RUNNING HEADER: SUPPLY CHAIN EFFICIENCY
Supply Chain Efficiency
Shaunda Allement, Paula Burke, Richard Dixon, Toshiba Jackson
University of Phoenix
MBA 550
Mr. Malcolm Veazie
February 10, 2009
Analysis
Kuiper Leda Inc, located in the Republic of Novamia, is an electronic components manufacturer (University of Phoenix, 2008). The company specializes in the production of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) and sensors for the automotive industry. The company has been operation for 10 years and revenues have reached $400 million this year. Kuiper has an assembly plant that assembles ECUs and a production line dedicated to microchips. Kuiper has recently entered into another product line, Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID), which has been in production for six months. While Kuiper is smaller than its competitors are, it is known for its quality and delivery responsiveness. The company operates in a highly competitive industry and thrives on repeat orders. Competitors have an edge because of their strong supplier base and repeat orders. Because the industry demands a greater scale of operation, capacity management, and delivery, Kuiper believes in constantly upgrading its technology infrastructure. As a result, decisions regarding the supply chain must be made regularly. These decisions include if the company will outsource certain products, update the inventory plan, and decide which suppliers to drop. In order to make the best decisions possible, several companies were benchmarked to gain valuable insight into the best practices of efficient supply chain management.
One of the first companies research was an industry leader in the retail business, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Kuiper learned that one of the most important things to do is to reduce inventory by putting most of the inventory out front to sell and have very little in storage. Additionally, Kuiper learned that it needs to build and maintain lasting relationships with its suppliers...