MBA strategic supply chain management

INTRODUCTION

Strategic supply chain management is considered to be one of the most iterative process which in turn helps in evaluating the cost benefit trade off associated with the various operational activities. This study will critically evaluate supply chain transformational strategy to achieve competitive Plagiarism checker free performance. ALDI is one of the leading supermarket which was founded in the year 1946 by Karl and Theo Albrecht. It mainly deals in various household essentials and groceries.

MAIN BODY

Supply chain management is useful in integrating preparation, manufacturing, purchasing, marketing and distribution of the various products offered by the company (Copacino, (2019)). It is further classified into three levels which includes strategical, operational and tactical approach in order to attain higher operational goals and objectives.

From single to multiple market- driven supply chain strategy

Lean supply chain management strategy

Adebanjo, Laosirihongthong & Samaranayake, (2016) examined the fact that, Lean supply chain management strategy is considered to be very useful because it tends to focus on cutting cost of the business. This supply chain management strategy is very useful in removing components from the process. The organization is directly linked with the downstream and upstream flows of the funds, information, products and services.  They in turn work collaboratively to effectively reduce the cost and waste which in turn is considered to be necessary for meeting the requirements of the ALDI Australia customers. It also helps in high volume of the products with little variability. This in turn is considered to be one of the useful, predictable and cost effective approach which in turn helps in achieving competitive position and in turn also leads to higher performance of the business. Lean supply chain management strategy is considered to be one of the key elements of the study which is very useful in developing long term goals and objectives of the company. It also helps in improving the quality of the business which in turn increases the productivity by the extraction of the waste. Nimeh, Abdallah & Sweis, (2018) established the fact that, Lean supply chain management strategy helps ALDI company to deliver the products to the customers as quickly as possible. It is considered to be an effective process to streamline the process by effectively eliminating non- value operations of the business. Lean supply chain management strategy is useful in identifying the cost Example of assignment, inventory and time associated with various areas of the supply chain.  Implementation of lean supply chain strategy is considered to be very useful in boosting up the profits by effectively reducing unnecessary activities within the business organization. It also helps in improving efficiency which in turn helps in freeing up resources and employees for the quality control and innovation within ALDI Australia.  It is considered to be very useful in eliminating mistakes within the manufacturing process.  It also helps in standardizing the procedure for attaining the best quality products and output (Advantages of Lean Supply Chain and Logistics Management. 2016). Lean supply chain management strategy also helps in eliminating wastage by keeping track of the optimum level of stock required to carry out certain business operations.

 However, it can be argued that Aldi has already transferred from a single market chain to the multiple market chain where it no longer caters to the requirement of a one single market but it adequately addresses the needs of customers from different market segments. The Ayers & Odegaard (2017). have argued that the lean supply chain management model helps in reducing the number of elements in a supply chain by weeding out the unnecessary delay causing stages or steps but this is not an adequate way of addressing the requirements of multiple markets. When the company diversifies to serve into different markets, it automatically requires an additional number of elements or players in the supply chain so that the products can be made available timely to the consumers. Therefore, exercising lean management strategy for the supply chain of the company is not an adequate strategy because the company might not be able to diversify quickly.

Overall, it can be concluded that the company might not be able to achieve the actual purpose of entering into multiple markets with the adoption of the lean strategy but it is an effective tool in addressing the problem of unnecessary long supply chain that might exist in the market and therefore it can be adequately concluded that Aldi can use this technique effectively along with ensuring that it caters to the requirement of multiple markets.

From Firm based competition to network competition.

Supply chain is not just limited to the delivery of product and services but it further extends to the timely delivery of the products and services. For instance, if a company intends to deliver Christmas tree then it should be delivered to the clients or to the retailers before the time to put up a Christmas tree passes on. Therefore, when the companies shift from competition at a firm level to the competition on network basis i.e. the competition is not just for delivering quality products but it further extends to making the product available in the market as quickly as possible. Aldi, in the Australian Retail, has brought a revolution with the cost-cutting strategy that they adopted for their supply chain management where they made their product available to the local suppliers and vendors at a cheaper rate than their competitors and the marketing strategies of Aldi and good brand name helped them in exercising cost strategies and increasing their sales by the means of firm based competition in Supply chain management (Mohmoud, Khair & Othman, 2019). Despite having a lower market share in the market of Australia, the company was able to develop a significant position and this was possible only because of the firm based competition strategies that they adopted through the management of a well defined and segregated supply chain in the retail market and thesis statement generator.

However, the firm based strategy is no longer sufficient and effective i.e. price is no longer the only factor on which competitiveness can exist between the different retail companies and therefore the use of time as a competing factor is an essential element. Herczeg,  Akkerman & Hauschild (2018), have stated that today timely delivery is a much more important factor of consideration for the retailers i.e. Aldi has reduced the amount of discounts that it earlier gave and today, it is competing on how quickly it is able to make the product accessible to the targeted consumer segment. The supply chain of Aldi has been restructured where the number of suppliers that the company engages has increased and the retailers have also increased thus making the company's products easily available at a wider scale. After the global recession hit the economy, it was no longer possible to exercise the heavy discount strategies that the retail stores are generally in the habit of giving and therefore the companies had to devise new strategies for competing in the market. Therefore, when the products were made quickly available to the consumers, then they would automatically shift from other brands to the ones that were more readily available.

But Singh Sethuraman & Lam (2017), have contradicted the above point stating that sometimes the companies exercising only time based i.e. network based competition strategies is not an adequate action . There should be integration of pricing strategy and networking strategy that can be used for the  supply chain management thus effectively addressing the competition in the market because the consumers have a perception that the products of the retail industry are comparatively cheaper and therefore market can be targeted. This will help in conquering the consumers associated with the retail segment in a more effective manner.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the Aldi has already shifted form using only firm based supply chain strategy to the use of network strategy of supply chain management and the number of steps involved in the supply chain have already been minimized so that the chain can row shorter and the delivery can become quicker (Govindan, Seuring, Zhu, & Azevedo, 2016). This has assisted the company in increasing the competitiveness and it can also be further recommended that the company can effectively integrate the firm based strategy with the network strategy under supply chain management thus making the chain more efficient.

CONCLUSION

The research above helps in concluding that the supply chain management is an integral part in the delivery of the products manufactured in the targeted market segment. The report helped in concluding that the Aldi Australia already has a diversified network, and if it integrates into multiple markets instead of a single market, adopting the lead SCM strategy is a good option when it ensures that all the factors associated with different markets are covered adequately. This report also helped in concluding that moving from the firm based strategy to the network based strategy was the most effective strategy because it will help in addressing the requirement of the company by increasing its competitiveness in the market.

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