DISCUSION MGT457

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Discussion

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Discussion

Supply chain management can be described as the management of the flow of goods and services including all activities that are involved in the conversion of raw materials into final goods (Koberg & Longoni, 2019). The North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1994 between Mexico, the United States, and Canada creating a trilateral trading bloc that eliminated trade tariffs among the countries (Walmsley & Minor, 2017). It is important for a company executive competing on price and quality to consider all possible factors when sourcing from another country. The first aspect that should be considered is the market share of the supplier. This is important as it helps in the determination of the company's process of producing value and innovation. Another crucial aspect to be considered is the production capacity of the organization as it will determine the ability of the supplier to meet the raw material supply demands. Furthermore, it is crucial to determine the performance of the supply with regard to the quality of the product, delivery schedule, price point, and overall service delivery.

There are several steps that must be implemented in the sourcing strategy for the organization. The first step would be the completion of internal needs analysis and an assessment of the market of the supplier. This should be followed by a collection of information of the suppliers and selecting the appropriate one for the organization. The next step is developing the strategy for outsourcing. The company delivers products to Mexico contributing to 20% of its revenue. The delivery of products can double up as pick up of raw materials to ensure a continuous supply and to reduce the costs of transportation. The final step involves the completion of contractual supply chain improvements. This will help the organization to source the right quality of raw materials for their products at the right price point.

References

Koberg, E., & Longoni, A. (2019). A systematic review of sustainable supply chain management in global supply chains. Journal of cleaner production, 207, 1084-1098.

Walmsley, T., & Minor, P. (2017, March). Reversing NAFTA: a supply chain perspective. In Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis, West Lafayette. Available at: www. gtap. agecon. Purdue. edu/resources/download/8525. pdf.