Business Operations (3) Flashcards
(21 cards)
Why is it important to have a dependable supply chain?
All the members of the supply chain need to be dependable. If any are unreliable, the product won’t be ready when it needs to be, or the quality will be poor which will reflect badly on the company selling it
What different factors are important when choosing a supplier?
(3 factors)
- Price- the total cost of getting the product
- Quality
- Reliability
What does Procurement mean?
Procurement means finding and buying things that a firm needs from suppliers outside of the firm
What does Logistics mean?
Logistics means getting goods or services from one part of the supply chain to another
If companies manage their supply chain effectively, what benefits does it bring?
- Good relationship with suppliers
- Finding the best price and value
- Reducing waste and unnecessary costs
What are the 4 methods of production?
- Job production
- Flow production
- Lean production
- Just-in-time production (JIT)
What is Job Production?
Each product has a unique design based on the customers specification
What is a benefit of Job Production?
They’re very high quality
What is a disadvantage of Job Production?
They’re usually expensive and take a long time to make
What is Flow Production?
Flow Production is making lots of things continuously. They all have to be the same and they aim to gain from economies of scale and so have a low unit cost
What is Lean Production?
A production strategy that aims to use as few resources as possible and to have as little waste as possible
What is Just-in-time Production (JIT)?
JIT Production is a form of lean production. It aims to keep stock levels to the bare minimum. Raw materials come in when they need them, and come out just in time to be sold
What are two ways of managing stock?
- Just-in-time (JIT) Ordering stock in time for production
- Just-in-case (JIC) Ordering more stock in case there is a
supply shortage or customer demand increases
unexpectedly
What are the Benefits of maintaining quality?
3 Benefits
- Higher Price- customers will be more likely to pay a
higher price for a better quality product - Increased sales- When customers are pleased with the
quality a business provides, they’re likely to buy it again - Better reputation and image- Businesses that provide
higher quality products are likely to have a better
reputation
What are the Costs of maintaining quality?
2 Costs
- Staff Training- Staff need to be able to do their job
properly to achieve high quality - Inspection- Products need to be inspected to check
quality is good enough. This process costs both time and
money
What are the 3 different stages of the production process?
Stage 1: Checking raw materials from suppliers
Stage 2: Random samples taken to check quality of work
in progress
Stage 3: Random samples taken of finished products with
items being removed if they don’t meet required
quality
What does Total Management Quality do?
The TQM strategy aims to make quality the responsibility of every employee in a firm, in order to make sure that quality remains consistent
What is a downside of TQM?
It takes a long time to introduce. Workers need training so that they see quality as their responsibility- they may get demotivatedWat
What are some ways of showing good customer service?
3 ways
- Having excellent product knowledge
- Engaging well with the customer
- Offering post-sales services (being available for the
customer after the sale)
What are the benefits of good customer service?
3 benefits
- High levels of customer satisfaction
- Satisfied customers are more likely to remain loyal
- Customers may be persuaded to spend more in the
future
What are the disadvantages of poor customer service?
2 disadvantages
- Higher levels of customer dissatisfaction
- People will tell others about the poor customer service
they have received and they could get a bad reputation
