Logistics Management of Business Operation

Question: Discuss about the Logistic Manangement. Answer: Introduction Logistic management is a very important part of supply chain management, which includes several processing such as planning controlling of the effective movement of the goods, reverse flow, services, goods storage, coordination between the origin the final destination (Dyckhoff, Lackes Reese, 2013). This assignment covers a brief detail of a Singapore based NTUC FairPrice Company. Moreover, it also tries to find the interface of few of the core sectors of the Company such as production, accounting finance, marketing with the logistic part of the market. Further, it also covers an analysis of the current order processing system of the Company. The management of inventory is also the part of this assignment. A brief about the NTUC FairPrice NTUC FairPrice is the largest super market chain of the Singapore that operates through 100 of its supermarket chain across the island. It was first established in the year 1973 as NTUC Welcome Supermarket in Toa Payoh to minimize the rising prices of oils and daily goods. One of the major changes that took place was the merging of NTUC Welcome with the SEC to give birth to a large cooperative Limited known as NTUC FairPrice Co-Operative Limited. After the merging, the Company started its operation as a centralized distribution system to enhance the efficiency in the processing of goods to various stores. However, FairPrice then owned the system in the year 1998 to have the ownership of the distribution and the warehouse Company. In 2003, FairPrice came up with some new idea and opened up a new 13,000 square meter area for the distribution of fresh food (Talk, 2016). The refrigerated facility thus introduced in the system did enable the processing and distribution of fresh chilled p roducts to all the network chain. Moreover, the move was to increase the efficiency of the Company in supplying fresh chilled products to its different outlets to achieve a maximum customer satisfaction. The Company is the first of its kinds in the Singapore, which owns its fresh food distribution centre (About Us, 2017). Interfaces In regards to the organization considered as one of the largest shareholders in the retail market of Singapore, NTUC Fair Price Shop operates on a functional strategy of supply chain management. The operation of logistics and its efficiency can only be managed by virtue of the respective important aspects of the business operations. Strategic, operational and tactical are three of the major activities that determine the logistics management (Park, 2013). A full proof operational management includes the integration of the major areas of concern for NTUC Fair Price Shop which has initiated this e- business mode in quite recently. The procedures of supply chain and inventory management are in collaboration with three of the most significant factors in the process of the retail industry (Goh, 2015). The standard procedure for a proper logistics management composes of an appropriate distribution system, the network of information which can be either centralized or de-centralized and the decisions of inventory management. The distribution and operation of functions performed within a network of more than 130 outlets in the similar retail chain involves a number of functions that serves at least 1000,000 customers in a daily frame (Rushton, Croucher Baker, 2014). The core functional areas in which logistics serve as an interface have been defined in the manner of the following: Production: The production management of the the retail market entails a detailed structure. This structure includes the units of production which is determined by the demand and supply aspects of the market. The operations of the NTUC Singapore Free Price Shop deals in collaboration with the manufacturing unit which looks, allows and assigns the track of the product. In fact the proper engagement of the various products must be enclosed within the following outcome of the concerned product. The storage and identification of the prospective network and its configuration is ultimately the key for decoding the analysis of the products that are being retailed by the organization (Bottani et al., 2014). Finance and Accounting: In a large set up of about five different types of brands that regulate this retail giant in Singapore, a large amount of investment determines the functionality. (See, 2015). The estimation and accounting figures in a scenario of the FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Extra and not in any way different from the numbers of the following online store that has been involved form the year of 2016. In fact the logistics management depends on the factor of the appropriate numbers that helps in understanding the value and balances the accounting phenomenon in a retail set up (Liu, 2017). Marketing: The characteristic of proper marketing is one of the most important factors which help in enhancing the promotional procedures and strategies of NTUC Singapore Free Shop. This can be regarded as one of the chief points which ascertain the best of the resources (Talk, 2016). In fact the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies of the various products which are involved in the retail market will evaluate this element and understand the techniques in this manner. All the three factors of the interface are interdependent on each other which have been observed in the cyclical manner (Kad?ubek Grabara, 2015). Order Cycle The prevalent system of order and transfer of the product from the manufacturer to the ultimate customer involves many processes. It undergoes a multiple number of methods through the interface of the order cycle that can be analyzed in arriving to a concrete decision. It runs on an objective of providing the customers a hassle free procedure, which will help in creating a better impression. The customer satisfaction in a retail scenario is one of the most significant factors in this process (de Carvalho Lima Jr, 2013). There is a sequence that follows the order and processing before it finally reaches to the payments. To put it in a simple form, order cycles can be described as the process through which order line proceeds. Order cycles consist of processing steps, such as, Enter in the line, Pick Release or Shipping Confirmation. Every cycle action must correspond to one result. For example, the results for the action Enter include the options Booked, Partial or Entered. The seque nce of order cycles can be customized based on the prerequisites that have been mentioned by customers. Once mentioned, it needs to be performed before proceeding to the next step. It is a very simple and organized technique. Therefore the format has been made with the help of the track records of the previous consumer and they it also follows a format that makes it more personal. The purchase and delivery procedures are effective largely, and it can further be enhanced in the future by recommendations and analysis from several market and economic experts. The customers are still the chief objective in a retail business. It has been regarded as one of the best providers of an assortment of products which aids in it its customer satisfaction and collaboration process with the business enthusiast (de Carvalho Lima Jr, 2013). Currently, the process that are involved after ordering a product from NTUC Fair Shop Singapore, is very efficient in the nature of determining how a product is managed, assorted and delivered in the hands of the consumer. Attending to customer satisfaction, in the process involves both the facilities of Cash-on-Delivery and Credit Card Payments that are involved in the operations of delivery. The basic aesthetic of delivering the product at the right place and at the right time keeps the allegiance to the brand which is maintained by NTUC FairPrice Shop (Kad?ubek Grabara, 2015). In spite of many stores that are spread all across Singapore, the introduction of the online store has facilitated the customer experience and management over the past one year. Since NTUC deals mainly with a range of fresh products that require the enterprise to deal with products from the wholesalers and farmers and organic products it must employs tools that will be effective in nature. The need for achieving efficiency in regards to inventory management and also the supply chain management includes the service and other process that pertain it. The processing and the application of the system within the similar forum are very necessary to comprehend the logistic theories and management of the NTUC Singapore Fair Price Shop (Talk, 2016). Inventory Management Inventory management is one of the most important features of any organizational operation (Bierwirth, 2012). Moreover, it is that branch of a management, which provides a controlling power to the Company on its various products and goods. An inventory consists of various products goods of the Company that it operates for in the target market. In this assignment, the Singapore based Company NTUC FairPrice is mainly a Company that has a wide range of super market chains in the country. However, the Company has enhanced its expertise by merging with the SEC Company to add another dimension in their operational features (Kappauf, Lauterbach Koch, 2012). Moreover, the Company has now its own distribution centre, which it has opened to increase its efficiency in distributing a fresh chilled products goods to the consumer. Two kinds of a management are included in the management of inventory for the NTUC FairPrice Company. The one mode of management is related to its own distribution c entre while the other mode is the adoption of SAP technology for their inventory management experts in the Company (Balakrishnan, 2013). Moreover, the merge with the SEC Company to have its own distribution centre to maintain the quality of goods is just an example of their management strategies. Moreover, the plan was to distribute only those goods that are fresh and chilled. However, Technology does play an important role in the maintenance of inventories for a Company of NTUC FairPrice kind. Nevertheless, the Company believes in incepting new technological dimensions to its operations to maintain a competitive edge in the market (de Carvalho Lima Jr, 2013). Moreover, adding new technologies to its operational management do also enable a more advanced management of the inventory. On a same note, the switching of the Company from the Oracle operation to the SAP technology does simply tells the story of their inventory management style. Nevertheless, to manage an inventory a technological platform is needed in the Company where the experts work on to maintain all the inventories (Kad?ubek Grabara, 2015). The inclusion of SAP as an IT partner in the Company speaks about its supreme thinking about the technology to manage its inventories. The inception of the SAP technology would lower down the operation point to a significant level, which would allow mana gement of inventories at the more efficient rates than ever before. IT is also helpful in lowering down the burden from the experts who are managing the inventories by providing a more sophisticated and user-friendly platform to them in the form of SAP (Kappauf, Lauterbach Koch, 2012). Recommendation The decision-making system model for logistics is very important from the market perspectives as it encourages taking decisions on complex issues. Moreover, it also enables the researcher in recommending a point to the NTUC FairPrice Company, which has the largest super market chains in Singapore (Rushton, Croucher Baker, 2014). The point of recommendation is for the entrance of the Company into some other potential market such as India. Nevertheless, the expansion of its business to India might produce a resonant response in their favor, as it is one of the cultural hubs for shopping. Conclusion NTUC FairPrice is one of the most reputed Companies in Singapore, which is the largest company in the super market chains in Singapore. The operation style of the Company is commendable for the fact that it enhances its operation by making merge and partnerships with other companies. Moreover, it does so to enhance the quality of performance to meet with the customers requirement. The merge with the SEC Company in the year 1983 to have its own distribution centre simply tells the story of their management style. On a same note, the partnership tie with the ExxonMobil Company to open FairPrice Express was another very important move of the Company in the direction of their logistic management strategies. The partnership was done to introduce its products at the ExxonMobil centers, which could provide an enhanced exposure to the products of the Company. Moreover, the strategy to enhance its business operations by adding new dimensions to its product line and supporting the business ope ration with the help of advanced technologies such as Oracle and SAP simply speak about their measurable approaches. Reference About Us. (2017). [online] Fairprice.com.sg. Available at: https://www.fairprice.com.sg/wps/portal/fp/aboutus [Accessed 23 Feb. 2017]. Balakrishnan, N. (2013).Handbook of the logistic distribution. CRC Press. Bierwirth, C. (2012).Adaptive search and the management of logistic systems: Base models for learning agents(Vol. 11). Springer Science Business Media. Bottani, E., Ferretti, G., Montanari, R., Rinaldi, M. (2014). Analysis and optimisation of inventory management policies for perishable food products: a simulation study.International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling 11,9(1-2), 16-32. de Carvalho, C. C., Lima Jr, O. F. (2013). Efficient logistic platform design: the case of Campinas Platform. de Souza, R., Goh, M., Lau, H. C., Ng, W. S., Tan, P. S. (2014). Collaborative urban logisticssynchronizing the last mile a Singapore research perspective.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,125, 422-431. Dyckhoff, H., Lackes, R., Reese, J. (Eds.). (2013).Supply chain management and reverse logistics. Springer Science Business Media. Goh, M. (2015). Urban Logistics in Asia. InTA-Q-BIN(pp. 3-22). Springer Singapore. Kad?ubek, M., Grabara, J. (2015). Customers' expectations and experiences within chosen aspects of logistic customer service quality.International Journal for Quality Research,9(2), 265-278. Kappauf, J., Lauterbach, B., Koch, M. (2012).Logistic Core Operations with SAP: Inventory Management, Warehousing, Transportation, and Compliance. Springer Science Business Media. Liu, L. (2017). Research on the Causes and Countermeasures of the Price Dispersion of Online Retail Commodity. InProceedings of the Fourth International Forum on Decision Sciences(pp. 747-760). Springer, Singapore. Park, S. E. (2013).Consumer surplus moderated price competition. Technical report, University of California, Berkeley. Rushton, A., Croucher, P., Baker, P. (2014).The handbook of logistics and distribution management: Understanding the supply chain. Kogan Page Publishers. See, A. W. (2015). Understanding an Option to Renew a Lease: AREIF (Singapore I) Pte Ltd v NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd [2015] SGHC 28. Talk, O. M. (2016). Operations management.