AUSTRALIAN TREE CROP
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
Background
This project is focused on Australian tree Crop Company where as a group we have the responsibility of investigating and coming up with a project that ought to offer the most benefit to the company. This is after ATC Company started to struggle to meet the company’s targets after a series of natural disaster which definitely lead to decreased production in the company. As a team, we have decided to come up with a strategic change that will help change the existing strategy of management and even go further to develop a R&D team. The purpose of the team we are forming is to look in to the root cause of the problem at hand and also learn one or two things about the vulnerabilities of the trees to specific natural disasters. Having this understanding will help us as a team to come up with a plan to help in the management of the forest.
I occupy the position of a consultant in the Australian Tree Crop Company which is a firm that owns a large area of forest land where we grow and cell trees. Traditionally, we have been growing trees and out sourcing any other form of supply chain including thr manufacturing and the logistics of our products. Over the past couple of years that we have been in the market, our company has been progressing well as a private company until the American tree farming industry leased the land they managed to our company. This caused a number of legacy issues including the generation of profits which as now created a friction with the company’s clients. Further, there is a lot of pressure from the state which leased the land to our company and they basically count on the company’s funds to fund other institutions. However, the main problem facing ATC is initiating campaigns that will build the internal and the external image of ATC based on how it is viewed by both the leasers of the land and the contractors (Grattapaglia, 2011). Also, the company is working towards becoming accountable on their products even though they lack the appropriate kind of system. The main solution to this problem lies between two options. The first option is having a vertically integrated supply chain where the company will be in a position to control the growing of trees and also be able to initiate the production of chipped wood for paper production and structural timber for houses and also fuels for boilers. In order to meet the target or rather the goal of the company, ATC has a number of projects which they have to choose from to find the best solution to solve the problem of supply chain. The second option that ATC has is to put their main focus on the trees themselves based on different species and genetics (Burdon, 2017 )Adopting this idea would possibly increase tree yields up to 20% in turn solving the problem of supply chain. It is worth noting that both the two projects that have been identified have the potential of benefiting ATC Company if they are implemented correctly.
Potential project
As a team we have considered all the possible options and have decided that out of the given options, only one idea seems viable as long as ATC wants to solve the existing problems. Out of the existing options, it only seems possible to solve the problem of supply management by focusing on the tree themselves by considering the genetics of the trees and evaluation of the different existing species. Since the project is based on improving supply management we ought to understand that it is all about coming up with a supply chain that is both efficient and performing. Attaining the supply chain goals and objectives will help ATC to increase client delivery, save some finances, reduce the process of manufacturing or rather producing the anticipated product and better management of the company’s inventory. (Burdon,
Chosen project
Chances are that if ATC implements the idea of growing different tree species, the company would witness an increase in tree harvest after a considerable time period. The company should work with the employees working in the research department so as to come up with a tree species that is able to withstand some of the natural disasters that are contributing towards low tree harvest. This is based on the fact that for the past one year, ATC has been struggling with a series of natural disasters that have hit the region resulting to ow tree production. For the past year, they have been faced with problems of natural disasters such as drought, forest fires, floods, mortality of young trees and insect attacks. These disasters have resulted to low production of timber in turn making it difficult to negotiate with contractors and to grow their business in any possible way that seems meaningful. Through tree breeding, ATC is in a position to handle tree improvement through the application of the genetics principle of mass production of tree seedlings of the traits which they desire in order to achieve increased timber productivity. By doing this, ACT will be able to comfortably supply the demand of timber and other timber products to its customers. This will be possible because they will be able to increase the yields up to 20 percent of what they are currently producing.
Through breeding of different tree species, ATC will be able to not only increase the yields of timber but will also be in a position to shorten the rations. Moreover, the company will be able to combat disasters such as tree diseases, insect attack and drought. Correct breeding will definitely result to trees that are resistant to diseases, insect attack and drought. This would mean that even in the occurrence of a disease or if the trees are attacked by the insects, they have the ability to survive through the ordeal. Furthermore, they will have not only prevented mortality f the trees from the latter, but will also have increased the amount of tree or rater timber production (Grattapaglia, 2011). This is an indication that ATC will be able to comfortably manage the production and supply or rather delivery of goods and services to their customers. As a result, the company will be able to cut down enough trees and transport them to their clients without experiencing any possible shortages. Their relationship with their clients which had previously been tainted with clients will be solved and they will also be able to make enough profits for the company.
Strategic Alignment
The Australian Tree Corp. is very much aware of the dynamics of the market and is basically focused on making sure that the company is aligned to the needs of the timber industry and those of their customers. This is inclusive but is not limited to a strong corporate governance, efficient and effective investments, strong corporate governance, effective decision making, stakeholder engagement and effective investment of the company’s funds. This means that for the company to become successful, it needs to deliver values so as to levy the stakeholders and the community at large. It is worth pointing out that ATC Company is structured in the most possible manner so as to attain its vision of meeting customer needs and delivering one of kind timber products. This company considers strong links as very essential and is able to meet them through delivery of enough supplies to its clients.
Risk Assumptions and Constraints
The most relevant technique to solve the problem of timber production for ATC is to invest in genetics and rearing different tree species with the aim of increasing timber production. However, as much as this strategy will help the company meets its goals; it has a number of risk assumptions and constraints attached to it. The benefits of breeding trees to improve production are almost equal to the problems that come with the same. One of the risk assumptions and constraints of forest breeding is the hazards that are associated with developing resistant biotypes. This means that the trees that have been breaded could develop pests that are resistant to toxins. Not that occasionally, these trees are detoxified with pesticides to ensure that the growth is not affected by pests. Pests and diseases are a number one known cause leading to growth of trees that are not health. Considering that the trees are used to produce timber which are in turn used to make furniture and other products, it is a requirement that the trees are not only healthy but grow to their full potential (Grattapaglia, 2011). However if infested with pests and diseases, their growth becomes stunt and in turn produces trees not worth to produce good end product. Nonetheless, if the pests and diseases become resistant, it is an indication that timber production will obviously be low as a result generating considerably low profits for the company.
References
Burdon, R. D. (2007). Genetic correlation as a concept for studying genotype-environment interaction in forest tree breeding. Silvae Genet, 26(5-6), 168-175.
Grattapaglia, D., & Resende, M. D. (2011). Genomic selection in forest tree breeding. Tree Genetics & Genomes, 7(2), 241-255.