Supply Chain Management

What is supply chain management?

Supply chain management is an integrated methodological approach that heavily uses management approaches such as operations management and logistics management. It is inclusive of all activities of materials in the production of goods and services ranging from the storage of raw materials, processing them for production and supplying them to the customers.

Supply chain management is overseeing the flow of information, materials and finances within and across companies from the point of origin to the point of consumption.

Supply chain management is a cross-functional approach which organizes the entire business process through a chain of multiple companies who specializes in their concerned roles. These companies are business partners that focus on only a few key strategic activities.

The active management of supply chain activities maximizes the customer value and enables sustaining a competitive advantage over other companies.

How does supply chain management work?

It increases the number of organizations involved in the process of manufacturing goods and information providing.

It operates through interlinked channels and networks of business nodes which it uses to reduce the ownership of materials by distributing activities across various companies.

Companies outsource to other organizations the activities or processes they specializes in so they can be performed more efficiently and cost effectively.

What are the three types of flow in supply chain management?

Supply chain management is constituted of activities such as product development, sourcing, production, logistics and information system required to coordinate these activities. The organizations involved in supply chain are connected together through three kinds of flows which include flow of materials, information and finances.

Flow of materials and finances are physical flows which involve the transformation, movement, and storage of goods and materials and transaction of capitals. They are the most visible part of the supply chain.

Flow of information allows the various supply chain partners to coordinate their plans and control the flow of goods and material up and down the supply chain.

According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), “Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion and logistics management. It also includes the crucial components of coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers, and customers.”

IBSAR Mumbai is a multi-disciplinary business school devoted to providing the top most education in the field of business.  As per the IBSAR Mumbai reviews, the business programs offered focus upon theoretical as well as practical knowledge to equip students with the required skills to compete in the world.

Prerequisites of Business Communication

 

      The aim of communication is to convey the desired message to an audience. A message which is         not conveyed successfully can result in serious damage especially in the business world. As per           the IBSAR Mumbai Reviews, keeping in mind some essential factors can result in the successful       delivery of the message, being received positively by the audience.

      We hereby provide you with a few of basic essentials of business communication:

1         .Structure

Structure is a necessary element for the successful communication for an un-structured or ill-structured message will not be understood in its entirety by the audience. You can systematically structure your message by diving it in three parts: Introduction, Main Body and Conclusion.

This can be used to structure any mode of communication including memos, presentation, speech, email, multi-media presentation.

2          .Clarity

Clarity in communication implies that the message you want to deliver should be clear both in your mind and in the process as well. Make sure that the communication is clear and delivered in a language common to everyone involved in the communication process.

3          . Adequate

The message you want to convey should be adequate, that is, it should be complete. An incomplete message or a message that is given in short bits and pieces will be considered as inadequate which could have adverse effects as it might risk the understanding of your audience.

4          .Consistency

The message should be consistent and in line with the previous messages and set objectives. Inconsistent, self-contradictory and conflicting messages can raise distrust in the audience. Therefore, if the aim of your message is to amend the previous one, than it should be stated clearly in the message itself.

5          .Medium

Choose the best available mode of communication for the successful transmission of your message. Select a mode which can be delivered in minimum time, offers greatest comprehension rate and costs low.

6          .Relevancy

The communication should be relevant to the organization, employees and their business. An irrelevant message or chunks of irrelevant information in a message would make the audience lose their interest.

     IBSAR Mumbai is one of the top business schools in India that offers specially designed courses      in MBA, BCA, and MCA taught by expert faculty members.

Attributes of a Healthy Organization

To be a successful organization, it is of utmost importance to be a healthy one first because only a healthy organization can grow into a successful one. As per the IBSAR Reviews, our team has prepared a list of characteristics most commonly seen in the healthy organizations.

1.     Good Leadership

For a healthy organization, healthy environment is most necessary element. Therefore, any organization needs good and effective leadership to maintain a healthy environment in the office premises. Managers who are open to suggestions and complaints gains the trust of their employees thus assuming the role of understanding leaders.

2.     Team Work

Sense of team work enables the employees to get familiarized to work together despite their differences of opinions. Healthy organizations understand the importance of team work therefore they work to develop teams that can collaborate to achieve the common goals.

3.     Employee Morale

Employees are the most important assets of an organization. Low morale in employees causes low productivity, poor coordination and hinders the growth of a company. While motivated and dedicated employees strengthen a company.

4.     Learning Opportunities

A static environment which provides no growth in terms of promotion or learning opportunities eventually makes their employees to look for those opportunities elsewhere. Many organizations now provide on the job training programs to enable their employees to cultivate their knowledge more efficiently.

5.     Employee Engagement

Unlike earlier times when companies used to follow strict hierarchical order in terms of decision making, now many companies have adopted more flexible approach. An organization where suggestions of employees are valued and considered, allows employees to become more engaged and accountable which eventually raises their productivity.

6.     Adapts to Changes

The constant development in technology and its influences on society demands for a more changeable or adaptable approach. Healthy organizations understand that to compete in the market, they need to stay in line or ahead of their competitors. Therefore, they adapt and incorporate new techniques and technologies.

7.     Result Oriented

Organizations are established with a set of goals. Healthy organizations understand that to attain those goals, it is essential that all the work and strategies designed to complete them are result oriented and all inessential activities must be eliminated.

IBSAR is a multi-disciplinary business school whose team of expert faculty members that provides the students necessary knowledge and skills to achieve success in their future endeavors in the form of various business programs. 

What is Operation Management?

Operation management is one of the three key strategic areas needed to run a company, the other two being marketing and finance. Operation management is an administrative area which deals in managing the production of goods and services in a company.

Operation management is responsible for efficiently managing the resources at hand to convert them into sellable goods and services. The core activities handled under operation management are planning, organizing, implementing and controlling the processes of production. The operation management involves handling resources such as people, equipment, technology and information, etc. to get minimum profit.

Operation management plays a central role in any company whether it is involved in manufacturing goods or providing services. For example, in a manufacturing company like a cosmetic company, operation management handles reproduction of goods that is cosmetics while in service providing company like cab services, operation managements focuses on providing services.

Two types of operations                                                     

Operation management includes two types of operations, one, strategic in nature and other, tactical. Strategic operations have long term consequences and often need great deal of finance and resources for their execution. For example decisions related to location, technology, labor and equipment.

Tactical operations have short to medium term effect on a company and involve lesser degree of finance and resources for execution. These are also flexible in nature as they can be changed or modified without adverse reactions due to such changes. For example decisions related to workforce schedule.

Two key areas

The two key areas associated with operations management are logistics and supply chain management. Operation management has great affinity with both these areas of business practices. Logistics is essential for the careful, considered and cost effective use of resources while understanding of supply chain management is required to meet the demands of client.

An MBA in operation management or logistics and supply chain management equips students with the required knowledge and skill set to understand and get the grip of intricate complexities of business.

The Institute of Business Studies and Research is a business school located in Maharashtra which focuses on providing world class education in various business programs. IBSAR offers courses on specific areas of business management to train students in best way possible.

Branding a service vs. Branding a product

Branding is a very trending thing in the business world and we all are very much aware of the impact that it has on sale of the products and services. Well, it is worth noticing that branding a service is quite different from branding a product and there are a number of factors behind this. Read on to know more about it:

Experts from IBSAR say that the first thing that must be understood is that products are well defined physical items that can be evaluated before you choose to buy them. You can actually hold a product in your hand in order to examine it properly and on being fully satisfied with its properties you can buy it. On the other side, talking about services it can be said that services are intangible and are very personal. Service is an experience that the customer buys from you. So it is important to understand that while buying a service that customer puts a lot of trust in you. So, on the basis of this explanation the difference between branding a product and branding a service can be summarized through following points:

·        The basic reason is that products are made where services are delivered

·         Products are used where services are experienced

·         Products are touchable where services are emotional

Experts from IBSAR say that when it is about the branding of a product then there are special efforts made in order to beautify the product so that it can appeal to the maximum number of people. Moreover, the uses of the product are highlighted and the packaging of the product is also designed with a lot of creativity and thought. In simpler words it can be said that branding of a product includes everything that is required to make the product look irresistible in terms of looks and use.

When it comes to branding of a service then the sole motive is to win the trust of the customers. As it has been said that services can neither be seen nor be touched but they can only be experienced. Therefore the branding of a service includes coming up with strategies to make the service look useful and beneficial for the customers. 

Deliver Excellent Customer Services with these Tips

Customer service has been a thriving area since quite some time in business sector. Apparently, it is being said that the cost of acquiring a new customer is five times than that of retaining an existing one. There is a fundamental golden rule for good customer service that if you were the customer, you would have want to meet the same expectations. Rendering good customer service is often a matter of common sense but as it is well-known that common sense is not so common these days and entrepreneurs do not fall into this ambit either.

Hence, experts from IBSAR are telling some tips to deliver excellent customer service:

· Great customer service begins with you. If you are being apathetic towards your customers, your employees will mimic it. In contrast, if you are enthusiastic and courteous, your troops are more likely to be so as well.

· Emphasize on building long-term relationships with your customers. Short-term sales incentives can sometimes undermine long-term customer satisfaction. Refrain from that by building short-term programs which reward broader improvements.

· Involve your customers in the events organized by company and make them feel that they are an indispensable part of the organization.

· The little things make huge difference. Small gestures which anticipate customers’ needs or attend to their comforts, for instance offering a glass of cold water on a sweltering day, go a long way towards winning them over.

· Communication is the most significant element in retaining customers. A personalized “Thank you” note or even a follow-up phone call a month or later makes your customers feel that you value them.

· In retail businesses, loyalty programs or rewards cards drive repeat business as well as help you gather information about interests of the customers by monitoring what they are buying. Appreciate the presence of your customers.

· Resolve the disputes of your customers without any delay. It’s already bad enough if your customer is unhappy with your product or service. But if your attempt to redress the problem is not encouraging enough, it is only going to make the situation worse.

IBSAR Mumbai is one of the best business schools which offers MBA in various disciplines.

Prologue to Technology and Innovation Management

Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) is a specialized management concentration which offers an understanding of the nature of innovation, the relationship between strategic leadership and innovation, and how organizations use technology and new product development processes to successfully manage change. TIM is a key to growth in a knowledge based economy.

The current competitive imperative is the development of a science and innovation based culture. This identifies that the real engines of competitiveness and economic success remain science, innovation, technology, education and entrepreneurship. An essential part of developing the science and technology is based on sustained competitive advantage which is to strengthen the capacity of organizations to manage innovation successfully.

Technology and Innovation Management is at the intersection of strategy, technology and operations. It provides executives with the understanding of how technology works in the innovation process and enables them to make sound business decisions. Successful innovation is inherently multi-functional and matches a profound understanding of needs and wants of user to a distinctive technical competence.

No company can stand still under the pressure of competition and rising customer expectations. To stand still is to die. Even to survive, you must constantly reduce costs, enhance quality and increase responsiveness. To grow, you must offer new and improved products and services. Whatever the size or business of your company, you must comprehend what kind of innovation makes sense, when to innovate and how to do it successfully.

Technology and Innovation Management encourages the management of innovation and technological change from a variety of perspectives, including strategic, managerial, behavioural, and operational issues. TIM includes the management of innovation, technology strategy, research and development, information technologies and the internet, technology-based entrepreneurship, process technologies, and the commercialization of scientific research.

Institute of Business Studies And Research (IBSAR) is one of the best business schools which offers Master of Business Administration (MBA) in various disciplines.