Understanding Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management

The below essay will explore the various problems that are associated with the referred to concepts in context of Aston Martin. This is a British Enterprise which is involved in the making of premium class automobiles. It was incorporated in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Special focus will be given on the problems that are associated with the new product development and quality management concerns. It would be highlighted that how through working on the supply chain logistics and operations company can improve its overall quality of the products and can add more features to its existing products. In order to do this various strategies, theories and concepts will be discussed which can be applied by company and can experience change (Banks and Stanton, 2016).

Operations are the different activities or daily activities that are carried out in the company. Management of same is concern with redesigning and controlling the core working areas which has direct impact on the overall results of the firm as it effects the goods and services that are produced. Thereafter comes the logistics. This is a corporate action in which the goods are transported from one place to another. It is essential that this operation is carried out with proper monitoring so that no problem is faced by the firm. Last but not the least is the supply chain management which is a chain or network which is made between the organisation and its suppliers. These parties help the firm in making the final goods and services available at the desired locations from where the ultimate customer can buy it. Aston martin is known for the luxury cars which it delivers to the upper class of society and has many competitors who offers similar products (Ganescu, 2012).

The targeted market of the firm is one which is more demands or prefer more of premium vehicles. It has its work station in UK and from there it carries out its various activities. Company is procuring the raw material from all over the world and hence is capable of delivering the final product. In order to develop a new product, it is essential for Aston Martin that it manages its operation, logistics and supply chain as collectively they can help in successfully achieving the objective of raising a fresh product. It is a complex activity ad need much planning beforehand so that success is achieved.

Company is producing now the new electric cars. It faces several issue in context of same as to maintain the same level quality and effectiveness is difficult along with the maintenance of same cost. It has to be safe and easily accessible by the customers. It has to be very careful in all the operations that are involve in the same process as failure of any area may lead to great harm to the brand image. In order to do so company has evaluated all the different options which company has in order to develop a new product so that the best suitable option is chosen which can offer maximum benefits to the firm. In context of same company may adopt six sigma theory of operations management (Kumar, 2017).

It is an effective way through which effective operations can be carried out. It gives six different standards that helps in eliminating the issues that are involved in the production process and improvise the defects that are involved in the operations. The first stage is to define the problem that needs to be solved. Here Aston martin ay gather all the relevant problems that are related to the development of new product. It will assist in making the prior arrangements which will further aid in avoiding issues that may occur in future. While launching the new electric car company need to identify that what all issues will be faced by it during the production and after sale of the vehicles. Once all these are recognised it is measured that what are the capabilities of the process. At this stage it is identified that what is the degree of the issue involved as how much it can affect to the business so that accordingly the solutions are planned. To continue with the manufacturing of the electric cars it can investigate hat what issues are faced by the users so that same can be resolved.

It would help in maintain the brand name in the market and will assist in improving future sales (Earley, 2015). Once the capabilities of the process are identified six sigma suggest the operation management o check when and where do the defects occur. It would help in knowing the most prone areas of the new product development. Not ever section is equally valuable and hence need to be operated accordingly. Once all these issues are identified then it becomes easy to determine that how the capabilities of the different process can be improved. As per the risk and cost involved planning regarding the possible solutions is done. Here all the identified areas of risk are managed and further control is practiced on the reached standards so that same risks are avoided in future.

After the operations there is also requirement of managing the supply chain as new product development need of effective supply chain so that the new product is made available to maximum customers who are spared in different areas. Supply chain management is the process through which flaws from the delivery of the products at different areas are eliminated and continuation in the same process is maintained. This is important that the process is cost effective so that the overall profit of the firm do not get much effected. Aston martin faces problems of managing continuity in the supply and hence it needs to be managed (Rebolledo-Mendez and et. al., 2014). There is to type of the supply chain internal and external. The internal supply chain is managed by ensuring that the raw material is available all the time. For same company has to keep proper record of the raw material and do timely purchase of the resource which are lacking.

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Distribution of same within the different departments has to be on time so that functioning of no department gets affected. This way the production process is carried out in the most effective way and hence the full capacity utilisation of the resources is made. Only producing the products on time is not just sufficient and do not solve the problems. It is equally important that whatever is produced is made available at the right place and on the right time. Effective decision has to be taken in a way that how the availability of the company product can be ensured at different distributors and suppliers so that maximum area is covered and no potential buyer is missed. Appropriate forecasting of the demand should be done in a way that the demand is fulfilled and competitive advantage can be gained.

There should be clear communication with the various agencies of the referred to brand so that orders are placed on time and flow in the business is maintained. Thereafter comes the management of the logistics. It is an art through which the supply chain is managed. It assists in keeping the supply effective by making the timely availability of all the required goods, information and other resource which are needed for raising the customer satisfaction level. It is also inclusive of all the facilities like packaging, warehousing, inventory etc.

In order to manage the issue of new product development use of just in time approach can also be made. It is an effective way through which along with the maintenance of supply total cost is kept control. According to this concept raw material should be procured at the same time when it is needed (Christopher and Peck, 2012). It means keeping excess stock in advance must be avoided and also the chances of non-available of material should also not occur. Having the right quantity at a time will help the company in avoiding the excess cost of storage and maintenance. Also as the new product development demands expertise which shows that until the present resources are not fully utilised investing much in same is not fruitful for the business.

The other issue identified in context of the Aston martin is of managing the overall quality. It is of utmost importance that the customer is provided with standard products in return of the high amount that is paid by them. According to the past records there are issues with the clutches of the care as most of the clients has complained regarding same (Clegg and et. al., 2013). Also as the car is hand built and this makes it one of the most unique and car which is unbeatable but because of the same reason it cannot defeated the other mainstream cars as they are made suing the advanced technology. It makes this car very expensive and less reliable. Apart from this the other issue associated with the designing of this brand car is that it does not offer the designs which can be used on regular basis by the customers. It limits the use of same by the users which is not the same case with the other brand automobiles as if it is regularly used than the user may have to bear huge wear and tear cost.

Although the recognised issue cannot be solved completely measures must be taken to reduce the impact of same. With the help of total quality management techniques company can control the overall problems that are associated with the product. It is a well-known concept through which such environment at work place is establish that supports the improvements on regular basis and do not resists to changes. Through this system work done is more customer focused. It would help the designing team of the brand to suggest such model which are impressive and can also be manufactured at comparatively less cost and can also be used on a regular basis (Clegg and et. al., 2013).

This might help company in attracting different segment of the customer too. tanning and developing of team should be done so that maximum customer satisfaction can be delivered to the clients. Maximum involvement of the employees should be done. It is an effective way of bringing change in the business as when employee engagement is there in the company there are more sources of information and suggestions of the work force can be more effective as they are in direct connection with eth employees as well as with the company’s operations. They know what customers expect from their spending. Continuous improvements can be made in the operations of the brand which is necessary to ensure the growth of company and to reduce the complains of the clients.

Also the theory of total quality management supports the concepts of process centred. To have an effective process is needed to give quality output. Here information which is relevant is gained from the various suppliers of the brand who know the trends of market and are familiar with the customers. They give their quality information to the brand and the same is used and processed in the various departments of the company. Accordingly, the final output is produced which is better from the one which is already present in the market. this way again the concept of TQM can be applied by Aston martin to raise the present quality standards.Apart from this in order to resolve the quality related issues it is necessary that brand start taking the fact based decision making. It has encounter many concern with the standards from the customer despite being so expensive (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014).

 It shows that the origination has to identify the cause behind the in convince which are caused to the brand user and on the basis of same decide what has to be done in context of same like how and by making what alterations the grievances can be solved. Judgements that would be taken on the basis of available facts will be easy to execute and also chances of receiving the desired results would be high. proper and open communication should be followed so that no one hesitates to present their views and suggestions to the management. It will further raise the employee morale and hence they will work with feeling of motivation which directly reflects on their final work. The output is more effective in both the terms quality and cost.

Conclusion and Recommendation

From the above report this has been summarised that it supplies chain management, operations and logistics are important ad core areas of the organisation which needs to be managed effectively. Proper functioning of each together leads to the attainment of the goals and objective of the company. Issues that are related to the quality standards and new product development can be resolved using different theories like total quality management and six sigmas. With the application of same most of the flaws from the process of business are eliminated and desired objectives are achieved. it is necessary for the automobile organisations to continuously work on their products as there is close and tough rivalry in this field which demands expertise and excellence in the work attitude.

It is recommended to Aston martin that while doing the development of new product it must do consider all the key areas of its business and then on the basis of their capacities takes the further decisions. It would help them in eliminating the risk involved and also will help the management in position of the new automobile successfully in the market area. apart from this employee must be provided with equal opportunities to become part of the decision making process as they will motivate them to do better and hence they will work with better dedication.

References

• Banks, V. A. and Stanton, N. A., 2016. Keep the driver in control: Automating automobiles of the future. Applied ergonomics. 53. pp.389-395.
• Christopher, M. and Peck, H., 2012. Marketing logistics. Routledge.
• Earley, S., 2015. Analytics, machine learning, and the internet of things. IT Professional. 17(1). pp.10-13.
• Ganescu, M. C., 2012. Corporate social responsibility, a strategy to create and consolidate sustainable businesses. Theoretical & Applied Economics. 19(11).
• Jacobs, F. R., Chase, R. B. and Lummus, R. R., 2014. Operations and supply chain management(pp. 533-535). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
• Kumar, N., 2017. Milestones in Business Ethics. Journal of Industrial Relationship, Corporate Governance & Management Explorer (e ISSN 2456-9461). 1(1). pp.26-32.
• Mangan, J., Lalwani, C. and Lalwani, C. L., 2016. Global logistics and supply chain management. John Wiley & Sons.
• Rebolledo-Mendez, G. and et. al., 2014. Developing a body sensor network to detect emotions during driving. IEEE transactions on intelligent transportation systems. 15(4). pp.1850-1854.