Purchasing & Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Purchasing & Supply Chain Management - Essay Example This article shall focus on the matters regarding the competitive edge in the industry with respect to the group’s purchasing and supply chain management. Body Purchasing and supply chain management entails the performance and coordination of numerous activities that takes place both inside and outside an organisation. Research reveals that besides the supply chain that exists within an organisation, there has to be at least one supply chain with another organization. Further, studies reveal that â€Å"the structure of activities within and between companies is a critical cornerstone of creating unique and superior supply chain performance† (Lambert 2005). For Blacks Leisure Group to have an effective purchasing and supply chain management, key players of the chain should be incorporated with the business processes. The company’s processes should be standardised to ensure that there is harmony in linking up processes by purchase and supply chain managers of diffe rent organisations. As earlier mentioned, Leisure industry is very competitive and like any other business in the leisure industry, it is critical for Blacks to develop and sustain competitive advantage. To begin with, Leisure companies throughout the world are now facing enormous challenges because of the globalisation as a result of the enhanced connectivity brought about by the improved technology and the use of internet in doing business. Consequently, Blacks is currently facing very stiff competition from companies from the rapidly industrialised nations like the United States and those from Asian continent. These rival companies, most of which began less than two decades ago, are now tapping into the Blacks market in their quest to spread out their operation base. This may be mainly attributed to more efficient customer service and better distribution channels, networks and transportation as well as enhanced inventory management, material handling and effective communication o n the side of the rival companies. Initially companies were mainly concerned with their customers alone. However, it is rather obvious that the markets have now evolved and Blacks need to change its approach accordingly. Considering that competition may have dire effects on the group like profit declines and being driven out of the business, efforts should be geared towards effective management of their brands and setting up proper market positions. The modern society is a â€Å"now society† in that just like other customers, leisure consumers also want services and products instantly and in the most convenient means possible. As a result, majority of the customers have opted for internet business involving online transactions and thus abandoning tangible companies such as the Blacks Leisure Group. To remain relevant and profitable in the market, Blacks should exploit more on the online business given that marketing environment has changed substantially. Companies that have v entured into online marketing are now posing real competition to Black’s market and are in fact threatening to force them out of the business. It is therefore critical for the Blacks to uphold competitive edge over the online companies by broadening its distribution base in an economical manner, a strategy which is utilised by the rival compani

Evidence from Privatization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evidence from Privatization - Essay Example However, due to limited budgets, governments have been unable to develop all part of the economy equally. Further problems like inadequate use of knowledge, experience and specialization in the management of the various sectors occur and citizens may not receive goods and services from the public enterprises effectively. Lack of competition in the public sector contributes a great deal in the inefficiencies, corruption and lack of motivation in public enterprises (Khan et al., 2012). The main reason governments have opted for privatization is the belief that private firms can make a more efficient and effective use of available resources than governments and at the same time profit the government from the higher revenues privatisation creates. It is also believed that privatisation may result to increased efficiency productivity and liquidity in the financial markets but on the other hand, lead to unemployment and dependency on foreign capital from multinational companies hence decli ne in a nation’s wealth and social welfare (Han, 2012). Full privatisation may have occurred especially in the services sector but it is generally not ideal for governments to conduct a full privatisation. Where natural resources and sensitive goods and or services for instance nuclear energy, partial privatisation is preferred. In this case, the government gives part of the ownership to a private firm, so that it can still have active control in the operations. Privatisation can take place either through share issue privatisation (SIP) which involves selling shares on the stock market or selling the whole firm or part of it to a strategic buyer by auction, asset sale, voucher privatisation or shares of ownership distributed to all citizens (at a low fee or even for free). SIP is the most common and it extends the domestic capital markets and increases the investment opportunities which in turn will stimulate economic growth though some risk is involved. Finding enough buyers could be a problem and as a result the prices drop and the capital gains become insignificant, in turn the transaction costs become high. Asset sale privatisation is common in developing countries. Voucher privatisation was common in the former socialist economies during the transition process. Asset sale and share privatisation are usually beneficial to the government as bidders normally compete and hence offer a high price which makes more money for the government (Walailuck and Christian-Oliver, 2011). Evaluation of privatisation should be from a point of view of the society’s well-being, not from the profit maximisation of the firms. The welfare of the people and the country in general and the state of its economy should be continually improved. There is a general view that all government involvement in the market represents some restrictions to business liberty so it has become intrinsically detrimental. Privatisation is a form of withdrawal of government involvement in business. Since 1980, many European countries have launched privatisation programs with the Great Britain being referred to as the origin of modern privatisation (Ioannis, 2012). Privatisation leads to enhanced economic performance.