NMIMS Global Access

School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies
Internal Assignment Applicable for September 2022 Examination

Answer 1) A supply chain is a group of people and businesses responsible for producing a
product and getting it to the consumer. The raw material producers are the first links in the
chain, and the last is the van that delivers the finished product to the customer.

The importance of supply chain management may be seen in the reduced costs and improved
productivity that come from an optimized supply network. Companies work to enhance their
supply chains in order to lower costs and maintain competitiveness.

Effect of COVID-19 on Supply Chain:

Supply chain destruction was one of the most serious economic issues brought on by the
COVID-19 epidemic. Nearly every sphere of the economy was affected.

Due to inconsistent limitations at international crossings and protracted port backlogs, supplies
of goods of various kinds were delayed.

At the same time, there was a sudden shift in product demand. Consumers began stockpiling
necessities like baby formula and toilet paper, which led to shortages. The need for masks,
cleaning supplies, and hand sanitizers increased. Computer chip shortages caused delays in
the delivery of a variety of goods, including toys, autos, and gadgets.

Five Drivers of Supply Chain:

A relevant framework for considering supply chain capabilities is provided by the five drivers.
Decisions made about how each driver operates will determine the blend of responsiveness and
efficiency a supply chain is capable of achieving. The five drivers are illustrated in the diagram:
 NMIMS Global Access
School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)
Course: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies
Internal Assignment Applicable for September 2022 Examination

Production

Building factories with a lot of extra capacity and employing flexible manufacturing methods to
generate a variety of products might make this driver particularly responsive. A business could
produce its goods at numerous smaller facilities that are near to its main clientele in order to be
even more responsive and reduce delivery times. If efficiency is desired, a business can
construct factories with minimal extra capacity that are designed for manufacturing a specific
range of goods. Even though delivery times might be longer, production can be centralized in
large central plants to achieve superior economies of scale.

Inventory

Stocking large quantities of inventory for a variety of products enables responsiveness. Stocking
goods in multiple places can increase responsiveness by keeping the inventory close to and
easily accessible for customers. Reducing inventory levels would be necessary to improve
inventory management, especially for commodities that don't sell as frequently. Additionally,
stocking inventory in a small number of central locations, such as regional distribution hubs, can
result in economies of scale and cost savings (DCs).

Location

A corporation setting up numerous locations close to its consumer base would be a location
choice that stresses responsiveness. For instance, fast-food franchises use location to open a
large number of stores in high-volume regions in order to be particularly responsive to their
customers. Operating from a small number of locations and centralizing tasks in busy areas will
increase efficiency. This can be seen, for instance, in how e-commerce firms serve vast
geographic markets from a small number of central facilities that carry out a variety of tasks.

Transportation
A quick and adaptable means of transportation, like trucks and aeroplanes, can achieve
responsiveness. Many businesses that sell things online or through catalogues are able to offer
high levels of responsiveness because they use transportation to deliver their goods, frequently
in less than 48 hours. Two businesses that can offer very responsive transportation services are
FedEx and UPS. In order to better respond to consumer demands, Amazon is currently growing
 NMIMS Global Access
School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)
Course: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies
Internal Assignment Applicable for September 2022 Examination

and running its own transportation services in high volume areas. Transporting goods in larger
quantities less frequently might emphasise efficiency. Pipelines, railroads, and other forms of
transportation can all be used very effectively. If transportation is organized, it may also be
made more efficient.

Information
Every year, as information collection and sharing technology becomes more accessible,
user-friendly, and affordable, its influence grows stronger. Similar to money, information is a very
valuable resource since it can be used right away to improve the performance of the other four
supply chain drivers. When businesses gather and share precise and timely data produced by
the operations of the other four drivers, they can attain high levels of responsiveness. The
supply chains that support the electronics industry are one example of this; they are among the
most responsive in the world. Data about customer demand, manufacturing plans, and inventory
is gathered and shared by businesses involved in these supply chains, including manufacturers,
distributors, and large retailers.

Supply Chain Drivers Responsiveness Efficiency

Production Excess capacity Little excess capacity

Flexible manufacturing Narrow focus
Many smaller plants Few central plants

Inventory High inventory levels Low inventory levels

Wide range of items Fewer items

Location Many locations close to Few central locations serve

customers wide areas

Transportation Frequent shipments Few large shipments

Fast & Flexible modes Slower and cheaper modes

Information Collect & share timely and Cost of information drops

accurate data while other costs rise
 NMIMS Global Access
School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)
Course: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies
Internal Assignment Applicable for September 2022 Examination

Answer 2) The term "industry life cycle" describes how an industry or company develops
through four stages based on the commercial traits that are often seen in each stage.
The introduction, growth, maturity, and decline stages make up the four stages of an industry's
life cycle.

When new products are invented, industries are created, but there is a lot of ambiguity about
the size of the market, the characteristics of the items, and the primary rivals.

An established industry is reduced as it expands through mergers and failure, and the remaining
players cut costs as growth slows and demand eventually declines.

Although there is no single description for the many phases of an industry's life cycle, they are
frequently categorized as introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

Additionally, the relative lengths of each phase might differ greatly amongst businesses. The
usual model focuses on produced commodities, but the service economy of today can operate
slightly differently, particularly in the area of Internet communications technology.

Industry Life Cycle Phases

Introduction Phase:
The creation and first marketing of a new good or service fall under the introduction, or startup,
phase. To facilitate the creation and spread of the novel offering, innovators frequently found
new companies. Because there is frequently little information available about the items and
industry players, demand is frequently unclear. While the new suppliers are still creating and
perfecting their offerings, consumers of the goods and services need to become more
knowledgeable about them. At this level, the industry has a tendency to be very fragmented.
Because costs are paid to create and market the service while revenues are still minimal,
participants typically aren't profitable.

Growth Phase:
The value of the new service has been recognised by consumers in the new industry, and
demand is rising quickly. Usually, a few significant firms emerge and engage in competition for
control of the emerging market. As businesses invest in marketing or R&D, immediate earnings
are typically not a primary concern. Business operations are streamlined, and geographic
expansion is frequent. When a new product has proven its viability, larger firms in related
industries may make acquisitions or develop new products internally to break into the market.
 NMIMS Global Access
School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)
Course: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies
Internal Assignment Applicable for September 2022 Examination

Maturity Phase:
The shakeout phase, which precedes the maturity phase, is characterized by a slowdown in
growth, a shift in emphasis toward cost-cutting, and consolidation. Some businesses are able to
sustain themselves because of economies of scale, which hurts smaller competitors. Barriers to
entrance rise as maturity is attained, and the competitive environment becomes more obvious.
Now that expansion is comparatively less significant, the remaining businesses' key objectives
shift to being market share, cash flow, and profitability. With consolidation, product differentiation
disappears, making price competitiveness much more important.

Decline Phase:
When an industry enters the decline phase, its capacity to support expansion is gone. Declining
revenues are the result of obsolescence and changing end markets negatively impacting
demand. As a result, weaker competitors are driven out of the market by margin pressure. As
participants look for synergies and increased scale benefits, further consolidation is frequent.
Decline frequently indicates that the current business model is no longer viable, driving players
in the market onto neighboring ones. Large-scale product modifications or repurposing can
postpone the decline phase, but they typically prolong the same process.

Millions of individuals use a variety of online learning sites like Udemy, Coursera, Lynda,
Skillshare, and Udacity. Additionally, distinct user verticals are shaping the platforms.

While Coursera is mostly academic and provides access to university courses, Skillshare is
primarily for creatives and offers courses on animation, photography, and lifestyle.

By offering online courses, top universities are democratizing education as well. Online courses
in the fields of computer science, engineering, mathematics, business, art, and personal
development are available through Stanford University and Harvard University.

All of them point to the fact that there is a significant need for online learning. The world is
changing quickly, which may be the cause of this demand and the market's rapid expansion with
a wide range of platform choices for various demographic groups.

The largest problem for learners is determining what talents are emerging and what they can do
to compete effectively in the global market, according to Udemy president Darren Shimkus at
the company's most recent $50 Million round.
 NMIMS Global Access
School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)
Course: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies
Internal Assignment Applicable for September 2022 Examination

The society we live in is changing so quickly that abilities that were in demand merely three or
four years ago are no longer useful. People are unclear and unsure about what they ought to be
learning. Currently, online education is growing rapidly.

Advantages of Online Learning

The vast amount of user data that all of these online learning businesses have makes it possible
for their platforms to apply machine learning algorithms that can improve users' learning habits.

Pattern recognition is a technique used by machine learning algorithms to customize material

for each user.

For instance, the platform can modify the e-learning content to give the student additional
in-depth information when they regularly struggle with a concept in the course.

The platforms' internal instantaneous feedback loops, which are provided by other online
students or the platform itself, shorten the learning curve. Additionally, this makes it easier for
people who are timid or shy to participate in class discussions than in-person classes.

In conclusion online learning classes is on a Growth phase owing to the Pandemic, Major global
events frequently mark an inflection point for rapid innovation; the rise of e-commerce following
SARS is a prime example.

E-learning is one of the few industries where investment has not dried up, though it is unclear
whether this will continue to be the case after COVID-19. What has been made clear through
this pandemic is the importance of disseminating knowledge across borders, companies, and all
parts of society. If online learning technology can play a role here, it is incumbent upon all of us
to explore its full potential.

Answer 3a ) A multi-tiered business plan used by leaders to define, outline, and accomplish
particular business goals is known as a corporate-level strategy.

A small business might utilize a corporate-level strategy to boost earnings throughout the
upcoming fiscal year, while a huge corporation may be managing the operations of numerous
enterprises to accomplish more complicated objectives like selling the business or entering a
new market.
 NMIMS Global Access
School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)
Course: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies
Internal Assignment Applicable for September 2022 Examination

Types of Corporate Level Strategy:

Stability Strategy:

When you continue working with clients in your industry, that is when you employ the stability
strategy. This approach also presupposes that your business is succeeding with its current
business plan. You should use a stability plan to assure incremental advancement that still
generates income because the path to growth is uncertain. This approach involves activities like
product innovation and research & development. Offering your target market free trials of your
current items as an example can help you grab their attention.

Expansion Strategy:

You should choose the growth strategy if your business intends to develop new items and target
new markets. It can also be applied if you're increasing the volume of activity within your
company, such as by adding additional clients and staff. This approach can be used if the area
in which you operate has a robust economy or if improving performance is your main goal.
Executives might make a lot of money using this method, which could result in raises and the
growth of employee benefit plans.

Retrenchment Strategy:

You must seriously consider changing your business model if you are using a retrenchment
plan. This can entail halting a product's production or lowering its functionality. To ensure that
you continue to get payments for the services you rendered and to sustain the cash flow of your
company, you may need to devote more time and effort to accounts receivable.

Only when the business wants to take precautions to maintain its solvency does it employ this
technique. To find out which market you can thrive in, you need to conduct a SWOT (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis.

Combination Strategy:

Combination strategies are a synthesis of the first three techniques used to develop your
business model. Its primary goal is to improve business performance and identify business
sectors that can expand and contract in response to changing market conditions. Due to your
increased flexibility in how much time you should devote to each function of your strategy, using
this approach makes it simpler for you to make changes to your plan.
 NMIMS Global Access
School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)
Course: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies
Internal Assignment Applicable for September 2022 Examination

Conclusion: As the conclusion retrenchment strategy will work in order to generate revenue
strategically and rearranges thoughts with new alignment as per the Covid 19 situation.

Answer 3b) Yes, the company should use the retrenchment strategy as the retrenchment
strategy is used when a company wants to scale back one or more business operations in order
to save costs and improve its financial situation.

In other words, the approach taken when a company decides to discontinue its operations
through a significant reduction in its business operations, in the perspective of customer groups,
customer functions, and technology alternatives, either individually or collectively, is referred to
as Retrenchment Strategy.

If the company wants to improve its financial condition, it can either rearrange its business
operations or stop them altogether. Retrenchment strategies can be divided into three
categories:

Go through the following examples in terms of customer groups, customer functions, and
technological choices to better understand what the word "retrenchment strategy" means.

The publishing house for books might stop focusing on indirect institutional sales in favour of
direct client sales through market intermediaries. This could be done to reduce the sales force
and improve the effectiveness of the marketing.

The hotel may shut down the less profitable banquet hall services provided during events in
favour of concentrating on the room amenities, which are more lucrative.
 NMIMS Global Access
School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)
Course: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies
Internal Assignment Applicable for September 2022 Examination

Even while the institute teaches its students in classrooms, it may nonetheless provide a
distance learning programme for a specific subject. This could be done to reduce costs or to
make better use of the facility for another objective.

In each of the aforementioned cases, the businesses changed their client bases, job
responsibilities, or technology/procedures significantly in an effort to reduce costs and keep their
financial stability.