with a certain brand (e.g. warm colors like red, orange, yellow) are linked to hot food and so can be seen in many fast food logos.Here’s a few more samples of colours associated with certain emotions:BLUE - Peace • Trust • Loyalty • Wisdom • Tranquility • Integrity RED - Love • Passion • Energy • Revolution • Power • Danger GREEN -
Those successfully emerging from this radical transformation will be the winners and leaders: quick, and resourceful enterprises. These enterprises will be world-class competitors, organized to respond to a dynamic market with precision and unprecedented speed and agility in delivery and new product introduction. They will be capable of achieving world class quality, with substantially less nonvalue-added cost. Each company will be developed uniquely to suit its particular needs, but one characteristic will fit them all--they will all be agile.
Becoming agile means competing and leading in the next century. Companies require an overhaul of their infrastructures to be able to introduce and build new products quickly and accurately, but also need an acculturation process fueled by heavy involvement. It takes time to enact changes of major proportions, and it takes careful planning. How do you get your arms around this?
Our Approach: A Comprehensive, Systematic Master Plan is Required
A comprehensive and systematic master plan is needed to effectively manage a large-scale effort. Our Supply Chain Development Model(TM) provides state-of-the-art technical application tools and emphasizes a continuous improvement approach. This exclusive management transformation program creates a master plan that systematically enacts supply chain agility. It encompasses the full supply chain from customer through production, assembly, supply, warehousing, and distribution.
The Supply Chain Development Model TM
At the heart of our supply chain management program is the supply chain development model. Managing large-scale change requires a comprehensive master plan as well as manageable stages in order to successfully accomplish the work. The integrated model provides that plus more. It is the shell for a master plan to manage a large-scale transition of capability in your company. It consists of three dimensions. · First Dimension: The Closed Loop
· Second Dimension: Six Keyholes
· Third Dimension: Performance Drivers For Success
First Dimension: The Closed Loop
Large-scale change requires managing the effort in phases or stages to effectively control progress. The first dimension consists of four stages, looped as a continuous process: (1) Diagnosis and Concept Development, (2) Detailed Action Planning, (3) Building Capabilities, and (4) Performance Results.
The following describes each of the stages:
Stage 1, Diagnostics and Concept Development, assesses the supply-chain competitiveness of the organization and builds a vision the desired supply chain. The evaluation begins with a diagnosis and comparison of business objectives against existing capabilities and performance. A rigorous diagnostic effort in all supply chain keyholes, production, supply, inventory location, transportation, and information, reveals where the existing supply chain can achieve immediate competitive advantage.
A vision of where the company should be is developed with respect to the five performance drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The performance gap between today’s performance and that of the vision is identified, and recommendations are made on which keyholes to leverage to obtain world class performance. This could be a strategic combination of one or several keyholes: production, supply, inventory, location, transportation, and information.
An action plan is developed to close the performance gap for those keyholes to be leveraged. Supply chain simulation models are developed where appropriate for extensive analysis and comparison of alternatives.
Stage 2, Detailed Action Planning, is the engineering phase that further develops the master plan in detail that is created in Stage 1. This effort focuses on the specific keyholes to be leveraged: any combination of production, supply, inventory, location, transportation and information. During this phase, the long-term supply-chain structure is designed in detail using new process and information technologies, organization structure, suppliers, inventory stocking policies, modes of transportation, new locations of plants and distribution centers. The focus is to streamline product, part and information flow, create operational flexibility, induce velocity of parts products and information, improve quality of performance, reduce overall cost and substantially improve customer service. This effort positions the company for long-term world-class supply chain performance.
Stage 3, Building Capabilities, is the stage of the effort when detailed plans to achieve world-class supply chain agility and performance are executed. New technology, capital, people, and resources are effected through team building and high involvement activity. New plant and distribution locations are leased or constructed, master contracts with new component and transportation suppliers are signed and implemented, new equipment and information technology are purchased and implemented, and new inventory stocking policies are executed where required to achieve world class performance.
Stage 4 Performance Results, is the stage when results of the plan are measured for performance success of the five drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The master plan is a continuous closed loop process, and once performance drivers are assessed, the major activity returns to stage 1 for further diagnosis and development. This allows each company to select certain keyholes to leverage initially and work on others in subsequent iterations of the closed loop.
Second Dimension: Six Keyholes
To develop and implement supply chain agility, there must be an optimal balance in six key areas. The second dimension consists of six keyholes to be assessed and leveraged either individually or in combination.:
· Production
· Supply
· Inventory
· Location
· Transportation, and
· Information
The following describes each of the keyholes:
1. Production
Strategic decisions regarding production focus on what customers want and the market demands. This first stage in developing supply chain agility takes into consideration what and how many products to produce, and what, if any, parts or components should be produced at which plants or outsourced to capable suppliers. These strategic decisions regarding production must also focus on capacity, quality and volume of goods, keeping in mind that customer demand and sat
Every action has a corresponding reaction, as they say. The end result may be dependent on how you acted on a particular situation. Although, there are situations where end results are uncontrollable due to some factors.The perks and drawbacks of working as a freelance copywriter will most likely depend on how you manage every situation. Some can well be managed within your reach while there will always be situations wherein you will have no control over.1. It’s all about time.Most copywriters tend to go freelance because of the issue about time. Freelancers are their own time-keepers, the best advantage they have over the ones tied inside a cubicle working eight hours a day or doing overtime even during weekends or holidays. Freelance copywriters can accept or reject work based on their availability.Time, can also be a disadvantage for freelance copywriters. Although they work on their own pace, in their own working environment, deadlines are still deadlines. Your clients will be strict with cut-off date for the materials you need to submit.2. Projects are low-profile.Advertising is a tough business. Competition is rough. Due to this notion, most well-known companies go for an established ad agency to do copywriting work for them. Some have their own advertising department in their company.Commonly, freelance copywriters are hired by budding companies or novice entrepreneurs to promote their products. This is done since most freelance copywriters have fees which is likely affordable especially to those that are just starting business.Another factor which contributes to freelance copywriters who have low-profile projects are having less contacts to the “right people” which can give them the good break they deserve. Hence, networking is very essential if you wish to go freelance. The “right” kind of people will bring you to the ladder of success you dream of stepping into.Begin networking with your friends, your friends’ friends and so on. It would be best if you could distribute calling cards, leaflets or brochures letting people know that you exist and that you are good. It will be better to show them what you got after you grabbed their attention. You need to sell yourself first, before writing to sell.3. Pay can be good or bad.It can
· Third Dimension: Performance Drivers For Success
First Dimension: The Closed Loop
Large-scale change requires managing the effort in phases or stages to effectively control progress. The first dimension consists of four stages, looped as a continuous process: (1) Diagnosis and Concept Development, (2) Detailed Action Planning, (3) Building Capabilities, and (4) Performance Results.
The following describes each of the stages:
Stage 1, Diagnostics and Concept Development, assesses the supply-chain competitiveness of the organization and builds a vision the desired supply chain. The evaluation begins with a diagnosis and comparison of business objectives against existing capabilities and performance. A rigorous diagnostic effort in all supply chain keyholes, production, supply, inventory location, transportation, and information, reveals where the existing supply chain can achieve immediate competitive advantage.
A vision of where the company should be is developed with respect to the five performance drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The performance gap between today’s performance and that of the vision is identified, and recommendations are made on which keyholes to leverage to obtain world class performance. This could be a strategic combination of one or several keyholes: production, supply, inventory, location, transportation, and information.
An action plan is developed to close the performance gap for those keyholes to be leveraged. Supply chain simulation models are developed where appropriate for extensive analysis and comparison of alternatives.
Stage 2, Detailed Action Planning, is the engineering phase that further develops the master plan in detail that is created in Stage 1. This effort focuses on the specific keyholes to be leveraged: any combination of production, supply, inventory, location, transportation and information. During this phase, the long-term supply-chain structure is designed in detail using new process and information technologies, organization structure, suppliers, inventory stocking policies, modes of transportation, new locations of plants and distribution centers. The focus is to streamline product, part and information flow, create operational flexibility, induce velocity of parts products and information, improve quality of performance, reduce overall cost and substantially improve customer service. This effort positions the company for long-term world-class supply chain performance.
Stage 3, Building Capabilities, is the stage of the effort when detailed plans to achieve world-class supply chain agility and performance are executed. New technology, capital, people, and resources are effected through team building and high involvement activity. New plant and distribution locations are leased or constructed, master contracts with new component and transportation suppliers are signed and implemented, new equipment and information technology are purchased and implemented, and new inventory stocking policies are executed where required to achieve world class performance.
Stage 4 Performance Results, is the stage when results of the plan are measured for performance success of the five drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The master plan is a continuous closed loop process, and once performance drivers are assessed, the major activity returns to stage 1 for further diagnosis and development. This allows each company to select certain keyholes to leverage initially and work on others in subsequent iterations of the closed loop.
Second Dimension: Six Keyholes
To develop and implement supply chain agility, there must be an optimal balance in six key areas. The second dimension consists of six keyholes to be assessed and leveraged either individually or in combination.:
· Production
· Supply
· Inventory
· Location
· Transportation, and
· Information
The following describes each of the keyholes:
1. Production
Strategic decisions regarding production focus on what customers want and the market demands. This first stage in developing supply chain agility takes into consideration what and how many products to produce, and what, if any, parts or components should be produced at which plants or outsourced to capable suppliers. These strategic decisions regarding production must also focus on capacity, quality and volume of goods, keeping in mind that customer demand and sat
It is no longer a question in the medical billing community of what the best method of sending claims is. Electronic billing has numerous advantages over sending paper claims including ease of transmission, lower cost, faster turnaround time and a number of other advantages. But what about the type of electronic format? The main ones today are NSF 3.01 and UB-92. So what's the difference and is one better than another? Which one should you use? Does it make a difference? Will using one format over another give you more headaches in the long run? In this installment, we're going to discuss the basic differences between NSF 3.01 and UB-92, including the pluses and minuses of each.The first thing that you need to know is that NSF 3.01 has been around a lot longer than UB-92. Back in the early days of electronic billing, it was the only option. Therefore, software manufacturers had to include it with their product if they were going to compete in the marketplace. Because of this and because everybody was creating their own NSF 3.01 package, each software manufacturer had to do the best job they possibly could. Because of this, NSF 3.01 was pretty much perfected. The only differences between the software packages was the interface for transmission. The specifications themselves were pretty solid.Today, with the two formats available and NSF 3.01 no longer being the only choice, for a medical billing agency to switch over to UB-92, there had to be a good reason. Well, there were several.For starters, because it was a relatively new format, the software was a lot cheaper than the software to send NSF 3.01 claims. For small medical billing agencies, this was a big plus, especially if they didn't have a large client base. Also, the cost to process these claims was cheaper because the format itself wasn't as popular and agencies were trying to get companies to use it. But there was a downside to all this.Because UB-92 was new, there weren't as many pieces of software to choose from. Most of them were also untested. The early failure rate of UB-92 transmission was great. The specifications were confusing and finding good programmers to create the code was not an easy task. So finding good software was very hard.Another problem was that because UB-92 was new, not every
Stage 3, Building Capabilities, is the stage of the effort when detailed plans to achieve world-class supply chain agility and performance are executed. New technology, capital, people, and resources are effected through team building and high involvement activity. New plant and distribution locations are leased or constructed, master contracts with new component and transportation suppliers are signed and implemented, new equipment and information technology are purchased and implemented, and new inventory stocking policies are executed where required to achieve world class performance.
Stage 4 Performance Results, is the stage when results of the plan are measured for performance success of the five drivers: velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service. The master plan is a continuous closed loop process, and once performance drivers are assessed, the major activity returns to stage 1 for further diagnosis and development. This allows each company to select certain keyholes to leverage initially and work on others in subsequent iterations of the closed loop.
Second Dimension: Six Keyholes
To develop and implement supply chain agility, there must be an optimal balance in six key areas. The second dimension consists of six keyholes to be assessed and leveraged either individually or in combination.:
· Production
· Supply
· Inventory
· Location
· Transportation, and
· Information
The following describes each of the keyholes:
1. Production
Strategic decisions regarding production focus on what customers want and the market demands. This first stage in developing supply chain agility takes into consideration what and how many products to produce, and what, if any, parts or components should be produced at which plants or outsourced to capable suppliers. These strategic decisions regarding production must also focus on capacity, quality and volume of goods, keeping in mind that customer demand and satisfaction must be met.
Operational decisions, on the other hand, focus on scheduling workloads, maintenance of equipment and meeting immediate client/market demands. Quality control and workload balancing are issues which need to be considered when making these decisions.
2. Supply
Next, an organization must determine what their facility or facilities are able to produce, both economically and efficiently, while keeping the quality high. But most companies cannot provide excellent performance with the manufacture of all components. Outsourcing is an excellent alternative to be considered for those products and components that cannot be produced effectively by an organization’s facilities.
Companies must carefully select suppliers for raw materials. When choosing a supplier, focus should be on developing velocity, quality and flexibility while at the same time reducing costs or maintaining low cost levels. In short, strategic decisions should be made to determine the core capabilities of a facility and outsourcing partnerships should grow from these decisions.
3. Inventory
Further strategic decisions focus on inventory and how much product should be in-house. A delicate balance exists between too much inventory, which can cost anywhere between 20 and 40 percent of their value, and not enough inventory to meet market demands. This is a critical issue in effective supply chain management.
Operational inventory decisions revolved around optimal levels of stock at each location to ensure customer satisfaction as the market demands fluctuate. Control policies must be looked at to determine correct levels of supplies at order and reorder points. These levels are critical to the day to day operation of organizations and to keep customer satisfaction levels high.
4. Location
Location decisions depend on market demands and determination of customer satisfaction. Strategic decisions must focus on the placement of production plants, distribution and stocking facilities, and placing them in prime locations to the market served. Once customer markets are determined, long-term commitment must be made to locate production and stocking facilities as close to the consumer as is practical.
In industries where components are lightweight and market driven, facilities should be located close to the end-user. In heavier industries, careful consideration must be made to determine where plants should be located so as to be close to the raw material source. Decisions concerning location should also take into consideration tax and tariff issues, especially in inter-state and worldwide distribution.
5. Transportation
Strategic transportation decisions are closely related to inventory decisions as well as meeting customer demands. Using air transport obviously gets the product out quicker and to the customer expediently, but the costs are high as opposed to shipping by boat or rail. Yet using sea or rail often times means having higher levels of inventory in-house to meet quick demands by the customer.
It is wise to keep in mind that since 30% of the cost of a product is encompassed by transportation, using the correct transport mode is a critical strategic decision. Above all, customer service levels must be met, and this often times determines the mode of transport used. Often times this may be an operational decision, but strategically, an organization must have transport modes in place to ensure a smooth distribution of goods.
6. Information
Effective supply chain management requires obtaining information from the point of end-use, and linking information resources throughout the chain for speed of exchange. Overwhelming paper flow and disparate computer systems are unacceptable in today's competitive world. Fostering innovation requires good organization of information. Linking computers through networks and the internet, and streamlining the information flow, consolidates knowledge and facilitates velocity of products. Account management software, product configurators, enterprise resource planning systems, and global communications are key components of effective supply chain management strategy.
Third Dimension: Performance Drivers for Success
The third dimension consists of five performance levels of focus for change strategy: Velocity, Flexibility, Quality, Cost and Service. They are used in all four stages to monitor success and must all be addressed for supply chain effectiveness. The following describes each of the performance drivers:
1.Velocity
Velocity is the rate at which raw materials, parts, components, finished products and information travel through the supply chain. As each element is able to move faster through the supply chain of events, lead times compress and less inventory is required to support demand.
2. Flexibility
Flexibility is the ability to adapt to new or changing demands in the market. It includes design flexibility and production flexibility. Design flexibility is the company’s ability to introduce new products and modifications to current products. Production flexibility is the company’s ability to change product mix within short lead times, such as day to day.
3. Quality
It is the conformance to requirements in measuring if the information, product, part or component does what it is supposed to do. Quality includes form, fit, function, reliability, consistency and accuracy.
4. Cost
Costs are the total costs of the conversion and movement through the supply chain per unit. The cost of adding value per unit is a measure of the productivity of the supply chain.
5. Service
Customer service is a quantitative as well as qualitative measurement. The quantitative approach is the more traditional method of calculating customer service based on a comparison of orders placed to orders shipped. The qualitative approach measures the customer’s satisfaction with service received.
Optimizing the Supply Chain
Dynamic simulation models can be very helpful in attempting to optimize the trade-offs between production, supply, inventory, location, transportation and inventory. These models are efficient and capable of a high degree of complexity of algorithms when attempting to balance velocity, flexibility, quality, cost and service within a chain of supply. A rigorous “What–if?” exercise can predict the impact to the bottom line for various alternatives. Global models, as well as local geographic models, can estimate quantifiable outcomes to statistically high degrees of accuracy. The dynamic simulation is a powerful decision making tool for both the diagnostics/concept development and detail planning stages.
Summary
The Supply Chain Development Model TM provides a comprehensive and systematic model to be used in restructuring a company’s supply chain. It can be used to induce supply chain agility for achieving world-class performance in the 21st century.
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