Supply Chain Management Assignment Sample

Supply Chain Management

Introduction - Supply Chain Management

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The concept of Supply chain management (SCM) might be defined as the process of management that takes place where flow of goods, finances and data related to various services and products specific areas of material as product as final destination takes place. The existence of supply chain management has taken place since long in ancient times where the beginning has taken place with the help of the very first product and services that has been created and sold by the company. With the advent of industrialization, supply chain management and sophisticated forms with companies have been allowed to a more efficient job of producing and delivering several products and services to the customers in accordance to the requirements. Thus one of the main notions behind conducting this study is to focus on how Amazon will be able to deal with the SCM issues by implementing next evolution within their system and referring to the given case the entire study will be analysed.

Critical evaluation of two examples of the next evolution of Amazon's supply chain

Two examples of the next evolution of Amazon’s supply chain effective in a post covid19 world

Manual steering and volume flexibility: 

Based on the discussion made on the case study, it can be stated that with the advent of coronavirus which has been used for creating an economic turmoil around the world, it has been very much important for modern supply chains to face several unprecedented stresses which has been able to grow and increase level of scrutiny. Since the year 2008, there has been a financial meltdown which has been regulated by several Financial Institutions which have been situated globally and has forced the companies in order to test their stress balance sheets and guarantee the pre-readiness for any kind of financial tremor (Buatois and Cordon, 2020). The companies have been playing a primary role and re-balancing the worldwide source chain administration and practices at the time of the crisis as well as well afar in order to be able to gain their competitive advantage in the marketplace. It has been found out that any kind of unexpected changes in volume has been one of the useless statistical models where the companies have been able to assess events even to discard them from the data. Based on several reports, it has been found out that the rate of unemployment has increased across the globe where health care and several other agricultural Industries along with grocery stores have been able to utilise essential skills of work phase shortages of labour (Hausman, 2014). Amazon has been able to announce 100,000 new job roles today employees in order to fulfil their delivery and sensor networks while it has been forecasting the return of foreign trade workers in the area of production plants and several others factories have still been able to generate revenue relative to the West. It has been found out that with the help of Covid-19 strategies and how it has impacted the weaknesses of several globalised manufacturing systems that requires them to respond in accordance to the needs of the companies and fundamental rethink about their supply chain management practices. The goals of these companies have been significantly understood by keeping in mind the fundamental ways in which the supply chain management practices can be modified as one of the key business drivers which will be helpful for them and putting back the human as one of the essential elements to continue with the agile business towards success (Bejlegaard et al., 2021).

Amazon has been recommended to focus on managing their key assets, adapting to an established strategy that will be helpful in analysing what kind of study is required by the company to implement them as a part of the crisis response program. Amazon has been able to identify the shortage of N95 masks and has focused on understanding the requirements of new manufacturing plants that will be helpful in meeting the demand and give the company a program that focuses on providing intense value upsurges of up to 5x mark-ups (Sheikhattar et al., 2022). This has been beneficial for the company in terms of increasing their cost of labour that is both manageable and feasible along with being able to open up a new production line which can be also helpful and modification of the existing product requirements in order to improve their human capital. It can also be stated that the employee needs a proper visibility where they will be able to focus on making supply chain management decisions and practices in order to take such huge steps which will be made in a manual process as one of the key factors (Bejlegaard et al., 2021).

AI in supply chain management

It has been found out that supply chain problems and issues have been effects of companies and the businesses have been able to simplify their product portfolios in order to increase customer base which will be helpful for their in configuring several appliances as well as commercial vehicles and aircraft equipment. There have been several suppliers of industries that have not been able to provide the required amount to start the energy required by the companies and the leaders of the company also did not have any particular amount of disability where they would be able to understand the supply chain issues and adapt to the ordering process (Baryannis et al., 2019). There are several such problems which has been helpful in creating political tensions across the globe and helps in increasing tariff and protectionism which has been caused due to the reasons outburst of the Covid-19 pandemic and has lead in the shift of ownership of raw materials which has made it more difficult for them to maintain a supply chain management practices which is efficient in nature (Cadden et al., 2021). These constraints have also been helpful in focusing on understanding how it has been combined with the rise in customisation and has been complicated even when it comes to efficiently focus on creating supply chain management practices so that the companies operating in the country can improve their performance by investing in several other schemes or program for implements new enterprise resource planning.

The potential success of those changes using relevant examples and their impact 

The employees of Amazon have been able to understand the importance of supply chain management into their system where the expected level of machine automation in the processes of their supply chain has been able to be doubled up in the next 5 years. It can be stated that Amazon has been able to be helpful in maximizing their productivity in the connected digital world by reducing several issues and uncertainties as one of the top priorities across industries. It has been significantly found out that mountain several expectation has only been able to speed up their supersonic aspect and additions is that has taken place between the suppliers in business partners of several sites where the company has been able to understand for their needs of the industry not elaborate the progress of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its implementation in the supply chain logistics (Toorajipour et al., 2021). Amazon has been able to realise how supply chain management and artificial intelligence has been helpful in combining the process and help the management of the company deliver powerful optimisation capabilities which are required for them in a much more effective and accurate hue and has enhanced their planning of capacity. It has also been able to be helpful in improving the productivity of employees and providing high quality products and services to the customers with an affordable price range that has let them into putting a greater output after focusing on providing the employees with safer working conditions during the covid-19 outbreak (Dash et al., 2019). AI implementation with an Amazon has been helpful for the company in providing them with an accurate inventory management that can be helpful in ensuring how to write flow of products and services in and out of the warehouse can take place and serve the customers in a better manner. Artificial intelligence system of Amazon provides them with intelligence algorithms that can be helpful for the company in predicting and discovering the new consumer habit and also focuses on forecasting any amount of seasonal demand within the business markets that will be helpful for the company in providing and producing both in accordance with the requirements of the customers. AI has also been able to create an automated efficient warehouse which is the most integral part of supply chain management and has been able to focus on solving several issues taking place within the warehouses (Riahi et al., 2021). The systems within Amazon has been able to ensure that there is a smart planning system which is efficient in nature and has been helpful in enhancing the material safety and workers safety of the employees where they have focused on significantly analysing the safety data from the workplace and inform all the manufacturers about any amount of possible risk they may face. Amazon has also been able to deal with these factors by making the entire process of delivery faster, safer and smarter. This has been beneficial for the company in terms of delivering timely management as per the requirements of the customer and has been able to accelerate any amount if traditional warehouse delivery by removing bottleneck operational aspects along with the focus on value chain with minimal effort of creating and achieving delivery targets (Modgil et al., 2021). 

Ethical treatment of two stakeholders within their supply chain

Two stakeholders with Amazon's supply chain and relevant ethical consideration

Ethical consideration for customer: In legal dealings with its customers, Amazon presents itself in a positive light and clients are more likely to trust the company regardless of price or service problems. Company values and culture must include ethical dealings, and any deviation must be severely punished. It is more likely that an organization has loyal customers and happy employees if its best practices and culture revolve around integrity. The ethical consideration for customers within the supply chain is that they make improvements in the service quality which enhances positive relationships (Elias, and et.al., 2021). Further, Amazon promotes and advertises products and services which are accurate to the actual offerings. When a company employs exaggeration and overselling techniques, it invites criticism and loses customers' trust. Better customer services and responsiveness are significant for keeping their trust in Amazon products and services. The customer should feel valued and appreciated by providing excellent customer service, quality products, and services. b supply chain management helps to ensure the fastest delivery of products to the customers. Thus, the company has many delivery partners along with the transportation for delivering services.

Furthermore, there is honesty and transparency for the customer to complete the accrual basis for payment transactions. Customers, as one of the industry's major stakeholders, require total accurateness in their transactions. Customers' promises must be kept during the sales cycle. It is Amazon's responsibility to make sure the authenticity of its client service at all times (Jain, 2021). Each customer's engagement and expertise must surpass the customer's expectations. After-sales service sincerity is critical for building b and long-term connections with consumers. After-sales delivery authenticity is critical for building b and long-term relations with clients. To succeed, a company must work very hard for ethics in all of its relation to customers and in all other areas. Companies need to make sure that their own interactions with workers are fair and clean in order to serve them well and speak well of them to others (Trivedi, and Madan, 2018). Good service, quality goods, and making the client feel valued and appreciated are all ways to make the customer feel valued and respected. It demonstrates a feeling of obligation on the portion of the company and involves the level of would when and value systems..

Ethical consideration of employee: To ensure that all Amazon employees know of being ethical, they must receive the correct training and guidance. Staff who are treated as equals are now continued to maintain a firm and prove confidence and commitment. A satisfied worker will mirror that to the customer, who will ask why the personnel is so happy. Employees at Amazon must feel secure reporting immoral conduct in the organization's growth without fear of being reprimanded or specifically called out (Polacco, and Backes, 2018). Amazon's ethical approval for employees also as provides a safe and happy atmosphere in order to provide necessary. Effective communication among the employees and employer helps to solve issues and avoid misunderstandings which can build an ethical environment for working. Each employee should always assume responsibility for the decisions they make, individually and collectively.

Amazon must ensure that its employees are treated fairly and with respect, and it is the company's responsibility to ensure that its managers do not abuse their power or mistreat their subordinates. In the process of managing the supply chain at Amazon, employees need to pay more attention to their accountability for completing the tasks (Ferreira, Marcovitch, and Val, 2020). Accountability is a major trait for employees so that they can handle critical situation for delivering the best services to the customers. The company must ensure the level of building trust and honesty with employees and provide equal respect to them. The hard work of employees enhances the supply chain of Amazon as it optimizes each element effectively. In terms of the supply chain, the employees check the quality of products and give assurance regarding the same which helps to manage the system (Sodhi, and Tang, 2021). Thus, the employees are major stakeholders for the company with an ethical consideration for the development of the business.

Measures Amazon can take to ensure the ethical treatment of those stakeholders

Measures taken by Amazon to ensure ethical treatment of- Customers

Continuous improvement: The continuous improvement in the standards and policies of Amazon to make sure the best products and services are offered to the customers. The commitment toward customers is increased and considering changes according to the needs and requirements of customers. It is a major priority of the management of Amazon to recognize the needs of customers and offer the best quality of products (Dash, and et.al., 2019). The supply chain system of the company is b as they can deal with the different challenging faces in the marketplace. The changes are important for a business to grow in an ethical way which plays an essential role to develop the business activities.

Collaborate with many brands: The ongoing collaboration with the different brands make changes in the mind of stakeholder like customer so that they are able to consider the changes in the situation. It increases the trust with customers as it brings a valuable aspect and they are ready to make an investment in the company (Delfanti, 2021). It is important to keep satisfied the customers with new products and services so that they are always the customer of the company.

Employees

Promote workplace ethics: Promoting ethics in the workplace by communicating ethical expectations with staffs helps to promote some main standards which are followed by employees. It is important that directors keep in mind that a code of ethics is worthless if leaders do not model ethical behavior. It is important to teach employees the acceptable behavior at the workplace that is substantial for the growth of the business. Every aspect of a leader's role must be modelled to make the workplace a better place for everyone (Rodrigue, 2020).

Ethics Training: As a means of promoting ethical behavior at the workplace, Amazon managers should set up seminars, workshops, and similar programs. The purpose of training sessions is to reinforce Amazon's standards of conduct, clarify what practices are and are not permissible, and discuss possible ethical issues. However, the company need to offer protective mechanism which helps the employees to take appropriate decision based on the aspect of handling the situations (Dash, and et.al., 2019). Offer rewards to the employees are considered as best ethical decisions which affects positively on the work. Maintaining sound professional values and principles aligned with Amazon’s mission is a fundamental part of ethical conduct. The more training sessions for employees makes them b to make changes in their behaviour and it creates a valuable impact on the business.

Evaluation of the impact

In order to evaluate the above example of two stakeholders like customers and employees who plays a major role in the business activities of Amazon and its supply chain management. There is a positive impact of ethical consideration of customers as it improves the level of growth and enhances the sales in business. However, the customers are a major part of the business and increase the profit of Amazon. Further, there are certain changes that occurred due to the weightage to customers as it brings positives among the employees as well. In addition to this, the ethical consideration of customers increases the market value of a business with a high rate of productivity. The employee-employer relationship brings positivity to the workplace and enhances the level of satisfaction among the employees. They need to follow certain moral values for considering the work in an ethical manner. There is a positive impact of ethical consideration of customers as well as employees and they are playing a major role as stakeholders in the company (Sodhi, and Tang, 2021). The supply chain management of Amazon is b as they deliver their products in the fastest way. Thus, the ethical code of conduct toward employees and customers is important to balance profit of the business and develop the area of knowledge regarding the new techniques of business. It has a positive impact on the people as well as company so that they can deliver better services to the customers.

References

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