Dr. Gary Kaplan was trying to achieve change at Virginia Mason. He envisioned the transformation of Virginia Mason Medical Center into the quality leader in health care and sought to lead the organization toward this vision. When Dr. Kaplan joined VMMC what attracted him to the medical field was a collaborative team approach and Virginia Masons’ unique culture that was created in the early 1900’s. With time VMMC started to face challenges, competition was fierce and VMMC soon began to experience financial troubles. In addition, its employees were unhappy and the staff morale around the hospital was declining. Kaplan noticed that change had to be made to the way VMMC ran its hospital. Kaplan proposed that VMMC follow Toyota Production System management method to restructure the way it ran its physicians, nurses and support staff. He felt that NMMC’s goals were similar to Toyota, especially putting the customer/patient first, focus on quality and safety, and a commitment to employees. Kaplan was trying to achieve this change while keeping the unique culture that VMMC began with so many years ago.…
In the San Diego distribution center (DC) information flow example, dealers not being notified automatically of order status would be classified as which of the following information flow dimensions:…
Chapters 1/2: Introduction and Perspective ................................................................. 3 Chapter 3: Product Development Decisions................................................................. 7 Chapter 4: Procurement Decisions ............................................................................... 9 Chapter 5: Manufacturing Decisions........................................................................... 17 Chapter 6: Distribution Decisions ............................................................................... 25 Chapter 7: Transportation Decisions .......................................................................... 29 Chapter 8: Service Decisions ...................................................................................... 37 Chapter 9: Generate Demand Decisions..................................................................... 38 Chapter 10: Forecasting Decisions............................................................................. 44 Chapter 11: Information Technology Decisions ......................................................... 48 Chapter 12: Other Decisions ....................................................................................... 53 Chapter 13: Financial and Operating Reports............................................................. 55 Chapter 14: Research Studies..................................................................................... 73 Chapter 15: Performance Evaluation .......................................................................... 83 Chapter 16: Firm Management and Advice................................................................. 85 Appendix: Web-Based LINKS Access......................................................................... 87 Index…
A. Analyze whether a Keiretsu network, a virtual company, a vertical integration, or a different supply chain strategy should be adopted.…
The goal of this course is to cover high-level supply chain strategies and concepts while introducing the analytical tools necessary to solve supply chain problems. As the function of supply chain management is to design and manage the processes, assets, and flows of material and information required to satisfy customers’ demands. Supply logistics related costs account for 20-25% of a typical firm’s total cost. On the revenue side the supply chain decisions have a direct impact on the market penetration and customer service. Globalization of economy and electronic commerce has heightened the strategic importance and of supply chain management and created new opportunities for using supply chain strategy and planning as a competitive tool. Electronic commerce has not only created new distribution channels for consumers but also revolutionized the industrial marketplace by facilitating inter-firm communication and by creating efficient markets through trading communities. Moreover combination of enterprise information infrastructure and the Internet has paved the way for a variety of supply chain optimization technologies.…
A Management Information Systems Project Assignment: Select two organizations in the same industry and study their SCM. Prepare a report on how the companies are managing their customers and suppliers. Make some recommendations as to how they can improve their efficiency.…
Organizationally, upper management need to stop focusing on continuously obsoleting its own products by constantly introducing innovations. This is what is causing the turmoil throughout Meditech.…
How does a raw material’s status as pure, weight-losing, or weight-gaining influence the facility location decision? A pure raw material is one that loses no weight in manufacturing and, because of this, the processing point can be anywhere, near the raw material source and the market. Weight-losing products lose weight during processing; the processing point should be near their source in order to avoid payment of unnecessary transportation charges. Weight-gaining products gain weight during processing; the processing point should be close to the market.…
MDCM, Inc., one of the world’s largest contract manufacturers for medical devices, had just announced its fifth consecutive quarterly loss. The firm posted revenues of $1.12 billion with net losses of $33 million for the second quarter of 2002. For Max McMullen, this was yet another agonizing episode since he took over as CEO two years earlier. Despite major company reorganizations, his promises to the shareholders for operational and cost improvements had not been realized. Given the company’s lackluster record, the next twelve months were critical in proving that these promises could indeed be kept. Concerned, McMullen called a meeting of MDCM’s senior executives to discuss the situation. “Our jobs depend on what happens the next few quarters. I know we have a good strategy, but we need to get our implementation right,” he explained. CFO Sharon Leis responded, “Well, our margins have been shrinking for eight consecutive quarters. We’ve got too much in working capital, not to mention one of the least efficient cost structures in the industry. I can’t fix any of these things, though, because by the time I get any information, it’s often more than forty-five days old! In my mind, we need to continue to cut costs.” Pat Perry, the vice president of marketing and sales, argued, “Our marketing and sales staff is actually really productive, maybe the best in the industry. But we spend a lot of time on tasks that could be done by customers using some type of self-service technology. I’m talking about online ordering and account management. It also kills me that the pilot customer relationship management system in France hasn’t done much for me. My people can be twice as productive if they’re getting information when they need it, not a week later.” COO Michael Shed jumped in. “Our forecasts are terrible. We’re spending almost…
This paper identifies an existing supply chain management process within an organization. It describes the flow of materials to the organization, the organization 's function, and the customer base that organization serves. The supply chain practice will be compared with other supply chain process. An analysis will be provided based on research and cost-benefit and the recommended changes. The paper has taken a supply chain process exists in the Minneapolis based retail giant Target. Target has 1500 stores, 25 regional distribution centers and 3 import warehouses.…
The supply chain differs for a company that sells a physical product such as furniture, from that of a company that sells a service such as cellular services. Though both supply chains differ, with powerful strategies both companies were able to achieve the same result, profits within the organization. Ultimately for any organization, the main goal is to increase profits. Improving the supply chain is one way to reach this goal. According to Schneider, "When companies integrate their supply management and logistics activities across multiple participants in a particular product 's supply chain, the job of managing that integration is called supply chain management. The ultimate goal is to achieve a higher-quality or lower-cost product at the end of the chain" (Schneider, 2004, p. 228). Lets attempt to show how Direct Buy, a furniture company, and Verizon Wireless, a cellular service company has achieved that goal.…
4. In what ways is the Miller SQA business model a departure for Herman Miller? Are there ways in which it is consistent with the past?…
Organizational Change Management encompasses all activities aimed at helping an organization successfully accept and adopt new technologies and new ways to serve its customers. Effective change management enables the transformation of strategy, processes, technology, and people to enhance performance and ensure continuous improvement in an ever-changing environment. A comprehensive and structured approach to organizational change management is critical to the success of any project that will bring about significant change.…
Moore Medical is a medium-sized distributor of medical supplies to practitioners such as podiatrists and emergency medical technicians. Up to the time of the case, it has relied on traditional customer channels such as catalogs, phones, and faxes to communicate product offerings, promotions, and availability, and to take orders. It is now attempting to transition into a "bricks and clicks" distributor with a strong Internet presence. It has already made substantial investments in an eCommerce web site and in "back office" ERP software to improve the fulfillment performance of its four distribution centers. The ERP software has not lived up to expectations in all areas, and the company must decide whether to invest in more modules for this system that might address its shortcomings. It must also decide whether to make a significant additional investment in customer relationship management software. At the time of the case, Moore must decide whether it has "enough" of the "right kind" of IT. The decision is complicated by the fact that the company has recently made substantial IT investments that have impacted financial performance and caused organizational disruption. In addition, it is not clear that all of Moore 's known issues related to customer retention and satisfaction will be addressed by the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) under consideration…
Moore Medical is a medium-sized distributor of medical supplies to practitioners such as podiatrists and emergency medical technicians. Up to the time of the case, it has relied on traditional customer channels such as catalogs, phones, and faxes to communicate product offerings, promotions, and availability, and to take orders. It is now attempting to transition into a "bricks and clicks" distributor with a strong Internet presence. It has already made substantial investments in an eCommerce web site and in "back office" ERP software to improve the fulfillment performance of its four distribution centers. The ERP software has not lived up to expectations in all areas, and the company must decide whether to invest in more modules for this system that might address its shortcomings. It must also decide whether to make a significant additional investment in customer relationship management software. At the time of the case, Moore must decide whether it has "enough" of the "right kind" of IT. The decision is complicated by the fact that the company has recently made substantial IT investments that have impacted financial performance and caused organizational disruption. In addition, it is not clear that all of Moore's known issues related to customer retention and satisfaction will be addressed by the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) under consideration.…