In: Operations Management
Research a company that has exceptional performance with regard to inventory turns within its industry. Compare the number of turns that this company has as compared to at least three others in its industry. Discuss how this company has been able to achieve a high number of turns. Additionally, discuss the competitive advantages that a high number of turns can give a company over its competition.
Answer:
M/s Cummins Turbo (India operations) is a company that has exceptional performance with regard to inventory turns within its industry. This company has great inventory turns which lies in the range of 7 to 8 for their operational years. This 8 inventory turn number is exceptional among other Cummins Turbo plant worldwide and it is better by 1 to 2 turn numbers. India plant is showing highest inventory turn numbers. Other worldwide plants show the inventory turns in the range of 4 to 6. Thus India operations are much better than the worldwide operations for inventory turns.
We could see similar automobile ancillary industries in the India market, which are showing their inventory turns in the range of 4 to 5 for the recent operating years.
Thus the CTT Company achieved high inventory turns compared to the similar industries in the India market as well as the global competitors and parent companies.
This company has been able to achieve a high number of turns because of the following key reasons as
· Better demand forecasting so that we can define one set of numbers and then we can manage to deliver the dispatch against the one set of forecasted demand numbers.
· Supplier managed inventory are helping significantly to reducing the inventories and improving the inventory turns.
· Localized suppliers and low lead time of supply chain are helping in reducing the inventory levels and improving the inventory turns.
The competitive advantages that a high number of turns can give a company over its competition is that this company is better placed and it will help the company to manage the operations in low cost and make the company stronger financially and able to manage the plant operations effectively.