Managing strategic resources and operations

1Managing strategic resources
Running head: MANAGING STRATEGIC RESOURCES
Managing strategic resources and operations
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
First: Company overview................................................................................................................3
Second: Supply chain/logistics management from the source to customer.....................................4
Third: Linkages between the TATA steel activities and theories....................................................5
Fourth: Sustainability throughout the value chain...........................................................................7
Conclusions......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The increasing competitive pressures across the global market place enforced
organizations to respond to the environmental changes with a variety of business strategies,
flexible supply chains and at the same time building supply and value networks. The supply
chain networks enable interactions among multiple firms located in different places or even
countries. It allows product development, information flow and inventory management
(Bhatnagar & Teo, 2009).
There is an increasing interest in extending the organizations' benefits beyond the
revenues and profit increase through creating value and sustainable competitive advantage. On
their way to success, organizations should consider sustainability issues and reducing their social
and environmental negative impact. Supply chains are responsible for the external impact of
organizations (Fearne, Martinez, & Dent, 2012).
The following section analyses TATA Steel supply chain and logistics management,
linkages between the TATA steel activities and theories and sustainability throughout the value
chain.
First: Company overview
TATA Steel Ltd. started its operation in 1907, today it is the 11th largest company
worldwide in finished steel production. It operates in 26 countries and does business in more
than 50 countries. The company value chain ranges from mining to finished steel products. The
company founder places an equal emphasis on value creation and corporate citizenship. The
company vision is to become the global benchmark for value creation and corporate citizenship
in the steel industry. Its mission is to strengthen the industrial base in India through effectively

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using materials, staff and high technology. The company seeks excellence and value creation
across all of its activities (TATA Steel LTD., 2015-2016).
Second: Supply chain/logistics management from the source to customer
Today organization mainly seek to integrate their business activities to be able to create
value to their stakeholders. Integration of strategic planning, financial systems and human
resources enables organizations to identify their resources and manage them effectively and
efficiently in order to achieve their goals (Sergio, 2011). The changing environment requires
organizations to align their strategies according to the changing aspects (Jordan 2013).
Value creation is a core management concept that should be involved in all of the
organizational activities. It starts with innovations in the supply chain, spans the whole
organization and creates value to customers (Ritala & Tidstrom 2014).
TATA Steel integrated activities start from mining for the raw materials, including iron,
fluxes and coking coal. The company has multiple production units some of them are core, like
the handling plants and structural mills and some of them are supportive, like a power plant and
steel melt shop (Acharyulu, Subbaiah & Rao 2015).
TATA value creation starts with the transformation of raw materials into final products
that could be customized according to customer needs. The value creation process starts with
mining and downstream processing. Then, inputs from various capital sources are attracted,
followed by innovation in product development to enhance the supply chain effectiveness,
reduce cost and respond to the environmental changes. TATA Steel uses advanced technology in
its operations to enhance resources efficiency and increase the utilization of waste. TATA Steel
strategy focuses on taking a global leading position through cost-effectiveness and operational