Supply Chain Management Challenges & Solutions

This assignment delves into the critical challenges faced in supply chain management, drawing from authoritative sources like 'Supply Chain Management: Pearson New International Edition' by Fawcett et al., 'Logistics and Hospitality Management' by Fernie & Sparks, and 'Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management' by Mangan & Lalwani. It also explores the implications of additive manufacturing on supply chains, as discussed in Kieviet & Alexander's 2015 article. The assignment aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of these challenges and potential solutions for enhanced supply chain performance.

SUPPLY CHAIN

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Assessment 1....................................................................................................................................2
Issues of with suppliers:..............................................................................................................2
Recommending the ways in the issues of supply chain can be resolved....................................5
Supply chain theories used in the industry or company..............................................................6
Supply chain strategy..................................................................................................................7
E-commerce and information......................................................................................................7
Supply chain improvements........................................................................................................8
Outsourcing.................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Supply chain management is the type network of activities. From which industries
purchase their raw material and then transform into finish products. Suppliers is the main
important source of management. On the other side supply chain includes manufactures,
suppliers, distributors and customers. The supplier sends the raw material to the manufacturer
and then after manufacturing of the products it transfers to the end consumers. Today this report
is based on Hilton it is the multinational hotel in UK.. It is situated in England, united kingdom.
It is the third biggest hospitality hotel in the world. It provides luxurious facilities like
transportation, air ships, accommodation facilities (Carter, 2015). It deals with different varieties
of products according to that it has huge number of suppliers are involved. Furthermore, in this
report it will explain about the supplier relations with the Hilton and its pros and cons. Suppliers
is the mediator of the product and services which helps manufacturer to convert into finish
products. (SCM) supply chain management is the interconnected business which gives ultimate
product and services. Nowadays due to heavy competition in the market suppliers plays a very
crucial for the success of the organisation. Hilton face many issues regarding purchases of
material because of heavy competition level. Hilton has a very long list of suppliers like branded
interior companies, transportation companies etc. Facebook is the supplier of Hilton it has
800.000 plus fans on Facebook by giving many promotion plans. On the other side Air transports
Corporation and Hilton Holding is in joint venture. These all suppliers gives services to Hilton .
During the supply chain process company face many variations and issues regarding prices,
location, or operating cost. Supply chain manager of the company needs to identify the needed of
thev services.. It is responsible to identify the costing and handle everything related to the
material. Each process needs planning and resources (Qrunfleh and Tarafdar, 2014). Hilton
supply issues is lack of proper planning through which company make their suppliers better for
the benefit of management. Also, its responsible to differentiate the prices with all the other
suppliers so that they reduce the operational cost.
Hilton is the big hospitality company. It deals with different variety of product and
services across the world. Generally hospitality industries which provides various product and
services to the customers through various channels to earn maximum profit. Adding to that
Hilton is one of them which satisfies the needs of their customers. Like above mentioned that
how many suppliers of Hilton provides them different products and services.
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Key Players of hospitality industries.
There are many key players of the hospitality industries. Like Mariott. These all are the
key players of hospitality industries. It is the huge competition in hospitality manufacture. All
the companies are focus is to customer satisfaction. Hilton is one of them it is the company
which have the largest market shares also It has a good brand image in the hospitality market.
hospitality market is the wide variety stores which gives product at reasonable
rates. It creates lots of competition to other companies in terms of products, price, location. Price
is relates to the profit (Estampe and et.al, 2013). Hilton needs to compare its price with the other
companies so that they protect itself through less sales of products. On the other side product
quality customer are rational they always purchase their product on the basis of its price and
quality. They never compromise with quality of product. On the other side location Hilton needs
to open their stores where customer can easily reach. It helps to give more flexibility in
purchasing.
In this given report it will explain about the Hilton issues with the suppliers. It gives
Assessment 1
Hilton suppliers list are very big which includes IBM, Samsung, Facebook. The best way
s to interact with their suppliers is give payment on time, give all product specification and
requirements properly. It helps Hilton to build strong relationship with the suppliers.
Issues of with suppliers:
 Sourcing the right suppliers: it is the main issue of hospitality industries that they
facing the problem of quality of product and services. Sometimes new suppliers doesn't
create faith and trust between the manufacturer so in that case it is the problem of the
Hilton company to choose the best suppliers for its product. It is difficult for the cited
company to choose suppliers (Wisner and et.al, 2014). In hospitality industries there are
many suppliers may be many supermarket purchase the services from Samsung so in that
case it is difficult for the company to decide who is the better than other. Overall Hilton
facing the issue of sourcing of suppliers.
Hilton may want to add more suppliers but due to high costing and complexity they can't
connect with that suppliers.
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 Poor Communication with the suppliers: it is the second main issue with the suppliers
is lack of communication skills from which company cannot communicate properly.
Proper flow of information is the good feature to maintain healthy relationship with the
suppliers. For example Hilton is a big super market due to large product and services
they do't maintain proper connectivity with their suppliers. This happens may affect the
relationship with the provider. On the other side behaviour manger of the Hilton needs to
maintain good behaviour with the suppliers to grow long term relationship. Due to poor
communication suppliers fails to give benefits to the compny.
Improper communication main arise the conflicts between the companies and suppliers. In that
case firm faces the shortage of the products. Hilton needs to arise good relationship and flow
proper information regarding needs and wants at reasonable price.
 Uniformity Of supply : Another main issue is if there is not any uniformity in the
management. Company cannot achieve the proper target relating to buying the product
(Jacobs and Chase, 2013). In this issue Hilton fails to reach their needs and wants of the
material according to the choice.
 Lack of supply chain visibility: Without getting proper information companies fails its
target. Hilton will not identify the risk and improvement policies if they have no idea
about the proper information.
 Accurate product information: It is the another issue that company has to know about
the product name and description, supplier codes, Pricing information, supplier product
availability. So that they keep all record properly otherwise due to lacking information
Hilton will not identify the product name and their suppliers or they create confusion as
well.
 Getting reliable data: Sometimes suppliers are not give reliable information about the
product. To maintain good relation with the suppliers. Hilton needs to get all information
and have touch with the suppliers every time to getting more information.
 Accidental Orders: Sometimes not having good relations suppliers send the wrong items
and services to give harm the company. This is the next another big issue of Hilton . This
issue gives low performance level of the company.
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 Lack of credit facilities: it is the another issue through which company suffers. Due to
lack of good relation and trust supplier cannot give material on credit. This happens may
arise financial issues in the Hilton .
Impacts of the supplier issues:
 Decreasing Quality of product and services: conflicts between suppliers and the
company lead to decrease the quality of management. Hilton faces low quality of
product and services which create customer dissatisfaction issues (Coyle and et.al,
2016). Hilton needs to maintain the healthy environment with the suppliers so that they
create more new product and services to maintain its position in the market.
 Lack of Future Growth: Due to having suppliers issue company also have low future
growth. It impacts the profit revenue of the company.
 Decrease Sales revenue: It is important for the Hilton to build good relations with
suppliers to getting more new product and services to increase the sales otherwise they
lose their customer satisfaction level. Hilton needs to increase the suppliers which
provides the material at low costs.
 Decrease market Value: Suppliers are the main essential element in the industries.
Supplier is the person who provides all raw material and products to the other companies.
It is important for the company to maintain its image in front of the suppliers to sustain
its market value.
 Shortage of product and services: Supplier issue also give the shortage of product and
services through which Hilton will not able to provide that particular services to the
customers.
Overall these impacts affect the profit revenue and customers satisfaction as well. Hilton needs
to adopt proper strategies and planning. Through which they maintain good relationship with
customers. Hilton is the big hospitality market. For that they need to give proper product
specification to manage the supply chan management (Brindley, ed., 2017). Supply chain
management is the connectivity channel between the company and customers. Due to having
good relations suppliers provides many good benefits to the company in terms of credit facilities,
quality of product and services.
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Supply chain Improvements in Hotels.
There are many ways in which the issue in the supply chain of the Hilton can be
resolved. It is important to resolve the issues because suppliers are the one who gives the raw
materials or essential things to make the product in the company. The cited company can do the
proper research of the suppliers in their locality to get the best for business operations. Selecting
the good or better suppliers will lead to reduction in the cost of organisations. These savings can
be used in further development of the company (Christopher, 2016). Suppliers are the person
whose help is necessary for the effective performance of the firm. This point states that selecting
the proper supplier is necessary for the resolving the issues faced by the company their supply
chain.
Proper planning can be done for resolving the issues of supply chain in Hilton . An
effective plan will help the company to understand the all the issues which can be faced by them
in the supply chain. Plan is based on future estimated situations which can arise in the workings
of the company. Making plans will make the cited organisation to know about the problems in
their chain of supply. By this they will include the measures in plan through which the company
will be able to resolve all the issues. Plan should be implemented in the best way to make the
effective supply chain and solve all the problems regarding it in the cited firm.
Allocating all the resources in efficient way in the Hilton will also give contribution
towards resolving all the issue which are faced by them in their supply chain. Proper resource
allocation is very important to solve all the problems which are raised in the organisation's chain
of supply (Stadtler, 2015). This will reduce the wastage of raw materials and company will only
order the required amount of essential products in making goods. This will help them to decrease
the cost of company which will lead to further development and better performance of the
business operations.
These are some methods by which the issues of supply chain in the company can be
resolved. Better implementation of all the methods in the company will solve all the problems in
their chain of supply. Effective and efficient supply chain is necessary to maintain the
sustainable business performance of the organisation. Better supply chain ensures the continuous
development of the cited company.
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Supply chain theories used in the industry or company
There are many theories which can be used to make supply chain of Hilton effective
which will eventually ensures the further growth of the company. Theories of supply sets the
guidelines which can be followed by the company to ensure better chain of supply. The issue like
selecting right suppliers to source, bad interaction process with the suppliers, supply consistency
etc. can be resolved by using proper supply chain theory (Monczka and et.al, 2015). Selecting
the appropriate theories is necessary and important to find out the best solution for solving the
issue.
The theory which can be selected for resolving these issues is Transaction Cost Analysis.
This theory analyses the amount of cost in which suppliers provides the raw material to the
company. Better supplier will be selected by applying this theory. Transaction Cost Analysis
makes the company to know about the supplier who will provide them raw materials at the best
price. It is necessary to evaluate the set prices of every supplier in the industry. This will help the
company to select the proper supplier with whom they can deal and source. This theory will also
make the consistency of supply which is essential for making the customised products with same
quality all over the world.
The second theory which can be applied in the cited company Materials Requirement
Planning. This theory helps the Hilton to understand the exact need of raw materials in their
manufacturing process (Supply change management: challenges and solutions, 2017). By
understanding the need of materials the company will able to order the exact amount. It will save
the wastage of materials in the organisation. Materials Requirement Planning helps to make the
plan which decides the amount of products required from the suppliers. It helps the company to
make better interaction process with their suppliers. Company changing the amount of materials
rapidly will decrease their impression on supplier. This will lead bad communication process
(Jacobs and Chase, 2013). Applying theory of Materials Requirement Planning will help the
cited firm to select the exact amount of material and then communicate the same with the
suppliers. This theory solves the issue of bad interaction process with the suppliers. This ensures
the effective supply chain in the cited organisation.
These are some theories which can be applied in the supply chain to resolve all its issues
for the cited firm.
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Supply chain strategy
Supply chain strategies are the strategies which are made to make process of supply
effective in the Hilton . There are many types of strategies which can be lean, agile or hybrid.
The company should select the best supply chain strategy which will the best and suitable for
effective process of supply (Rushton, Croucher and Baker, 2014). The best strategy which can
be selected by the cited company to make their supply chain better can be hybrid. Hybrid supply
chain selects the best elements which are needed for chain of supply from start to end. There are
many elements which are required in the supply process. This strategy helps the company to
select the best process for supply in the organisation. It is the combination of both lean and agile
strategies. It carries the characteristics of both the strategies. Hybrid strategy helps the company
to have benefits of all the strategies by applying just one. This strategy provides the best
technology which can be used in the manufacturing process of the cited firm. Wastage of
resources will be minimum by applying this strategy of supply chain. It will increase the
productivity and will decrease the cost of company. The best elements selected by hybrid supply
chain strategy makes the company to have better process of supply. It also ensures the further
growth of the company in market. Applying this strategy will increase the market share of Hilton
.
E-commerce and information
E-commerce and information makes the supply chain in the organisation effective and efficient.
EPI and EDI both helps in the developing the supply chain system in the cited company. The
company uses EPI because EDI is not good for their selected strategy which is hybrid. That's
why they use Expanded Programme on Immunisation. This system makes the supply chain
process healthy and effective. This programme helps the cited firm to know and understand the
needs and requirements of supply chain. By this Hilton will effectively fulfil all the
requirements and will make their supply process efficient. Expanded Programme on
Immunisation will also reduce the gap between the management and supply chain. It will help in
selecting the best equipment for making the more effective supply chain in the company. This
programme will also monitor the whole process of the supply and will check that the problems or
issues which are faced in their chain of supply (Brindley, ed., 2017). The cited firm will be able
to solve and resolve all the problems and issues by applying this system. Supply chains and
Expanded Programme on Immunisation are interrelated with each other. Both working together
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leads the company to have further growth. This process makes the process of supply more
smother and effective. This system is operated by the new technology which is used in business
operations of the company. Proper and innovative technology used in Expanded Programme on
Immunisation system is very helpful for all the process from start to end for the supply chain
management. Using this system in the organisation will lead to their further growth. This also
makes sure to increase the market share of the cited company and makes them some benefits
among their competitors. Supply chain is most important part of the company and Expanded
Programme on Immunisation system makes it better and efficient.
Supply chain improvements
There are many improvements which the supply chain can have on the business
operations of Hilton . Supply chain management is necessary to make the company grow in the
market. Better process of supply chain will lead to many benefits for the organisation. This will
help the firm to satisfy their customers fully and efficiently. This will also attract the new
customers towards them which will ensure their further growth and development.
Proper and efficient supply chain ensures the sustainable business performance of the
cited company (Fawcett, Ellram and Ogden, 2013). Sustainability is necessary for the success of
business. Sustainability can be effectively achieved by the supply chain management. Supply
chain improvements aims to improve many areas of the organisation. One of those areas is
sustainability. It is necessary for the better performance of business operations in company.
Customers are also the most important part of the firm. They should be kept satisfied by
providing them quality products and services. Quality can be maintained by the effective supply
chain. Making customers of the cited company satisfied also leads to the sustainable business
performance. Supply chain improvements ensures the sustainability of the organisation. It is
helpful to manage the macro factors of business environment which can be economic,
environmental or social. These all the factors have some impacts upon the workings in company.
This will also affect the supply process of firm. Better supply management will reduce some
negative impacts of these macro factors. This will ensure sustainability in the Hilton and will
make them give performance which will make them grow and developed more.
This states that there are many benefits of supply chain and one is that it ensures
sustainability in the company. Effective supply process will definitely lead the company towards
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having sustainable business performance and success. Supply chain improvement are the
essential part of the cited organisation.
Hotel industries supply chain management is very much effective. It helps give proper
services to the customers. Hilton needs to adopt quality of services. To enhance the customer
satisfaction.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing in the supply change management means giving the responsibility of
managing supply process to some other agencies which works in this field only. The agencies to
which the Hilton had outsourced are effective and efficient. They have all the knowledge about
how to manage the supply chain and they work better from the company because of their
experience in this field. These agencies manage supply chain in better way. There are many
benefits of outsourcing in supply change management. Process of supply is very important for
the firm. That's why the outsourcing is essential. There are many changes in the management of
company in their supply process or managing them by the other agencies. These agencies are
very good in their work and efficiently manages all the factors supply chain from start to end.
The company can pay attention to more important functions in their working by outsourcing the
supply chain to other agencies to be managed. The cited firm will work and give better
performance by using this method (Kieviet and Alexander, 2015). These are some changes
which will positively affect the business operations of the organisation. This will be only
possible by outsourcing supply chain management.
Recycling is the part of outsourcing in process of supply. The products or raw material
which are wasted can be recycled by the agencies to whom the work is being outsourced. This
process saves the cost of company and manages the waste in effective manner. There are many
benefits of recycling outsourcing in supply change management like it increases the productivity
of the firm, it ensures sustainable business performance.
CSR will be also achieved by the outsourcing. It means the corporate social responsibility
which will be effectively fulfilled by the process of outsourcing the supply chain management. It
will very important responsibility of company which is to be fulfilled. It makes the customers of
Hilton satisfied and eventually leads the company grow more in the market.
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Near- sourcing is the small part of outsourcing (Wisner and et.al, 2014). It means giving
the responsibility to manage the process to some near agency which is directly related with
managing that process.
CONCLUSION
This essay concludes about the key player, key suppliers, locations and key issues to date
of supply chain management in Hilton . Key players of the company are their competitors which
are Walmart, Asda, M&S etc. These are some key players who affects the process of supply in
the organisation. Key suppliers of the business are IBM, Samsung etc. these suppliers ensures the
further success and growth of the company. They all work together with the company for their
development in the market. The suppliers of company are mainly located at the UK. The major
business operations of this firm is handled in that country. This country gives the highest revenue
to the cited organisation. There are many key issues which affects effective performance of the
supply chain management in an organisation. These key issues can be in choosing the right
supplier, bad interaction process, updating compliance, supply consistency, gaining the reliable
data which is essential for supply chain management etc. These are some issues which can be
faced by Hilton in their supply chain. Ways are recommended to solve these issues which are
proper planning, allocating resources or selecting the proper supplier. These are methods which
can solve the issues of supply process. Theories are selected to manage the supply chain in
effective manner. Those theories are transaction cost analysis and materials requirement
planning. Both the theories are very efficient and will handle the supply chain management in
effective way. Supply chain strategy is explained. Hybrid strategy is selected for the cited
company because this is the combination of both lean and agile. This strategy gives the benefits
of other two in the supply process of company in the market. E-commerce and information
systems are discussed which states that EDI is not as much good as EPI for the firm. Expanded
Programme on Immunisation is very much beneficial for the organisation. This system fulfils all
the requirements of company which they need for the effective supply chain management. It
states that implementing this system in the organisation will give many benefits to the supply
process. There are many improvements which the supply chain have upon the Hilton . It
improves many areas which ensures the further growth of business. It aims to improve the area
of sustainability in the organisation which is necessary for better performance and success in the
market. Effective supply chain management is very helpful for the sustainable business
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performance. Outsourcing is very beneficial for the better supply chain management. It means
giving the work to manage the supply process to other agencies who are working in this field
only. There are many changes between the outsourcing and managing in the company only.
Recycling will be done with the outsourcing. This will reduce the wastage of raw materials in the
cites firm. Corporate social responsibilities will also be fulfilled by the outsourcing. It will make
the customers satisfied. Near- sourcing is the small part of outsourcing. It gives works to those
who directly work for that cause.
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REFERENCES
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Online
Supply change management: challenges and solutions. 2017[Online]. Available through:
<https://www.bossard.com/en/how-we-add-value/key-challenges-in-supply-chain-
management.aspx>.
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