BO7667 OPERATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Business operation and supply chain management are significant aspects of global businesses, as they have the ability to ensure higher profits by improving customer satisfaction. Apart from that, effective business operational activity and supply chain management practices also contribute in reducing the cost of business activities that are also beneficial for ensuring higher profitability. The current report would be focused on the operation and supply chain management of three companies that are Cirque du Soleil, Harley-Davidson, and Dyson. Key strategic, as well as operational issues faced by these organisations in the management of their supply chain, would be evaluated in the report.
Description of organisations and business context
Cirque du Soleil
According to the case study, Cirque du Soleil is a success story, as in the last 30 years the organisation has been able to redefine the circus industry by creating its own market. The organisation is more than only a circus, as it is a rule breaker by creating an audacious reality (Cirque du Soleil, 2022).
Harley-Davidson
Since its establishment in 1903, Harley-Davidson has been continuing to define the culture of motorcycles by reflecting emotions in its every product (Harley-davidson, 2022). However, the case study reflects that this organisation has been struggling because of the current economic crisis with its declining sales as well as profits.
Dyson
Dyson became one of the renowned brands in the field of technology with its innovations. In the current era, Dyson machines have been utilising in approximately 65 countries worldwide (Dyson, 2022).
1st Part: Analysis of supply chains
Cirque du Soleil
The major purpose of Cirque du Soleil’s supply chain is to recruit qualified candidates for the circus business. As the largest producer of modern circus in the world and a Canadian entertainment firm, it enables the business to significantly serve its customers. MGM Resorts International is therefore regarded as Cirque du Soleil’s alternate source (Cirquedusoleil, 2022). The ability of these partners to help Cirque du Soleil optimise its social effect and lessen its environmental imprint is one of their many remarkable qualities. The organisation is focused on developing an increasing number of responsible procurement needs for particular types of products and services in accordance with the service delivery and procedure. Instead of imposing its will on its suppliers, Cirque will take a collaborative and dialogual approach, and it will engage with them to resolve any issues that arise. The most important infrastructure of Cirque du Soleil might be regarded to be its long-standing partner in Las Vegas (Cirquedusoleil, 2022). Although, all of the factors in the supply chain of Cirque du Soleil have been prominent and beneficial for the company. The fundamental goal of Cirque du Soleil’s supply chain is to uphold its responsible procurement strategy, which relates to criteria set out by the International Labour Organization and environmental protection principles (ILO) (Cirquedusoleil, 2022).
Harley-Davidson
The Harley Davidson Company’s supply chain is dedicated to creating and developing renowned motorcycles for the market. The supply chain’s duties include the development, production, and marketing of new classic motorcycle models, including bikes for racing, long distance travel, and leisure (Meyer, 2022). In order to give its customers the best service and goods, Harley Davidson is primarily focused on the bike manufacturing industry. As Harley Davidson obtains the majority of its parts from numerous manufacturers across the globe, including those in Germany, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, and Italy, the business has a number of other suppliers (Timeless2wheels, 2022). The suppliers have the capability to provide Harley Davidson with sufficient and advanced parts that the company require to assemble their motorcycles in their supply chain units. The Harley Davidson service delivery system or production process is concentrated on sourcing the materials to the appropriate U.S. manufacturers, the motorcycles are then constructed, and they are then shipped to Harley Davidson dealers all around the globe (Topspeed, 2022.). Thus, the company utilises different modes of transport and machinery to successfully complete the supply chain cycle. By the management of their prominent supply chain system, Harley Davidson focuses on outperforming its rivals in terms of product quality, reputation, and branding, as well as by raising customer happiness and fostering greater customer loyalty.
Dyson
More than 260,000 machines are produced each week from the Dyson supply chain system, which is the company’s main emphasis (Dyson, 2022). It makes it possible for Dyson to provide the customers of the home appliance market better services and goods. When it comes to alternative suppliers, Dyson has several hundred suppliers spread out over the world that assist them in achieving their production goals. The main competency of Dyson’s suppliers is concentrated on preserving the environmental effect of the businesses (Roy, 2018). The suppliers concentrate on giving Dyson the material while having as little of an impact on the environment as they can. Therefore, Dyson concentrates on producing its items at the production facility and then selling them to the market’s merchants and distributors. There has been a significant amount of interest that is being used by Dyson to manage its delivery system, as the company focuses on producing a huge quantity of products each week (Dyson, 2022). As a result, it ensures the company can utilise inventory space as well as machineries and transportation systems to enhance the delivery system to reach their potential consumers in a given period of time (Dyson, 2022). Therefore, it can be stated that the supply chain of Dyson has been very beneficial for the company as it enables it to manufacture a large number of products while maintaining its quality.
Recommendations
Cirque du Soleil, Dyson, and Harley-Davidson are recommended to be focused on creating good relationships with their suppliers and automating supply chain processes. These would help them to improve the performance of overall supply chain activities by ensuring flexibility. A constant and effective communication process and the use of technology are helpful for improving the relationships of companies with their suppliers (Arenkov et al. 2019). In order to do that, these organisations need to utilise updated technologies, which may cost an estimated $27,000.
2nd Part: Comparing supply chains
Market
As per the case study, Cirque du Soleil has created its own market in the worldwide circus industry. The organisation operates in approximately 60 countries all over the world, which is reflecting its market expansion (Cirque du Soleil, 2022). Similarly, Dyson has also been operating its business in the global market and has secured its place in the sector of technology by fostering innovation (Dyson, 2022). In accordance with the case study, the organisation has grown enough in order to achieve sales of approximately £2.5 billion by 2016, in which 20% of sales were from the US market and approximately 21% was from the UK market. Dyson has been able to achieve leadership in the market of technology through a constant focus on innovation as well as engineering. On the other hand, Harley-Davidson has also been operating its business in the global market including countries such as the USA, Brazil, and Thailand (Harley-davidson, 2022).
Competitors
Competitors of Cirque du Soleil include AEG Live, Blue Man Group, and Cineplex Entertainment. Despite extensive competition in the market, the organisation ranks first in terms of pricing and customer service (Comparably, 2022). On the other hand, it ranks second in terms of product quality score as per customer ratings (Comparably, 2022).
Figure 1: Rank of Cirque du Soleil in Product Quality Score
(Source: Comparably, 2022)
Similarly, Dyson also witnesses extensive competition in the market and its competitors include iRobot, Google, Dematic, Microsoft, and Electrolux (Comparably, 2022). The company ranks Street in terms of customer service and pricing in a comparison with its competitors (Comparably, 2022).
Figure 2: Rank of Dyson in Customer Service
(Source: Comparably, 2022)
On the other hand, the competitor list of Harley-Davidson includes Yamaha Motorcycles, Ducati, Viper Motorcycle Company, Victory Motorcycles, Polaris, Kawasaki, Royal Enfield, and Triumph Bikes (Bhasin, 2018).
Approaches
The supply chain and operation of Cirque du Soleil are strongly focused on travel management, strategic sourcing, logistics, and customs. Supply chain management team of the company supports Cirque units that include IT, building, studios, touring shows, costumes workshops, and production (Supply chain digital, 2019).
On the other hand, looking at the supply chain approach of Dyson, it is clear that the supply chain of this company is complex. The organisation has several 100 suppliers worldwide that have been contributing in the production of approximately 260,000 machines (Dyson, 2022). However, Dyson along with its suppliers have noticed that they share their responsibility to the environment and people involved in the production process of machines (Dyson, 2022). Similarly, Harley-Davidson is also providing a great focus on its supply chain as well as inventory management in recent years. For evidence, the company is running a new operating model that created a worldwide commercial function in order to take charge of not only sales but also inventory management (Leonard, 2020).
Challenges
Recently, Harley-Davidson has faced approximately $82 million in supply chain costs and production limitations for some motorcycle models (Thomas, 2022). Even the organisation suspended its production because of supply chain issues. For evidence, in May 2022, the organisation announced that it was suspending the manufacturing process of non livewire production as well as shipments for 2 weeks due to issues in the supply chain (Fisher, 2020). On the other hand, Dyson struggled because of the claim regarding supply chain labour abuse. Approximately, 12 Malaysia-based workers of this organisation took legal action against it because of labour abuses by a local supplier of Dyson (McCulloch, 2022). Apart from that, Cirque du Soleil faces issues while the shows were cancelled because of the covid-19 pandemic. Even the organisation files for bankruptcy protection in order to deal with the issue (Reuters, 2020).
3rd Part: Learning for other organisations
From the case of Cirque du Soleil, lessons need to be learned about how from the situation of bankruptcy protection a successful comeback can happen. Despite the situation of bankruptcy during the pandemic, with its successful operational activity and supply chain management, the company launched its longest running source in Las Vegas, which are named “O” and “Mystère” (Fung, 2021). Even the opening of shows of this organisation becomes a symbol that reflects entertainment is back.
In order to deal with the claim regarding supply chain labour abuse, Dyson plans to drop that supplier that obtains approximately 80% of revenue from the organisation (Allen, 2021). Even the organisation has appointed a company of consultants in order to review findings and take further remediation steps whenever needed. Furthermore, the organisation stated that it is a contract manufacturer and workers are backbone of its operational activities; hence, it focuses on the safety, security, and welfare of workers (Allen, 2021). These steps of the organisation indicate that Dyson has chosen ethics over profitability, which further influences its brand image in a positive manner. From the case of Dyson, it is clear that businesses should learn to maintain ethics in the workplace along with profitability in order to ensure their positive brand image.
Harley-Davidson resumed its production of motorcycles in June 2022, by overcoming supply chain issues (Kirchen, 2022). However, the organisation has not focused on “suppliers regulatory compliance matters”, which was the reason for its factory shutdown (Kirchen, 2022). From this, it is clear that businesses should be focused on the main reason for which a challenge arose, which is not done by Harley-Davidson properly.
Conclusion
From the overall report, Cirque du Soleil, Harley-Davidson, and Dyson are noted to maintain effective operation and supply chain management, which have a great impact on their overall business growth. The analysis of supply chains of these companies reflects that supply chain management plays a crucial role in improving overall organisational performance. However, these organisations faced issues in their supply chain management such as labour abuse, regulatory compliance, and the covid-19 pandemic. From the steps of these organisations that are taken in order to deal with mentioned issues, a clear lesson for businesses is noticed, which reflects it is important to focus on ethics and the main reason for issues.
Reference
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