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Comparison of SEZs
Sr. No
SEZ
Type
Major Industries
Set-up
Strengths
1
Santa Cruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ),
Mumbai
Multi-product SEZ
Electronic items
Gems & Jewellery
Central Government
Access to Mumbai's vast commercial, industrial & social infrastructure
Well connected by air, water, train: Mumbai (International Airport 6 km away, Docks 30 km away)
Efficient telecommunication network (Intelsat, high frequency radio circuits)
2
Kandla Special Economic Zone,
Gujarat
Multi-product SEZ
Free Trade & Warehousing Zone (under development)
Gems & Jewellery
Electronic items
Software
Textile & Garments
Engineering goods
Sports goods
Leather products
Central Government
Served by two sea ports: All-weather Indian port of Kandla 9 km away; new Port Mundra, 70 km away, with international Container
Last Updated On:7/12/2011 11:36:01 AM
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Transportation Management Systems : An Indian Perspective
Thumbs-Down to the Global Meltdown
The global melt-down is here and the nay-sayers are all on a roll about the impending doom. Companies are looking at multiple options to manage the challenging situation that the occurrences in the global economy have put them into. Supply Chain costs therefore are of special significance in such market conditions as they hold the key to managing profitability and ensuring better health of the organization.
India is no exception!
Logistics costs in India are estimated to be nearly 13-14% of the GDP of around $1 trillion. This cost is significantly higher as compared to the developed economies where the logistics costs are around 7-8% of the GDP. What this means to companies is that there is a huge potential to optimize the costs of logistics.
Supply Chain costs are spread over multiple domains starting from Import-Export Logistics to Transportation to Warehousing and finally Distribution. In a country like India which has a large geographic dispersion and manufacturing clusters based at key locations, transportation becomes a key link to managing the costs. In fact, Transportation accounts for the largest single cost component of logistics, estimated to be nearly 35%-40% of the total logistics costs.
There are multiple reasons for this. India has traditionally been a country that thrives on the entrepreneurial spirit of the hinterland. Hence all transportation needs, especially ground transport, were being met by small transport operators (more than 80-85% of the market) who own less than 5 trucks of smaller tonnage. This leads to an extreme fragmentation of the industry and thereby the cost of managing the overall delivery is high.
In addition, the Indian transportation industry has multiple layers of demand and capacity agents who are essentially people who play the intermediary role of matching demand and capacity albeit a
Last Updated On:7/30/2010 1:39:54 PM
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Network Optimization Tool
The supply chain network of an organization is it's value delivery structure. It encapsulates physical capacities to produce and store, production and distribution constraints, fluctuations and the flow of products and resources throughout the interconnected matrix of source and consumption points. Over time the network evolves based on production, sourcing and distribution strategy adopted, focusing on where to produce different products, how to source resources required for production and how to deliver those resources to the customers.
Network Optimization: What is it and what is optimized?
Optimization is simply the procedure that identifies a set of network related decisions which is as effective and as functional as possible. It attempts to answer what decisions lead to highest profits, through put, share holder value or lowest cost, wastage and risk. Supply chain network optimization is not just piece-meal cost reduction. It is about configuring the network so as to attain global minimum, while controlling risk and allowing latitude for fluctuations. Following are some of the many underlying questions that is holistically resolved in the process:
where to place inventory and in what quantities
how much safety stock to keep
what is the right inventory mix at different warehouses
identification of key inventory drivers
how to increase service levels and decrease order fulfillment lead-times
analysis of postponement strategies
portions of supply chain that has to be manged based on push and portions that has to be manged based on pull
Network Optimization Tool: Necessities and benefits
Many of the supply chain decisions are largely based on rough ideas about outcomes. Creation of a model of the network and optimizing it controls t
Last Updated On:7/4/2011 5:46:35 PM
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to an extent on direct categories. Given this phenomenon, leading
companies are defining the roles of individual companies more exactinglyfor
example, by determining whether a particular supplier is expected to
provide the lowest possible price or to take on a value-based role by
contributing through technological advancements and other innovations.
A critical element in this decision making is a clear articulation of the
sourcing functions goals, which need to include elements of not only
price, but also preferential access and business partnership development,
while meeting quality, and service requirements and ensuring
responsiveness.
Juxtaposed with the phenomenon of consolidation, leading companies
continuously renew and reinvigorate their supply base, bringing in new
players who not only add competitiveness-led market benefits but also
new technology and a willingness to learn, improve and develop
capabilities.
Relationship Management: Finding supply chain partners & ensuring a
healthy alliance requires attention to a short list of commonsensical
considerations. Not heeding one or more can mean the difference
between a business combination that succeeds with the hoped-for
synergy and one that limps along at less than its full power to realize
anticipated benefits. (See sidebar for ten ways to ensure that your
alliance stays healthy and thrives)
LEVERAGING INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY ENABLERS AS
KEY DIFFERENTIATORS
For the supply function, information is the raw material from which
sourcing is fabricated; without information, sourcing professionals will
make flawed decisions with catastrophic business results. As the building
block of sourcing, information is a critical design element. Organizational
structure needs to consider where information comes from, where it
goes, where it resides, and how it is controlled. There are several
different types of information: transactio
Last Updated On:7/7/2011 4:10:46 PM
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SALES AND OPERATIONS PLANNING
Two of the most essential elements of a supply chain for any organization are its sales and operations teams. While one represents, promotes, identifies and captures the demand for the organization’s products or services in the market place, the other co-ordinates the supply of the firm’s products or services committed to its customers. Both are central to a company’s objectives of higher profits and revenues at lowest possible costs. However, these objectives take a severe beating due to the lack of co-ordination between the sales and the production. This lack of coordination has far reaching effects throughout the supply chain. An essential requirement of having an integrated supply chain is to provide visibility across the different functions and enable a seamless flow of material, information and funds across its boundaries. A lack of sync between the demand and supply leads to a fragmented supply chain. A Sales and Operations planning process is the answer to remove this disconnect and forms an essential element for an integrated Supply Chain.
APICS defines the S&OP process as the "function of setting the overall level of manufacturing output (production plan) and other activities to best satisfy the current planned levels of sales (sales plan and/or forecasts), while meeting general business objectives of profitability, productivity, competitive customer lead times, etc., as expressed in the overall business plan”. The
Strategic Business Plan sets the company’s long term objectives and gives a general direction on how the organization can best achieve it based on inputs from its sales, production, and engineering and finance teams. The strategic business plan provides the direction and the boundaries to the functional teams to prepare their own plan in line with the organizational objectives.
S&OP process is a collaborative forum where the cross functional teams
Last Updated On:7/11/2011 5:53:19 PM
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Industries »Automotive
Automotive
Automobile industry has undergone significant structural changes in the last decade or so in lieu of globalisation. Implementation of lean prodcution and the development of modularisation have changed the relationships between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), first tier suppliers, sub-tier suppliers, and infrastructure suppliers. Stiff competition among manufacturers will result in more mergers or acquisitions globally leading to supply chain getting more complicated and cumbersome to handle. High cost due to huge R&D investements, rising steel prices, innovation in the design, rising environmental concerns and yet keeping the base price same has demanded that automobile manufacturing companies streamline their processes by outsourcing some of the activities to low cost countries. All this requires an efficient supply chain management and logistics coordination at the highest level in order to achieve customer satisfaction at the lowest price possible.
Other than improving quality, meeting cost reduction targets, and developing time to market, the challenges which the automobile manufacturing firms face are:
Integration of the sub tier, first tier suppliers and 3PLs upstream and dealers, wholesalers and retailers downstream, weaving them in a single end to end supply chain.
Reducing channel inventory and stock out events in order to meet the expected level customer service.
Pull based processes planning linking to demand at each level.
Reductions of replenishment lead time.
Network optimization taking into account various facilities, plants, DCs etc.
Collaborative product development through the internet and web based procurement
The Automotive sector focuses on JI
Last Updated On:9/19/2008 2:24:32 PM
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Levers to Improve Economic Performance
This section provides a brief look at some levers that help boost economic performance. We will be examining some of these points, especially those related to supply chain, further on in this report.
Although it is imperative to maintain lean costs to boost economic performance in the current market scenario, what is oft forgotten is the need to maintain lean cash. By this we mean:
Cash tied to inventory: by improving service levels through delivery and turns
Improve working capital flows: this will help unlock the potential of this one-time cash
Rationalize the operational CAPEX: this can help in reduction and postponement of CAPEX expenditures
Under the maintenance of lean costs we need to look into the following key areas:
Departmental costs: optimize the all division costs; be it HR, Legal,
Finance, Public Relations and so on
IT: find new ways of automating processes and reducing manual human interventions
Supply chain: companies might want to outsource non-core activities and stop reverse logistic processes like returns, damages etc
Service levels: reduce extra service costs like warranty
Product development: improve productivity & efficiency with focus on lowest costs
Manufacturing: adopt lean measures
Reduce indirect procurement: such as travel & healthcare
Organization streamlining: reduce management layers and improve span of controls
Facts About India & its Supply Chain
India's diverse economy ranges from traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, to a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services, however, form the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's output with less than one third of its labour force.
About 60% of the work force is still in agriculture, leading the government to focus on
Last Updated On:7/30/2010 11:12:31 AM
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