LASA 2—Company Analysis Report

Review the following scenario:

Assume that you have recently been hired as the director of continuous improvement of a company. You are an outside hire with limited history of the firm and personal capital at the firm, and you are responsible for lean production, total quality management (TQM), six sigma, and best practice implementation.
Lean production means doing more with less, such as less inventory, fewer workers, or less space. A recent trade in quality management is lean six sigma (also known as lean sigma) that integrates six sigma and lean production.
The capacity for which you were hired has existed for three years with a direct line of report to the vice-president of operations and dotted line of report to the head of information technology (IT), the chief information officer (CIO), and the director of internal controls and audit. You are the second person to fill in this position. You have a team of internal consultants; half of your team has six sigma black belt or equivalent capabilities with the remainder having a solid understanding of operations and IT. You also have a budget for two external vendor resources.
You have taken six months to familiarize yourself with the organization and its people, mission, goals, strategy, and structure. In this time, you have also evaluated current operations. At the end of this period, you are assigned to deliver a report identifying the three most promising avenues for achieving best practices within the company. You have already been told that the company suffers from both aging and complex information systems and that your recommendation must include a major upgrade of those systems. The executive officers anticipate major investments in IT over the next several years. Your best practice implementations, coupled with new technology, must be measurable in terms of speed, quality, productivity, and efficiency or other key performance indicators that you identify in your report.

For this assignment, you will choose a company with which you are familiar. You are encouraged to choose a company for which you currently work or have worked, but you may choose some other firm if you believe it will be a compelling analysis.

You may choose one area of the company, such as a manufacturing plant or product design, to focus on if you can make a strong case. Your recommendations should have the following features.

• Repeatable: If you “fix” three things in a manufacturing plant, you should be able to tackle the “next” three in iteration.
• Scalable: If they work in one plant, they should work in all of them.
• Replicable: Your process for improvement should be repeatable in different, disparate parts of the organization.

This is a key initiative at the “C” level, and your recommendation will reach the board of directors.

Your paper must include the following sections:

1. Strategic Overview: (1 page)
   Provide a brief description of the following elements:
   1. The company, including its products or services
   2. Marketing strategy: target market segments, value proposition, market position, and source of competitive differentiation
   3. Organizational structure
   4. Any other relevant facts
2. Analysis of the Supply Chain: (4 pages)
   Analyze the supply chain for your identified company by explaining the following key elements of the supply chain:
   1. Identify key inputs, including less tangible assets, such as human resources and information. How are these key inputs sourced, reconfigured into a product or service, and delivered to your customers?
   2. Identify the key processes that add value, and evaluate the supply chain performance relative to the competition. What are the key inputs for each process? How are these inputs processed or configured into the final offering for your customers?
   3. What is the value added at each step?
   4. What is the role of information technology and e-commerce in serving your customers?
   5. What are the key performance measures for evaluating your supply chain?
   6. Research online sources to explain how the performance on these measures compares to that of your competitors?
3. Plan to Improve Operating Processes: (3 pages)
   Create a plan for improving the performance of three specific operating processes in your company. Your plan should address the following:
   1. Identify three elements of the supply chain that you recommend as targets for improvement.
   2. State the performance improvement opportunity for each element, and indicate how it will improve process speed, quality, efficiency, and productivity.
   3. Explain what specific action or change you recommend for each supply chain element selected.
4. Explanation of the Results of Performance Improvements Regarding Product or Service: (2 pages)
   Explain the following:
   1. How will your product or service be improved as a result of these changes to the supply chain activities?
   2. How are you altering the specific features or attributes of your product or service?
   3. Why are these specific changes important to your customers?
   4. How do these changes enhance the value proposition and competitive position of your company?
   5. What lasting capabilities and improvement are you introducing into your company through these changes?
   6. How will you measure the scope and impact of your improvements? What are your key performance indicators?
5. Assessment of the Impact on Human Resources: (1–2 pages)
   Detail how your plan impacts your company’s HR and human capital strategy by explaining how the organization’s structure supports the new process configuration you are recommending. Your response should address the following questions:
   1. Are the roles and responsibilities in your organization properly defined and aligned to enable these changes? Who will perform these new/modified process activities, and what changes to their jobs do you anticipate?
   2. Is decision-making authority assigned so that the process changes you propose can be implemented and properly managed under the current structure? Who will own the process and the results? Based on the current structure, will they have the authority to make changes as necessary?
   3. Are the individuals with the right skills in place to implement these changes? If not, how will you attract the talent necessary to implement your changes? How will you retrain the existing employee base? How will you handle attrition? How will you reduce the risk of impacted protected classes?
6. Changes:
   Explain changes to the compensation and incentives at your company that are necessary to reinforce your recommendations and increase efforts for continuous improvement throughout the organization. Explain how your plan motivates employees, customers, and suppliers better.

Write an 10–12-page paper in Word format. You may rearrange the above sections if it improves the quality of your paper. Apply APA standards to  citation of

sources. This assignment is worth 300 points and will be graded using a rubric. Download and read the rubric to understand the expectations.

LASA 2 Grading CriteriaAssignment Component ProficiencyMaximum Points

Content Knowledge: Understanding

Communicates understanding of assignment by synthesizing data to explain a strategic overview of your company, its services, and all other required data.

CO 1

MSM PO: 2, 4, 5
MBA PO: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

ILO 1, 3, 6

Response incorporates analysis and synthesis of central concepts of the assigned topic.

Response reflects understanding of the nature of the specific topic within the discipline and its applications in contemporary times.

Response provides necessary details and specific examples.48

Content Knowledge: Application Component 1

Communicates the ability to analyze the supply chain for your identified company by explaining all the following required key elements of the supply chain.

CO: 3

MSM PO: 2, 4
MBA PO: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3

ILO: 1, 2, 3, 6

Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge.

Response examines the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and examples.

Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and their relevance to real-world contexts.

Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature.56

Content Knowledge: Application Component 2

Communicates the ability to synthesize data to create a plan for improving the performance of three specific operating processes in your company (including answers to all required elements).

CO: 3

MSM PO: 2, 4
MBA PO: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3

ILO: 1, 2, 3, 6

Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge.

Response examines the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and examples.

Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and their relevance to real-world contexts.

Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature. 56

Content Knowledge: Application Component 3

Communicates the ability to synthesize data to explain results of performance improvements regarding the product/service (including answers to all required elements).

CO: 2

MSM PO: 2, 3, 5
MBA PO: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3

ILO: 1, 3, 5, 6

Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge.

Response examines the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and examples.

Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and their relevance to real-world contexts.

Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature 56

Content Knowledge: Application Component 4

Communicates the ability to configure data to explain how your plan impacts your company’s HR and human capital strategy and how the organizational structure supports the new process configuration you are recommending. Explains any changes to the compensation/ incentives for your company that is necessary to reinforce your recommendations.

CO 1,4

MSM PO: 2, 3, 4, 5
MBA PO: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

ILO 1, 3, 5, 6

Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge.

Response examines the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and examples.

Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and their relevance to real-world contexts.

Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature.56

Written Communication/
Personal Effectiveness

Conveys through written word understanding and application of an understanding and application by delivery of a report identifying the three most promising avenues for achieving best practices within the company.

CO: 2

MSM PO: 2, 3, 5
MBA PO: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3

ILO: 1, 3, 5, 6

Writing is concise and clear in content, language use, grammar, organization, and sentence structure.

Writing is free of major grammatical and usage errors.

16

Oral Communication/
Personal Effectiveness

Conveys through oral communication, such as a PowerPoint presentation, an understanding and application delivery of a report identifying the three most promising avenues for achieving best practices within the company.

CO: 2

MSM PO: 2, 3, 5
MBA PO: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3

ILO: 1, 3, 5, 6

Presentation is concise with a logical flow of thought.

Content includes clearly articulated key points that are free of major errors.

Presentation is visually appealing and addresses audience considerations adequately.12

Total:300

Supply chain improvement

Student’s name:

Course title:

Institution;

Date:

Introduction

This paper will focus on the Pepsi Company. The main point of the paper will be an analysis of the supply chain and the elements which need to be improved in the supply chain to ensure the success of the organization. The essay contains the subheadings of the major points of discussion which include the overview of the company under consideration. The manufacturing and procurement department is the primary focus of the analysis since it is significantly involved with supply chain management.

Strategic overview

The company under analysis will be the PepsiCo, Inc. It is a food, beverage and snack corporation and has its headquarters in New York. The organization has interests in marketing, manufacturing and the distribution of the snack foods which are grain based and beverages among other products. The company was formed in 1965 whereby it started as a merger of Frito–Lay Inc. and Pepsi –Cola Company. The current products of this company include energy drinks, soft drinks, cereal, snacks, rice snacks, breakfast bars, side dishes, bottled water and sports nutrition. The company has various brands. Some of the brands include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Tropicana, Sobe, Sabre, Starbucks, Fritos and Pepsi Max amongst others. Each brand has been manufactured to target a particular group of people (Company. & Company., 2012).

The target market of the Pepsi Company is everyone. It aims at making sure that its product reaches everyone in the world wherever they are. It has however laid its focus in targeting the youth who have not made their decisions between choosing its brand, or that of Coke. One can tell this from the images that they place on most of their brands. The source of competitive differentiation of Pepsi is distribution. It is clear that in most of the restaurants it is more stocked as compared to its rival Coca-Cola. PepsiCo is the second largest in the beverage and food industry with Coca-Cola its leading rival. The mission statement of the company is a performance with purpose whereby it is closely related to the strategic decision which the company takes. The changing market structure has always resulted in a change of the organization chart (Gonzalez, 2011).

The organization chart has three key features. The features include global hierarchy, functional corporate groups and offices and market decisions. Market divisions are the most prominent organizational structure. It is based on two variables which include geography and business. Regarding the geography group, Pepsi Company has units for Europe, Americans, and other regions. The market units in the organizational structure include Frito–Lay, Quaker foods, Pepsi Europe, PepsiCo Asia, PepsiCo Americas Beverages and Latin America Foods. The characteristics of the functional corporate groups and offices entail to the core functions of the organization. The company has corporate offices for these features. A senior vice president or executive vice president is the head of these groups’ .the groups have original features. The features include global research and development, global categories and operations, government and legal affairs, human resources, communications and talent, development and training amongst others. Global hierarchy is the last characteristic. The authority controls the governance at the corporate or the global level. It has considerable hierarchy from top to bottom. The administration has helped to minimize the deviations from the company’s policies and strategies (Gonzalez, 2011).

Analysis of the supply chain

The supply chain is made up of several stages. The steps include the suppliers, whole sellers, and retailers, manufacturers, assemblers, distributors, customers, product assembly and the sales. The consumers are the end users. To ensure a proper supply chain, Pepsi plans two years in advance. The company is also determining when the plants need to be placed. Sixty-five percent of the production process is usually automated. One of the primary inputs of the supply chain is transport. The company typically organizes for the carriage of the products. The organization has a shipping department which handles orders, on the other hand, the transport unit ensures that safe vehicles are used for the delivery of these products. Sourcing and material supply are also carried out by the company. The company identifies the sources of local and foreign raw materials whereby the terms and the conditions are negotiated. At this stage, capacity planning is also done. The size of the organization determines sales forecasting and production planning. Depending on past performance the company determines the distributors to be considered.

In regards to supply chain planning, the company starts the planning phase by planning for the forthcoming year of demand. Pepsi does sales forecasting for the local demand the sales target of the year are conveyed to the supply chain department whereby planning is carried out on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. On the other side, the supply chain operation makes the decisions by the orders which the customers make. The main aim of the supply chain operations is handling the incoming customer order in the best ways possible. The firm allocates production or inventory to individual requests in this stage (Firm, 2012).

The human resource is also another key input in the supply chain. However, the primary party, in this case, is the shipping manager. He or she manages the sales order and processing. The ship managers always receive the sales orders from the distributors and the sales team through email or fax one day before the dispatch. The sales are then made to the base dealers through an advance payment against the orders. The shipping manager plans by the demand of the distributors daily. The supply chain contributes to a competitive advantage to the company as they operate in a global market. Some of the competitive factors include the presence of other big brands and the existence of go to market systems which are powerful. The raw materials and their suppliers are also key factors of the supply chain. Proper and timely supply of the raw materials ensures that manufacturing of the products is done promptly. On the other hand, it hence ensures that the products reach the customers at the required time.

There are various critical resources which add value to the supply chain. One of them is the availability of excellent and coordinated shipment services. The process of delivery results in the faster selling of the products. The load manager ensures that the orders are made before disbursement. There is a proper coordination between the sources and the distributors in all the channels. Another essential resource which adds value is the friendly price. The prices of their products are very reasonable and affordable to all, the consumers. The critical resources amongst others are the close price and the coordinated distribution. When people are purchasing such a product, they consider the availability of the products and the pieces if they are available and pocket-friendly then they are likely to sell faster and so is the case. The value added during the shipment process is that the proper coordination has always helped to meet and retain the customers since they have gained trust with the brand. On the other hand in the case of the being price friendly, it has contributed to reaching the youths since they are one of the target markets for the Pepsi brand. The teens who have not yet identified and tied themselves to a specific beverage brand is the primary target.

Information and e-commerce play a significant role in serving the customers in the company. From what was mentioned earlier information technology was identified as one of the key areas in the sales process. The salespeople and the distributors use emails, faxes and telephone calls to make orders. It is one part of technology which is very helpful to the company. On the other hand, the use of computers has also been beneficial in keeping records for all the sales and the ones which are pending and thus there is a proper recording of the sales made to the customers and the expected income from them. E-commerce has also been of great benefit. Online advertising has helped most of the people learn about the brand. Advertising through the online platforms such as the television or Twitter has been one of the major ways of making the brands and the products known to most of the customers. E-commerce has helped reach out to more customers across different platforms. It has helped the customers learn the products better and what the company entails in general (Firm, 2012).

There are various key performance measures when evaluating the supply chain of the company. One of them is listening to the customer’s feedback. In the supply chain the customers come last, and thus their feedback is always essential. Many complaints will indicate that the supply chain is not efficient and thus some of the products need to be improved or even the way in which things are done. There are various things which customer usually require. Some of them include a variety of products to choose from, availability of good returns, original taste, and color of the products, airtight packaging, hygienic products, timely delivery of the products and low moisture contents among others. The consumer is always the end user, and the information they give is always right.

Another performance measure of the supply chain is assessing the profits. Profits come if the customers are satisfied with what is sold to them. More profits indicate increased demand for the product meaning that it is highly selling. If there are profits, then it will be clear the organization of the supply chain is functioning. Losses indicate that there is some problem and the sales process is not as efficient as required. Another performance measure is checking if the company can meet the demand of the suppliers and the customers. Is the company able to pay the providers of the raw materials? Good results in the request management will indicate that the supply chain is appropriate.

The major competitor of Pepsi is Coca-Cola. The performance of Coca-Cola is one of the best. The supply chains of this company are quite satisfied and have minimal challenges as compared to that of Pepsi. Coca-Cola has been in a position to have a significant competitive advantage in the market as a result of its brand. Its name is known to many, and most of the people use their products. Most of the customers are satisfied with what they offer since they give a variety of the goods to the customers, unlike Pepsi. However in the case of distribution, like the Pepsi product Coca-Cola also has two central distribution systems, the two companies use both the direct and the indirect distribution.Pepsi does direct delivery through the ultimate consumers while indirect distribution is done through the base market distributors. Coca-Cola has a wider market as compared to that of Pepsi. The ABC system in the supply chain of the Coca-Cola company has always made the company successful. It is applied in warehousing and inventory. The whole sellers also outdo those of the Pepsi Company (Amatil, 2015).

Improving operation processes.

There are three elements of the supply chain which can be recommended as the targets of the supply chain .one of the items is to enhance the distribution of the products. Apportionment in some areas needs to be reviewed. It was realized during the analysis that at times there are meager supplies in some regions. It could stand out as a loophole as to why they always run the second other than the first. One believes there has been a problem with proper recording of the amount of stock required by the customers and especially the whole sellers. The distribution manager needs to ensure that there is a close follow-up of the distribution channels. There need to be fewer breakdowns of the vehicles, flexible supply capacity, and they should always ensure that the production process mature. From the analysis of the information given, it was realized that the company does not deal with distributors who have less than twenty-five cars. Maybe they could increase the number of cars which a distributor should have so that they can ensure that their products reach their consumers and within the required period. Unavailability of good machines to capture these areas could also be a major problem and thus good machines to record the distribution channels should be innovated.

The other element of the supply chain which needs to be improved is that of the suppliers. The company has very few providers of the raw materials. Pepsi needs to invest in looking for more suppliers who can supply a wide variety of raw products so that they can be in a position to make many brands as their competitor Coca-Cola does. The company needs to come up with people who will supply them with good machines which are up to date to solve the current problem of the complex systems.

Similarly, it is important that the manufacturing industries personnel be added. The more people, the more ideas, and skills. It will also enable them to come up with more brands and products so that they can be in a position to meet the needs of all their consumers. The addition of more machines in the manufacturing plants will also ensure that more products are manufactured at a time, and thus there will be more distribution, as mentioned earlier it was clear that the customers frequently require a full range of products from which they can choose.

Each of the three elements mentioned has a performance improvement opportunity. For instance, for the case of distribution, it is entirely possible to review the requirements that the supplier and the distributors need to meet. With this, it will be possible to improve on this element. For instance, the management would decide that the number of cars as a requirement for each distributor should be fifty. Twenty-five heavy tracks, while the other twenty-five, are on the small tracks. On the other hand the case of manufacturing, it is possible for the human resources to add to the number of people working in the department. The human resources need to ensure that there is the employment of individuals with skills in this department. It will in turn help to improve the manufacture of products. The company should also purchase more manufacturing machines to ensure that more products are produced. More products will result in customer satisfaction (Kumar, 2013).

The specific action recommended for the distribution element is the increase of more vehicles to help in the delivery of more products in some of the unreachable areas. For the case of the supplier, the company needs to come up with more suppliers of raw materials; it could be through referrals from the already existing suppliers. Finally, for the case of manufacturing more advanced machines need to be purchased to ensure efficiency during the production process. There is a likelihood that if the specific actions are taken up immediately and seriously by the company, then there will be some considerable change and improvement in the supply chain, supply chain management is essential, and it contributes to the success or the failure of any organization. One of the reasons why Coca-Cola has retained the top position is having the best supply chain management hence there are no issues which can result in its failure.

Results of the performance improvement

With the new improvements of the distribution channels, it will be possible for all the customers to get the products promptly. One way of ensuring customer satisfaction is by making sure that they get the products they require in a timely fashion, it will, in the long run, result in customer satisfaction. The improvement of the distribution is a significant improvement of the transport services. The enhancement of the manufacturing machines will also be an improvement of the products offered by the company. With the proper tools, there will be a likelihood of producing even better products. Increase in supply of the raw materials will also help improve the brand and the products which the company offers. The features of the products will not be altered there will only be an improvement and an addition of the products that the firm has been offering.

The specific changes are necessary to the customers since they will ensure that the customers are satisfied. Good brands, delivering the products to the clients promptly enhance customer satisfaction and thus the growth of the brand. The increase of the brand as a result of satisfaction will, in turn, lead to the growth in the competitive advantage of the company. It will help the company in a way almost to outperform its competitors. One ofhow the ways companies expand on their competitive advantage is by improving on their brand. The lasting capabilities and improvements which are being introduced to the company through the introduction of these changes are ensuring that the customers are fully satisfied by the products being offered. It will also ensure that the client’s complaints are reduced when it comes to distribution in these areas which are remote and unreachable. In this case, the key performance indicators are through the measurement of the customer’s feedback. The feedback of the customers will indicate if there has been an improvement on either of the elements (Rothwell, Hohne, & King, 2014).

Impact on the human resources

The organization has a proper structure as discussed earlier. It will thus be possible to implement the changes in the few areas mentioned. For the case of the distribution, it will be the role of the shipping manager to check if everything is put in place, the finance manager will also come in ensuring that there is the authorization of funds to purchase more manufacturing machines. The investment manager will also ensure that there are enough finances before the authorization of employment of new staff in the production department. Above all the chief executive officer will be tasked to authorize all the changes which have been proposed after the subordinates approve the signatures. The job roles of some of the individuals are likely to change with some of them having some additional tasks to handle. For instance, for the shipment manager, there will be more work for him with the increase in the number of vehicles which each of the distributors will be handling. There is no decision-making authority to be assigned so that the changes mentioned can be implemented. All the respective managers will approve the decisions made, and overall the CEO will give total approval.

Changes

Several steps need to be considered to satisfy the employees, customers and the supplier’s needs. Employee’s compensation and motivation are quite essential as a way of appreciating them. It will help them work as required and with vigor hence leading to the success of the company. On the other hand, the customers can be motivated by giving them offers such as cutting of the prices once in a while. It will also be important to provide the offers of buying one get one free once in a while it will help encourage the customers to consume the products more. The company should also ensure that the suppliers are paid in due course and with the right amount of money. It will make sure that the vendor demand is met. All these recommendations will enhance improvements in the organization.

References

(Firm), D. (2012). PepsiCo, Inc. New York, NY: Datamonitor.

Amatil, C.-C. (2015). Coca-Cola Beverages. Sydney, N.S.W.: Coca-Cola Amatil.

Company., P.-C., & Company., P. (2012). Pepsi Cola’s beverage book: recipe ideas for easy party drinks for any occasion–holidays, groups, happy hour. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Pillsbury Company.

Gonzalez, J. G. (2011). Pepsi Cola bottling company. New York: Gale Ecco, U S Supreme C,

Kumar, N. (2013). Brand Breakout: How Emerging Market Brands Will Go Global. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Rothwell, W. J., Hohne, C. K., & King, S. B. (2014). Performance improvement. Brock University. : Faculty of Education.

 

"Looking for a Similar Assignment? Get Expert Help at an Amazing Discount!"