Research Questions, Scope, Case, and Charter Assignment

Dr. Gayle Jesse

July 16, 2021

Contents Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………….3 Literature Review …………………………………………………………………………………………..3 Analysis….………………………………………………………………………………………...8 Conclusion 9 References 10

Introduction

Ford Motor is an international automaker embracing innovation throughout the world. The paper focuses on the importance of suppliers' relationship management to ensure accuracy and efficiency in business processes. Suppliers are important stakeholders, and relationships with them must be strong and positive. The attractiveness of purchases, the security of sources, the diversity of the supplier panel, and the good understanding of the quality requirements expected by the contracting authority from its suppliers require that particular attention be paid to the quality of the relationships maintained. Several stages characterize the supplier management phase: market analysis, the animation of the market, panel management, and evaluation (Hofmann, & Langner, 2020). Along with suppliers, the paper also discusses its overall success and recommends an innovative system to streamline its operations.

The problem is to address supplier relations management to enhance the income and revenue of the company in the coming years. With the 360 ° view of the supplier information, the solution proposed is to enhance the supplier's relationship with the company. The software proposed to address Oracle supplier management software offers them clear, complete, shared, and relevant information (Albizri, Appelbaum, D. (2021).

Literature Review

In the modern competitive business world, organizations seek techniques to enhance their competitive advantage and gain success. To be successful and gain a competitive advantage in the modern business industry, organizations need to put equal focus everywhere. Although customers are assets for an organization and their satisfaction is crucial, but at the same time, organizations should not compromise on the importance and relationship management with suppliers. Suppliers are the forerunner of an organization and bring value to its supply chain. Having a strong and efficient relationship with suppliers crucially ensures that the product meets the expectations and demands of customers.

Suppliers’ relationship refers to a systematic approach to evaluating, selecting, and managing the relationship to achieve collective organizational goals. Having effective and convenient communication between suppliers and the company is crucial to enhance the overall performance of an organization. Supplier relationship management is the way to improve how the supply chain works, and the betterment of the supply chain is possible with the improvement in relations with suppliers (Kumar & Pothal, 2016).

Figure 1: Relationship Chain

The relationship mentioned above shows us the importance of having a positive relationship with suppliers, leading to positive relations with customers, dealers, and other parties. Suppliers serve as the backbone of an organization, and thus the strength of the backbone is crucial to enable it to carry out the rest of the organization's functions. Research conducted by Hartley et al., 1997a states that the evolution of suppliers in the organization's supply chain helps reduce product development timing and helps avoid production problems and complications (Kumar & Pothal, 2016). Most researchers are focusing on the relationship between product development time and supplier relationship. There is an inverse relationship between the product development time and the supplier's relationship with an organization. The engagement of suppliers in the production process in the early stages helps suppliers understand the company's supply chain requirements and their limits in the manufacturing process.

Another research by Petersen et al., 2005, states that positive and strong relationships with suppliers strengthen an organization's decision-making capacity and improve financial efficiency (Kumar & Pothal, 2016). Regardless of the nature or type of the organization, the need for and importance of suppliers could not be ignored. Ford motors are facing huge problems because of its failure to manage its suppliers' expectations and align organizational goals with them. Supplier relationship has long been considered unbalanced, between a customer imposing his will, processes, deadlines, and a supplier having no other choice but to comply. It is reinforced when we know that 25% of business bankruptcies are due to late payments. However, between technological and legislative developments, the supplier relationship is more strategic than ever. Its quality has become much more than a formality: it is now a real competitive advantage (Rheolds, 2019).

Research supports the proposed solution for Ford Motors and motivate the company to gain success by establishing and managing relationships with suppliers. Research, case studies, and journals are analyzed that show different perceptions of the importance of supplier relationship and the contribution of suppliers in the overall success of an organization (Singh, 2019). However, available research is limited and provides limited empirical evidence regarding suppliers' relationship and their role in making a business successful.

Based on preliminary findings and research studies, technology plays a crucial role in establishing a positive relationship between suppliers and transforming business settings.

Directly or indirectly, suppliers are part of the organization and leave a direct impact on customers. Thus, to protect customer leads and to ensure customers remain loyal customers of the organization. Lambert and Cooper (2000) suggest that suppliers are part of every organization, and it is the organization's responsibility to maintain positive relations with suppliers and serve their needs. Research conducted by Lambert, Cooper, and Pagh (1998:1) and Lambert and Cooper (2000:65), argues "Supply chain is not a chain of the business relationship between one-to-one, business-to-business relationships, but a network of multiple businesses and relationships” (Wahyuni, 2010). Thus, the business should ensure that everyone participates in the supply chain, taking responsibility and avoiding complications.

Research says that modern supply chain management is a complex and challenging task because of the changing needs of modern enterprises (Kumar & Pothal, 2016). Oracle supply chain management is an advanced application of cloud-based business applications that unifies end-to end business structure helps to manage the changing needs of the enterprise's supply chain. To check the effectiveness of Oracle Supply Chain Management, a few research articles reviewed data shows us the importance of Oracle supply chain management to gain competitive advantage and maintain the difference in the developing and highly competitive industry. Research says that Oracle supply chain management improves a business's resilience and decision-making capacity and helps them move beyond limitations (Tan, Kannan, & Handfield, 2017).

Research also indicate that Oracle Supply Chain Management also helps in improving business operations, both internal and external. The business proposal states that a supplier database helps the company to save time and efficiency. With the 360 ° view of the supplier information, all the information users need is centralized in one place. No more hunting for documents disseminated in all departments of the company. A system that allows the company to anticipate certain failures or non-conformities linked to the orders reduces supplier risks. They save time and become more efficient (Kot, Haque, & Baloch, 2020).

Research indicate that the future of Oracle Supply Chain Management (SCM) will be growing and bring efficiency and productivity for Ford Motors. Viewing generally towards the benefits of Oracle SCM, it is a modern solution for all types of business that interacts with a large amount of data daily and aims to manage data with accuracy and respond to stakeholders actively.

Figure 2: Future Trends of Supply Chain

Senior Director Joe Dabat argues in favor of the Oracle Supply Chain in words; “Oracle Procurement Cloud enabled us to work more effectively with our suppliers in 100 different locations. The verified financial savings and cost avoidance achieved by our source-to-pay program includes cash cost savings of US$14 million. We project cash cost savings of US$40 million by the end of 2018" (Oracle, 2017). This shows that the advanced supply chain solution suggested for Ford Motors is a productive choice and will bring productivity and enable the organization to retain its revenue and profit stream that they lost in the previous years (Buxmann, Ahsen, Díaz, & Wolf, 2017).

Although the primary focus of the proposed solution is to enhance relationships with suppliers, the focus on the profit and revenue of the organization is also crucial to avoid challenges and limitations. There are innumerable benefits that Ford Motors will gain from the implementation of Oracle supply chain management procedures. Research indicates that the integration of Oracle supply chain management in a business setting will give an overall view of the information and helps to process all the operations, including invoicing and pricing, to optimize and streamline inventory levels of the organization (Oracle, 2017). Oracle order management unifies all the customers to enhance the efficiency, probability and optimize the overall service levels of the organization. Modern organizations understand that they cannot drive success and revenue streams without jeopardizing suppliers and customers; thus, the responsiveness towards the integration of Oracle supply management techniques is increasing. In the coming future, the demand will be higher. The supply chain focuses on having a strategic partnership with the suppliers and customers to support innovation and improve participation in overall growth. Integrating Oracle supply chain management and other innovative technologies into a cloud-based supply chain architecture helps to improve external and internal collaboration and connects organizations to manage demand (Oracle, 2017).

Analysis

The analysis of different companies with integrated modern supply chain solutions reveals that these solutions bring value to them directly or indirectly. The manager of Global Logistics argues, “Oracle Transportation Management Cloud allows us to optimize cost, service.

level, and the supply chain network to efficiently deliver the most trusted customer experience” (Oracle, 2017). Experiences like this shape perception that the proposed solution for Ford Motors is efficient and will bring expected outcomes in the coming future. Payment for the delivery of products to customers will be managed effectively with Oracle supply chain management solutions.

Research says that every element of the supply chain implies a direct or indirect impact on the overall business performance and its financial gains; thus, it is important to capture, analyze, assess, and report the real-time financial performance of the organization and integrated cloud-based Oracle solutions for finance professionals and motivate them to make better decisions regarding financial spending and transactions (Horvath, 2010). This means that resources should be used carefully and allocated optimally to avoid overconsumption or resource misuse. The analysis of the case and the situation of Ford motors in the proposal reveals that the company is lagging in revenue and profits in the last few years; thus, based on Oracle supply management solutions are crucial to address these challenges and recommend the company how it could get better control over its growth strategies.

Conclusion

To summarize, all the research analyzed throughout the paper helps look at the benefits of the proposed system and how these systems will collectively manage change. Ford Motors is an international company embracing innovation across the world for years. Still, recently, because of the failure to maintain positive relations with suppliers, the company has failed to maintain its image and position in the industry. This research indicates in the coming future, applications of Oracle supply chain management will increase, and regardless of the size and type of business, cloud-based solutions like oracle will become a need. Thus, implementing this solution will enable Ford Motors to redefine its supply chain and establish strong relations with suppliers to positively influence the image over the rest of the stakeholders. All these research papers, journals, and case studies will support the paper and talk about the effectiveness of the proposed solution. The literature, including empirical studies, enabled me to look at the diverse sides of the proposed solution and convinced me that it is an effective and productive solution for raising its standards.

References

Buxmann, P., Ahsen, A. v., Díaz, L. M., & Wolf, K. (2017). Usage and evaluation of Supply Chain Management Software – results of an empirical study in the European automotive industry. Willey Online Library, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2575.2004.00172.x.

Horvath, L. (2010). Collaboration: the key to value creation in supply chain management. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EUM0000000006039/full/html.

Kumar, A., & Pothal, L. (2016). Significance of Supplier Relationship Management towards Product Quality Development in Automobile Industries. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326058868_Significance_of_Supplier_Relationship_Management_towards_Product_Quality_Development_in_Automobile_Industries.

Oracle. (2017). Modern End-to-End Supply Chain. 2-15.

Rheolds. (2019). The importance of key supplier relationship management in supply chains. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 3-34.

Singh, N. (2019). Emerging technologies to support supply chain management. Communications of the ACM Volume 46Issue 9, 100-243.

Tan, K.-C., Kannan, V. R., & Handfield, R. B. (2017). Supply Chain Management: Supplier Performance and Firm Performance. International Journal of Purchasing & Materials Management, https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/manage_facpub/278/.

Wahyuni, D. (2010). The Importance of Supply Chain Management in Competitive Business: A Case Study on Woolworths. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228215291_The_Importance_of_Supply_Chain_Management_in_Competitive_Business_A_Case_Study_on_Woolworths.