Critical Review of Materials Management of Mercedes-Benz

SYSTEM AND
OPERATION
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Critical Review of approach to materials management of Mercedes-Benz...........................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
Critical Review of role of relationships in the organisation’s approach to materials
management and logistics.......................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
Critical Review of role of emerging technologies in the subject organisation’s approach to
supply chain............................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
System and Operation Management is a very detailed area of study and practice that is
related to appropriate planning, organising and controlling of all the systems, as well as
operations of an organisation. These activities are the ones which support the strategies, tactics
and goals of the company in a manner that provides effective sustainability and competitive
advantage to a firm. Furthermore, it is imperative for a company to indulge into practices which
allows them to appropriately handle several operations and management of resources
competitively, which supports and aids to other functions within the firm (Cotruvo, Craun and
Hearne, 2019).
Thus, in regards to this, the report below is based on Mercedes-Benz, which is one of the
world’s biggest car manufacturing organisations headquartered in Germany. The assignment
would be covering a specific area of its operations, which is materials management. Moreover, in
context of the organisation, the report would be including critical review of approach of the firm
towards materials management, which involves its approach to intermediaries. Furthermore, the
assignment is also inclusive of critical analysis of role of relationship in the company’s approach
to materials management and logistics. Critical review of role of emerging technologies in the
company’s approach to supply chain is also an integral part of the report.
TASK 1
Critical Review of approach to materials management of Mercedes-Benz
Materials Management within an organisation refers to a prominent function within the
supply chain which involves the planning, as well as execution of the overall supply.
Furthermore, it is the capability of the company to determine the requirements of the materials
that is currently being needed by the firm.
The firm which is chosen for this purpose is Mercedes-Benz, which deals in manufacturing
and distribution of premium vehicles throughout the world. It is considered to be one of the best
companies when it comes to providing services and products that are high in quality,
sustainability and durability. In addition to this, the company is known to have a very large
supply network across the world that is associated with individuals and large organisations which
supply high quality raw materials to the company (Chen, Preston and Swink, 2015).
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Below is the structure of the supply chain of the organisation which covers all the aspects
and organisations that is involved within the company’s supply chain management.
Illustration 1: Mercedes Benz' Supply Chain Network
(Source: Mercedes-Benz Cars Operations (MO) Transforming Production, 2020)
As mentioned from the company’s supply chain above, the company divides its supply
chain globally according to the types and varieties of cars it manufactures (Mahadevan, 2015).
Furthermore, there are multiple supply channels within the company that are linked end-to-end
for the company to ensure proper segregation and management of the same according to the
product groups related to the same. However, the structure of Mercedes-Benz’s supply chain
network seems a bit complex. The reason is associated with a huge network of intermediaries for
different product categories manufactured by the firm (Castka and Corbett, 2015).
Hence, it becomes necessary to evaluate the approach of the company towards its suppliers. The
company adopts an End-to-End approach, which has helped the company to expand the logistics
operations and ensure higher production of vehicles annually. The fact that underpins this
discussion is that the firm is effective enough to produce around 1 million cars every year, which
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