Assignment Sample on International Operations Management
Introduction
Reebok is an international footwear and clothing company operating in UK. It is subsidiary of German Company Adidas. Reebok was founded in Bolton, UK in 1958. Reebok focuses on evaluating customers’ value which has helped it in operating as leading company in sports industry. The study includes analysis of issues in international operations management of Reebok in the UK.
Operations management activities and critical issues in international market
Operation management includes planning, controlling, scheduling and transforming raw materials into finished goods (Feng and Shanthikumar, 2018). Operations management activities and associated issues for Reebok are discussed as under:
Workforce management
Workforce management is crucial for organisations as it helps in delivering products and services to customers. A critical issue with workforce management has been found in Reebok. In Adidas, which is also the parent company of Reebok, a group of employees around the globe were asked to investigate Chief Human Resource Officer (Edition.cnn, 2021). The company was facing issue of racial inequality in workforce. A letter was sent to supervisory board of company to address the issue. Also, workforce of Reebok conducted a protest against company culture. It acts as a huge issue for Reebok which acts as hurdle behind carrying on operations in the international market.
Marketing management
Marketing acts as a crucial approach of operations management that facilitates sale and growth of business. In the case of Reebok, marketing acts as crucial aspects in internationalising their activities. Brand ambassador of Reebok is 2018 Gal Gadot who played the character of wonder woman. It has been positively added into national and international marketing campaigns of Reebok. An issue of brand mismanagement is faced by Reebok. Reebok underwent a restructuring of global marketing group of its brand. Due to Coronavirus pandemic, reduction in performance was faced by Reebok and parent company Adidas. Thus, Adidas is considering auctioning the company and focusing on its own brand (Forbes, 2021). Besides, a drop in overall sales of Reebok has been found in 2020. The brand sale has declined by 7% in the UK (Bbc, 2021). It signifies a critical issue of Reebok while operating in an international market.
Material management
Material management is core supply chain function which includes supply chain execution capabilities and supply chain planning (Kasim et al. 2019). International operations of Reebok includes supply of products in overseas markets by supply chain framework. Through this framework, Reebok supplies products into 28 countries. Material management is conducted by Reebok supply chain management. Diverse variety of environmentally friendly and recycled materials are used by Reebok or becoming sustainable company (Reebok, 2021). However, issues in material management took place in pandemic situation of 2020. The pandemic situation creates supply chain volatility, poses significant risk in supply chain and increases cost through supply chain (Annualreports, 2021). As products were manufactured in 724 independent factories, cost of operating gas risen during pandemic. So, it adversely impacts the revenue position of Reebok.
Website management
Website management in companies helps in operating in overseas markets by using online websites. It allows customers to access key products and services of the company, Reebok maintains a website for providing personalised services to customers. Parent company of Reebok i.e. Adidas has made additions of new apparel suppliers in 2019 for creating more capacity and meeting market demand (Report.adidas-group, 2021). In addition, Reebok has penetrated into the international sports market. As per Reebok’s global head of digital, challenges were faced while providing personalised experience to customers (Reebok, 2021). An issue of gender exclusivity was found on website of Reebok. It acts as a critical issue while operating in the international market.
Launching global brand strategy
It is an operation management plan of Reebok that facilitates brand positioning in international market. By making shoes for National Basketball Association, the company was able to enhance global sales (Reebok, 2021). Mission of Reebok was to become the best fitness brand in world (Report.adidas-group, 2021). While operating in international market, Reebok faced issues in positioning property. During global financial crisis of 2020, cost of doing operations has risen and negative customer behaviour also took place. It acts as critical issue for Reebok while operating in international market.
Application of operations management theories, concepts and framework for improvement
Business process reengineering
Business process reengineering is process management concept that focuses on analysing and redesigning workforce, operations and business processes. Business process reengineering can be used for cutting slack and excess (Elapatha et al. 2019). Also, it can be used for reducing excess expenses of company. In case of Reebok, issues of excess operating cost were found. The company has critical issue of excess cost of business while operating in pandemic situation. Application of Business process reengineering can be made for reducing cost. The company can decline its operational cost by improving delivery speed. Through Business process reengineering, Reebok can work on its supply chain management and supply of products in overseas markets. So, the issue of declining revenue can be prevented from Reebok.
Six Sigma methodology
Six sigma is methodology for process improvement. It leads to effective reduction and improvement in profit. As per Costa et al. (2017), improvement in employee morale, profit and quality of product & service take place by help of six sigma methodology. By applying this methodology, Reebok would be able to improve its international operation management i.e. marketing operations. In marketing operations, the company faces issues of brand mismanagement. Due to this, the parent company is considering selling Reebok. By using six sigma, high focus can be provided on brand management which is also useful for profitability growth. So, it is useful for improvement of performance.
4Vs Model
4Vs model is organised around a global brand value chain. It can be used for balancing operations management technique (Kaur and Sood, 2017). Visibility, viability, variation in demand and volume are key variables in 4Vs model. Application of this model can be made in Reebok by focusing on international segmentation, functional performance and key development instruments impacting operations. In Reebok, the issue of workforce management took place. Such issues have an adverse impact on performance and satisfaction of employees. As employees are key variables in providing accurate services to customers, 4Vs model is helpful in improving workforce management operatives in Reebok. In addition, the model is useful for providing customer behaviour in post-pandemic situations. Ultimately, prevention of critical issue would take place in Reebok.
Recommendations in domestic and international context
Workforce issue
An issue within workforce management has been found in Reebok. Employees from different divisions of Reebok have reported racial discrimination. So, appropriate application of Equality Act 2010 must be made by Reebok while operating in UK. Also, behaviour of human resource management and chief human resource officer must be measured by management on frequent basis, it would help in preventing workforce issues.
Declining revenue issue
In global financial crisis of 2020, Reebok is facing declining trend of revenue. Due to this, significant reduction in growth has been found in industry. It can be recommended that understanding market demand during pandemic would be crucial. Also, products such as sports shoes should be sold at low margin for capturing domestic and international markets.
Digital strategy issue
As per global head of digital, Reebok was unable to provide personalised experience to customers. While operating in an overseas market, inability to provide sufficient service may act as an advantage to competitors. The company is required to work on its website for providing personalised services. Also, using collected data of customers for recommending content of interest would be useful.
Cost management issue
While operating in domestic and international market, Reebok faced cost management issues. The company was incurring higher costs while supplying products and services in the overseas market. So, using cost management strategy in supply chain management would be feasible for curbing cost.
Issue in meeting market demand
In the past two years, the company faced issues in meeting demand of customers. Due to pandemic situation, demand for products like apparels and sports shoes declined. For dealing with such issues, cost of products and services should be minimised. It would help Reebok in capturing domestic and international sport shoes and apparels market.
Issue in global brand strategy
Due to mismanagement of brand, issues in global brand strategy implemented have been found. Reebok brand can be revitalised by discussing the core promise of Reebok in a trustworthy, differentiated and relevant way. Focusing on delivering better and innovative solutions to customers would be beneficial for improving performance.
Conclusion
Managing international operations is crucial for Reebok in order to operate feasibly in domestic and international market. The company was established in Bolton, UK in the year 1958. Operational management in Reebok helps in planning, organisation and controlling key operations. Key operations management includes material management, workforce management, marketing management, website management and launching global brand strategy. Key issues in domestic and international operation are declining revenue, website issues, inability to focus on global brand strategy, workforce issues and increasing operating costs.
References
Bbc (2021). About Reebok, UK. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55304272[Accessed on 16th May 2021]
Costa, T., Silva, F.J.G. and Ferreira, L.P., (2017). Improve the extrusion process in tire production using Six Sigma methodology. Procedia Manufacturing, 1(2), pp.1104-1111.
Edition.cnn (2021). About Reebok, UK. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/(2020)/06/16/business/adidas-employee-letter-hr-chief/index.html[Accessed on 16th May 2021]
Elapatha, V.W. and Jehan, S.N., (2020). An Analysis of the implementation of business process re-engineering in public services. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(4), pp.114-115.
Feng, Q. and Shanthikumar, J.G., (2018). How research in production and operations management may evolve in the era of big data. Production and Operations Management, 27(9), pp.1670-1684.
Forbes (2021). About Reebok, UK. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larrylight/(2020)/12/17/the-iconic-reebok-brand-is-on-the-auction-block/?sh=69b784593d34[Accessed on 15th May 2021]
Kasim, N.B., Kusumaningtias, R.B. and Sarpin, N.B., (2019). Enhancing material tracking practices of material management in construction project. International Journal of Sustainable Construction Engineering and Technology, 10(2), pp.61-73.
Kaur, N. and Sood, S.K., (2017). Efficient resource management system based on 4vs of big data streams. Big data research, 9(8), pp.98-106.
Reebok (2021). About Reebok, UK. Available at: https://www.reebok.com/no/help/what-materials-are-your-products-made-from.html [Accessed on 10th May 2021]
Reebok (2021). About Reebok, UK. Available at: https://www.reebok.com/us/blog/396934-how-reebok-has-impacted-women-and-fitness-over-the-last-forty-years[Accessed on 13th May 2021]
Reebok (2021). About Reebok, UK. Available at: https://www.reebok.com/us/reebok-company-information.html[Accessed on 14th May 2021]
Reebok (2021). About Reebok, UK. Available at: https://www.reebok.com/us/men-basketball-shoes[Accessed on 17th May 2021]
Report.adidas-group (2021). About Reebok and Adidas, UK. Available at: https://report.adidas-group.com/(2019)/en/group-management-report-our-company/corporate-strategy/reebok-brand-strategy.html[Accessed on 18th May 2021]
Report.adidas-group (2021). About Reebok, UK. Available at: https://report.adidas-group.com/(2019)/en/group-management-report-our-company/global-operations.html[Accessed on 12th May 2021]
Know more about UniqueSubmission’s other writing services:
