Question

A business strategy:

 Clearly identifies the firm’s target market and broadly indicates what the operations and supply chain functions need to do to provide value to these customers

 Sets time frames and performance objectives that managers can use to track the firm’s progress towards fulfilling its business strategy

 Identifies the role of supply chain partners

 Identify and support the development of core competencies in the operations and supply chain areas

Draft a business strategy, for your own business, ensuring that the 4 (four) key areas mentioned above are adequately dealt with.

Answer 1

The company name is Good Food which produces and sells snacks, biscuits and chips.

The firm's target market is basically the United states region pertaining mostly the young teenagers and adults who consume chips and biscuits. The company will be one but all the products will be sold in different brands to create a brand identity and a strategic value that if one product does not work, the name wont have any influence on other products. The Operations and supply functions need to work 24*7 because in case of fast moving consumer goods(fmcg) , products have to be made and delivered on a daily basis. The supply from farms to factories and from factories to all the stores should be efficient. The operations need to follow a strict timeline where all the machines and labour hour are used effectively and no resources should be wasted. The supply chain mostly is dependent on the drivers who transport the goods in trucks and also a forecast model should be built to cater Increasing demand.

In this type of industry, it is vey essential that time boundaries are built and managers should have Performance objectives to fulfill business strategy. Their is a time boundary that within 20 min one batch of biscuits should be built which has 40,000 units in it and the managers need to have quality standards and inspection for products that are being made. Managers also need to sought out labour problems or issues that acts as a hindrance in achieving goals. The objective should also be to take customer feedback and implement necessary changes.

The role of supply chain partners is very important. They are the driving factors that ensure the survival of a company. Supply chain is what make the raw materials come into the company and final products are delivered to various stores across the country. Any problem or error in supply chain can cause the whole production to stop . The supply chain is also resourceful that gives the Management important feedback of what is happening in the stores.

The development of core competencies in operation and supply chain areas are very important. Operations like assigning the right job to the right Employee is very important as any disarrangement can cause a lot of functional problems in Operation. Supply chain should also more efficient where the routes of delivery should be more shorter and real time location of trucks should be built. The companies should eliminate middle men and sell directly to stores fr where customers can buy.