E-COMMERCE

Assignment no: 3

SUBMITTED TO: SIR JAMEEL CHANDIO

Submitted By: Mohsin Shaikh (BSAF-4), SZABIST LRK
 Lecture no: 5
Supply Chain Management
Summary
In this chapter we had discuss about:
1. Supply Chain Management
2. Problems of Supply Chain Management & their Solutions
3. Examples of present supply chain management
4. E-commerce Application of Supply Chain Management
5. Future of Supply Chain Management & E-commerce

1. Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is the management of the flow of goods and services and
includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products. It involves the
active streamlining of a business’s supply-side activities to maximize customer value and
gain a competitive advantage in the market place.

2. Problem of supply chain Management & their solutions

a. Quality Customer Service The supply chain management is centralized on the needs of
the customers. It is about giving the right quantity and the right quality of the product for
the right amount of money. All this, in perfect timing and setting.

Solution: It might seem simply, but on the contrary, it isn’t. Customers have different
preferences and we have to always adjust to the customer’s needs. Being able to provide
customer’s unique solutions make a difference entirely. Companies that actually excel in
this field are the ones that make an effort to learn and invest in new technologies.

b. Costing globally speaking, the costs of raw materials, energy and labor have increased
due to economic constraints. In order for operations to continue production and provide
customers with good quality items at affordable rates, adjustments have to be made to
keep operations running.
Solution: The best solution to this issue would be improving your cost control by executing your
plans efficiently through constant monitoring. Through efforts in providing warehouse efficiency
you would be able to do so.

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 c. .Risk Management Due to the constant change in the market, coming from a variety of
sources such as consumer demands, political agendas and global sourcing, would cause
major issues to the operations.

Solution: Always be prepared with a risk management plan, on how your company will be able
to overcome disruptions during the course of operations. By hiring a logistics software
development company you would be able to manage these issues effectively with less effort on
your end. After all, logistics management is vital to the entire operation.
d .Supplier Relationship By creating a mutually sound and harmonious relationship with your
partners or suppliers, you will be able to provide your customers with products of high standards
in a timely manner. This also allows you to create opportunities for improvement in terms of
performance.
Solution: By building a strong working relationship with your supplier, you would be able to
work efficiently and come up with a better output in a short period of time.

e. Qualified Personnel Over the years, it has become a challenge to find talent interested
and passionate about this line of work. Personnel hired in this field must have an
understanding about the duties and responsibilities needed.
Solution: Since locating dedicated personnel to work for this field has become increasing hard to
find, their market value will start to rise. Hiring and promoting through in-house staff would be
the most affordable solution at this point.
f. Unforeseen Delays Procurement of materials and products may be easy, but the delivery
may not always be 100% on time, especially with time differences and a variety of
shipping time frames. When items are sourced from different countries, delays like this
are very common.
Solution: Always have buffer stocks. Through an efficient warehouse management system you
are able to know when you need to have certain materials delivered as well as create a time
cushion in terms of delivery to make sure everything runs smoothly.
g. Fast-Changing Markets With technological advancements changing our markets every
day, it is quite difficult to stay in pace and adapt to the variety of innovations in the
market. But because the goal is to stay efficient in these changing times, companies
would have to be more flexible.
Solution: Change is inevitable. The way we adapt to change is definitely something we need to
manage by using logistics management software. We are able to move with the flow and
improve our output as a whole.

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 3. Examples of present supply chain management

a. The Coca-Cola Company.

Main makers, marketers and distributors of drink concentrates and non-alcoholic syrups. The
main office is located in Atlanta, GA but their products are distributed to virtually every country
in the world. Their preparation, distribution and transportation logistics are in line with a
segmentation strategy for their customers when it comes to the size and presentation of their
products. Aside from having an extremely successful supply chain, Coca-Cola participates in
sponsorships, partnerships, and alliances; thus creating a great management and marketing of
their products.

b. Colgate.

The main toothpaste brand made by Colgate-Palmolive, dedicated to producing, distributing and
selling oral hygiene and home cleaning products since the last part of the 19th century. Colgate
keeps present all aspects of product diversity, effectiveness, optimization and customer support
and it uses an effective distribution channel that encompasses all aspects of care and
maintenance. Their products are sold in many venues such as pharmacies, supermarkets,
convenience stores and small wholesalers, thus creating an excellent impact within their
distribution channels and management.

c. 7-Eleven

7-Eleven is an international chain of convenience stores, based out of Dallas, Texas. The
currently have around 58.308 in 16 different countries, most of them franchises. They are mainly
focused on selling basic food items, medicine and toiletries and magazines, but this all depends
on their host country. Their main stores are located throughout the United States and Asia. They
supply a huge variety of customer needs 24 hours a day in most locations. Their reach, capacity
and management have made 7-Eleven one of the biggest and most productive companies in the
world.

d. Zara.

Zara is one of the main clothing and accessory retailers internationally based in Spain. They are
mainly focused on new, trendy and cutting edge fashion for men and women alike. Currently it
operates in 88 different markets worldwide, their main distributors are in Madrid and Zaragoza.
Zara is known for its energy saving efforts and techniques, as well as their minimization and
efficient waste management. This commitment with the environment is paramount within their
operations across all plants and departments and has helped create a collective conservation
consciousness among members of the staff. In their fabrics, they used environmentally friendly
fabrics like organic cotton amongst others. Their textile production comes from Spain, the Far
East, India and Morocco. Biodiesel fuel is used to transport their products, according to their
environmental policies. The have a great concern for animal treatment and under no

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circumstances, use animal products that come from animals that were not treated ethically or
sacrificed for the sole purpose of commercializing their leather, skin, horns, feathers, etc. While
other retailers use third-party production, Zara produces about 60% of the fabrics they use and
use cutting-edge technology to cut and measure the handling of fabric so this is done in a precise
and efficient manner, thus reducing waste overall.

e. Amazon.

Amazon is a US electronic commerce and cloud computing company. Their headquarters are
based in Seattle, Washington and they are the largest internet-based retailer in the United States.
Amazon was one of the first companies that started selling book online. Currently their range of
products doesn’t stop there; they also sell music, videogames, shoes, clothing, luggage and many
other accessories. Amazon offers about everything you can think of and their variety in offers
and products along with their customer driven shopping and recommendations is a hit with
customers. One of the reasons why Amazon can have such a wide spectrum of products is the
fact that they are not limited by physical spaces, since they don’t have actual stores. Their supply
chain goes from the lowest levels of inventory, through the logistics of the order itself all they
way up to an outstanding distribution chain of their products in an international scale. Amazon
can currently ship close to 10 million different products. This diversity gives it an edge against
competitors and makes it a perfect example of what efficient supply chain management can
accomplish.

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4. E-commerce Application of Supply Chain Management

5. Future of Supply Chain Management & E-commerce

a. Future of Supply Chain Management

Companies are digitally transforming the management of their supply chains by piloting

and applying technologies such as machine learning, block chain, and augmented reality
to traditional supply chain management activities.

b. Future of E-commerce

New studies projected that the worldwide retail eCommerce sales will reach a new high
by 2021. Ecommerce businesses should anticipate a 265% growth rate, from $1.3 trillion
in 2014 to $4.9 trillion in 2021. ... In fact, by 2021, it will account for 17.5% of the total
global retail sales.