Assignment 3: Vice President of Operations, Part 3

Weaknesses of Coca-Cola product life cycle

The product life cycle refers to the life of a product in the market on the bases of its commercial or business costs as well as sales measures. Product lifecycle goes through many phases, requires a lot of tools, processes, and skills, and professional discipline (De & Meyer, 2010). Every product goes through various phases that include introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

Coca-Cola is in the maturity stage of product life cycle and has had a very long product cycle. Since its introduction to the market in 1886, it has always been at the maturity stage. At this stage, a product is very profitable as compared to when it is in other stages. Due to the fact that the product yields a lot of profit, a company does not have to spend a lot of money on advertising.

One of the weaknesses of this product life cycle is a decline in sales. Coca-Cola Company has been experiencing a decline in the sale of soda especially in the United States of America. Even though the sale of soda might have decreased in one market, it does not mean that they have reduced in other markets.in the case of Coca-Cola maintaining high sales in America is important since it is their main market.

Another weakness of this product life cycle is competition from other companies. Many companies aspire and work towards ensuring that their products reach the maturity stage in order for them to gain a lot of profits. This makes new companies to get into the maturity stage and they begin to compete with the existing companies. Coca-Cola has experienced competition from Pepsi which has a huge customer base and is in the maturity stage. This kind of competition makes Coca-Cola to experience reduced sales.

Strategies that the organization needs in order to strengthen the operation

In order for Coca-Cola Company to strengthen its operations, it must ensure that it has the right team. For a company to be able to remain ahead of its competitors, it must have the right team. The team must be willing and ready to commit their time and their ideas to the company. The companies in the market have become very creative and have embraced new ideas and technology that have enabled them to attract the attention of customers. Coca-Cola should also embrace new ideas and ensure that it has the right team.

The second strategy that the company needs to strengthen the operation is to come up with the right advertisement. Pepsi has been known due to its advertisement that many people always look forward to. This has made them to gain more customers and have a competitive advantage.

The third strategy is creating new product designs. Since the product has been in the market for a long time, it is important for Coca-Cola to change their product design.

Components of supply chain management

The supply chain department in this company plays a very huge role as it enables the company to minimize its environmental impact and ensure sustainability. One of the components of supply management of this company is planning. The company has been able to make good plans regarding demand for its products and it has never disappointed its customers. Demand planning is very important especially when a product is in its early stages of the life cycle (Lambert, 2008). As the product proceeds to the maturity stage, accuracy in demand forecast is very important. Supply chain management works together with the production team to ensure that the demand is met.

Another component of the supply chain management of this company is inventory. In order for a supply management system to be effective, an inventory must be maintained and kept well. Coca-Cola Company keeps a list of items, raw materials and other important things that are required for the product to be made. This information has always remained private and only the staff members know all the things that are required for this product to be made.

Issues that could affect the structuring, sourcing, purchasing, and the supply chain of your organization

One of the issues that could affect sourcing in this company is lack of control. A company must maintain control in all the areas of its operations. By adding new people from different places in the production and other operations, the company can lose control and its most valuable asset which is its secret recipe can be exposed.

Another issue that can affect the structuring, sourcing, purchasing, and the supply chain of this company is the management. The top management in a company can affect a company in a negative or positive way. In this case, the company leadership should ensure that they have the right management team that can influence the company in a positive way.

The third major issue that could affect the structuring, sourcing, purchasing, and the supply chain management of Coca-Cola is changes in the economy. The economy dictates the way in which companies operate. Sometimes companies have to outsource and reduce their production due to poor economic times (Lambert, 2008). Coca-Cola Company needs to be ready for this kind of change and have a good plan that can assist and guide them on what to do.

A total quality management tool

The total quality management tool that can be used by the Coca-Cola Company is Kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that is focused on continual improvement in all the aspects of life. Kaizen activities help to improve all functions of a workplace from production to marketing as well as other functions (Charantimath, 2012). The main aim of this tool is to remove waste in every part of the system of a company by improving standardized processes and activities. People that understand Kaizen well can integrate it with Six Sigma. Kaizen activity is a continuous cycle that comprises of 7 phases that include identifying an opportunity, analyzing the process, developing a solution, implementing the solution, studying the results, standardizing the solution and planning for the future (Charantimath, 2012).

One of the areas that Coca-Cola Company focuses on is on quality. This company has always ensured that their products are of high quality. Quality assurance will be a future issue because companies find it hard to maintain the quality of their products. Kaizen can help this company to improve on their quality by bettering their products, the work environment as well as the processes and practices in the company.

Another area where the company is likely to face an issue in the future is on cost. With the change in the economy, it can be difficult for a company to maintain low cost and to manufacture products at a low cost. Many companies today have outsourced their production in order for them to ensure that they spend less on production. This has created other issues such as sustainability and labor issues. Kaizen total quality management tool can help the company to come up with ways to reduce manpower as well as expenses on production, marketing and other functions.

Another area where the company can have issues in the future is on management. The backbone of a company is the management. A company with the wrong management team is doomed to fail. It is very important for companies to ensure that they have a strong and positive management team. The kaizen total management tool can assist the company to improve on employee morale, planning, administration, training, and reporting, documentation, and information systems.

Another area where the company can have issues in the future is on safety. The safety of employees is very important. Companies are responsible of ensuring that the employees are safe while working. In the case of Coca-Cola, the Coca-Cola company has the responsibility of ensuring that the product made is safe for consumption and that all issues required he safety of customers are addressed. Kaizen activities can help the company to ensure that the working conditions are safe and suitable for their employees. It can also help in ensuring that there is no damage made to the environment.

Advantages in employing the just-in-time philosophy

The just-in-time philosophy can be of much benefit to the company since it can help in cash flow management. Companies that stock up and purchase inventory in bulk, end up using a lot of money to cater for their present purposes. The working capital of that company is left stuck up in shelves until a time whereby the products will be needed in a huge number. Just-in-time philosophy can assist in ensuring a healthy cash flow (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2015).

Another advantage of the just-in-time philosophy is that less space is needed. Since products are made according to the order that the company gets, there are no products to be stored and hence less space is needed. A faster turnaround of stock leads to the need for a less storage space (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2015). A faster turnaround of goods ensures that the company does not have to buy or rent out a storage space hence leading to creation of space for other activities.

The third advantage of the Just-in-time philosophy is that it ensures waste reduction. Since goods are made according to the order, they do not become obsolete or damaged. This saves investment money as well as the money needed to replace old stock.

Means in which the philosophy could potentially impact quality assurance

One of the ways through which just-in-time philosophy can impact quality assurance is through the elimination of waste. This philosophy ensures that there are no products that are wasted or kept in stock for a long time. This therefore, ensures that all the products made are high quality products.

This philosophy also ensures that there is constant communication between the company and the customer (Shah, 2009). This helps the company to improve on their process and meet the needs of their customers.

The third way through which this philosophy ensures quality assurance is by ensuring that the company does not waste its resources on products that are not in order.

Qualitative and quantitative forecasting method

The quantitative forecasting method that can be used by the Coca-Cola Company in its operations is the time series forecasting method. A time series refers to a group of data that is recorded over a certain period of time. The data can be the company sales made in a month or annual production. Since past patterns tend to repeat themselves in the future, a time series can be used to make a prediction for 5 and even 20 years (Shah, 2009).

The qualitative forecasting method that can be used is consumer survey. Consumer survey is conducted directly on the consumer. It requires statistical analysis and errors in data collection can greatly affect the prediction (Dubrin, 2009).

References

Charantimath, P. M. (2012). Total quality management. Delhi: Pearson.

Dubrin, . (2009). Essentials of management. Thomson Business & Economics.

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De, W. B., & Meyer, R. (2010). Strategy: Process, content, context : an international perspective.

Fleisher, C. S., & Bensoussan, B. E. (2015). Business and competitive analysis: Effective application of new and classic methods.

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Lambert, D. M. (2008). Supply chain management: Processes, partnerships, performance. Sarasota, Fla: Supply Chain Management Institute.

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Shah, J. (2009). Supply chain management: Text and cases. Delhi: Pearson Education.

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