Decision making to improve operational performance -4.5 Flashcards
What is the value and examples of flexibility?
Offering made-to- order items such as customised cars can lead to more customer satisfaction.
What is the value and examples of speed of response?
Can be used as a competitive weapon such as how fast items are delivered or how fast recovery can get to you after breaking down.
What is the value of and examples of dependability?
A process which starts and ends at stated time. Such as markers finishing before results day. May involve new processes and training investment.
What is the role of mass customisation?
Being able to produce on a large scale while still enabling individual customer preferences to be met.
How to manage supply to meet demand?
- Flexible workforce that can do various tasks or part time staff
- Outsourcing production to other businesses to meet high levels of order
- Produce to order where items are only produce once order is placed
What can influence the amount of inventory held?
- It can use up resources such as investing in warehousing space or security measures
- Inventory may go out of date and be worthless
What is buffer inventory?
Minimum amount of inventory a business wants to hold. Ensures production can be continued in an emergency. Amount depends on how expensive it is to hold.
What is lead time?
Time taken from order being placed to items arriving. Determines when an order has to be placed to arrive in time.
What is the re-order level?
Level at which a new order must be placed. Depends on buffer inventory, rate at which materials are used up and lead-time.
Why is inventory control important?
- Helps minimise costs associated with excess stock
- Having products available when customers want them improves their satisfaction
- Improve cash flows as businesses can free up cash that would otherwise be tied up in unsold stock
What is the supply chain?
All providers of resources such as money, people, machinery, equipment. At different stages of operation processes
What is vertical integration?
Combination of two or more stages of production usually operated by separate companies.
What are the influences on the choice of suppliers?
- Cost of materials and quality as managers will want value for money
- Dependability is importing for a just in time approach
- Ethical considerations as organisations are being held more responsible for behaviour of suppliers
What is corporate social responsibility?
Extent to which business takes stakeholder views into account.
How to manage supply chain effectively?
Managers need to be able to track suppliers. Customers want to know more about how and where a product is produced. This means having clear communication.
What is the outsourcing?
Business uses another provider for some goods or services. For example, school may outsource provision of food at lunch time.
What are the benefits of outsourcing?
- Enables business to use special skills and services which means better quality of work
What are the disadvantages of outsourcing?
- Will be affected by work undertaken by other businesses in terms of costs and quality of suppliers
- May be held accountable for actions of suppliers
