Operations Management Report: Strategies for Tin Tin Furniture

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of operations management principles as applied to Tin Tin Furniture, a furniture manufacturer based in Mandalay, Australia. The report begins with an introduction to operations management and a summary of Tin Tin Furniture's business, including its mission, customer segments, and market position. It then assesses the need for Total Quality Management (TQM) within the organization, outlining the benefits of TQM such as cost reduction, customer satisfaction, and defect reduction. The report also explores the importance of sustainability in supply chain management, emphasizing its role in enhancing brand value, reducing operational costs, and improving financial positions. Furthermore, the report evaluates different approaches to supply chain management, focusing on which is most suitable for Tin Tin Furniture, and discusses the role and importance of Just-in-Time (JIT) in meeting customer needs. The analysis provides practical insights into how Tin Tin Furniture can optimize its operations to achieve its goals, including improving product quality and customer satisfaction.

OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Organisation summary.....................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
Assessment of need of total quality management (TQM) in the organisation.......................2
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................4
The importance of sustainability in the supply chain management of the organisation........4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
Evaluate the two approaches and which one will be the most suitable for the organisation. 7
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
Just-in-time plays an important role in fulfilling the needs of customers. Discuss this
statement in context with supply chain management for chosen company..........................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION

Operations management can be defined as the area of management that focuses on
developing and managing the production process in the organisation for effective and appropriate
goods and services. It is mainly concerned with transforming raw materials into finished
products and services with the objective of increasing the profitability for the organisation. It
involves proper use of resources from the workforce, raw materials, equipments and
technologies. The report is based on the Tin Tin Furniture, this organisation is located in
Mandalay, Australia. The report will consist the organisation summary, the ned of total quality
management(TQM), objectives of supply chain sustainability and its importance. Further, report
will describe the two approaches for supplying the products, just in time role and importance in
accordance with products quality will be explained in this report.
Organisation summary
The organisation in the report is Tin Tin Furniture which was established in the year 2009 and
has grown to be one of the leading manufacturer in the furniture business in the market of
Mandalay. The organisation has around 100 workers, 15 interior designers and 20 helping staff.
The company has three grand showrooms which are displaying the modernist designs
manufactured by the tin tin furnitures like clipboard furniture, stainless steel furniture, sofa sets,
etc. at diamond plaza, ocean super centre and Zay Cho plaza in Australia. The company
provides door to door services to their customers and also provide free of charge assembling
services of the product to homes, cafes, restaurants, offices, schools and hospitals. As, the
mission of Tin Tin Furnitures is to produce highly quality products and full of modernist designs
in nominal prices to increase the satisfaction level of the customers and to gain the competitive
advantage in the market. The furniture manufacturer three showrooms consists of three
departments that are management team, call centre and service units. Mr. Kyaw Aung and Mrs.
Mar Lar Win are the owners of Tin Tin Furniture. There are many furniture work shops in the
Mandalay. So, the focus of the furniture manufacturer lies on producing latest design furniture
with appropriate price. The customer segment for the company are the people who are
redesigning their homes, opening new offices. This the reason, Tin Tin receives cooperation
form the customers and stakeholders.

TASK 1
Assessment of need of total quality management (TQM) in the organisation
Quality is always considered as the important factor for the growth and success for any
organisation in the market whether the organisation is targeting a global market or local market
irrespectively (AlHussaini and Karkoulian, 2015). Quality has always been the nerve system for
operation in the business, however the approach to quality management has been evolved over
the last few decades in the market. Now in the current scenario the organisation are considering
the total quality management as proactive rather than the reactive process. Total quality
management (TQM) helps in defining the quality as an inherent part of an organization’s way of
doing things. TQM is defined as follows:
Total quality management can be defined as the continuous process which helps in
detecting and reducing the errors in the process of manufacturing, supply chain management,
improving the customer experience and also ensures in providing proper training to the
employees and their performances accordingly. It focuses on holding all the actions involved in
the manufacturing process accountable for the quality of the final products. Total quality
management is considered to be structured approach for the whole organisation management.
The main focus is to improve the quality of the product produced by the organisation with the
help of regular improvement in the internal practices. Tin Tin Furnitures should use the total
quality management approach as it will result in improving the quality of the produced furniture
and will help in increasing the satisfaction level of the customers. It also helps in putting special
emphasis on decision making which is required to be fact based, using performance monitoring
tools to evaluate the performance of the workforce, good communication channels are
encouraged in the organisation in maintaining workers involvement in the process (Boyd and
Dougherty 2016). This all will lead in effectively making the production process of Tin Tin
Furniture function in successful direction and it will eventually improve the quality of the
furniture produced by them. Tin Tin Furniture can successfully implement total quality
management by following eight key principles which are defined as follows:
 the company is required to focus on the needs and demands of the customers.
 The workforce of the company should be involved in the process to ensure the success of
the company.

 Proper strategies should be focused on the production process and to formulate the
required steps to follow them.
 The parts of the TQM process is required to be smoothly incorporated into a larger and
adhesive process.
 The quality management process should be organized strategically according to the
objectives and goals of Tin Tin Furniture.
 The company should construct the strategies with the aim of continuous improvement of
the products and services.
 Maintaining a effective communication channel within the organisation to execute the
functions in effective manner.
 Facts and data are essential for formulating decisions and implementing changes.
As, the organisation is the manufacturer of the furniture products the need of total quality
management can be explained with the help of the advantages which are as follows:
 Cost reduction: As, the business operations of the company is limited to a local market
of Australia, it is required to apply the approach of TQM because it helps in reducing
costs in the organisation operations (Buchade and Teli, 2017). The costs can be reduced
especially in the areas of scrap, rework, field service, etc. Since, these cost reduction
moves through the bottom line profits without any extra cost incurred will automatically
will increase the profitability for the Tin Tin Furniture.
 Customer Satisfaction: As, the company will provide the customers with appropriate
products and services and the interactions will be error free and fewer customer
complaints will eventually increase the satisfaction among the customers that will help in
capturing the large market share as the company will build strong image.
 Defect reduction: Total quality management focuses on improving the quality of the
product instead of inspecting quality into production process. It results in reducing the
time required in eradicating the errors and also helps in improving the employees
working efficiency (Franzetti, 2016).
 Morale: The ongoing process and success of the total quality management and the
participation of the workforce in the company success will lead in encouraging the
morale of the employees that will result in reducing the employee turnover rate and
eventually will eradicate the cost of recruiting new employees.

 Consistent products and increased efficiency: TQM helps in improving the quality of
the finished products which will increase their reliability, durability and performance of
the products. It also helps in building a strong image of the company in the market and
helps in gaining the competitive advantage among its competitors.
By this analysis it can be said that the Tin Tin Furniture can use the total quality management
approach in its operation management and it will help in improving the business activities of the
company.
TASK 2
The importance of sustainability in the supply chain management of the organisation
Importance of sustainability is growing at a very faster pace everywhere from local
business organisations to the large multinational organisation. As, most of the organisations
identify supply chain management as one of the difficult aspect in the organisation to make it
sustainable but it is also considered as the most important aspect for successful functioning of the
organisation. It has increased largely due to the impact that a sustainable supply chain focuses on
overall well being of the society and the environment (Ivanovic and Mirkovic, 2019). It also
leads in providing advantages like it increase the brand value of the organisation as it takes care
of the environment and the customer is concerned with it. Supply chain management is the
process that manages the flow of goods and services and include all the procedure that transform
raw materials into the finished products. It basically involves the active contour of the business
product supplies to increase the customer value and that will help in gaining competitive
advantage in the market.
Supply chain sustainability is a business issue that is affecting the supply chain of an
organisation in terms of environmental, risks and water costs. Sustainability in the supply chain
is increasing as it is seen to be the high level executives as essential to render the profitability
and has successfully replaced the monetary cost, value and speed as the controlling topic of
discourse among purchasing and supply professionals (Mullin and et. al., 2015).
Importance of supply chain management is considered to be a very integral part for any
organisation and is essential for the Tin Tin Furniture success and for satisfying the customers.
The importance are as follows:

 boost customer service: It helps in delivering the appropriate product assortment and
proper quantity to be supplied to the customers. It also helps in delivering the required
product at the right place, provides suitable service after the product is delivered as,
proper after sale service increase the satisfaction level of the customers.
 Reduce operation cost: the retailers of Tin Tin Furniture rely on the supply chain
management to deliver the expensive products to avoid the storing of costly inventories
in the stores for a longer period of time and it helps in decreasing the purchasing cost. It
also assists in decreasing the production cost in the company as, the manufacturer
depends on the supply chains to properly deliver the raw materials effectively to process
the production function efficiently (Musalem and et. al., 2017). The total supply chain
cost is also decreased as the manufacturer and the retailer depends on the supply chain
management to design the whole network that will meet the needs of the customers and
to achieve the objectives of the company at the least total cost.
 Improves the financial position: Sustainability in the supply chain management helps in
increasing the profit leverage as it helps in controlling and reducing the supply chain cost.
It also decreases the fixed assets for the company like plants, warehouses and
transportation for supply chain. The financial position is also improved as the supply
chain management helps in speeding up the product low among the customers that
increases the cash flow effectively for the Tin Tin Furniture.
The sustainability in the supply chain for the company is important because it helps in adopting
the social responsible policies and also covers the areas in which sustainability falls under and
these issues are as follows:
Human rights: the sustainability in the supply chain management will help the company
in maintaining and empowering the the people with their basic rights. The problems faced by the
company in concern with the human rights in the supply chain management are related with the
issues of gender and race equality. So, to develop the sustainability properly they are required to
overcome these issue for effective functioning in the market (Nayak, 2015).
Fair labour practices: the issue is related due to the supply chain management is exposed
for providing poor working conditions for the workers, wages below the minimum level and the
lengthy working hours. These issues should be taken care by the Tin Tin Furniture and are

required to adopt the measure for controlling these unwanted labour practices for proceeding the
organisation functions properly.
The four supporting facets of the sustainability are considered to be risk management,
transparency, strategy and organisational culture they all lead in bringing effective sustainability
in the organisation.
 Risk management: It refers to the company's management of short term financial
outputs within the risk factors that involves the harm that is occurring due the product
and negative externalities like environmental wastage and safety of workers and public
safety.
Sustainable development is required to incorporate the notion of security and protection to
prevent the harms like biodiversity loss, climate change, scarcity of the freshwater, food
insecurity and population growth.
 Transparency: It includes the evidence of the organisation sensitivity towards the
economic, social and environmental issues. This extends awareness in concern with
reporting to and also engage the stakeholders effectively. The transparency helps the
company to maintain the corporate culture and sustainability in the management (Pandit
and et. al., 2016).
 Strategy and corporate culture: The Tin Tin Furniture requires leadership, culture and
people at the time of developing sustainability strategies. The corporate sustainability
performance is the method that involves all the strategies and policies opted by the
company with the sole objective of improving the relations with the society and
environment.

(Source: Sustainable Supply Chain Management, 2019)
TASK 3
Evaluate the two approaches and which one will be the most suitable for the organisation
The two approaches which Tin Tin Furniture can use for the supply process are in house
supply and outsourced supply. The approach that will be suitable for the company is described as
follows:
In house supply
The in house supply refers to the activity that is performed within the organisation instead
of relying on the outsourcing supply. The In house activity is performed with the help of assets
and workforce of the organisation to execute the required task (Pedersen, Boeing Co, 2016). This
approach helps the company in maintaining the resources strongly within the organisation itself
and helps in building great knowledge towards the business operations.
Advantages
Illustration 1: Sustainable Supply Chain Management

 Increase quality control: This approach helps in improving the quality control over the
execution of the business operations as all the involved persons are related with the
organisation so, they will work with more efficiency.
 Cost savings: Managing the supply chain with the In house approach leads in having
better control and visibility onto the cost incurred in the business operations and helps in
reducing the costs effectively for the company.
Disadvantage
 Lack of expertise: In house approach faces problems related to the lack of expertise in
particular fields, which causes accomplishment of task ineffectively.
 Incur extra cost: It involves huge cost in hiring the experts for the execution of the
process to function properly.
The In house activity is considered as the best option for the organisation that have reached the
point of managing their activities on their own effectively and has a large range of business
operations.
Outsourced supply
The outsourced supply approach is the activity which is performed by the organisation by
hiring the support staff form the other sources to execute the business operations of the company.
Once the company has outsourced a task to these service providers, it is the responsibility of the
outsourcing team to manage and carry out that task successfully for the company (Plesser and et.
al., 2014). This approach is mainly considered by the small scale organisation and the
organisation which are on the early stage of the their business and don't have sufficient resources
or infrastructure to perform these activities own their own. To evaluate this approach there is a
requirement to analyse the advantage and disadvantages which are as follows:
Advantages
 swiftness and expertise: It provides better execution of the task for the company as it is
consist of expertise knowledge of the required specific field. The outsourced vendors
have their own specific equipments and technical support that helps the organisation in
achieving their objectives in time and with effective outputs.
 Concentrates on core process instead of supporting ones: It helps in giving core
strength to the organisation in building their business process effectively by providing aid
in supporting their other business processes in proper manner.

 Risk sharing: One of the most important factor that determines the result of a campaign
is risk analysis. Outsourced supply approach used by the organisation shifts the
responsibilities of the certain components on the outsourced vendors and as they have
specialised persons they manage the risk effectively that provides benefit to the company.
 Reduced operational and recruitment costs: This approach helps in eradicating the
cost that is involved in hiring the individuals for the in house approach. This is one of the
crucial advantage for the small and local organisations as reducing operation cost will
result very profitable for them (Reeder, 2016).
Disadvantage
 Risk of leaking confidential information: When an organisation decides to hire the
outsources for its business operations they are open with the risk in they are going in to of
loosing their confidential data into the market. Majorly this risk is linked with the
outsourcing services in HR, finance or payroll operations of a company.
 Hidden cost: As, outsourcing is cost effective for the organisations sometimes it includes
some hidden costs that is mentioned in the contract and when the supply is to be
delivered across the boundaries. This is the disadvantage for the organisations who cary
their business functions across the boundaries and not for the local and small
organisations.
 Synchronizing the deliverables: If the outsourcing partner of an organisation is not right
it can result in occurring major issues for the company which can be extending the
delivery time frame of the products, sub- standard quality output, not fulfilling the
responsibilities in appropriate manner. Due to this disadvantage sometimes it is
considered to use the In house approach instead of outsourcing (Kolesnik and Asayag,
2016).
 Lack of customer focus: The outsourcing vendor may be handling the same business
operations of the different organisation at same period of time that may lead them to lack
complete focus on the execution of the task of particular organisation (Yadav and Kumar,
2015).
After evaluating both the approaches it can be said that outsourcing approach will be suitable for
the Tin Tin Furnitures to carry out their business operations in more effective manner and it will

suit the organisation as well. This approach will help in distributing the organisation products
with full care and measure in the market and will provide required services to the customers.
TASK 4
Just-in-time plays an important role in fulfilling the needs of customers. Discuss this statement in
context with supply chain management for chosen company
Just-in-time approach: JIT is an inventory management method in which material,
goods and labour are scheduled or re-filled at the time of manufacturing and production process.
This concept is used by manufacturing companies to meet the demands and needs of consumers
without causing any delays. In this process, entire focus is on systems, plants and people. Main
purpose of this process is to acknowledge and eliminate the issues that takes place during
production process (Sabri, Mohammed, and Issa, 2017). Hidden obstacles and problems are
easily identified by this operational approach, this is the reason it will benefits Tin Tin furniture
in improving their manufacturing and production process. JIT will help the company in reducing
the use of excessive inventory and manage time properly. This is because if some part during
production is defective then then time taken will be more but this process will eliminate those
defects from basic level due to which time required to complete manufacturing processes will be
less. For this, operational manager in Tin Tin furniture have to invest more in preventive
maintenance, change break down parts and initiate new production process. Main objective of
adopting JIT will be to enhance inventory turnover and reduce all the connected cost and
expenses. It will eliminate the need for carrying out voluminous inventories and high costs of
investment. To attain the benefits of Just-in-time system appropriate synchronisation is required
between production cycle and distribution channel. Benefits of Just-in-time approach to Tin Tin
furniture are specified below:
 Better product quality: This operational approach assistss in removing waste and
eliminating expired or out of date products due to which production process of the
organisation will improve. If defects will be removed on a timely basis, desired products
can be produced without any barriers. Hence, it will assistss in producing better quality
products which will be capable to cater the needs and requirements of customers in a
desired manner.