Business Management and Change at Billabong (BB)

Business Management and Change at Billabong (BB) HSC Topic One: Business Management and Change Case Study Billabong Management Theory Behavioural Management Theory Creative thinking and innovation are of greater importance than ruthless efficiency. Managers see their roles primarily as motivating staff communicating the companys vision to customers stakeholders. Workers overcame problems and gave input into the way Billabong was run. Primarily to do with business culture and lack of morale caused by inertia of managers their resistance to change BILLABONG Sources of Change * External influences Economic factors: Negative: level of unemployment and growth/interest rates means less people can afford BBs products Rising incomes in East Asia and South America have helped create new markets Social factors: Changing consumer tastes Increasing tastes in sports such as skateboarding and surfing BMX now included at Olympics increases recognition of sport and clothing Political factors: Protectionism and limiting of imports through tariffs has seen BBs product strengthened in the domestic market Gov emphasising and pushing Aus exports, BB has seen improved overseas sales. Geographic: Pollution of beaches discourages people from surfing Influences what products BB have to release Snow gear in countries like Switzerland and surf gear in markets like Hawaii Internal influences  · E-Commerce Positive: Simplifying logistical and organisational difficulties +: Monitoring and tracking sales à  control Internet website greater relationship/interaction with customers  · New Procedures Private à   Public Comply with legal regulations meant à  financial record systems for annual financial report Tighter control over finances so as to increase return for investors  · Business Culture Management team changed in 1998 when Matthew Perrin and Gary Pemberton bought 49% of BB Now comprised of more professional managers with greater business knowledge and procedures than the original surf enthusiasts who established the business Structural responses to change Outsourcing Production to SE Asia and China Response to economic and financial influences Allows company to focus more on design and marketing Lowers costs to maintain competitive advantage in price-sensitive markets Strategic Alliances Cooperated with Channel V Billabong Music Bus Tour Both had similar target markets Increased brand recognition and awareness Reasons for resistance to change Financial Costs Developing new products such as skateboards and sunglasses requires money Acquiring smaller businesses, eg. Honolua Surf Company cost around $20billion Inertia of owners International expansion brings some risk from the financial backers/owners and therefore saw resistance from shareholders Managing change effectively Identifying need for change BB gained an edge over competitors by being one of the first businesses to expand overseas in the early 1980s Diversifying into skateboarding and accessories increased market share Creating culture of change New management team in 1998 acted as ‘change agents achieved growth by constantly observing and pursuing new opportunities Change Models (force field analysis) Driving Forces Restraining Forces à  revenue New opportunities for staff Year round demand (seasons) Costs of production Lack of new designers Need to hire new managers for new departments Change and Social Responsibility Ecological Sustainability Surfrider Foundation Conservation and regeneration of beaches and foreshores Quality of life Encourages team work and a relaxed atmosphere both in the office and in retail stores BB has a strict ‘no child labour policy and regularly inspects overseas production facilities Cultural Diversity Encourages communication between domestic and international stores/offices Employees are encouraged to transfer between international offices to gain new experiences The Nature of Management  · Management Roles -An interpersonal role is one in which the manager deals with people. Proactive- incorporates dynamic action and forward planning to achieve particular objectives -An informational gathers information within the business and supplys it outside the business -A decision-making role involves solving problems and making choices  · Skills of Management -People Skills -Strategic thinking -Vision -Self-Managing -Teamwork Ethical behaviour Responsibilities to stakeholders include: manage change social justice ecological sustainability compliance with the law codes of practice Understanding Business Organisations with Reference to Management theories  · Contingency Theory  · Classical-Scientific Planning, Organising, Controlling Division of labour, chain of command, autocratic leadership style meaning the manager tends to make all the decisions in the business.  · Behavioural ability to understand and work with people from a variety of backgrounds and different expectations Leading, Motivation, Communication Flatter organisational structure democratic leadership style where managers consult employees to ask suggestions and take them into account when decision making.  · Political encourages the formation of coalitions to promote different points of view. Power and Influence within a business can have both a positive and negative effect. It can be sued to intimidate (negative) or empower others (positive). Legitimate power due to status or position of the person in the firm e.g management Expert power due to a result of a persons skills and expertise Referent power from a persons individual characteristics (personality and charisma) Reward Power to the rewards or compensation a manager distributes Coercive power controls individuals by the actions or words of the manager Negotiating and Bargaining, Stakeholder views, Coalitions Managing Change  · Nature and Sources of Change in Business External Changing Nature of Markets, Economic Influences, financial, geographic, social, legal, political, technological Internal Effects of decelerating technological change, e-commerce, new systems and procedures, new business cultures Structural Response to Change -Outsourcing Flat Structure Strategic alliances Networks  · Reasons for Resistance to Change Financial Costs Inertia of managers and owners Cultural incompatibility in mergers and takeovers Staffing Considerations de-skilling, acquiring new sources, loss of career prospects and opportunities. * Managing Change Effectively Identifying need for change- SWOT anaysis and balance sheets Setting Achievable goals mission statements and company goal Culture of Change Change Models Force-Field Analysis Unfreeze/Change/Refreeze Change and Social Responsibility Social Responsibility is the awareness of a businesss management of the social, environmental and human consequences of its actions. Customers eventually find out which businesses are acting responsibly and which are not. Ecological Sustainability Quality of Working life Technology E-Commerce Globalisation and Managing Cultural Diversity HSC Topic Two Financial Planning The Role of Financial Planning * Strategic role of Financial Planning strategic plan Organisational goals and objectives Managing financial resources * Objectives of Financial management Liquidity -pay debts in the short term (less that 12 months) Profitability ability to maximise profit Efficiency -manage its assets to maximise profits with the lowest possible level of assets Growth increase its size in the long term Return on capital -profit returned to owners or stakeholders as a % of their contribution * The planning Cycle Addressing present financial position e.g revenue, p l statements, budgets Determining financial elements of the business plan Developing budgets Cash Flows Financial reports Maintaining record systems Planning financial controls Financial Markets Relevant to business financial needs * Major Participants in Financial markets Banks Financial companies -provide loans to individuals and businesses e.g personal and secured Insurance companies -loans to the corporate sector through insurance premiums Merchant bks (investment bks) -services such as borrowing and lending to the business sector. Superannuation/Mutual funds provide funds to the corporate sector through the investment of funds received from superannuation contributions The Reserve bank of Australia (Government) -acts as a banker and financial agent for the federal government * The Role of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) as a primary Market The ASX is the major financial exchange in the country. It comprises the largest primary and secondary markets for companies and individuals wishing to create and exchanges financial assets in the economy * Influences on Financial Markets domestic markets e.g change in inflation, demands for funding, changes in government policies. Companies can be positively and negatively affected. Overseas influences such as world events, foreign exchange rates, tax regulation for foreign operations * Trends in Financial Markets Technology has allowed markets to become more competitive and grow allowing financial transactions all the time. Globalisation will also give overseas investors access to Australian companies and increase opportunities for Australian investors and international markets. Management of Funds * Sources of Funds Internal Owners Equity Retained Profits External Short-term borrowing Bank Overdraft allows a business to overdraw their account to an agreed limit Bank Bills Long Term Borrowing Mortgage Debentures -The company repays the amount of the debenture by buying back the debenture. Finance companies raise funds through debenture issues to the public. Leasing involves the payment of money for the use of equipment that is owned by another party. Factoring is the selling of accounts receivable for a discounted price to a finance of factoring company. Venture Capital is funds supplied by investors to either a new organisation or to an already established business ready to grow or diversify. Grants are provided by the government for businesses to develop and promote international competitiveness. Grants often enable an organisation to become competitive in the global environment e.g exporting organisations. * Comparison of debt to equity financing Debt finance refers to short and long term borrowing from external sources of an organisation Equity Financing refers to the internal sources of finance in the organisation Gearing/Leverage is the proportion of debt to equity which is used to finance the activities of a business Using Financial Information * The Accounting Framework Financial Statements Revenue Statements shows the revenue earned and expenses incurred over the accounting period with the resultant profit or loss. Revenue statements show operating revenue earned from the main functions of the business e.g sales of inventories and the non-operating revenue earned from operations such as rent and commission. It also shows operating expenses such as rent, advertising, insurance. Balance Sheets represent the assets and liabilities at a particular point in time expressed in money terms and calculates the net worth of the business. The balance sheet shows the level of current and non-current assets and liabilities including investments and owners equity. Balance sheets indicate whether it has enough assets to cover debt interest and money borrowed that can be paid assets used to maximise profits if owners are making a good return on their investment * The accounting Equation and Relationships (A) Assets = (L) Liabilities + (OE) Owners Equity The accounting equation forms the basis of the accounting process which shows the relationship between assets, liabilities and owners equity. The accounting equation shows that the assets of the business may be financed by either the owners or by parties external to the business. COGS = inventory + purchases closing stock * Comparative Ratio Analysis By comparing ratios of a firm over time reveals trends and indicate directions for the future. Comparisons with other businesses and industry ratios is often used although can be inaccurate due to differences in companies and industries. Businesses often compare ratios against common standards such as statistics from the ABS. * Limitations for Financial Reports Historic cost accounting states that values are stated at the cost incurred at the time of purchase or acquisition, meaning financial statements will be a mixture of different year figures. Historic cost has been used for a long time although may become inaccurate in times of inflation. Value of Intangibles licences, trademarks, brand names and goodwill. Effective Working Capital (Liquidity) Management * The Working Capital Ratio Working Capital Ratio = Current Assets over Current Liabilities (2:1 ACCEPTABLE ALTHOUGH VARIES) The Working capital ratio shows if current assets can cover current liabilities. * Control of Current Assets Cash Balances are generally kept at a minimum and hold marketable securities as reserves of liquidity. Receivables is important in terms of management of working capital. The quicker the debtors pay, the better the firms cash position. Inventories make up a significant account of current assets and their levels must be carefully monitored so that excess or insufficient levels of stock do not occur. * Control of Current Liabilities Payables must be paid by their due dates due to avoid any extra cash charges imposed for late payment and to ensure that trade credit will be extended to the business in the future. Loans management of loans is important for establishment interest rates and ongoing charges must be investigated and monitored to minimise costs. Overdrafts policies should be used to manage bank overdrafts and monitor budgets on a daily or weekly basis so that cash supplies can be controlled. * Strategies for Managing Working Capital Leasing Factoring Sale and Lease back is the selling of an owned asset to a lesser and leasing the asset back through fixed payments for a specified number of years. Effective Financial Planning * Effective Cash Flow Management The activities of a business are divided into three categories as a statement of cash flows 1. Operating Activities e.g inflow cash and credit, outflow payments to employees 2. Investing Activities -e.g selling of old motorbike, purchasing new property 3. Financing activities- e.g inflow selling of shares, outflow repayment of debt. * Management Strategies distributing payments through out a month or year or different period so that cash shortfalls do not occur payments and bad debt of accounts by debtors can cause shortfalls of cash for businesses at important times. discounts for early payments * Effective profitability Management Cost Control Fixed Costs e.g insurance and salaries Variable costs change with the level of activity within a business e.g materials and labour used in the production of a product e.g fixing a roof. Cost Centres are particular areas, departments or sections of a business to which costs can be directly attributed. Direct costs are those allocated from a particular product, activity, department or region e.g depreciation of equipment used solely in the production of one good. Indirect costs come from shared projects, activities, departments or regions. Staff should be motivated to minimise expenses where possible as savings can be substantial if people take a close look at costs and eliminate waste and unnecessary spending. * Revenue Controls Sales objectives must be at a level of sales that will cover costs (fixed and variable) and result in profit. Changes to the sales mix can affect revenue. Research should be made to identify the effects of sales mix changes before implantation. Pricing Policy affects revenue and therefore impacts on working capital. To attract buyers while underpricing may bring high sales but still result in cash shortfalls. Ethical and Legal Aspects of Financial Management * Audited Accounts An audit is an independent check of the accuracy of financial records and accounting procedures. Types of Audits- 1. Internal conducted internally by employees 2. Management used to review the firms strategic plans and determine if changes need to be made. 3. External required by corporate law to ensure it complies with Australian auditing standards. * Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) ASIC enforces and administers laws and protects consumers in the areas of investment, life, insurance, super and Australian banking. ASIC sets out to reduce fraud and unfair practices in financial markets and products. ASIC ensures that companies adhere to the law. Collects information about companies and makes it accessible to the public. * Corporate Raiders and Asset Stripping Asset Stripping describes the practice of organisations that identify and sell off for a profit, assets of a company, especially one that has been acquired in a recent takeover. Entities that take over other companies and sell off the assets are known as corporate raiders. HSC Topic 3 Marketing Case Study Types of Markets Resource BHP Billiton Industrial Painter Intermediate Gloria Jeans selling cakes Mass IBM Computers Niche ‘Mountain Bike Magazine Developing Marketing Strategies Product and Service Positioning * Qantas was under competitive pressure from Virgin Blue in the leisure market * Qantas wanted to maintain its higher positioned government and business segments * Expanded to a subsidiary Jetstar who were positioned as a value-for-money product Price including pricing methods Price Points * Jetstar International * Base price for seat, Charge $30 for meal, $7 for blanket and amenity kit and $12 for entertainment kit Promotion Advertising * Dell Computers focus much of their advertising to print media * Use inserts/pamphlets/brochures in magazines, typically in the technology liftout section of the newspaper, where their target market is most likely to be reading Place Distribution * Dell distribute products directly, with no intermediaries * Exclusive distribution (no stores), Intensive (internet) * Distribution system is e-commerce Ethical and Legal Aspects Role of Consumer Laws in dealing with Deceptive and Misleading Advertising * Gillette (Duracell) VS Eveready * TV advertisement claims Duracell lasts up to four times longer than ordinary batteries * Eveready claimed the ad infringed the TPA * Independent tests showed the Duracell batteries never last 4x longer * Federal Court ruled Duracell breached the TPA in the areas of misleading and deceptive conduct and false representations about the quality and benefits of goods The Nature and Role of Markets and Marketing Marketing is a total system of interacting activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute products to present and potential customers. * Types of Markets Resource markets e.g mining, agriculture, forestry and machinery. Industrial Markets purchase products to use in the production of other products e.g buying flour to make bread Intermediate markets (resellers) consist of wholesalers and retailers who purchase finished products and resell them to make profit Consumer Markets e.g cars, clothing, food Mass Market is when the seller mass produces, mass distributes and mass promotes one product to all buyers Niche Markets are micro markets made for buyers who have specific needs or lifestyles * Production Production Orientation 1820s 1920s When a business concentrates on making as many possible goods at the lowest price possible Sales Approach 1020s 1060s When a business concentrates on selling techniques to attract customers Marketing Approach 1060s 1980s When a business collects information on consumer trends to sell its products * The Marketing Concept Consumer Orientation when a business concentrates on maximising customer satisfaction to sell its products Relationship Marketing the focus on encouraging repeat purchases and loyalty to the business by managing customer relations at the time of and after the initial purchase. Elements of a Marketing Plan * Establishing Market Objectives * Identifying Target Market Total Market Approach one type of product with little or no variation aimed at everyone through one distribution system. Market Segmentation approach the market is subdivided into groups of people who share certain characteristics. * Developing Marketing Strategies (examining elements of the 4 Ps) * Implementation, Monitoring and Controlling Financial Forecasting measures the sales potential and revenue forecasts (benefits) for strategies and compares these with anticipated costs. Comparing actual and planned results 1. Sales analysis comparing of actual sales with forecast sales to determine the effectiveness of the marketing strategy 2. Market share analysis/Ratios by comparing competitions market share to their own this can reveal changes in total sales (increase or decrease) 3. Marketing Cost Analysis marketer breaks down the total marketing cost into specific marketing activities to access the effectiveness of each activity. Market Research Process Market research is the process of systematically collecting, recording and analysing information concerning a specific marketing problem. The three steps of the market research process are; 1. Determining information needs 2. Collecting data from primary and secondary sources 3. Data analysis and interpretation -the data that represents average, typical or deviations from typical patterns. The data must be then displayed in way which statistics and figures can be conducted e.g spreadsheets Customer and Buyer Behaviour Customers are classified into two categories: Consumer the process of purchasing goods and services for personal household use. Organisational the purchase of goods and services by producers, resellers and government. Types of Customers Household Personal personal and household spending plays a dominant role within the economy as it contributes to the level of economic activity which affects business profits, unemployment levels, interest rates levels and rate of inflation. The Firms market consists of businesses that purchase goods and services for further processing or for use in their production process. Educational institutes Government Customers Governments spend billions of dollars each year for a wide variety of goods and services ranging from battleships to paperclips. All purchases of the government spend public funds to buy products, the government is accountable to the public, requiring a much more formalised set of buying procedures where firms submit quotes to supply a particular good or service and the lowest bid is generally accepted. * The Buying Process The buying process involves 5 common steps: Recognise the problem need or want requiring satisfaction Search for info brands, product characteristics, warranty, price etc Evaluate alternatives cost and benefit analysis Purchase Evaluate after purchase stability of product, satisfaction gained or dissatisfaction may occur. * Factors influencing Customer Choice Psychological influences e.g perception, motive, attitude and personality Socio-cultural influences e.g family, friends, social class, culture and subculture. Economic Influences -A boom is a period of low employment and rising income. Contraction is a period of slowly rising unemployment with incomes stabilising. Recession sees unemployment reach high levels and incomes fall dramatically. Expansion means unemployment levels start to fall slowly and incomes begin to rise. Government Influences government will put into place policies that expand or contract the level of economic activity. These policies directly or indirectly influence business activity and customers spending habits and such will influence the marketing plan. Developing Market Strategies * Pricing Strategies Price Skimming charging the highest price possible for innovative products Pricing Penetration charges to lowest price possible for a product or service to achieve large market share Loss-leader selling a product below its cost price to attract customers Price Lining a limited number of key prices for selected product lines e.g one line of watches for $35 and a more expensive line at $55 * Pricing Methods Cost-plus margin the total cost of production then adds on amount for profit (mark-up) Market set prices according to the level of supply and demand, when demand is high prices are high Competition based a business chooses a price based on competition, either below, equal to or above * Marketing segmentation and product Mass marketing or a total marketing approach This includes basic food items, water, gas, electricity etc. Concentrated Market Approach -By using the concentrated market approach the business is able to analyse its customer base more closely and design strategies to satisfy this select groups needs, and develop particular products based on customer feedback. Product Differentiation is the process of developing and promoting differences between the businesses products and those of its competitors. e.g jeans with designer labels and washing detergent with brightener additives * Place/Distribution Channels of Distribution or marketing channels are routes taken to get the product from the factory to the customer. The process usually involves a number of intermediaries such as wholesalers, brokers, agents or retailers. To choose the channel of distribution the location is the main contributor of the business market or market coverage (number of outlets a firm chooses for it product). There are three ways a business can cover a market Intensive distribution when a business saturates the market with their product e.g milk, lollies and newspapers Selective Distribution businesses use a moderate proportion of possible outlets where customers are prepared to travel e.g clothing, furniture Exclusive Distribution only one retail, outlet in a large geographical area for exclusive and expensive products. Physical Distribution Transport Warehousing involves receiving, storing and dispatching goods. Inventory controlled through a system that maintains quantities and varieties of products appropriate for the target market.  · Effects on Distribution 1. Technology 2. Local Government Approving new development applications and alteration to existing premises Fire regulations Determining land zoning and the purpose for which a building and land can be used Parking regulations Health regulations Size, shape and location of business signs Ethical and legal Aspects Environmentally responsible products Materialism an individuals desire to constantly acquire possessions Impact of retail development -intensely competitive environment may result in some retailers using questionable marketing practices Sugging Selling Under Guise of a survey, Role of Consumer Law Deceptive and misleading Price- Discrimination Implied Conditions or terms Merchandise quality meaning that the product is of a standard a reasonable person would expect for the price Fitness of purpose meaning that the product is suitable for the purpose for which is being sold. That is, it will perform as the instructions or advertisement implies Warranties Resale Price Maintenance Legislations to respond to ethical and legal aspects of marketing: The Trade Practice Act 1974 is one of the most important pieces of legislation in Australia and has two purposes: 1. To protect consumers from misleading and deceptive conduct 2. Restrictive trade practices to restrict competition as well as ensuring that a number of businesses are operation at any one time in the same market, to avoid the problem of monopolistic power. Fair Trade Act (FTA) is a mirrors legislation that covers sole traders and partnership as well as companies Implied conditions in both Acts: Merchantable quality worth the money Fit for purpose does its jobs. HSC Topic Four: Employment Relations Case Study Managing the ER function Line Management * ALDI Supermarkets * Individual store managers are expected to solve all instore problems there is no ‘area manager or specialist ER department Key influences on ER Social Inf Business Management and Change at Billabong (BB) Business Management and Change at Billabong (BB) HSC Topic One: Business Management and Change Case Study Billabong Management Theory Behavioural Management Theory Creative thinking and innovation are of greater importance than ruthless efficiency. Managers see their roles primarily as motivating staff communicating the companys vision to customers stakeholders. Workers overcame problems and gave input into the way Billabong was run. Primarily to do with business culture and lack of morale caused by inertia of managers their resistance to change BILLABONG Sources of Change * External influences Economic factors: Negative: level of unemployment and growth/interest rates means less people can afford BBs products Rising incomes in East Asia and South America have helped create new markets Social factors: Changing consumer tastes Increasing tastes in sports such as skateboarding and surfing BMX now included at Olympics increases recognition of sport and clothing Political factors: Protectionism and limiting of imports through tariffs has seen BBs product strengthened in the domestic market Gov emphasising and pushing Aus exports, BB has seen improved overseas sales. Geographic: Pollution of beaches discourages people from surfing Influences what products BB have to release Snow gear in countries like Switzerland and surf gear in markets like Hawaii Internal influences  · E-Commerce Positive: Simplifying logistical and organisational difficulties +: Monitoring and tracking sales à  control Internet website greater relationship/interaction with customers  · New Procedures Private à   Public Comply with legal regulations meant à  financial record systems for annual financial report Tighter control over finances so as to increase return for investors  · Business Culture Management team changed in 1998 when Matthew Perrin and Gary Pemberton bought 49% of BB Now comprised of more professional managers with greater business knowledge and procedures than the original surf enthusiasts who established the business Structural responses to change Outsourcing Production to SE Asia and China Response to economic and financial influences Allows company to focus more on design and marketing Lowers costs to maintain competitive advantage in price-sensitive markets Strategic Alliances Cooperated with Channel V Billabong Music Bus Tour Both had similar target markets Increased brand recognition and awareness Reasons for resistance to change Financial Costs Developing new products such as skateboards and sunglasses requires money Acquiring smaller businesses, eg. Honolua Surf Company cost around $20billion Inertia of owners International expansion brings some risk from the financial backers/owners and therefore saw resistance from shareholders Managing change effectively Identifying need for change BB gained an edge over competitors by being one of the first businesses to expand overseas in the early 1980s Diversifying into skateboarding and accessories increased market share Creating culture of change New management team in 1998 acted as ‘change agents achieved growth by constantly observing and pursuing new opportunities Change Models (force field analysis) Driving Forces Restraining Forces à  revenue New opportunities for staff Year round demand (seasons) Costs of production Lack of new designers Need to hire new managers for new departments Change and Social Responsibility Ecological Sustainability Surfrider Foundation Conservation and regeneration of beaches and foreshores Quality of life Encourages team work and a relaxed atmosphere both in the office and in retail stores BB has a strict ‘no child labour policy and regularly inspects overseas production facilities Cultural Diversity Encourages communication between domestic and international stores/offices Employees are encouraged to transfer between international offices to gain new experiences The Nature of Management  · Management Roles -An interpersonal role is one in which the manager deals with people. Proactive- incorporates dynamic action and forward planning to achieve particular objectives -An informational gathers information within the business and supplys it outside the business -A decision-making role involves solving problems and making choices  · Skills of Management -People Skills -Strategic thinking -Vision -Self-Managing -Teamwork Ethical behaviour Responsibilities to stakeholders include: manage change social justice ecological sustainability compliance with the law codes of practice Understanding Business Organisations with Reference to Management theories  · Contingency Theory  · Classical-Scientific Planning, Organising, Controlling Division of labour, chain of command, autocratic leadership style meaning the manager tends to make all the decisions in the business.  · Behavioural ability to understand and work with people from a variety of backgrounds and different expectations Leading, Motivation, Communication Flatter organisational structure democratic leadership style where managers consult employees to ask suggestions and take them into account when decision making.  · Political encourages the formation of coalitions to promote different points of view. Power and Influence within a business can have both a positive and negative effect. It can be sued to intimidate (negative) or empower others (positive). Legitimate power due to status or position of the person in the firm e.g management Expert power due to a result of a persons skills and expertise Referent power from a persons individual characteristics (personality and charisma) Reward Power to the rewards or compensation a manager distributes Coercive power controls individuals by the actions or words of the manager Negotiating and Bargaining, Stakeholder views, Coalitions Managing Change  · Nature and Sources of Change in Business External Changing Nature of Markets, Economic Influences, financial, geographic, social, legal, political, technological Internal Effects of decelerating technological change, e-commerce, new systems and procedures, new business cultures Structural Response to Change -Outsourcing Flat Structure Strategic alliances Networks  · Reasons for Resistance to Change Financial Costs Inertia of managers and owners Cultural incompatibility in mergers and takeovers Staffing Considerations de-skilling, acquiring new sources, loss of career prospects and opportunities. * Managing Change Effectively Identifying need for change- SWOT anaysis and balance sheets Setting Achievable goals mission statements and company goal Culture of Change Change Models Force-Field Analysis Unfreeze/Change/Refreeze Change and Social Responsibility Social Responsibility is the awareness of a businesss management of the social, environmental and human consequences of its actions. Customers eventually find out which businesses are acting responsibly and which are not. Ecological Sustainability Quality of Working life Technology E-Commerce Globalisation and Managing Cultural Diversity HSC Topic Two Financial Planning The Role of Financial Planning * Strategic role of Financial Planning strategic plan Organisational goals and objectives Managing financial resources * Objectives of Financial management Liquidity -pay debts in the short term (less that 12 months) Profitability ability to maximise profit Efficiency -manage its assets to maximise profits with the lowest possible level of assets Growth increase its size in the long term Return on capital -profit returned to owners or stakeholders as a % of their contribution * The planning Cycle Addressing present financial position e.g revenue, p l statements, budgets Determining financial elements of the business plan Developing budgets Cash Flows Financial reports Maintaining record systems Planning financial controls Financial Markets Relevant to business financial needs * Major Participants in Financial markets Banks Financial companies -provide loans to individuals and businesses e.g personal and secured Insurance companies -loans to the corporate sector through insurance premiums Merchant bks (investment bks) -services such as borrowing and lending to the business sector. Superannuation/Mutual funds provide funds to the corporate sector through the investment of funds received from superannuation contributions The Reserve bank of Australia (Government) -acts as a banker and financial agent for the federal government * The Role of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) as a primary Market The ASX is the major financial exchange in the country. It comprises the largest primary and secondary markets for companies and individuals wishing to create and exchanges financial assets in the economy * Influences on Financial Markets domestic markets e.g change in inflation, demands for funding, changes in government policies. Companies can be positively and negatively affected. Overseas influences such as world events, foreign exchange rates, tax regulation for foreign operations * Trends in Financial Markets Technology has allowed markets to become more competitive and grow allowing financial transactions all the time. Globalisation will also give overseas investors access to Australian companies and increase opportunities for Australian investors and international markets. Management of Funds * Sources of Funds Internal Owners Equity Retained Profits External Short-term borrowing Bank Overdraft allows a business to overdraw their account to an agreed limit Bank Bills Long Term Borrowing Mortgage Debentures -The company repays the amount of the debenture by buying back the debenture. Finance companies raise funds through debenture issues to the public. Leasing involves the payment of money for the use of equipment that is owned by another party. Factoring is the selling of accounts receivable for a discounted price to a finance of factoring company. Venture Capital is funds supplied by investors to either a new organisation or to an already established business ready to grow or diversify. Grants are provided by the government for businesses to develop and promote international competitiveness. Grants often enable an organisation to become competitive in the global environment e.g exporting organisations. * Comparison of debt to equity financing Debt finance refers to short and long term borrowing from external sources of an organisation Equity Financing refers to the internal sources of finance in the organisation Gearing/Leverage is the proportion of debt to equity which is used to finance the activities of a business Using Financial Information * The Accounting Framework Financial Statements Revenue Statements shows the revenue earned and expenses incurred over the accounting period with the resultant profit or loss. Revenue statements show operating revenue earned from the main functions of the business e.g sales of inventories and the non-operating revenue earned from operations such as rent and commission. It also shows operating expenses such as rent, advertising, insurance. Balance Sheets represent the assets and liabilities at a particular point in time expressed in money terms and calculates the net worth of the business. The balance sheet shows the level of current and non-current assets and liabilities including investments and owners equity. Balance sheets indicate whether it has enough assets to cover debt interest and money borrowed that can be paid assets used to maximise profits if owners are making a good return on their investment * The accounting Equation and Relationships (A) Assets = (L) Liabilities + (OE) Owners Equity The accounting equation forms the basis of the accounting process which shows the relationship between assets, liabilities and owners equity. The accounting equation shows that the assets of the business may be financed by either the owners or by parties external to the business. COGS = inventory + purchases closing stock * Comparative Ratio Analysis By comparing ratios of a firm over time reveals trends and indicate directions for the future. Comparisons with other businesses and industry ratios is often used although can be inaccurate due to differences in companies and industries. Businesses often compare ratios against common standards such as statistics from the ABS. * Limitations for Financial Reports Historic cost accounting states that values are stated at the cost incurred at the time of purchase or acquisition, meaning financial statements will be a mixture of different year figures. Historic cost has been used for a long time although may become inaccurate in times of inflation. Value of Intangibles licences, trademarks, brand names and goodwill. Effective Working Capital (Liquidity) Management * The Working Capital Ratio Working Capital Ratio = Current Assets over Current Liabilities (2:1 ACCEPTABLE ALTHOUGH VARIES) The Working capital ratio shows if current assets can cover current liabilities. * Control of Current Assets Cash Balances are generally kept at a minimum and hold marketable securities as reserves of liquidity. Receivables is important in terms of management of working capital. The quicker the debtors pay, the better the firms cash position. Inventories make up a significant account of current assets and their levels must be carefully monitored so that excess or insufficient levels of stock do not occur. * Control of Current Liabilities Payables must be paid by their due dates due to avoid any extra cash charges imposed for late payment and to ensure that trade credit will be extended to the business in the future. Loans management of loans is important for establishment interest rates and ongoing charges must be investigated and monitored to minimise costs. Overdrafts policies should be used to manage bank overdrafts and monitor budgets on a daily or weekly basis so that cash supplies can be controlled. * Strategies for Managing Working Capital Leasing Factoring Sale and Lease back is the selling of an owned asset to a lesser and leasing the asset back through fixed payments for a specified number of years. Effective Financial Planning * Effective Cash Flow Management The activities of a business are divided into three categories as a statement of cash flows 1. Operating Activities e.g inflow cash and credit, outflow payments to employees 2. Investing Activities -e.g selling of old motorbike, purchasing new property 3. Financing activities- e.g inflow selling of shares, outflow repayment of debt. * Management Strategies distributing payments through out a month or year or different period so that cash shortfalls do not occur payments and bad debt of accounts by debtors can cause shortfalls of cash for businesses at important times. discounts for early payments * Effective profitability Management Cost Control Fixed Costs e.g insurance and salaries Variable costs change with the level of activity within a business e.g materials and labour used in the production of a product e.g fixing a roof. Cost Centres are particular areas, departments or sections of a business to which costs can be directly attributed. Direct costs are those allocated from a particular product, activity, department or region e.g depreciation of equipment used solely in the production of one good. Indirect costs come from shared projects, activities, departments or regions. Staff should be motivated to minimise expenses where possible as savings can be substantial if people take a close look at costs and eliminate waste and unnecessary spending. * Revenue Controls Sales objectives must be at a level of sales that will cover costs (fixed and variable) and result in profit. Changes to the sales mix can affect revenue. Research should be made to identify the effects of sales mix changes before implantation. Pricing Policy affects revenue and therefore impacts on working capital. To attract buyers while underpricing may bring high sales but still result in cash shortfalls. Ethical and Legal Aspects of Financial Management * Audited Accounts An audit is an independent check of the accuracy of financial records and accounting procedures. Types of Audits- 1. Internal conducted internally by employees 2. Management used to review the firms strategic plans and determine if changes need to be made. 3. External required by corporate law to ensure it complies with Australian auditing standards. * Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) ASIC enforces and administers laws and protects consumers in the areas of investment, life, insurance, super and Australian banking. ASIC sets out to reduce fraud and unfair practices in financial markets and products. ASIC ensures that companies adhere to the law. Collects information about companies and makes it accessible to the public. * Corporate Raiders and Asset Stripping Asset Stripping describes the practice of organisations that identify and sell off for a profit, assets of a company, especially one that has been acquired in a recent takeover. Entities that take over other companies and sell off the assets are known as corporate raiders. HSC Topic 3 Marketing Case Study Types of Markets Resource BHP Billiton Industrial Painter Intermediate Gloria Jeans selling cakes Mass IBM Computers Niche ‘Mountain Bike Magazine Developing Marketing Strategies Product and Service Positioning * Qantas was under competitive pressure from Virgin Blue in the leisure market * Qantas wanted to maintain its higher positioned government and business segments * Expanded to a subsidiary Jetstar who were positioned as a value-for-money product Price including pricing methods Price Points * Jetstar International * Base price for seat, Charge $30 for meal, $7 for blanket and amenity kit and $12 for entertainment kit Promotion Advertising * Dell Computers focus much of their advertising to print media * Use inserts/pamphlets/brochures in magazines, typically in the technology liftout section of the newspaper, where their target market is most likely to be reading Place Distribution * Dell distribute products directly, with no intermediaries * Exclusive distribution (no stores), Intensive (internet) * Distribution system is e-commerce Ethical and Legal Aspects Role of Consumer Laws in dealing with Deceptive and Misleading Advertising * Gillette (Duracell) VS Eveready * TV advertisement claims Duracell lasts up to four times longer than ordinary batteries * Eveready claimed the ad infringed the TPA * Independent tests showed the Duracell batteries never last 4x longer * Federal Court ruled Duracell breached the TPA in the areas of misleading and deceptive conduct and false representations about the quality and benefits of goods The Nature and Role of Markets and Marketing Marketing is a total system of interacting activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute products to present and potential customers. * Types of Markets Resource markets e.g mining, agriculture, forestry and machinery. Industrial Markets purchase products to use in the production of other products e.g buying flour to make bread Intermediate markets (resellers) consist of wholesalers and retailers who purchase finished products and resell them to make profit Consumer Markets e.g cars, clothing, food Mass Market is when the seller mass produces, mass distributes and mass promotes one product to all buyers Niche Markets are micro markets made for buyers who have specific needs or lifestyles * Production Production Orientation 1820s 1920s When a business concentrates on making as many possible goods at the lowest price possible Sales Approach 1020s 1060s When a business concentrates on selling techniques to attract customers Marketing Approach 1060s 1980s When a business collects information on consumer trends to sell its products * The Marketing Concept Consumer Orientation when a business concentrates on maximising customer satisfaction to sell its products Relationship Marketing the focus on encouraging repeat purchases and loyalty to the business by managing customer relations at the time of and after the initial purchase. Elements of a Marketing Plan * Establishing Market Objectives * Identifying Target Market Total Market Approach one type of product with little or no variation aimed at everyone through one distribution system. Market Segmentation approach the market is subdivided into groups of people who share certain characteristics. * Developing Marketing Strategies (examining elements of the 4 Ps) * Implementation, Monitoring and Controlling Financial Forecasting measures the sales potential and revenue forecasts (benefits) for strategies and compares these with anticipated costs. Comparing actual and planned results 1. Sales analysis comparing of actual sales with forecast sales to determine the effectiveness of the marketing strategy 2. Market share analysis/Ratios by comparing competitions market share to their own this can reveal changes in total sales (increase or decrease) 3. Marketing Cost Analysis marketer breaks down the total marketing cost into specific marketing activities to access the effectiveness of each activity. Market Research Process Market research is the process of systematically collecting, recording and analysing information concerning a specific marketing problem. The three steps of the market research process are; 1. Determining information needs 2. Collecting data from primary and secondary sources 3. Data analysis and interpretation -the data that represents average, typical or deviations from typical patterns. The data must be then displayed in way which statistics and figures can be conducted e.g spreadsheets Customer and Buyer Behaviour Customers are classified into two categories: Consumer the process of purchasing goods and services for personal household use. Organisational the purchase of goods and services by producers, resellers and government. Types of Customers Household Personal personal and household spending plays a dominant role within the economy as it contributes to the level of economic activity which affects business profits, unemployment levels, interest rates levels and rate of inflation. The Firms market consists of businesses that purchase goods and services for further processing or for use in their production process. Educational institutes Government Customers Governments spend billions of dollars each year for a wide variety of goods and services ranging from battleships to paperclips. All purchases of the government spend public funds to buy products, the government is accountable to the public, requiring a much more formalised set of buying procedures where firms submit quotes to supply a particular good or service and the lowest bid is generally accepted. * The Buying Process The buying process involves 5 common steps: Recognise the problem need or want requiring satisfaction Search for info brands, product characteristics, warranty, price etc Evaluate alternatives cost and benefit analysis Purchase Evaluate after purchase stability of product, satisfaction gained or dissatisfaction may occur. * Factors influencing Customer Choice Psychological influences e.g perception, motive, attitude and personality Socio-cultural influences e.g family, friends, social class, culture and subculture. Economic Influences -A boom is a period of low employment and rising income. Contraction is a period of slowly rising unemployment with incomes stabilising. Recession sees unemployment reach high levels and incomes fall dramatically. Expansion means unemployment levels start to fall slowly and incomes begin to rise. Government Influences government will put into place policies that expand or contract the level of economic activity. These policies directly or indirectly influence business activity and customers spending habits and such will influence the marketing plan. Developing Market Strategies * Pricing Strategies Price Skimming charging the highest price possible for innovative products Pricing Penetration charges to lowest price possible for a product or service to achieve large market share Loss-leader selling a product below its cost price to attract customers Price Lining a limited number of key prices for selected product lines e.g one line of watches for $35 and a more expensive line at $55 * Pricing Methods Cost-plus margin the total cost of production then adds on amount for profit (mark-up) Market set prices according to the level of supply and demand, when demand is high prices are high Competition based a business chooses a price based on competition, either below, equal to or above * Marketing segmentation and product Mass marketing or a total marketing approach This includes basic food items, water, gas, electricity etc. Concentrated Market Approach -By using the concentrated market approach the business is able to analyse its customer base more closely and design strategies to satisfy this select groups needs, and develop particular products based on customer feedback. Product Differentiation is the process of developing and promoting differences between the businesses products and those of its competitors. e.g jeans with designer labels and washing detergent with brightener additives * Place/Distribution Channels of Distribution or marketing channels are routes taken to get the product from the factory to the customer. The process usually involves a number of intermediaries such as wholesalers, brokers, agents or retailers. To choose the channel of distribution the location is the main contributor of the business market or market coverage (number of outlets a firm chooses for it product). There are three ways a business can cover a market Intensive distribution when a business saturates the market with their product e.g milk, lollies and newspapers Selective Distribution businesses use a moderate proportion of possible outlets where customers are prepared to travel e.g clothing, furniture Exclusive Distribution only one retail, outlet in a large geographical area for exclusive and expensive products. Physical Distribution Transport Warehousing involves receiving, storing and dispatching goods. Inventory controlled through a system that maintains quantities and varieties of products appropriate for the target market.  · Effects on Distribution 1. Technology 2. Local Government Approving new development applications and alteration to existing premises Fire regulations Determining land zoning and the purpose for which a building and land can be used Parking regulations Health regulations Size, shape and location of business signs Ethical and legal Aspects Environmentally responsible products Materialism an individuals desire to constantly acquire possessions Impact of retail development -intensely competitive environment may result in some retailers using questionable marketing practices Sugging Selling Under Guise of a survey, Role of Consumer Law Deceptive and misleading Price- Discrimination Implied Conditions or terms Merchandise quality meaning that the product is of a standard a reasonable person would expect for the price Fitness of purpose meaning that the product is suitable for the purpose for which is being sold. That is, it will perform as the instructions or advertisement implies Warranties Resale Price Maintenance Legislations to respond to ethical and legal aspects of marketing: The Trade Practice Act 1974 is one of the most important pieces of legislation in Australia and has two purposes: 1. To protect consumers from misleading and deceptive conduct 2. Restrictive trade practices to restrict competition as well as ensuring that a number of businesses are operation at any one time in the same market, to avoid the problem of monopolistic power. Fair Trade Act (FTA) is a mirrors legislation that covers sole traders and partnership as well as companies Implied conditions in both Acts: Merchantable quality worth the money Fit for purpose does its jobs. HSC Topic Four: Employment Relations Case Study Managing the ER function Line Management * ALDI Supermarkets * Individual store managers are expected to solve all instore problems there is no ‘area manager or specialist ER department Key influences on ER Social Inf

Largest shoe manufacturer

Largest shoe manufacturer Q1. a) The reasons that prompted Nike to change its approach to demand forecasting: Nikes growth from being the 12th largest shoe manufacturer in 1984 to the world leader in the footwear industry by mid 1990s increased the intricacy of its manufacturing schedules. The demand forecasting adopted by Nike prior to considering the new approach saw the retailers placing an order six months ahead of the delivery. Due to the six months lag in delivery Nike could not forecast whether the ordered shoes would be in demand after six months once they reach the store shelves[1]. The existing forecasting technique failed in identifying the quantity of order to be placed with such a long lead time. And had to depend solely on their brand name and hoped that the product would sell. The expanding market demanded a faster delivery, thus pressurizing Nike to shorten the lead time from the standard shipping time of six months. The 27 order management systems that formed Nikes supply chain crumbled under pressure to develop accurate demand forecasts, these factors lead Nike to implement a new demand forecasting. b) Outcomes of the new demand forecasting system. The vigorous demands indirectly affected the new demand forecasting system, resulting in excess manufacturing of some products while developing inventory shortages for others as they struggled to cope up with the customer demands. Nike ended up ordering US $90 million worth of shoes which were in low demand like Air Garnett II, also a shortfall of US$80 million to US$100 million on popular models, like Air Force One. Nike filled the back orders that were to be supplied and disposed of excessive inventory through discount sales and bargain basement prices through its outlet stores. This continued for about 6-9 months to neutralize the incorrect proportions in inventory and two years to overcome the financial losses. Nikes share prices dropped considerably due to the losses and faulty forecasts. Costing Nike more than US$100 million in lost sales, there by lowering its stock prices by 20% and also leading it to a series of legal battles. Q2. a) The reasons that resulted in such a huge gap between demand and supply at Nike: The implementation of i2 had adverse effects for Nike, since I2 were inexperienced in providing supply-chain systems for the footwear and apparel industry. Nikes higher demand data meant heavy customisation was done on i2 this clogged up the software thus by slowing it considerably to such an extent that a single screen would take 3 minutes to load[2]. Further analysts stated that Nike was installing SAP software to help take orders from customers and get those orders through manufacturing. This led to queuing which led to the complexity in matching up of information from SAP and i22. Thus Nike had erroneous orders being sent to the manufacturers and was unable to recover from the errors until it was too late. b) According to my opinion this situation could have been avoided: If Nike would have considered the facts of acquiring actual data from retailers like direct point-of-sale integration rather than software algorithms. By developing a better collaboration with the far east manufacturers to reduce the overall lead time there by converting the supply chain from make-to-sell to make-to-order. Nestlà © and Nike: How they almost failed by Gene LeshinskyFebruary 18th, 2008 Long Strange Trip: Nike Finally Regains Footing: By Larry Barrett

Carpe Diem Seizing the Day Essay example -- essays research papers

Live a Full Life or Not, the Choice is Yours Some 2000 years ago a Roman poet was talking with his vampy friend, Vladimir Longtoothski about his bizarre phengophobia. â€Å"Vlad,† Horace the Geek began, â€Å"I realize you’re a creature of the night but you need to catch some rays, man. You’ve been looking a little pale lately, you need to get your blood boiling and get some color in your cheeks.† Exasperated with Vlad’s nightowl existence, Horace the Geek uttered, â€Å"Seize the day, Vlad!† â€Å"Bloody good prompt,† responded the incisive Vlad. And for the next 2000 years, teachers everywhere encouraged their students to write about the importance of seizing the day if you want to live each day to the fullest. So check out the following seizures. The year: 1959. The place: Welton Academy. It’s a strict prep school run with military precision almost like Harlingen’s Marine Military Academy or the La Joya ROTC program. Passionate to the extreme, maverick English teacher John Keating urges his students to break the rules, to break with tradition, to break up their routine life, and dre...

Great Expectations: Pip’s Views of Expectations Essay -- Great Expectat

Great Expectations – Discuss Pip’s views of expectations and how they affect him. The novel Great Expectations is focused around the theme of a young male’s expectations and how they rule his life. It tells us the effects they have on people and the negative impact they have on Pip’s life. The Title to the novel â€Å"Great Expectations† totally contradicts the main theme in the book, as the expectations turn out to be not so great after all. The book is split up into 3 sections of Pip’s â€Å"Great Expectations†, all of these sections show us how Pip’s life has been affected by these expectations. Throughout the novel we see how expectations have left their mark on Pip’s life. Chapter one is were we are introduced to the main character Pip. Our first impression of Pip is that he is naà ¯ve, innocent and lonely young boy, the fact that Pip refers to his mother as â€Å"Georgina, wife of the above† tells us that he has received no guidance or teaching in his life and is unaware of his surroundings. Pip is then dramatically changed by his expectations when Pip first meets Mrs Havisham. He is introduced to a whole new view of life, and realises he is not as happy as he thinks he is. Pip in a way blames his upbringing as he says, â€Å"My sisters bringing up made me sensitive.† When introduced to Estella Pip is infatuated by her and when she says how â€Å"coarse† and â€Å"common† he is, he feels embarrassed and humiliated. This is the turning point of Pip’s life, his blinding obsession with Estella makes him determined to become the gentleman that she wants, guided by his expectations. Pip’s expectations are acted upon many different characters throughout the novel, and nearly most of the time they have a negative effect on othe... ...y aren’t all they what seem to be. Overall throughout this book expectations play a big role, we see how they rule Pip’s life and how they can affect others in many different ways. We see how Pip’s life ends up in a good way and that how expectations can blind others from reality. Money can change anybody and Pip was no exception. When Pip is poor he truly wants to be a gentlemen, he has great expectations for himself. Pip feels embarrassed that his family has no money. Pips pride corrupts him and blinds him from how he is treating Joe. Expectations are extremely significant throughout this novel and they show us what they can do if you are obsessed with them. In Victorian society it was an extremely sought after dream to be wealthy and well respected, Pip was a victim of this view and eventually realised that a gentleman is something more than riches.

Zara

Threats – ZARA Some threats that affect ZARA include international expansion, geographic scope, and intense competition. Zara recognizes that the company needs to have a competitive advantage in order to survive, so they are constructing a second distribution centre in Zaragoza. Also the company is still looking to expand internationally. Expanding in Spain is difficult for the company because of past experience in Sweden.Zara is considering expansion in North America, but is concerned that it is already suffering from retail saturation, less fashion-forward sense, the demand for plus sizes, lots of competition, and not enough demand for the clothing. Zara's vertically integrated model is a threat to Zara in long run. The model will not work once Zara scales its operation. Currently, Zara's designing, production, distribution and retails stores are tightly coupled together and operate very closely.Expanding operations in different regions such as American or Asian requires add ressing different fashion trends at a time. Also, given different sizes and trends in different regions, it would not be easy to pull a new fashion cloth or apparel from one region and put it in other region. Plus, scaling its operation may require joint-ventures and acquiring some smaller chains also. In a 50:50 joint venture, it is very difficult for Zara to impose its business model to the other partner.In this case, we have already seen Zara's joint ventures dissolving on a couple of occasions. While Zara may find it difficult to manage the vertically integrated model for its large scales of operation, local retailers may follow Zara's formula to success and can emerge as big threat to its success. It is not easy to beat the local retailers in their home market. For example, the Local apparel market in Italy is still owned 61% by the independent stores, 45% in Spain (Note that this is Zara's local market too) and 15-30% in other three major European markets.Specially, in a count ry with very cheap labour (mostly in Asia), it will be very difficult for Zara to keep up its production in Spain. Zara's business model is based on ever changing fashion. For countries like US, where people are less fashion forward, it may be a challenge for Zara to sustain its presence. With changing time, Advertisement is becoming an important part of the business and it reflects directly to the sales. Zara's in-store advertisement model may not work going forward.Most serious threat to Zara is to sustain its success. Another most serious threat to Zara is its growth. The company could not acquire large market shares in the domestic market. Even in Europe, the company does not have a reasonable presence. American and Asian markets have different types of challenges, which Zara may be facing in future. American market is less fashion forward, which questions Zara’s basic business model itself. Asia, on the other hand, is known for its cheap labour.Competing with these chall enges at a time in different markets, while keeping its vertically integrated business model intact is the most serious challenge for Zara. Zara cannot address different requirements and challenges working from its home location only. It can have multiple vertically integrated productions for each region. For Asia, having cheap labour will definitely add a lot to the operating cost. While it’s engineering team can continue giving fast response to new designs. Zara Title Warehouse Inventory Management A Case Study in Retail Fashion Industry Company Name Ezra International Objective for a warehouse management Is fully utilize the space, Improved the productivity of operations flow and reduce the Inventory carrying cost. From the case of Ezra, I found that they arranging the cross- dock rather then typical storage function. Because they have the commitment about the order fulfillment time from warehouse to stores, for examples 24 hours to European countries, 48 hours to American and within 72 hours to Japan.So Sara warehouse needs to have efficient operations arrangement with the automatic middling equipment to achieve the fast fashion goal. (90 words) 1. 1 Functional Design The typical warehouse functions have five main processes receiving, pathway, storage, pick pack and dispatch. If we need to understand and well planning the warehouse design and layout. Primarily we must understanding the industry business strategy, trend and consumer behavio r. Nowadays the warehouse functions are not only for storage and also need to provide the added value service to fulfill the business needed.First of all, we need to learn the product nature and understand business Intention. For the retail fashion Industry, the raw materials appliers from Fabric Company mainly. The cloths have difference color, pattern and natural of fabric (wool, cotton, leather etc. ), the suppliers must have sufficient raw materials to provide to the industry for further processing. Second, we need to understand the nature of products, for example packaging (cartons, boxes, pallets, hangers etc), size, stock keeping unit (SKIS) and stock layout.Third, we need to know the production, work in process for example suppliers order, shipment order, size of markets served, material handling system used, throughput rate, production lead time, aisle requirement etc. If we need to provide the fast and accuracy operations flow, all parties within the supply chain also need to provide the co-operation thoroughly, Including fabric supplier, accessories supplier, garment manufacturer, garment processor, designer, distribution centre, warehouse, customer service levels etc. 218 words) Basic warehouse operation process for retails fashion Industry (Figure 1)- Irrespectively of deliveries from suppliers (raw materials) Involve the processing of relevant business documents Capture and entry of the actual physical details of each delivery Quality checking products to ensure compliance with the arches radiotherapy Pathway involves allocating a storage location Physically moving the item to the location Ensure correct information is entered in the inventory control reclassification's involves keeping products in their allocated location.Moving items to picking locations as required and waiting for production. Prognostication's in factory Produce the finished geodesics biophysically selecting each items and quantity from stock to fill the order Packing the orde r for transportation to avoid damage or electrocardiographs the necessary documentation for the transport operator Planning the loading of delivery remonstration and delivery routes Physically loaded the vehicles / containers to maximize cube utilization and minimize damage. (167 words) 1. Warehouse layout and design According to the captioned operations flow, I designed the typical Hong Kong, according to the website information, Established apparel retails in the Asia Pacific region, and over 1700 stores operating in 31 territories worldwide. The warehouse to arrange the Just In Time TOT) operations and 95 of productions lines outsource to Asia factories and still have 5 arranging the in-house production and after the production all finished goods will send to central warehouse to arrange the distribution function.The inbound area including the inspection function to ensure the receiving goods have good quality, if the cargo for raw materials will pass to temporary storage area to waiting the processes for the manufacturing and assembly storage. If the cargo for finished goods will pass to outbound are for storage and waiting for distribution to the town stores. From the figure 2, difference storage area to arrange the difference style of cargoes, for examples block stacking storage area or small accessories. Finished goods warehouse for set of processes and capabilities that enhance the company ability to serve the physical distribution.The hanger area for the finished fashion, 2 level racking areas for the box garment cargoes, the block stacking area for the picking area and ready to release for the shipment. Because to fulfill the maximum height of the building will using the double stack design combined with racking system and hanger system. Also using the U-shaped layout to arrange the operation flow, to improve the utilization of dock resources and facilities he cross-docking for outsource finished goods to saving the time and avoid the inefficiency. ( 276 words) 751 words 2. Facilities planning and materials handling After the warehouse layout and design, the other most important decisions for a warehouse operations management to arrange facility planning and how to increasing the effective capacity and minimize aisle space. Because the planning aim for reduce number of time products handled and develop effective working conditions to reduce movement involving manual labor and the main thinking to reduce cost. Warehouse management system (WHIMS) to operating processes and speed up all warehousing functions.It can be operate all documents and information flow, including receiving order, delivery order, inventory record, location allocation, releasing order etc. It is usually investigation with larger and more complex distribution operations. The WHIMS development to optimal capacity of warehouse operation for the industry to deliver the right goods at the right time, in the right place and do the right thing at the right cost, to increasing distribution efficiency by shorten lead time and reduce the uncertainty.So for the target at technology related savings, productivity benefits and business process enhancements enabling the great return on investment. The captioned graphic (Figure 3) showing WHIMS operated functions in the warehouse and helping the logistics process. It is including the warehouse layout design, storage data information, operations flows and stock record section, through the information transaction in WHIMS with other additional tools (RFC, barricading, resource management etc. , the objective for WHIMS to provide systematic and computerized procedures to handling the logistics flow. It also helping to monitor the progress ensures the timely report and communication between the productions and operations sections for the data analysis. Besides the WHIMS for a retails fashion warehouse, there should have some equipments and tools to handling the cargo movement in the warehouse, for ensure t he products handle at faster and smooth for the flow to assist the operational efficiency. (307 Words) 2. Full automation advantage On the other hand, some warehouse are using fully automatic mechanism to help the workflow, the products are moved from/to the locations with a automated conveyors, using the audio frequency (RFC) to arrange the sorting arrangement also with logistics automation software to tracking the cargo information to arrange pathway function and ensure the warehouse fully utilize the space. The WHIMS databases also helping to improve the efficiency of the warehouse and ensure the inventory levels have real time control and accurate view the inventory information.The full automation to help the workflow to save time, labor and space, because the mechanization can be operate 24 hours and more accuracy, after that to gain the time efficiency and reduce mistakes (double handling) to improve the productivity. Because in a fashion industry is definitely a fast moving o peration model, since they requested to keep accurate, vast SKU and fast marketing sense, so the quickly operations response will helping them to develop the business promotion and catch the consumer demand.According to the captioned requirement for an industry, the state-of-the-art automatic system will help them to ensuring accuracy, efficiency and controlled cost. For example automatic serration system – Garment on hanger (GOGH) sorter is a practical system for fashion industries together with automated conveyor it is very helpful for the pick pack arrangement. Ezra using the auto labeling system to ensure the shipping mark on the carton and through the WHIMS information to optimizing to arrange the loading operations.The automatic hanger system and location system to guarantee the cargo move to/from right locations and also with Radio frequency identification (RIFF) is one of the powerful mechanization and technologies for the supply chain management. From year 2004, Mark s Spencer (MS) was trial run the RIFF system to track clothing from distribution centre to retails store and year 2006 have 53 stores used, to track menswear and inventory control with bile RIFF readers. Year 2010 news from twitched. Com, MS used at least 800 million of tag for the RIFF system.The RIFF tags to help to achieve the 100 stock accuracy by ensuring the right goods at the right size in the right store to meet the customer demand. Mr.. James Stafford, head of clothing RIFF at MS said that the RIFF is a good examples to prove that the new technology how to increased the business efficiency and customer services. (399 words) 706 words 3. 1 Information Technology (IT) in Sara warehouse Ezra is the leader of fast fashion in the world. She is holding by Inedited Group from Spain. The annual report 2009 mentioned Ezra represented approximately two thirds of Inedited sales.Ezra have 1,723 stores in 77 countries around the world at year 2010. Ezra located four distribution centers in Spain at cities (Figure 4) Artesia, Leon, Madrid Saratoga. The factories will send the finished cargoes to difference logistics center in shortest transaction time. They have over 20 factories for production in Spain and deliver with own railway track move all finished cargoes to Artesia as a central logistical center to provide the distribution and cross docking functions (Figure 5).So the warehouse manger needed to achieve the fast fashion process, and shorter order fulfillment time, to avoid the uncertainty and mishandling for the operations flow (Katz Abjure, 2005). According to Shannon action for inbound arrangement, the cargo direct transact to loading docks for outbound shipment, without inventory cost added. It is create more flexible optimization criteria, reduce the handling, and increase the operation efficiency for the warehouse management.Cross-Dock Direct Ship in warehouse management, Figure 5 information from Oracle IT system can help the manager to achieve the fa st, deed value and no mistake objective in the cross-dock function. The manager controlling the automatic equipments (for examples serration system, auto hanger system automatic conveyors) and WHIMS to help the order processing arrangement to speed up and managed the operations needed to squeeze the processing time in the warehouse, with Sara electronic integration the manager can catch up more data to planning the operation flows, flow the captioned IT system to achieve the objection for Ezra.The Ezra concept to simply and easier the management, so the IT communicate information flow through the wholes supply chain parties (Figure 6) to improve the workflow and narrow down the operating time and reduce the human error. Figure 6 Ideal Operation Flow about the Ezra IT Sara store manager will place the new orders twice a week through personal digital assistant (PDA) and each delivery must have new models. Because they own central warehouse, factories and designer team, so more flexibi lity and reacted to arrange the time schedules quickly and better manageable of whole supply chain arrangement.After received the information from Stores will through internet and electronic data interchange (DEED') service to place the order to head quarter in Spain and at the same time Sara arouse will receive the pre-advice notice then they will proactively to arrange the distribution planning before the finished cargoes arrival logistics center. (424 words) 3. 2 Electronic Data Interchange (DEED') EDI advantage to catch up the data immediately to sharing the information to improve the supply chain performance, reduce the cycle time and lowest set up cost.Because Sara warehouses need to achieve the operational efficiency so the EDI can be provide the greater flexibility and accuracy information for fine tuning for the operations flow. Ezra understands better operations planning through information transparency with the network linkage help to smooth distribution arrangement. The company culture with quick responses system with real time information as well as tailor-made Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, to control and managed the business flow. The updated information all the way through EDI to track trace the orders processing and customer feedback with all stores worldwide. 121 words) 3. 3 Radio Frequency Identification (RIFF) For sure that, the technology of RIFF with barded support to bring more benefit for the business needed nowadays, so they using RIFF and arcade for the warehouse operations. The RIFF also called smart tags it is very useful for track trace the cargoes from manufacture to warehouse to store to end user. Every check points can be provided the real time information and return the information into the system to ensure the inventory control or material requirements planning (MR.).In addition, RIFF can be capturing all information in a lot of cargoes a second of time. To speed up the receiving and shipping functions in the distr ibution productivity, it can found out the lost, missing items at the same time, if he warehouse need to arrange the stock take arrangement then can be faster the also can be using for security threats for the retails store. The RIFF tags can be writing more data in the tags including the color, size, location, inventory etc. They through the reader will get all information from the handheld machines.All up-to- date and accuracy information will automatically scan the data and help to reduce the cycle time. (205 words) 750 words 4. 1 Inventory Management for Ezra Other information about the Fabric Company – The garment manufacture will place the sizeable POP to Raw materials Company every year- To commit will place a retain quantities and materials (for example Rudyard cotton per month or physics Zip for 3 months or physics button per month), will let the raw material factory to prepare the raw materials first. Once receive the manufacture order will produce the difference pa ttern and color, normally they can provide the finished materials around 1 week. 5. Operations The main operational risks the Group has to face up to arise out of a potential difficulty in recognizing and taking in the ongoing changes in fashion trends, manufacturing, supplying and putting on the market new models meeting customers expectation. The Group reduces the exposure to this risk through a manufacturing and procurement system that ensures a reasonable flexibility to answer to the unforeseen changes in the demand by our customers.Stores are permanently in touch with the designer team, through the Product Management Department, and this allows perceiving the changes of taste of the customers. Meanwhile, the vertical integration of the transactions allows cutting the manufacturing and delivery terms as well as reducing the stock volume, while the reaction capacity that allows the introduction of new products throughout the season, is kept.Given the relevance that an efficient l ogistics management has on the appearance of such risks, the Group conducts a review of all the factors which may have a negative impact on the target of achieving the maximum efficiency of the logistics management, to actively monitor such factors under the supervision of the Logistics Committee. 4. 3 KIT Objective Multi-pronged approach High quality, quick response, flexibility Attacks waste Anything not adding value to product (customer view) Exposes problems and bottlenecks caused by variability Deviation from optimum Achieves streamlined production (pull system) Reduced inventorySimplified Execution Push system material is pushed into downstream workstations regardless of whether resources are available Pull system material is pulled to a workstation Just as it is needed KIT Characteristics A Fixed, Steady Rate of Production Uniform flow/communicated to vendors Mixed model, linear production Low Inventories Less space, investment Uncover defects Small Lot Sizes Less WHIP Flexib ility/Velocity Fast feedback Quick, Low Cost Setups Flexibility/Velocity Small lot sizes Layout U-shaped Cellular/flexible Preventive Maintenance Repair Worker pride/ownership Empowered Workers Multifunctional/Cooperative (Guerilla squad)Flexible capacity High Quality Levels On-going production Small/frequent deliveries Product simplification Standardization Fewer part numbers/drawings Reliable Suppliers Dock-to-stock Much fewer in number Long-term relationships A Pull System of Moving Goods Request-based Kanata signal Commitment to Problem Solving/ Continuous Improvement KIT Advantage Use KIT to eliminate virtually all inventory Build systems to help employees produce a perfect part every time suppliers Eliminate all but value-added activities Develop the workforce Make jobs more challenging Reduce the number of Job classes and build worker flexibilityReduce downtime by reducing changeover time Use preventive maintenance to reduce breakdowns Cross-train workers to help clear bottle necks Reserve capacity for important customers Conventionalism Wisdom Strategic Attainability vs. costliest cost with acceptable quality, consistent quality zero defectlnventoriesLarge inventories from Quality purchasing discounts Manufacturing economies of scale Safety stock protection inventories with reliable continuous flow deliveryFlexibilityLong minimum lead times minimum flexibility's lead times customer-service driven, much flexibilityTransportationLeast cost within acceptable arrive elaborately reliable service lavenders/charactering adversarial relationship's venture partnerships of Vendors [careerism avoid sole sourcing and dependency exposure long-term open relationshipCommunicationsMinimal many secrets tightly controlled sharing of info Joint problem solvingGeneralBusiness is cost derivativeness is service driven 3. 2 3. 5 Order Management System Order-management system principal means buyers and sellers communicate information relating to individual orders of product. Effective order management enhances operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Firms that lid order-management systems around full understanding of customer need can out-compete others. Firms tend to place corporate order-management function within the logistics area so as to achieve timely and accurate information of individual customer orders. Order management has become an innovator in exploiting new technological advances. Zara Title Warehouse Inventory Management A Case Study in Retail Fashion Industry Company Name Ezra International Objective for a warehouse management Is fully utilize the space, Improved the productivity of operations flow and reduce the Inventory carrying cost. From the case of Ezra, I found that they arranging the cross- dock rather then typical storage function. Because they have the commitment about the order fulfillment time from warehouse to stores, for examples 24 hours to European countries, 48 hours to American and within 72 hours to Japan.So Sara warehouse needs to have efficient operations arrangement with the automatic middling equipment to achieve the fast fashion goal. (90 words) 1. 1 Functional Design The typical warehouse functions have five main processes receiving, pathway, storage, pick pack and dispatch. If we need to understand and well planning the warehouse design and layout. Primarily we must understanding the industry business strategy, trend and consumer behavio r. Nowadays the warehouse functions are not only for storage and also need to provide the added value service to fulfill the business needed.First of all, we need to learn the product nature and understand business Intention. For the retail fashion Industry, the raw materials appliers from Fabric Company mainly. The cloths have difference color, pattern and natural of fabric (wool, cotton, leather etc. ), the suppliers must have sufficient raw materials to provide to the industry for further processing. Second, we need to understand the nature of products, for example packaging (cartons, boxes, pallets, hangers etc), size, stock keeping unit (SKIS) and stock layout.Third, we need to know the production, work in process for example suppliers order, shipment order, size of markets served, material handling system used, throughput rate, production lead time, aisle requirement etc. If we need to provide the fast and accuracy operations flow, all parties within the supply chain also need to provide the co-operation thoroughly, Including fabric supplier, accessories supplier, garment manufacturer, garment processor, designer, distribution centre, warehouse, customer service levels etc. 218 words) Basic warehouse operation process for retails fashion Industry (Figure 1)- Irrespectively of deliveries from suppliers (raw materials) Involve the processing of relevant business documents Capture and entry of the actual physical details of each delivery Quality checking products to ensure compliance with the arches radiotherapy Pathway involves allocating a storage location Physically moving the item to the location Ensure correct information is entered in the inventory control reclassification's involves keeping products in their allocated location.Moving items to picking locations as required and waiting for production. Prognostication's in factory Produce the finished geodesics biophysically selecting each items and quantity from stock to fill the order Packing the orde r for transportation to avoid damage or electrocardiographs the necessary documentation for the transport operator Planning the loading of delivery remonstration and delivery routes Physically loaded the vehicles / containers to maximize cube utilization and minimize damage. (167 words) 1. Warehouse layout and design According to the captioned operations flow, I designed the typical Hong Kong, according to the website information, Established apparel retails in the Asia Pacific region, and over 1700 stores operating in 31 territories worldwide. The warehouse to arrange the Just In Time TOT) operations and 95 of productions lines outsource to Asia factories and still have 5 arranging the in-house production and after the production all finished goods will send to central warehouse to arrange the distribution function.The inbound area including the inspection function to ensure the receiving goods have good quality, if the cargo for raw materials will pass to temporary storage area to waiting the processes for the manufacturing and assembly storage. If the cargo for finished goods will pass to outbound are for storage and waiting for distribution to the town stores. From the figure 2, difference storage area to arrange the difference style of cargoes, for examples block stacking storage area or small accessories. Finished goods warehouse for set of processes and capabilities that enhance the company ability to serve the physical distribution.The hanger area for the finished fashion, 2 level racking areas for the box garment cargoes, the block stacking area for the picking area and ready to release for the shipment. Because to fulfill the maximum height of the building will using the double stack design combined with racking system and hanger system. Also using the U-shaped layout to arrange the operation flow, to improve the utilization of dock resources and facilities he cross-docking for outsource finished goods to saving the time and avoid the inefficiency. ( 276 words) 751 words 2. Facilities planning and materials handling After the warehouse layout and design, the other most important decisions for a warehouse operations management to arrange facility planning and how to increasing the effective capacity and minimize aisle space. Because the planning aim for reduce number of time products handled and develop effective working conditions to reduce movement involving manual labor and the main thinking to reduce cost. Warehouse management system (WHIMS) to operating processes and speed up all warehousing functions.It can be operate all documents and information flow, including receiving order, delivery order, inventory record, location allocation, releasing order etc. It is usually investigation with larger and more complex distribution operations. The WHIMS development to optimal capacity of warehouse operation for the industry to deliver the right goods at the right time, in the right place and do the right thing at the right cost, to increasing distribution efficiency by shorten lead time and reduce the uncertainty.So for the target at technology related savings, productivity benefits and business process enhancements enabling the great return on investment. The captioned graphic (Figure 3) showing WHIMS operated functions in the warehouse and helping the logistics process. It is including the warehouse layout design, storage data information, operations flows and stock record section, through the information transaction in WHIMS with other additional tools (RFC, barricading, resource management etc. , the objective for WHIMS to provide systematic and computerized procedures to handling the logistics flow. It also helping to monitor the progress ensures the timely report and communication between the productions and operations sections for the data analysis. Besides the WHIMS for a retails fashion warehouse, there should have some equipments and tools to handling the cargo movement in the warehouse, for ensure t he products handle at faster and smooth for the flow to assist the operational efficiency. (307 Words) 2. Full automation advantage On the other hand, some warehouse are using fully automatic mechanism to help the workflow, the products are moved from/to the locations with a automated conveyors, using the audio frequency (RFC) to arrange the sorting arrangement also with logistics automation software to tracking the cargo information to arrange pathway function and ensure the warehouse fully utilize the space. The WHIMS databases also helping to improve the efficiency of the warehouse and ensure the inventory levels have real time control and accurate view the inventory information.The full automation to help the workflow to save time, labor and space, because the mechanization can be operate 24 hours and more accuracy, after that to gain the time efficiency and reduce mistakes (double handling) to improve the productivity. Because in a fashion industry is definitely a fast moving o peration model, since they requested to keep accurate, vast SKU and fast marketing sense, so the quickly operations response will helping them to develop the business promotion and catch the consumer demand.According to the captioned requirement for an industry, the state-of-the-art automatic system will help them to ensuring accuracy, efficiency and controlled cost. For example automatic serration system – Garment on hanger (GOGH) sorter is a practical system for fashion industries together with automated conveyor it is very helpful for the pick pack arrangement. Ezra using the auto labeling system to ensure the shipping mark on the carton and through the WHIMS information to optimizing to arrange the loading operations.The automatic hanger system and location system to guarantee the cargo move to/from right locations and also with Radio frequency identification (RIFF) is one of the powerful mechanization and technologies for the supply chain management. From year 2004, Mark s Spencer (MS) was trial run the RIFF system to track clothing from distribution centre to retails store and year 2006 have 53 stores used, to track menswear and inventory control with bile RIFF readers. Year 2010 news from twitched. Com, MS used at least 800 million of tag for the RIFF system.The RIFF tags to help to achieve the 100 stock accuracy by ensuring the right goods at the right size in the right store to meet the customer demand. Mr.. James Stafford, head of clothing RIFF at MS said that the RIFF is a good examples to prove that the new technology how to increased the business efficiency and customer services. (399 words) 706 words 3. 1 Information Technology (IT) in Sara warehouse Ezra is the leader of fast fashion in the world. She is holding by Inedited Group from Spain. The annual report 2009 mentioned Ezra represented approximately two thirds of Inedited sales.Ezra have 1,723 stores in 77 countries around the world at year 2010. Ezra located four distribution centers in Spain at cities (Figure 4) Artesia, Leon, Madrid Saratoga. The factories will send the finished cargoes to difference logistics center in shortest transaction time. They have over 20 factories for production in Spain and deliver with own railway track move all finished cargoes to Artesia as a central logistical center to provide the distribution and cross docking functions (Figure 5).So the warehouse manger needed to achieve the fast fashion process, and shorter order fulfillment time, to avoid the uncertainty and mishandling for the operations flow (Katz Abjure, 2005). According to Shannon action for inbound arrangement, the cargo direct transact to loading docks for outbound shipment, without inventory cost added. It is create more flexible optimization criteria, reduce the handling, and increase the operation efficiency for the warehouse management.Cross-Dock Direct Ship in warehouse management, Figure 5 information from Oracle IT system can help the manager to achieve the fa st, deed value and no mistake objective in the cross-dock function. The manager controlling the automatic equipments (for examples serration system, auto hanger system automatic conveyors) and WHIMS to help the order processing arrangement to speed up and managed the operations needed to squeeze the processing time in the warehouse, with Sara electronic integration the manager can catch up more data to planning the operation flows, flow the captioned IT system to achieve the objection for Ezra.The Ezra concept to simply and easier the management, so the IT communicate information flow through the wholes supply chain parties (Figure 6) to improve the workflow and narrow down the operating time and reduce the human error. Figure 6 Ideal Operation Flow about the Ezra IT Sara store manager will place the new orders twice a week through personal digital assistant (PDA) and each delivery must have new models. Because they own central warehouse, factories and designer team, so more flexibi lity and reacted to arrange the time schedules quickly and better manageable of whole supply chain arrangement.After received the information from Stores will through internet and electronic data interchange (DEED') service to place the order to head quarter in Spain and at the same time Sara arouse will receive the pre-advice notice then they will proactively to arrange the distribution planning before the finished cargoes arrival logistics center. (424 words) 3. 2 Electronic Data Interchange (DEED') EDI advantage to catch up the data immediately to sharing the information to improve the supply chain performance, reduce the cycle time and lowest set up cost.Because Sara warehouses need to achieve the operational efficiency so the EDI can be provide the greater flexibility and accuracy information for fine tuning for the operations flow. Ezra understands better operations planning through information transparency with the network linkage help to smooth distribution arrangement. The company culture with quick responses system with real time information as well as tailor-made Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, to control and managed the business flow. The updated information all the way through EDI to track trace the orders processing and customer feedback with all stores worldwide. 121 words) 3. 3 Radio Frequency Identification (RIFF) For sure that, the technology of RIFF with barded support to bring more benefit for the business needed nowadays, so they using RIFF and arcade for the warehouse operations. The RIFF also called smart tags it is very useful for track trace the cargoes from manufacture to warehouse to store to end user. Every check points can be provided the real time information and return the information into the system to ensure the inventory control or material requirements planning (MR.).In addition, RIFF can be capturing all information in a lot of cargoes a second of time. To speed up the receiving and shipping functions in the distr ibution productivity, it can found out the lost, missing items at the same time, if he warehouse need to arrange the stock take arrangement then can be faster the also can be using for security threats for the retails store. The RIFF tags can be writing more data in the tags including the color, size, location, inventory etc. They through the reader will get all information from the handheld machines.All up-to- date and accuracy information will automatically scan the data and help to reduce the cycle time. (205 words) 750 words 4. 1 Inventory Management for Ezra Other information about the Fabric Company – The garment manufacture will place the sizeable POP to Raw materials Company every year- To commit will place a retain quantities and materials (for example Rudyard cotton per month or physics Zip for 3 months or physics button per month), will let the raw material factory to prepare the raw materials first. Once receive the manufacture order will produce the difference pa ttern and color, normally they can provide the finished materials around 1 week. 5. Operations The main operational risks the Group has to face up to arise out of a potential difficulty in recognizing and taking in the ongoing changes in fashion trends, manufacturing, supplying and putting on the market new models meeting customers expectation. The Group reduces the exposure to this risk through a manufacturing and procurement system that ensures a reasonable flexibility to answer to the unforeseen changes in the demand by our customers.Stores are permanently in touch with the designer team, through the Product Management Department, and this allows perceiving the changes of taste of the customers. Meanwhile, the vertical integration of the transactions allows cutting the manufacturing and delivery terms as well as reducing the stock volume, while the reaction capacity that allows the introduction of new products throughout the season, is kept.Given the relevance that an efficient l ogistics management has on the appearance of such risks, the Group conducts a review of all the factors which may have a negative impact on the target of achieving the maximum efficiency of the logistics management, to actively monitor such factors under the supervision of the Logistics Committee. 4. 3 KIT Objective Multi-pronged approach High quality, quick response, flexibility Attacks waste Anything not adding value to product (customer view) Exposes problems and bottlenecks caused by variability Deviation from optimum Achieves streamlined production (pull system) Reduced inventorySimplified Execution Push system material is pushed into downstream workstations regardless of whether resources are available Pull system material is pulled to a workstation Just as it is needed KIT Characteristics A Fixed, Steady Rate of Production Uniform flow/communicated to vendors Mixed model, linear production Low Inventories Less space, investment Uncover defects Small Lot Sizes Less WHIP Flexib ility/Velocity Fast feedback Quick, Low Cost Setups Flexibility/Velocity Small lot sizes Layout U-shaped Cellular/flexible Preventive Maintenance Repair Worker pride/ownership Empowered Workers Multifunctional/Cooperative (Guerilla squad)Flexible capacity High Quality Levels On-going production Small/frequent deliveries Product simplification Standardization Fewer part numbers/drawings Reliable Suppliers Dock-to-stock Much fewer in number Long-term relationships A Pull System of Moving Goods Request-based Kanata signal Commitment to Problem Solving/ Continuous Improvement KIT Advantage Use KIT to eliminate virtually all inventory Build systems to help employees produce a perfect part every time suppliers Eliminate all but value-added activities Develop the workforce Make jobs more challenging Reduce the number of Job classes and build worker flexibilityReduce downtime by reducing changeover time Use preventive maintenance to reduce breakdowns Cross-train workers to help clear bottle necks Reserve capacity for important customers Conventionalism Wisdom Strategic Attainability vs. costliest cost with acceptable quality, consistent quality zero defectlnventoriesLarge inventories from Quality purchasing discounts Manufacturing economies of scale Safety stock protection inventories with reliable continuous flow deliveryFlexibilityLong minimum lead times minimum flexibility's lead times customer-service driven, much flexibilityTransportationLeast cost within acceptable arrive elaborately reliable service lavenders/charactering adversarial relationship's venture partnerships of Vendors [careerism avoid sole sourcing and dependency exposure long-term open relationshipCommunicationsMinimal many secrets tightly controlled sharing of info Joint problem solvingGeneralBusiness is cost derivativeness is service driven 3. 2 3. 5 Order Management System Order-management system principal means buyers and sellers communicate information relating to individual orders of product. Effective order management enhances operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Firms that lid order-management systems around full understanding of customer need can out-compete others. Firms tend to place corporate order-management function within the logistics area so as to achieve timely and accurate information of individual customer orders. Order management has become an innovator in exploiting new technological advances.

Analysis of the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe Essay

The nineteenth century poet Edgar Allen Poe makes use of several literary devices in order to create a gloomy atmosphere in his poem â€Å"The Raven†. Alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia, assonance, and repetition are used to contribute to the melodic nature of the work and provide an almost â€Å"visual† representation of his gothic setting. Poe is a master of using these writing techniques. â€Å"The Raven† is one of his most popular works. This is certainly due, in part to his use of these literary devices in this piece. The poem tells of a narrator who is reading an old book in his parlor when he is interrupted by a knock at the door. The protagonist is in a period of grieving over the loss of his love, Lenore. At first, he wonders who the visitor might be and resolves to inform him or her that he is indisposed at the moment. The narrator finally opens the door only to find no one there. He returns to the chair (which Lenore will no longer occupy), only to hear the rapping again. He decides that the sound may be coming from the window, so he opens it. A raven enters through the window and lights upon a bust of a mythological figure that the narrator has in his room. The narrator questions the raven concerning its name, the bird answers â€Å"nevermore†. This startles the speaker, and he wonders aloud if the bird will leave him just as all of his friends seem to do. Again, he is answered by the raven â€Å"nevermore†. As the protagonist progressively becomes more and more upset with the situation, he decides that the raven must go. He even demands that the raven leave. The response â€Å"nevermore† is once again given by the bird, which refuses to go. The narrator finally concludes that his soul is inextricably tied to this foul beast and he is to be forever tormented by it. The melodic nature of the poem and its very gloomy tone is reinforced by Poe’s choice of words and the sound effects that they convey. By the use of rhyme, the poem is made to flow much like a song when read aloud. For example, the second line and the last three lines of every stanza rhyme with each other. Many other internal rhymes are also found within the lines of the poem. In fact, the first line of the poem contains an internal rhyme â€Å"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary†. Another example is found in Line 31 which reads â€Å"Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,† The poem is rife with such examples. Poe also uses repetition to accentuate the musical quality of â€Å"The Raven†. Obviously, the repeating of the word â€Å"nevermore† is used throughout the work not only to convey a sense of musicality, but to suggest the melancholy theme of this piece due to the connotations that the word expresses (lines 48, 54, 60, 72, etc.). Poe also uses repetition in other sections of the poem. In lines 16 and 17, we read â€Å"’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; – Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;† In these lines, we get the impression that the speaker is trying to reassure himself that there is no sinister force at work, but simply a visitor at his door. Edgar Allen Poe was extremely talented at choosing words which not only support the fluidity of the work while also reinforcing the tone. Alliteration is another literary device which is used throughout â€Å"The Raven†. Alliteration is the repetition of beginning consonant sounds. â€Å"The Raven† is full of examples of alliteration. An instance of this device is seen in line 26, in which the â€Å"d† sound is repeated: â€Å"Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;† While another example is found in line 45: â€Å"’Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,’ I said, ‘art sure no craven,’† In the previous sample, the â€Å"th† sound, as well as the â€Å"sh† sound are used for effect. Poe craftily uses assonance throughout this piece, as well. Assonance is the repeating of a vowel sound in a line. Line 13 gives us an example of assonance as Poe couples the words â€Å"†¦purple curtain†. Immediately following this, he begins line 14 with the assonant words â€Å"Thrilled me-filled me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Again, we see such a choice of words in line 59: â€Å"†¦hopes have flown†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . However, line 71, gives us perhaps the best example of Poe’s use of assonance when he writes â€Å"†¦grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt†¦Ã¢â‚¬  when describing the bird. Edgar Allen Poe also employs onomatopoeia in â€Å"The Raven†. Onomatopoeia is a technique of using words which imitates the source of a sound which is described. An example is found when the â€Å"rapping† and â€Å"tapping† upon the speaker’s door and window is described (lines 3,4,5,21,22, and 32). Poe also offers onomatopoeia in line 37, when he uses the words â€Å"flirt and flutter† to describe the raven entering from the window. Another fine example is found in line 80 in which the writer mentions the â€Å"tinkle† of foot-falls on the floor. â€Å"The Raven† offers a fine example of how the use of sound effects and other literary devices can be used by writers to establish a tone that creates a â€Å"mood† within the reader. Poe’s mastery of these tools is quite impressive. He artfully gives an illustration to writers, readers, and students of how to make full use of these implements to create the precise air of dread that Poe desires to convey, while maintaining the beauty of a flowing, melodic poem.