Discussion reply

Help me study for my class. I’m stuck and don’t understand.

Hi there i need to reply to a 2 discussion respond minimum 100 word per respon:
First respond:

Describe in your own words the characteristics of a Resilient Supply Chain.

– A company that has a resilient supply chain has essentially increased redundancy, building flexibility, and has ever changing corporate culture. With increased redundancy you have less of a chance for things to go wrong and more of a chance for things to go right. With an increase in redundancy you typically have much more room to move around in when introducing a failure. If a machine breaks and you have many versions of extra parts your chances of getting it back up and running in a timely manner increase almost exponentially. Building flexibility is another important aspect as deviations can occur throughout the manufacturing process. If something needs quick changing on the fly you have ample flexibility to allow this change without hindering other processes along the way. Ever changing corporate culture ensures a stagnation doesn’t occur in the workplace. If things are changed every once in a while things become less likely to deviate from current processes. A human element is always in effect when in supply chain and if the workers themselves aren’t particularly happy with their position issues can arise.

List and describe two conditions or issues discussed in the article that decreased the resilience of supply chains in the Health Care industry.

– The first condition listed in the article that decreased resilience of supply chains in the Health Care industry was the fact that the N95 masks were outsourced to China where they were dealing with the same outbreak as us in the U.S. If we took matters into our own hands and produced them here we may not have had the same issues. Masks wouldn’t need to be reused as there would be ample amounts for hospital use. The second condition was the fact that the first condition was made known to upper government levels and promptly ignored. Mike Bowen, a manufacturer in North Richland Hills sent letters warning of the problem to both President Obama and Trump in 2010 and 2017 respectively. In addition to this he wrote letters to people ranging from the defense secretary to officials at the centers for disease control.

Describe one action you would take to address each condition or issue you identified in b) above and during which phase of capacity planning you would implement these actions.

– To address the issue of outsourcing the solution would be to set up a domestic production schedule to produce the masks on top of receiving them for outsources locations. If we had our own supply to match the supply we received from out of the country we more than likely would have had more than enough to go around for hospitals and other medical industry professions. The phase in which this decision should be implemented is in the strategy phase. As it will allow for the most time to plan out the building space as well as the proper amount needed to be produced. The second condition was the fact that our issue of supply was known if something occurred yet nothing was done to rectify it by those in positions to do so. If our upper leadership had listened to the worries of Mike Bowen specifically we wouldn’t be having the supply crisis we see today. This is another condition that should be implemented in the strategy phase, as it allows for everyone involved to get the bigger picture to move forward with production. We didn’t necessarily have the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 to stir the pot in previous years but now that we do its important that we think about moving mask production to a more domesticated area.

Second respond:

The resilience of a supply chain refers to its ability to be ready for uncertainties or risks, recover and respond quickly to any cause of disruption that may affect the efficient supply of goods and services to increase market share, customer service, and financial performance. In the era of Covid-19, the N95, some companies that supply personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, and coats were not well prepared, which led to some delay in supplying these essentials. Therefore, companies should know the market trends and know which items are likely to have a high market sale. One of the characteristics of a resilient supply chain is forecasting (Kaur, & Singh, 2019). Any procurement firm should ensure that it forecasts the market trends and study the services or goods that may be in high demand in the future so that it stocks them in good time. Sourcing and supplier relationship is another characteristic of a resilient supply chain. Having a good relationship with the supplier makes it easy to procure goods once an opportunity arises since it makes one have a good and trustable source of obtaining the required goods or services. Market awareness is another feature of a resilient supply chain. It enables the supplier to remain informed about the market trends and, thus, make informed decisions on the type of services to offer to the customers. In the era on Covid-19, most companies that supplied personal protective equipment were not informed of the market demand, which led to a slower supply of protective equipment than necessary.
One condition that decreased the resilience of supply chains in the Health Care industry amid Covid-19 is the lack of preparedness among the companies that distributed the personal protective equipment. Most of the equipment sold to protect health workers and the public from contracting the virus was in low supply relative to the amount of demand. Thus, it is evident that the companies such as the firm that supplied the N95 masks lacked awareness of this crucial equipment. Also, the company lacked a good source to obtain the equipment so that the two distributors could agree later on the prices and other aspects. This led to a slow distribution of the equipment, and other companies made more sales than the N95 because they responded quickly to the crisis. Another factor that decreased the resilience of the supply chain is the lack of good production methods. Upon realizing that the personal protective equipment was needed in high demand, most of the companies did not have good production techniques so that they can respond to the crisis in the shortest way possible. However, the lack of a good method of production decreased the resilience of the supply chain in the healthcare industry.
I would address the issue of poor production methods in the supply chain by having modern technology machines to ensure that the required equipment is produced within the shortest time when it is needed. I would also implement this during the first phase of capacity planning to ensure that I attend to any issue that may help with urgency. I would address the issue of lack of preparedness by producing large amounts of masks, gloves, and other required protective equipment since they do not expire. I would then ensure that I take all the required materials to the store and keep them safe in case of any emergency that may happen. I would implement this action in the first phase of capacity training.