312 class instruction Just as men are from Mars and women are from Venus (or so the saying goes), corporate executives and supply chain professionals are also from different planets. The make-up of executive committees and boards of directors includes people who are largely not from the supply chain world. Talking about faster inventory turns probably invokes some mental image of material spinning around in some god-forsaken facility that few in this group have ever visited. To put it bluntly, you entered the lair of a group whose obsession is strategy, corporate-level indicators, and financial results. You, on the other hand, brought to them a world that is more about tactical operations, nonfinancial indicators, and activities instead of accomplishments. Can anyone spell disconnect? Would it not have been better to speak their language? What would be your suggestion to get both types of management on the same page so to speak?  How could you get them to communicate and understand what is important to both of them?

Instructions:  Your initial post should be at least 250 words.  Please post more than 2 reply responses of 100 or more words to your classmates or the instructor.  Responses should be a minimum of 100 words and . Please review the attached rubric for more details on the forum requirements. 

Respond to brian 100 words: class 312 Supply Chain Financial Management 

This is a very great example of what I’m about to explain when it comes to supply and finance being on the same page. I’m the Fleet Maintenance Superintendent for a small city here in central Florida. I have been there for a bout a year and a half now. We have over 500 pieces of  equipment and vehicle to include the fire and police department. Each year we sit down and discuss information on what equipment and vehicles that needs to be exchanged because of miles or over usage date. I found out that our city finance department was making the decision of determining what vehicles needed to be replaced along with how many. No one could explain to me why this would make any sense. So to correct the issue the Fleet Department  is now in charge of all fleet related issues, and to tie the finance department in is that the budget and cost will be reported to them on which equipment that needs to be replaced. I truly understand the role of the finance department because  when you talk about budget and money it all goes together. In the corporate level that process could become a little more difficult. There are so many parts and moving pieces that you probably have  to communicate on a daily basics when we are discussing connecting supply and finance as far as inventory. The military operates a little different from the civilian world when discussing supply. A certain amount of funds are allocated for that unit for the physical year so the flow of goods runs smoothly.

Respond to Travis 100 words: class 312 Supply Chain Financial Management 

Over the course of time, I would say that the supply chain management was not something high on executive’s minds.  Today’s market and the competitiveness within, I feel has changed that outlook. When dealing with suppliers, companies are trying to find any advantage to leverage cost savings.  Those companies who have decided to include the supply chain in their executive world have opened their access to information and visibility on overall performance.

Even in the military we have built teams such as “Tiger Teams”, to tackle problems in efficiency and cost saving measures.  At the end of the day, we work for the tax payer and should be saving every penny possible in our processes.  One thing that the military does well, is to plan effectively, and this week’s reading discussed this topic a bit.  To plan effectively, teams should conduct business as follows:

· Align teams with challenging goals for each

· Determine who is best suited to lead each team

· Ensure proper training is conducted

· List needed resources

· Build team hierarchy

· Set goals/milestones for each team

· Method of rewards for involvement

· Develop certain guidelines to add value to the team

One example that I use with my teams are to develop “SMART” goals, and get buy in from everyone.

· Specific

· Measurable

· Achievable

· Relevant

· Time-based

Although this is not something that will solve all the tasks or problems, it helps our team to discuss concerns and possible outcomes of projects.  Getting each side to understand that everyone’s piece of the puzzle adds to the big picture within the logistics community, enables more cross-talk and better outcomes.

Reference:

Trent, R.J. (2016). Supply chain financial management: Best practices, tools, and applications for improved performance. J.Ross Publishing

Define Supply Chain Management 313 instructions:In no less than one paragraph discuss your definition of Supply Chain Management and its role in a company’s ability to compete effectively in the market.

Instructions:  Your initial post should be at least 250 words.  Please post more than 2 reply responses of 100 or more words to your classmates or the instructor.  Responses should be a minimum of 100 words and . Please review the attached rubric for more details on the forum requirements. 

Respond 100 words to AMBROSE:

According to Wikipedia, Supply chain management is the management of the flow of goods and services, involving movement and storage of raw materials, of work-in process inventory, and of finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption. It also design, plan, execute, control and monitor activities of supply chain with the aim of creating value, building infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, transferring supply with demand and measuring performance worldwide.
Speed is important because customers value fast service. Increasing speed, however, can cause costs to skyrocket, so maximizing efficiency is equally important. The most effective supply chains deliver products as fast and as cheaply as possible without sacrificing quality. Top companies accomplish this by using complicated logistics tools, such as computer algorithms that choose optimal routes for product shipping and large company databases that allow distant employees to pool order information and coordinate their efforts in real time.Supply-chain management provides a way to develop a competitive advantage without having to lower your prices. For instance, by developing a more efficient supply chain, you can deliver orders faster to customers. All else being equal, customers will choose the company that meets their needs fastest, giving you a competitive advantage in your industry.
Competition is a big deal amongst organizations in supply chain management.
Supply chain has existed for years, but companies feels that it is only a value-add to their operations. Supply chain management is important mostly to companies who thinks they must rely on the effective supply chain or network, to compete in the market. Companies like Dell and Hewlett-Packard have successfully operated jointly with supply networks whereby specialized business partners focuses on only few key strategic activities (Scott,1993).

Respond 100 words to Mark:

Supply chain management simply put is the process of procuring materials to manufacture goods to then deliver to the end-user being the consumer.  I found it interesting this process did not become defined until the 1950’s or 1960’s as technology evolved.  It has developed along two paths since then as we learned this week from our reading.  The first path is the focus on procuring supplies from industrial suppliers.  The second path is the focus on customer service and the logistics aspect as related to wholesalers and retailers.

Supply Chain management can also be broken up into four parts or main components.  These parts are Supply, operations, logistics, and integration.  Supply involves many aspects.  Purchasing materials that are from a quality source and are themselves quality is important.  Supply also involves proper timing so as to not create a shortage or overstock within the pipeline.  When procuring supplies pricing is also a major factor along with safety.  Finally, as environmental issues have become more prevalent in the minds of consumers and business managers how supply impacts to our planet also has become a consideration.  The second component being operations focuses on the steps after supply procurement.  Operational entities take the supplies and create the right amount of products for the right price that meet the quality standards sought.  Once produced the logistics component takes over bringing the products the rest of the way to where the end-user will purchase them.  Obviously, costs must be controlled so the products are not priced above what a consumer is willing to pay.  Finally, in order to make this all work all levels of the supply chain must integrate to work cohesively.  By doing so the correct amount of product will be available at the correct price and at the correct time in order to increase profits for the company.              

References:

Wisner, J. D., Tan, K., Leong, G. K. (2014). Principles of Supply Chain Management: A Balanced Approach, (4th ed). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.