Managing supply chain visibility and outsourcing decisions in organizations

Managing Supply Chain

Managing the supply chain

The organization that I work for deals in interior finish of houses with the range of services being the floor finishes, plumbing works and sanitary ware, home furniture and office furniture as well as curtains. The outsourcing levels within this organization run to close to 70-75% of the goods and services. In as much as there are some materials that are manufactured by the company, most of them are outsourced. Once the tenders are secured for making a final fine finish to a given block of offices, the company often outsources the skills and manpower from the companies that deal in these interior finish and decorations. The company also outsources for the skilled manpower that helps in the assembly of furniture that is delivered to the homes or offices where they secure orders. Even though the company has a few transportation vehicles that helps in transporting its merchandise to the company stores as well as from the stores to the customers, most of it is outsourced to the transport company that deals in safe transportation of even fragile goods. Bearing the extent of the outsourcing that the company engages in, it can be estimated that 70% to 75% of their services and goods are outsourced.

Of the five recommendations given in the article, the fifth is of greatest significance to the organization I work for and is the one that is most widely used (Cecere L., 2014). The company strives to maximize the use of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). This is very important to the company since it depends on importation of most of its goods and merchandise from countries in Asia like China. Their status while on transit is important so that the company can also secure orders and give the correct timelines for the delivery of the goods to the customers without delay. The EDI is also important on the delivery side since as the goods leave the company stores headed to the customers, there is need for updating of the supply chain throughout to ensure goods are effectively tracked to the customers, and those that may get lost or be delivered to the wrong venues are effectively tracked and the goods recovered.