An Outline
The following was the team’s plan for the study of Supply Chain Management in the business situation at Alton International (S) Pte Ltd, Singapore Operations.
- Actual site visit
- Purchasing Department
- Sales and Marketing Department
- Human Resource Department
- Warehouse & distribution Department
- Customer Service Department
- Presentation of conclusion and recommendation
The concentration, naturally, was on the departments involved in SCM. Several gains, e.g., seeing theories of management being practiced and personal development as effective managers by exercise of classroom-learned management skills and inherent abilities, derived from systematic study of areas besides the focal area of SCM. The author sees major gains in the areas of –
- Adaptability
- Planning and Organization
- Time Management
- Teamwork and Assertiveness
- Creativity
- Analytical Skills
- Communication and Presentation
In fact, this learning experience began even before the team’s work commenced, as this author will show.
Choice of the organization and planning the study
“People who create and manage opportunities are rarely fazed by problems” (Pat O’Reilly, 1998, p. 2.) The team intended to study R.S. Components, but the firm could not permit its identity and other details, essential for the study report, to be disclosed. The team’s two weeks of preparatory work was almost an entire waste. Among few alternatives, the team shifted sights to Alton International (S) Pte Ltd, Singapore Operations (hereinafter referred to as Alton). Some of the work done for the previous subject company proved useful and the experience also helped to achieve the shift smoothly and quickly. The entire timetable was reconstructed and the team’s activities were reorganized and re-planned to be accommodated in the remaining time, which called for some intelligent time management. It was also a lesson in adapting the plan to changed circumstances to achieve the objective of studying the implementation of theories of Supply Chain Management in practical world of complex business.
The visit
The visit began with the Executive Director of Alton, Mr. Steven Ng’s overview of his company’s history, aims and vision. His perfect understanding of his company’s business, particularly of SCM impressed the author. In his lucid presentation, Mr. Ng emphasized Alton’s concern for Human Resources. To prosper in conditions of severe competition, an organization must be lean. Alton provides high-technology services in testing high-value equipment, which it also supplies, chiefly to the oil sector. Keeping Alton lean and having a wide range of businesses is a demanding task. Therefore, the team decided to briefly study Alton’s HRM practices before entering other areas. Here again, this author learned the value of adapting the decided course of action to benefit from unexpected opportunities.
HR Department
Peter F Drucker (1967, p. 154) enumerates one of the approaches for a manager to make a business effective as “He can maximize resources so that those opportunities are found- if not created- that endow the high-quality resources with the greatest possible impact”. In a lean organization employees are a precious resource. They must be encouraged to sharpen their existing skills to handle increasing volumes of existing business and acquire new skills to handle new businesses the organization must undertake to grow and prosper. Alton takes care to select, train, retrain and retain the staff at every level of the hierarchy. One of the special aspects of HRM at Alton is the formalization of the processes without losing the human face of the organization.
Alton’s HRM activities are selected and planned in view of HRM goals and objectives that are well-crafted to be in tune with the Corporate vision. The author found excellent camaraderie and task orientation among the employees at various levels and people stepping in to help out or filling in for others. HR Manager strives to bring the team and their families together time and again in informal ways for other-than-work, recreational activities. It shows that team building must be a continuous and not a one-time effort, even as a well-constructed house needs repairs and maintenance. The team spent just sufficient to broadly understand how thoughtful understanding of an organization’s business and sincere implementation of theory in practice of HRM can make a positive difference. The author particularly learned the following-
- The critical importance of creating a lean mindset and organizing related management activities accordingly.
- Leadership’s role in initiating and maintaining communication between all individual employees across the hierarchy to develop healthy interpersonal relations.
- Creating a nurturing environment in which everyone values the individual.
Use of Technology
Limiting the number and cost of employees is facilitated by the use of numerous software solutions in various business activities. For this, of course, employees need to be trained and encouraged to learn other software systems. The author realized the need to achieve an optimum balance between size and cost of staff and the choice and cost of technology so that sufficient numbers of trained staff for each technology are at hand and the system does not remain idle when regular staff is not available.
Creative use of technology
Technology, when used creatively, yields greater benefits than it promises. Therefore, the team naturally suggested that Alton can use their computer networks for the staff to share their knowledge and to distribute the success stories of achievers among the staff to serve as encouragement for others and incentive to achievers.
Skills used and developed
- Used adaptability to re-prioritize.
- Keen observation to spot the opportunity to use available technology resources to upgrade staff’s technology skills.
- To suggest with his colleagues more creative uses of computer networks.
Sales and Marketing
Implications of the function
Given the nature of Alton’s business of supplying services and high-value goods of a complex nature to clients, the team found that ordering and supply parts of inventory management are well organized and the managers are careful in keeping both these well under control.
The observation and suggestion
It was surprising that the managers had overlooked pruning their vendors’ list of vendors with unsatisfactory past records and left some probability of orders being placed with such vendors. The author exercised extra care in pointing this out to the managers.
What the author learned was
- Even the best systems can have flaws.
- Constant review of every part of a system against an exhaustive checklist is required.
- Tactfully assertive insistence on following the procedures is needed in such matters.
Warehousing and Customer Service Departments
The team spent a lot of time in these departments, because in Alton’s SCM, these are crucial for winning more clients and maintaining their loyalty in a competitive market. Alton’s clients are in complex hi-tech activities and a large variety of equipment is stored. Quality assurance, inventory control and planning economical distribution areas and routes require special attention. Peter F Drucker (1967, p. 148) says, “A businessman should be able to determine…. the customers, markets and end-users to whom the business contributes distinctive value; and the distributive channels that have to be developed- and satisfied as customers- to reach these customers, markets and end-users.”
Alton’s success depends on high efficiency in logistics, promptly meeting client’s equipment and service requirements, minimizing clients’ complaints to cut service costs. The last entails high vigilance in quality matters. Alton’s top management is fully behind implementation of 5S practices in their workplace and enforcing Quality Standards ISO 9000 and ISO 9001 and the benefits from these practices are demonstrated to the employees. Paul Hoang (2007, p. 658) points out the dual effect of QA practices. Firstly, these invite participation of all employees and are instrumental in improving employee morale, and secondly, such participation generates new ideas for improving quality of products, operations and processes. This author learned that not verbal exhortation, but walking the talk and valuing every idea is the strongest assertion. The author remembered Pat O’Reilly’s observation that the biggest barrier to creativity is the belief that you are not creative (1998, p. 199.) when the team made a few bold suggestions from their theoretical knowledge to improve the warehouse layout to-
- Minimize the movement of myriad items for quality checks.
- Avoid crisscrossing of the routes of movement of inventory items,
- Generally store the inventory so as to occupy only the necessary floor space for economy of movement and efficient use of floor space.
Presentation of Conclusions and Recommendations
The team made a presentation, each team member dealing with a part of it. They made several suggestions as appearing in this personal report and based on logically derived conclusions based on several management theories. Mr. Steven Ng, Executive Director, complimented the team on the well-coordinated presentation, different parts of which were comprehensively interlinked, and termed the suggestions as sound and fruits of excellent management education given by Northumbria University.
References
Drucker, PF, ’Managing for results’, 1967, Pan Books Ltd.
Hoang, Paul, ‘Business and management, 2007, IBID Press, Victoria.
O’Reilly, Pat, ‘Harnessing the unicorn: How to create opportunity and manage risk, 1998, Gower Publishing House, England.