Exploring SCM concepts and techniques

0 Benefits of Partnering with other Companies 6 4. 0 Conflicts of Interests and Ethical Issues in Purchasing Function 8 5. 0 Conclusion 9 6. 0 References 11 1. 0 Exploring SCM Concepts Supply Chain Management refers to the concept of controlling sufficient flow of goods and services from the point of production to the final consumers (Stadtler 2015: p. 0 Essential Concepts of SCM An organization’s supply chain should be comprising of various professionals with specializations in any of the determinant process in the operation. The major concepts to internalize include; the planning stage in which a primary design of the supply chain is created (Gold, Seuring and Beske 2010: p. Depending on the length of the project, the planning can either take a short term or long-term approach. The planning process also involves budgeting and making financial estimations in order to evaluate the viability of venturing into a particular line of business.

For the Cruise International, Inc. its production will engage creation of services that are required by the customers. For instance, the hotel and hospitality department will be responsible for providing meals, accommodation and luxury service, while the crew and engineering department will always ensure that transportation schedules are strictly adhered to and that the ship is in good condition. Regardless of the kind of goods or services being offered by a company, the production process is considered to be any activity that is related to the primary generation of such commodities. SCM also involves the distribution process of finished goods from the point of production to where customers require them. Since Cruise International, Inc. 0 Benefits of Partnering with other Companies As a service company, Cruise International, Inc.

needs to partner with other companies in order to facilitate easy acquisition of complementary services (McQuaid 2010: p. For instance, there should an engineering company which is tendered with supply of equipment and ship servicing. Additionally, CII should consider partnering with food and beverage suppliers to ensure that customers are never frustrated due to low quality or insufficient meals. The company’s operation may also require sophisticated technology for monitoring operations, this can only be provided by a specialized information technology firm. Therefore, besides employing its own engineers, CII should partner with a recognized engineering company that will be providing advisory services, repair and maintenance to the ships. Furthermore, the company should also identify a law firm who partakes all the legal services related to its operation and conformity with international regulations.

Even though partnerships are helpful in reducing management costs while improving customers’ satisfaction, CII must be cautious when signing agreement deals because not all provisions may be beneficial to the firm (Ren, Ngai and Cho 2010: 453). The first consideration before entering into a partnership should be the ratio of sharing profits, in relation to the cost of services offered. At any point, the partnership should be more beneficial to CII as compared to the costs of random outsourcing of services. 0 Conflicts of Interests and Ethical Issues in Purchasing Function In order to maintain operations at Cruise International, Inc. the management must develop efficient purchasing strategies to avoid inconsistencies and imbalance between supply and demand. The major sources of conflicts of interests in purchasing function include; evaluation of tenders, maintenance of proper logistic procedures and development of good working relations with suppliers (Hill and Painter 2010: p.

Normally, all the purchasing functions should be executed by the purchasing manager. The individual in charge is tasked with the responsibility of issuing tenders, evaluating applications and hiring the best bidder. can outline its business ethics that guides all its staff and executives in order to ensure smooth flow of operations. The first ethical regulation should be aimed at instilling honesty and integrity of employees. For instance, as a purchasing manager, the company bestows all the financial powers on you thus it would be honorable enough to uphold transparency and accountability during the tendering process. Ethical regulations will also be helpful in limiting other executives from demanding to be involved in exclusive functionalities of another department (Norman 2011: p. As a manager that has been trusted with a position of leadership in a company, there is need to be protected from intimidations by other staff members.

Therefore, the management of CII needs to conduct market research in order to familiarize themselves with the dynamics in the shipping industry before launching any program. This will be helpful in understanding the specific needs of customers thus improving their satisfaction when providing services. 0 References Ahi, P. , & Searcy, C. A comparative literature analysis of definitions for green and sustainable supply chain management. , Seuring, S. and Beske, P. Sustainable supply chain management and inter‐organizational resources: a literature review. Corporate social responsibility and environmental management, 17(4), pp. Hill, C. Routledge. Norman, W. Business ethics as self-regulation: Why principles that ground regulations should be used to ground beyond-compliance norms as well. Journal of Business Ethics, 102(1), pp. Ren, S. In Supply chain management and advanced planning (pp.