Discuss about the Operations Management Warehouse Case Study for Retail Business.
This project has had a significant knowledge enhancement concerning various factors associated with retail business and warehouse management. Undertaking this activity in a group based task was fundamental in the fact that it enabled each individual to contribute in sharing ideas, hence assisting those who did not have proper concept concerning the topic to advance their knowledge.
Through this project, the group learned various things, one of them being cost management in warehouse. Rambau & Konrad (2014) affirms that managing costs in retail businesses is fundamental because it makes organizations to attain substantial profits. Engaging in this project enabled each person who played a role in this project to understand the concept of managing costs in businesses that entail the use of warehouses and its importance.
The project also assisted in enhancing knowledge concerning the relationship between low cost strategies and managing competition. Based on the practice, proper management of costs in warehouse makes businesses to sell their products at low prices, hence attracting many customer. This relates to Kevin (2014) assertion that for businesses to adapt low pricing strategy while maintaining the quality of their products, they should implement strategies that assist them to reduce costs. Adapting low cost in warehouse is one of these strategies because it makes investors to spend less of the revenue they get from the products or services they produce.
This project has also assisted the group to learn more about inventory control and management. Through undergoing the project, the group learned that inventory management plays a significant role in decreasing inventory levels, improving order fulfilment, and minimizing order cycle time. According to Roberto (2016), inventory control and management is fundamental because it assists business people to tract every unit and attain all details that can aid in enhancing order fulfilment and stock accuracy.
This project also enabled the group to realize that warehouse management has a key impact on company productivity. Initially, the group did not have adequate knowledge concerning the relationship between warehouse management and company productivity, but through this project, every member was able to know how they relate. For instance, it made the team to realize that the manner which a warehouse is managed determines if a business will meet its productivity goals or not (Nael, 2016). It also enabled the group to understand that proper management of warehouse adds efficiency, consistency, and also enhances control of processes through helping business people to move products from their warehouses at maximum speed. This makes workers to generate more work within less time because it enables them to attain what they require at the right time.
Understanding how to capture many customers in warehouses is always fundamental for the success of business. The project also helped the group to realize that warehouses have adopted a core competence in low cost method. Bob (2012) affirms that costs involved in businesses plays a significant role in determining the selling prices. When a business incurs low costs, it can make the decisions of selling its products at low prices and still make substantial profits, but when they incur high costs, they must sell the products at higher prices in order to attain revenue. Selling products or services at higher prices while others sell similar products at lower prices may hurt business performance because consumers will shift their purchase decisions to where they can attain much for less.
The use of low cost strategy helps a warehouse to separate itself from others that offer similar products. This is attained because through the use of low cost strategy, consumers find it to be unique because it does what others do not do (Sumit, 2013). If for example a consumer buys a product at a particular warehouse and realize a price difference, he or she feels the warehouses differ and will always like to buy from the one which allows him/her to attain the product at cheaper prices.
When a warehouse separate itself from others, it become possible to connect with suppliers who produce products that are targeted to the market. Connecting with suppliers plays a key role in enabling businesses to attain products and maintaining their inventory at the right level (Patrick, 2014). Low cost strategy also make businesses to connect with suppliers who use similar strategy, hence making the selling prices to be friendly to the consumers.
According to Heizer & Render (2012), warehouse management plays a key role in enhancing customer experience. Through this project, the group was able to realize that ensuring the products that customer order are present in the stock and consumers obtain what they buy in a timely manner is important in providing customer service.
According to Marianne (2011), businesses today are faced with challenging supply chain and government regulations, while also striving to meet consumer demands and remain competitive in the markets they operate. This project has enabled the team members to realize that proper warehouse management help organizations to have the tools required to remain competitive while complying with regulations. This is attained through real-time recording and data tracking, business intelligence, and solutions that automate business processes.
Using low cost strategy as order winner has benefits for warehouses because it makes products to be viewed as fit for purchase by the consumers. Myerson (2012) affirms that when consumers view products as fit for purchase, they make the decision of buying the goods from that business and ignore other companies that deal with similar products. This gives the business advantage in terms of market share, increase in sales and reputation. Through this project, the group has been able to know how to attract consumers by making products or services to be appealing through low cost strategy.
The project also enabled the group to realize that acquiring products from supplier at low cost enables a business to thrive rapidly. This occurs because low cost makes the management to attain reputation and substantial market share due to selling products at low prices than competitors.
Through completing this project, the group also learned that with low cost strategy in warehouses, it becomes possible to allocate resources to other areas that require attention. This happens because operating through this strategy make organizations to have the possibilities of investing in all areas that make sense to their growth.
Completing this project also enhanced the group’s knowledge concerning the relationship between low cost strategy and business’ ability to provide greater variety of products. For example, it assisted the members to realize that when a business use this strategy, it introduces different products in its line of business in order to attract consumers with different needs and preferences.
The other knowledge gained from this project is that for retailers to succeed in their operations, they must use pricing strategies that will make their businesses to attain a competitive advantage. Richards (2011) affirms that for businesses to stand out, they must value consumers and one of the ways of doing so is through giving them products or services at an affordable prices. When retailers sell products at high prices because of high costs, only those with high levels of income afford them, but when the products are sold at low prices, both low and high income consumer afford them. This project was very beneficial in making the group to understand this aspect because it related to low cost strategy in warehouse and better business performance.
Completing this project was also beneficial in making the team members to understand the relationship between theory and practice. Over the years, the team members have been learning various things concerning business performance and use of low cost strategies, but completing this project enabled them to understand how the concept they have attained in class can be used in practice.
Because significant knowledge advancement through this project, it can be right to state that there has been a learning process. This is because through undertaking research concerning various things that needed to be completed, the group members have been developing their understanding concerning warehouse management, low cost strategy and business performance.
The use of team work to complete this tasks also makes it right to say that there has been a learning process while engaging in different tasks associated with the project. This is because while undertaking the tasks, there were various things that seemed complex to some of the group members. Through discussions and provision of opinions, the members were able to tackle them perfectly. Through sharing ideas concerning how to handle these tasks, the team members got a chance to learn because if they were given similar task to complete, they would apply the same knowledge to complete them
The other reason that makes it right to assert that there was a learning process is that the activity entailed different possesses that were undertaken at different levels, and therefore enabled the group to learn things in bits. According to Marianne (2012), the process of learning undergoes different stages and therefore requires information to be attained in different stages. Completing the tasks entailed assigning the group members different tasks in order to make them remain committed and also to increase the possibilities to learn.
References
Bob, T. (2012). Up in the clouds: RJW Transport implemented an on-demand WMS to run its warehouse. The result: Revenue in warehousing operations has doubled. (MODERN system report)(Warehouse management system). Modern Materials, 67(1), 34-46.
Heizer, J & Render, B. (2014). Principles of operations management: sustainability and supply chain management. Boston: Pearson.
Kevin, F. M. (2014). 7 Trends Impacting Retail Payments: Sorting out a Complex and Competitive Environment. ABA Banking Journal, 106(10), 56-79.
Marianne, W. (2011). Focus on: supply chain: Hayneedle optimizes DC processes with new warehouse management system. (Operations: Supply Chain). Chain Store Age, 87(8), 33-32
Marianne, W. (2012). The container store deploys voice picking: chain puts employees first in voice-directed warehouse application rollout (operations: Warehouse Management). Chain Store Age, 88(4), 35-45.
Myerson, P. (2012). Lean supply chain and logistics management. New York: McGraw-Hill
Nael, L. (2016). Streamlining warehouse operations: automation and other warehouse efficiencies can do much to improve storage and distribution operations. (Logistics: Warehouse management), Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, 108(8), 63-73.
Patrick, L. (2014). Coordinating Pricing and Inventory Purchasing Decisions of a Supply Chain for an E-Tailer in Face of Quantity Discounts. Academy of Information and Management Sciences Journal, 17(2), 125-138.
Rambau, J & Konrad, S. (2014). Erratum to: The stochastic guaranteed service model with recourse for multi-echelon warehouse management. Mathematical Methods of Operations Research, 80(2), 225-226
Richards, G. (2011). Warehouse management a complete guide to improving efficiency and minimizing costs in the modern warehouse. Philadelphia: Kogan Page Ltd
Roberto, M. (2016). Wes solutions: more than a bridge: warehouse execution system suppliers are offering higher level functionality–such as waveless order processing, performance analytics and mobile apps–transforming WES into a configurable platform for warehouse operations management. (MODERN information management), Modern Materials Handling, 71(1), 26-35.
Sumit, S. (2013). What Is the Cost of Your Forecast Error? The Journal of Business Forecasting, 32(1), 89-98.
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