Operations Management

This document discusses the layout of the production facility, supply management and logistics issues, quality issues, production capacity issues, and more in the context of operations management. It also highlights the challenges faced by Wild Harvest Care, a company that manufactures beauty products.

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 1
Operations Management
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Table of Content
1. The layout of the production facility to produce the product……………….…………….4
a. Sourcing raw materials……………………………………………….………………4
b. Mixing the raw materials……………………………………………………………..4
c. Mixing in different temperatures……………………………………………………..5
d. Mixing of the final product…………………………………….…….……………….5
2. Supply management and logistics issues……………………………………….………….6
3. Quality issues on the organization…………………………………………………………8
4. Production capacity issues throughout the supply chain……………………….…………..9
5. Inventory management issues throughout the supply chain………………………………10
6. Supply chain information system issues and supply/value chain……………...………….11
7. Potential impacts of disruptive changes…………………………………………..………12
8. Changes with justification to the original design in part A:………………………..……..13
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...……15
References……………………………………………………………………………..……..16

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Executive Summary
Wild Harvest Care is an organization that manufactures beauty products that also take care of the
health of a human’s skin. The company has one of the simplest production layouts, and this is
because of the products that it manufactures. Customs duty and laws restrict movements of
goods from one point to another and they have affected the supply chain of the company. The
company is also facing an issue in managing its inventory because of the lack of efficient
personnel. The lack of quality of raw materials is also one of the issues that are affecting the
quality of its products. The increased demand for the products of the company has affected the
capacity of the company to handle all operations. The inefficiency that is present among the IT
staff members has led to data theft and inefficient communication. However, the company is
exposed to technological opportunities for growth. To meet the rising demand in India, the
company has established a different distribution chain that will take care of the Indian market.

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1. The layout of the production facility to produce the product
The production layout of Wild Harvest Care has four different stages or phases that are
essential to the products of the company. It is imperative to note that the types of activities that
an organization engages in have effects on the layout of production (Chen, Preston, & Swink,
2015). In some organizations, the assembly of already processed and manufactured products is
involved in the production process. However, in the case of Wild Harvest Care, the organization
manufactures its products from scratch and, that means that it sources the raw materials and adds
value to them until they reach to the last stage which is finished product. The following are the
steps that are involved in the production processes at Wild Harvest Care;
a. Sourcing raw materials
The company is involved in the manufacturing of beauty products as well as skin care
products. The company has concentrated on the manufacturing of products where the raw
materials are organic (Durach, Kembro, & Wieland, 2017). Therefore, suppliers play an essential
role in making the company a success. The main source of the raw materials of the company is
Central Asia. The first stage entails the importation process where the company makes sure that
it has all raw materials that are needed to promote an effective production process (Mangan,
Lalwani, & Lalwani, 2016). The raw materials are imported in the form of seeds, herbs, and
plants. Some of the crops are provided to the company so that they can initiate the process of
extracting essential crop oils that are used in the manufacturing of the products.
b. Mixing the raw materials
The second step is comprised of processes of mixing the raw materials. In this stage, there is
specialization when it comes to the mixing of the raw materials. The only raw materials that are

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mixed in this phase are water soluble ingredients (Ho, Zheng, Yildiz, & Talluri, 2015). Some of
the ingredients that are not mixed in this stage are mixed in the next stage.
c. Mixing in different temperatures
The results of both stage one and two are mixed in stage three. In this case, all ingredients
that are essential to the production of the products of the company are mixed. The difference
between step three and step 2 is that in step two, only water-soluble ingredients were focused on.
However, in step three, all ingredients that are necessary are brought into the picture (Wieland,
Handfield, & Durach, 2016). The process is also different because, at this stage, temperatures are
essential, and this is because different ingredients are affected by temperatures in different ways.
Considering that this is the first phase of mixing all ingredients at once, the process of production
does not end here.
d. Mixing of the final product
The final stage makes sure that the customers have been presented with a product that meets
their needs. It is at this stage where the final mixing takes place. Preservatives, flavors, and
colors are added in this phase. The uniqueness of this stage is that it is the one that is responsible
for releasing the products to the market (Heizer, Render, Munson, & Sachan, 2017). However, it
is still a delicate stage, and this is because if any mistake takes place at this stage, the quality of
the products might be compromised and that is not good for the image and reputation of the
company.

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Figure 1. Production of cosmetic at Wild Harvest
(Source: Author0
2. Supply management and logistics issues
The supply chain of an organization is essential because it is the one that makes sure that a
company gets money for its hard work. Logistics in an organization play an essential role of
promoting the movement of goods to and from the company (Ross, 2016). They also help a
company in the process of acquiring the raw materials and also in the process of transporting the
finished products to the customers. Therefore, it means that if there is an issue in the supply
chain, the company that is affected is likely to be in trouble (Genovese, Acquaye, Figueroa, &
Seeds imported from
Central Asia, herbs and
other herbal products
are dispersed in organic
oil derived from plants
Step 1
Water soluble
ingredients like
stabilisers are mixed
Step 2
The work in progress
products obtained in
the two phases are
mixed at specific
temperature
Step 3
Further mixing till the
mixture in homogenous

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Koh, 2017). Wild Harvest Care is an organization that has a long supply chain, and this is
because it sources its raw materials, adds value to them, and then distributes the final products to
the customers. The company has different issues that are related to its supply chain (Tatoglu et
al. 2016). The two common issues are custom duties and changing laws. It is essential to note
that the company does not only deal with local customers and suppliers, but it also deals with
international partners (Simpson & Power, 2016). The movement of raw materials and finished
products across the borders affects the supply chain of a company.
Customs duty is the tax that people are charged when they import and export goods. In the
case of Wild Harvest Care, the customs duty affects the company in two different ways.
Manufacturing healthy skin care products requires special natural ingredients and some of the
ingredients are only available in specific parts of the world (Fahimnia, Sarkis, & Davarzani,
2015). As a result, the company has been given no other choice than to make sure that the
products are sourced from an area that is better known for its quality raw materials. The raw
materials of the company come from Central Asia, and that means that as soon as they reach the
country, the tax must be charged (Schoenherr & Speier‐Pero, 2015). When the custom duty is
increased, the company is faced with challenges because sometimes increasing the prices can be
a challenge and can push customers away.
The company also sells its products to customers in different nations. Therefore, it means that
the products of the company have to go through the borders of the country. When a company
exports its products to another country, it has an obligation to pay customs duty. When such
happens, the cost of the supply chain is affected, and that has an impact on the overall finances of
the company (Chin, Tat, & Sulaiman, 2015). When a company manufactures products, there are
costs that the company is likely to incur. When the costs are added in the process of sourcing raw

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materials and exporting the finished products, the company suffers, and that is what is affecting
Wild Harvest Care.
In every industry, there are laws that govern the activities of the stakeholders. The laws affect
the operations of a company because a company must adhere to rules and regulations that have
been put in place by the authorities. When the laws change on the processes that should take
place during value addition, an organization is given no other choice than to change its
operations (Giannakis & Papadopoulos, 2016). At times, the laws might be specific on the ways
to transport products from one location to another. When it comes to cases of licenses, the law
may need an organization to comply with specific guidelines that add costs, and that comes to
affect the supply chain of the company.
3. Quality issues on the organization
Wild Harvest Care is facing the issue of quality raw materials. The quality of an
organization’s products is dictated by different factors. Some of the times, an organization can be
affected by its operations or management. However, at times, the suppliers let an organization
down. In the case of Wild Harvest Care, the issues of quality have been affected by the suppliers
of the raw materials (Chin et al. 2015). An organization that uses natural raw materials is, in
most cases affected by the quality if there is a scarcity of the specific materials. Some of the raw
materials that reach Wild Harvest Care do not meet the exact quality needs of the company. In
this case, it is essential to note that most of the herbs and seeds are difficult to source from any
other nation (Christopher, 2016). Therefore, at times, the company is given no other choice than
to stick with the suppliers. The raw materials that are used to manufacture the products of the
company end up producing products that are of lesser quality while compared to the expectations
of the company.

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4. Production capacity issues throughout the supply chain
The capacity issue that is present at Wild Harvest Care is associated with the finished
products. An organization that is involved in all processes of manufacturing has the
responsibility to make sure that it can handle every product that is needed in manufacturing
(Ross, 2016). After the manufacturing process, it becomes paramount for an organization to have
enough space or room to store its products so that it can later deliver then products to the
customers. The production capacity issue at the company is associated with the fact that there is
not enough space to store the products as they wait to be transported to the respective customers
(Fredendall & Hill, 2016). Different reasons have led to the production capacity issue.
The first reason is associated with the production rate at the company. Wild Harvest Care
is an organization that is ever busy, and this is because of the demand for its products. At the
same time, it has huge traffic when it comes to its supply chain. In this respect, it means that the
products of the company are always flowing (Cooper, 2017). The reason behind it is because the
company is always producing and sometimes the goods are not shipped immediately after they
go through the last process of manufacturing (Zhong, Newman, Huang, & Lan, 2016). Having
space or room in a place where the products can be stored before being transported to the
customers is an issue that has been facing Wild Harvest Care.
The second reason is associated with the demand for the products of the company. The
company is currently selling to different countries all over the world, and that means that the
units that are needed in the market are increasing. When the demand increases, the
manufacturing processes are affected (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero, & Patterson, 2015). For
example, if the company was using two machines and ten employees, when the demand
increases, the company must increase the number of machines and the number of employees.

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Wild Harvest Care is going through a similar problem, and that has left it in a position where it
might fail to meet the demand in the market.
Production capacity can also be affected by the availability of raw materials. When an
organization has reliable sources of raw materials, it has the capacity to manufacture products in
line with the demand of the products in the market. The reason why this relationship exists is that
the raw materials dictate the units that an organization can manufacture in a given period. When
the raw materials are available in plenty, an organization has the ability to meet the needs of the
customers (Teixeira, Jabbour, de Sousa Jabbour, Latan, & De Oliveira, 2016). Wild Harvest Care
has been facing the problem of sourcing high-quality raw materials. The company believes in the
manufacturing of nothing less than quality products. Therefore, because it is afraid of letting the
customers down, the company has reduced amount of raw materials it imports until it finds a
long lasting solution. The company has been left with scarce raw materials, and that means that it
is not able to meet the demand of the products in the market due to capacity issues that have been
motivated by the lack of enough raw materials.
5. Inventory management issues throughout the supply chain
Wild Harvest Care is facing two different issues that are related to its inventory, and they
are lack of efficiency and a large amount of wastage. Inventory management is one of the
sensitive areas to manage, and this is because the effects that might come along if a mistake is
made. The company is currently facing issues in its inventory management (Kshetri, 2018).
There are different issues that lie under efficiency, and these are the issues that the company is
suffering from. The first issue is the lack of effective methods that promote efficiency in
inventory management (Quarshie, Salmi, & Leuschner, 2016). It is essential to note that there are
different methods of managing inventory, and each method has its strengths and weaknesses.

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Lack of skills and experience among some of the people entrusted with the inventory
management processes is another issue that is affecting the efficiency of inventory management
at Wild Harvest Care. Inventory management requires expertise and skills like any other
management process. The company faces the challenge of not having people in place who are
well equipped with the knowledge and experience of managing the inventory of the company
(Hugos, 2018). When there are no qualified people in place, the management of the inventory
can be a problem, and this is because there are no people who can guide others and tell them the
best way to conduct the operations when it comes to inventory.
Increased waste in the supply chain and inventory as well is another issue that the
company is facing. In relation to the lack of essential skills to manage the inventory, wastage can
be promoted. It is imperative to note and understand some of the effects of poor inventory
management (Kozlenkova, Hult, Lund, Mena, & Kekec, 2015). In managing the inventory, there
are different ways to minimize waste. For example, there is the rule of first-in first-out. In this
case, it means that the product that came first should leave the storage first. When this rule is
ignored, it affects the life of the products that are in place. The products that were stored first are
likely to have a shorter shelf life. Therefore, when they are ignored, they end up expiring
(Stadtler, 2015). The problem gets to this point because there is no good management of the
inventory of the company. Wastage can be promoted when it gets to the case where some
products are left to stay in the stores for a long time without being used. At the time of
realization, the goods might have already gone bad, and since the company deals with fresh
products, using such raw materials or selling such products is uncalled for.
6. Supply chain information system issues and supply/value chain

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Organizations have advanced with technology, and information is no longer stored in
hard copies. The introduction of systems that store the information of organizations has taken
place, and it has taken efficiency to a higher and better height. However, Wild Harvest Care is
facing a problem when it comes to information systems. Without improved efficiency, an
organization might start realizing delays in the process of communicating. At the same time,
there might be the issue of altered messages and sometimes the loss of messages that are
essential to the operations of the company (Stadtler, 2015). Wild Harvest Care is going through
an efficiency issue because it has no capable IT specialists in the company. The work of IT
professionals is to make sure that the efficiency of the systems is taken to a higher and better
level. Due to the incompetence of the IT department, Wild Harvest Care has been going through
an issue of delayed communication.
Date theft is also another issue that the company is going through. The information of a
company is valuable, and when exposed to the competitors, it can be used against the
organization. When an organization has IT specialists who do not have the skills to promote
efficiency, it exposes its systems to vulnerability (Stadtler, 2015). Due to high vulnerability rates
for lack of specialists, data theft has been present at the company, and that has affected the
company negatively. The systems have, therefore, becomes unreliable.
7. Potential impacts of disruptive changes
Technology has affected the global supply chain by a significant percentage. The possible
impacts that are likely to affect the company are the use of online platforms to order goods, the
use of third-party distributors, the use of drones for delivery, the use of robots in organizations,
and the economy (Kache & Seuring, 2017). Organizations are marketing their products online
and later selling them. The use of robots in manufacturing organizations is likely to take shape in

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future, and that means that all organizations might shape up or be shaped out (Wang,
Gunasekaran, Ngai, & Papadopoulos, 2016). Test on delivering products with drones have been
going on, and that means that the method might be the next strategy in delivering products. Such
changes come to affect Wild Harvest Care, and it will be forced to change in the future if it will
be interested in being on the same level as the competitors (Laari, Töyli, Solakivi, & Ojala,
2016). However, if the company will shift and embrace all the potential challenges, it will
increase the efficiency of its supply chain, and at the same time, it will integrate the functions of
the supply chain, and that will have a significant effect on the company.
8. Changes with justification to the original design in part A:
The company has an implementation of different changes, and they are aimed at making
the company efficient. The first change that has been implemented is the addition of a separate
distribution chain (Ayers & Odegaard, 2017). The company has realized that it has a big market
in India, and therefore, it was essential to have more concentration on the market. As shown
below, the change that has been implemented will come with a lot of effects because the
distribution chain will also take care of the region and not India alone.

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Suppliers of
Category An
inventory from
Central Africa
Suppliers of
Category An
inventory from
France
Suppliers of Category
An inventory from
South America
Suppliers of Category An
inventory from Australia
and Papua New Guinea
Suppliers of Category B
inventory from Central
Africa
Suppliers of Category B
inventory from France
Suppliers of Category B
inventory from South
America
Suppliers of Category B
inventory from Australia
and Papua New Guinea
Suppliers of category C
inventory
Suppliers of category C
inventory
Wild Harvest Skin
Marketing and sales department
Australia distribution
chain
New Zealand
distribution chain
China distribution
chain
South East Asia
distribution chain
Europe/UK
distribution chain
Indian distribution
chain

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Conclusion
Wild Harvest Care has proved that it has a supply chain that is wanting. The issues that
are present in the supply chain need the seriousness of the company. The company must come up
with some of the best policies that will guide the supply chain with the main aim of eliminating
the issues that are at hand and making sure that efficiency is promoted throughout the supply
chain. The business challenges that are facing the company, such as the increasing fuel costs and
the costs of technology will affect the company if nothing is done. However, the changes that are
taking place in the world of business can also affect the company positively. Technology is
advancing at an alarming rate and the company can use it to its advantage. With the use of
technology, the company can start selling its products online. Artificial intelligence can also help
the company to promote efficiency in its operations. Automated machines and robots can help
the company to save the cost of labor and also to decrease the time that it takes to manufacture
its products. It will be important for the company to make sure that all employees are qualified to
take up their respective tasks effectively. As a result, the company will have promoted
efficiency. When efficiency is promoted, wastage is limited, production is increased, and the
profits increase, thus helping the company to deal with the increasing costs. At the same time,
the company will be in the best position to increase its capacity to meet the demand in the
market. The situation at Wild Harvest Care is not out of hand and if the necessary steps are
taken, the company will increase its productivity and efficiency.

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