Optimizing Supply Chain Solutions with Strategic Decisions Case Study

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Introduction: Addressing supply chain challenges

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Decision making is defined as selecting the best alternative from the variety of options available. For the successful working of the company it is very necessary that the appropriate decisions are taken so that the company can get successful within their working. The present studies based on hidden clothing company. The company is a clothing retailer based in the United Kingdom. The companies having 4 main stores within Manchester York Notting them and burning them. The company was established in the year 2010 by brothers Karl Thomson and Theo Thomson. The current study will outline the evaluation of the issues faced by the company. There are different kind of issues with the business face while operating in the external environment issues faced by the company and how affective problem solving and decision making can be used in order to solve the problem.

Effective problem-solving skills need to be used by the company. The reason underlying the fact is that when the business will not be solving their problems effectively then it will be affecting the working efficiency of the business. Hence, there are different types of problem-solving skills which are assistive in managing and providing solutions to the problem. The different types of decision-solving methods include intuitive decision-making, creative decision-making mode, rationale model, non-rational model and many different types of methods. All these methods have their benefits and drawbacks and as a result of this, the overall problem is solved effectively. The similarity between all the methods includes the fact that it aims at solving the problem in any of the conditions. The only difference between these different methods is that the process of all these methods is different and the completion of the time is also different. Thus, the use of different methods will provide the output and result in differentiated time.

A TAME problem is defined as a clearly stated problem which can be solved by using the proper step-by-step structure. It is a type of problem which includes evaluation of the problem by setting up the boundaries and outlining the ways through which the problem can be easily solved. This is a type of problem Out of all the issues faced by Hayden Clothing Company, the issue undertaken for the TAME problem is the issues faced within the supply chain (Alzoubi and et.al, 2022). The present supply chain is a problem for the company because it includes materials which are toxic to the environment. Within the making of the materials, the company undertakes the use of the materials which harm society and the working capability of the company. Different countries like China and Bangladesh are using materials which harm the environment specifically the rivers and other water bodies. Moreover, there are different types of chemicals being emitted from the production which affects the working efficiency of the company and the environment as well. This is a TAME problem because the solution to it has a clear structure and this will provide a better solution to the company. Thus, the solution to the TAME problem will be easily accessible and as a result of this, the problem will be solved effectively.

Main Body

Understanding the problem

For the company to be successful, it is essential for the business that the production and supply chain is effective. The reason underlying the fact is that when the supply chain and the operations activity of the business will not be appropriate then it will affect the working of the whole company. Thus, in the current working environment, the materials used within the working are not good and they negatively harm the environment. This creates a problem for the external environment and as a result of this, the overall working efficiency is affected to a great extent. Moreover, for the success of the business, it is very necessary for the overall production and operational efficiency of the business (Amiri and et.al, 2021). Along with this, when the production will not be effective then automatically all the other departments of the company will be affected negatively. When the clothes produced are not of good quality then they will not be liked by the consumers and they will not buy the product and services of the business. Hence, resultantly the sales of the business will decline and as a result of this, the overall profitability of the business will be impacted. For a better understanding of the problem, it is the responsibility of the company they implement the brainstorming technique. This is very essential for the reason that when the people discuss the problem then they will be in a position to identify effective solutions to the problem. This is particularly because of the reason that when more people will be discussing the problem then better solutions will be outlined which will assist the people in managing the working in a better manner.

Identifying the root cause problem

For the solving of the problem, the causes of the problem must be identified effectively. This is necessary because when the various causes are outlined, it will assist the company in analysing and finding the different reasons for the problem. To solve the problem, the most essential aspect is to evaluate the problem thoroughly and try to identify the solutions appropriately so that the work can be managed effectively (Di Vaio and Varriale, 2020). Hence, for outlining the different causes, different types of methods are assistive in managing the working and developing the solution in an effective and better manner. For this, the use of the fishbone analysis is undertaken and it is very assistive in improving the overall working capability of the business. The capability is improved because it will assist the company in evaluating the causes which promote the problem. Moreover, when the causes are outlined then automatically it will assist the company in solving the problem effectively.

With the in-depth analysis of the problem based on fishbone analysis different types of causes were highlighted. The most common cause for the issues in the supply chain is the low quality of the materials. This is the major cause of the issues taking place in the supply chain. The reason underlying the fact is that when the raw material used in the supply chain is of low quality then the finished good will not be effective. Thus, as a result of this, the overall supply chain will be impacted. Along with this, the discussion also outlined that the increase in cost is another cause which affects the supply chain of the business. For the management of the supply chain, the cost is increased and as a result of this, the overall cost of the business is improved.

Further, by evaluating the other resources, it was evaluated that another cause for the supply chain disruption for HCC is economic downturns. There are different types of changes which take place in the economic environment and it affects the supply chain to a great extent. For instance, when COVID took place then production was shut and after its revival, the supply chain was effective to a great extent. The material was not readily available to be supplied to the company and as a result of this, the supply chain was affected. Moreover, another cause of the issues in the supply chain for Hayden Cloth Company is the shortage of employees. Due to the lack of employees as well, the working of the supply chain is affected adversely. The reason underlying the fact is that when the employees are not available then the work will not be managed effectively. Thus, as a result of this, the supply chain of the company will be affected and the overall production will also be impacted to a great extent.

In addition to this, other than fishbone analysis, the 5 whys are also used for the effective evaluation of the problem to analyse the root cause of the problem. This method includes creating the team and then brainstorming to identify the problem (Khan and et.al, 2021). In addition to this, the next stage is to ask five times why so that the discussion will reach a conclusion and the major problem will be highlighted. After this, the next step includes correcting the problem keeping track of the results and sharing it with the other team. The reason for using the present type of method for the evaluation of the problem is that the overall working capability of the business is improved (Khanfar and et.al, 2021). Moreover, the current method assisted the company in analysing the fact that the supply chain is the major issue which is faced by the company while operating in a highly competitive environment.

Generating different solutions

For improving the performance of the company the appropriate solutions must be derived so that the problem can be removed. For making the company run successfully it is necessary that the overall working is improved. Thus, for this, it is necessary for the company they effectively try to work on the issues and problems. When the appropriate work is managed then it will assist in improving the working capability of the company. Hence, it is necessary for Hayden Cloth Company they effectively find the appropriate solution to the issues so that the overall performance of the company can be improved well. The range of different types of solution options for the HCC for eradicating the issues of supply chain management are as follows-

• The first recommended solution for the company is that they must use sustainable manufacturing technologies. This is particularly because of the reason that when sustainable working technologies are used then automatically it will improve the working capability of the business. These sustainable manufacturing technologies assist the company in using good technology which helps the company in improving its working capability by protecting the environment as well.
• In addition to this, another advisable strategy for the company is to implement the use of organic and good-quality raw materials which are not harmful to the company. The reason underlying the fact is that when the effective raw material will be used then automatically it will enhance the overall quality of the production and the supply chain (Tirkolaee and et.al, 2020). When organic and premium quality products are used then it will surely result in improvement within the working capability of the business and will enhance the overall working efficiency.
• Moreover, effective communication strategy and channel is another important suggestion for the successful working and improvement the supply chain management. The reason underlying the fact is that when the effective communication will be present then it will be improving the working capability of the business and the supply chain will be improved. This effective communication channel will help the company in effectively providing information to the needs of the materials and manage the supply chain effectively (Abbasi and et.al, 2020). In addition to this, when the communication will be clear and concise then it will assist in improving the working efficiency of the supply chain and all the requirements will be communicated before time. Thus, it will help in analysing the whole project effectively and the objectives will be attained well.

Selecting the appropriate solution

With the evaluation of the different types of options available to the company for managing the supply chain the most appropriate option needs to be selected. Thus, for this different steps are taken in order to reach to the most optimum solution for improving the supply chain management within the company.

Reducing the option from many to feasible

The first step includes reducing the options from many to some easy able options. Here the inappropriate options are eradicated from the list and the feasible options are used. Hence, for this the use of paired comparison method is implemented wherein all the methods are compared with one another and the most feasible or accepted for the second stage and the options with which are not appropriate are eliminated.

With the evaluation of the comparative table it is evident that sustainable manufacturing technology and the organic and friendly product usage is the two strategies which is more feasible as compared to the investing in communication channel (Haiyun and et.al, 2021). This is particularly because of the reason that the communication channel includes high cost and is less beneficial. On the other hand these sustainable manufacturing technologies and the organic and friendly product usage is more beneficial and will be completed in less time as compared to the implementation of the communication channel.

Reducing from feasible to shortlisted

After the elimination of the inappropriate methods the number of solutions is reduced to the feasible. In the present step these feasible solutions will be more shortlisted and as a result of this the most appropriate solutions will be left.

With evaluation of the comparative table of both the options it is evident that the option of Sustainable manufacturing technology is beneficial for implementation by Hayden. This is particularly because of the reason that the weighted comparison outlined that sustainable manufacturing technology is highly beneficial for the company (Raj and et.al, 2022). Out of 20 the option of Sustainable manufacturing technology is weighted 18 where as the option of organic and environmental friendly productive at 11. Hence, the compliance with this sustainable manufacturing technology will be more beneficial option for the company in managing the supplier change effectively and efficiently. Selecting the final

Hence with the evaluation of the effective shortlisted options it is evident that the compliance with the sustainable manufacturing technology is beneficial for the company. It is particularly because of the reason that when the company will be complying with the latest technology than it will be assisting them in improving the working efficiency and as a result of this the overall capability of the company will be enhanced (Jian and et.al, 2021). Furthermore when the sustainable Technology will be used then automatically it will protect the environment as well. Thus, it will attract more of the customers and as a result of this the overall working efficiency will be improved. Along with this within the sustainable manufacturing technology there are different kind of Technology is prevailing within the external environment which is a system to improve the efficiency.

The most common sustainable Technology prevailing within the external environment currently includes the use of AI that is artificial intelligence. With the evaluation of the sources it is evident that when the AI is used within the supply chain then the working is improved to a great extent. The reason underlying the fact is that all the ordering and reordering is being done with the help of AI and the machine learning (Aslam and et.al 2021). Thus, as a result of this all the orders are placed on time and the material is assembled before time. Hence, this provides some extra time to the company to evaluate the manufactured products and to check that quality and operations. Ultimately it will assist the company in managing the supplier change effectively and ultimately overall production will take place on time. Moreover, it will help the business in managing all the issues effectively and ultimately overall objective of improving the supply chain will be attained.

Along with this there is a particular Technology being used within the fashion industry which includes using the waste products as the raw material for the producing of the finished goods. Thus it is also recommended to the company that they must comply with this technology is well. This is particularly helpful to the company because when the waste material will also be used to within the production then it will be improving the supply chain effectively (Lahane, Kant and Shankar, 2020). Hence, it will assist the company in improving the overall working of the business and as a result of this overall efficiency of the company will be improved. Along with this when the company will be following the latest technology then automatically the issue of supply chain will be managed for the company. In addition to this it will also provide a competitive advantage to the business for improving the efficiency to a great extent.

CONCLUSION: Key decisions for supply chain improvement

In the end it is considered that decision making is very necessary for the successful working of the company. The reason underlying the fact is that when the effective decisions are taken then the company is in position to effectively grow and developed. The above study highlighted that there was different issues which the company was facing but the major issue faced by the company was the supply chain of the company. They above study highlighted that this issue affected the working efficiency and the profitability of the company to a great extent. Moreover the evaluation of different decision making models was implemented. With the help of the fishbone analysis it was evaluated that different causes of issues of supply chain included cost, shortage of employees, economic downturn and many other different kind of issues. Further with the evaluation it was analysed that adapting to the sustainable manufacturing technology is the best option for managing the issue of supply chain.

Optimizing Supply Chain Solutions with Strategic Decisions Case Study

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References

Books and Journals

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