Logistics and Supply Chain Management Issues at London Bridge Hospital

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Understanding Operations Logistic and Supply
Chain Management

Introduction
The following essay is focused on elaborating the logistics and supply chain management
issues and key operations which are faced by the supply chain manager in the organisation.
The functions of the organisation and how it supports the market are analysed along with
focusing on the delivery system and manufacturing process used. A critical analysis is made on
the various components including the management process, delivery system and how they
support the market. Further, based on the analysis, recommendations are made regarding the
improvement that can be done by the organisation in order to improve its performance.
There are various business improvement strategies adopted by the organisation to increase its
performance. Logistics and supply chain management is also referred to as the crucial factors for
any organisation to obtain a competitive advantage. The following essay provides current
research on operations management of logistics and supply chain management. Logistics is
defined as the process of transferring and storing the finished goods and raw materials. Applied
in the activity of the organisation, logistics is permanent research in order to master the flow of
information, raw material and finished goods and services (Kenton, 2018).

Operations, logistics and supply chain management issues and the supply chain manager
Supply chain management is a systematic and strategic coordination between the traditional
business functions and the tactics across business functions, for the purpose of improving the
long term performance of the organisation (Kenton, 2018).
The organisation chosen is the London Bridge Hospital providing health services from 1986.
Analysis of the relevant logistics and supply chain management theories
New product/service development and process
The stages or process which is involved in the development of new product/service by London
Bridge Hospital is described in brief below.
The first step is the Idea generation. London Bridge Hospital generates new ideas by conducting
marketing research which helps in finding what the needs of customers are and what they want.
Customers and employees are invited to provide their suggestions. Suggestions are brainstormed
for new product ideas. New ideas are also searched in national and international markets. The
agents and dealers are used to get their feedback about the services and products of the
competitors. Along with that studying the new products of competitors is also a great way of
developing new ideas.
The second step is Idea Screening. A particular department is made for idea screening purpose
which studies and analyses all the ideas carefully and selects the best ideas and rejects the bad
ones. The basis of idea screening is based on a particular set of questions which includes is it
important to introduce new product, is the existing plant capable of producing that product, is the
existing marketing network suitable for selling that product. The results of the questions are
analysed and if the result is positive then the ideas are selected and rejected if the results are
negative. The idea screening step helps in avoiding failure of the product (Rouse, 2016).
The third step is the concept testing. After the idea screening process concept testing is done. Just
like idea screening, concept testing also includes a set of questions which includes is thee
consumer able to understand the product, does the consumers need that product and will the
consumers accept that product. For this purpose, a group of customers is selected. After giving
them complete information about product various questions are asked related to the product such
as their feeling about the product. Do they like the product or not. Concept testing helps the
organisation is finding the reaction and opinion of the customers towards the product.

The fourth step is the business analysis which is done if the results of concept testing are
positive. This step consists of doing an analysis of the business in detail in which organisation
checks profitability of the product. In business analysis the organisation finds out profitability of
the product, cost of new product, demand of product, competitors for new product and expenses
of advertising and promotion, profit to be earned? All these questions help the organisation to
study product from a business viewpoint. The new product is accepted only if it’s profitable.
The next step is Product development. In these steps, the organisation take decision regarding the
introduction of the new product in the market. The organisation takes all the necessary steps to
produce the product and distribute it in the market. Plans for the production are made by the
production department while the marketing department makes a plan for distribution of the
product. Finance department arranges finance for introducing the product while the advertising
department plan advertisement policies (Segal, 2018).
Test marketing is the sixth step for developing a new product/service. Test marketing is the
process of introducing the product on smaller scale in market. If the success rate of the product is
good in smaller market then it is introduced in larger market. If the success rate of product in
small market is low or if it fails then the reasons for failure are analysed and it is introduced
again in the small market. The product is rejected if it fails again. Test marketing is a great way
of reducing the risk of product failure at large scale (Brands, 2013).
The seventh step is commercialisation. After the success of the test market, the organisation
moves on to the next step which is commercialisation. It is the process of introducing the product
on a large scale that is all over the market. For this purpose, the organisation makes a huge
investment in the product. The production and distribution of the product are done on a large
scale. Huge advertisements are made to increase the sales of the product.
Eight and the last step involved is the reviewing the market performance. The organisation
review the performance of the product in the market which should answer a set of questions
which includes whether the new product is accepted by the customers or not, are the demand,
sales and profits high, what is the satisfaction rate of customers with the after-sales service, are
the agents and middleman happy with the commission they earned, are the competitors
introducing same type of product?

The organisation continuously monitor the performance of the product which will allow to make
necessary changes in the marketing plan and strategies so that the product keeps growing in the
market and never fails (Akrani, 2012).
Managing Quality
Quality management in London Bridge Hospital is necessary for the process of improving the
effective treatment and increase the satisfaction of the patients with the service being provided to
them. With the rise in health care costs, it is very important to provide quality health care
services. A health care system consists of various small and large organisations, all of them
should focus on improving the quality of their service so that the overall service quality of the
hospital is increased (Al-Shdaifat, 2015). There are various ways in which the London Bridge
Hospital improves the quality of medical service it provides are analysed below.
Patient focus is one of the most important factors to be considered for the purpose of ensuring
quality service to the customers. Focusing on the needs of the customer is very important
because they only judge the effectiveness of the treatment provided. Quality management system
constantly focuses on the progress and satisfaction of the patient with the service provided. Both
objective and subjective methods of monitoring are used which includes taking opinion from the
patients and checking the medical test results analyse how effective is the quality of the
treatment.
Leadership is another factor in quality management. Managing quality in health care needs
proper cooperation among everyone involved. All the employees of the organisation should
agree upon the goal of providing quality healthcare services, which is possible only when
someone leads the whole team and motivates them for this purpose (Gupta and Rokade, 2016).
Reliability also has an important role in managing the quality of the service in the hospital
sector. Quality management mainly provides consistent quality for which reliable process is
necessary. Existence of performance goals, reducing the risk procedures, implementing policies
for improving quality, quality measurement system and using reward mechanisms are required
for reliability.
External environment is also an important factor in managing the quality of the service being
provided. Health care sector relies on diagnostic technologies and is highly regulated. Health
care costs are mostly covered by third parties like insurance companies or government plans. All
these factors focus on the implication of quality management system in the organisation which

complies with the external regulations and also focuses on adoption of latest technologies and
their effective use in the treatment process to ensure better quality (Sarkissian, 2016).
Overall the performance of London Bridge Hospital is great and it is introducing new products
and services in the market along with providing a quality of healthcare services to the patients.
But still, there are some improvements that need to be made for improving the performance of
the organisation. Some of the recommendations for London Bridge Hospital are described below.
London Bridge Hospital should provide the staff with proper education about the importance of
including caregivers for caring patients. Caregivers can provide extra support to the nurses’
efforts and thus increase the quality of service providing better satisfaction to the patients. An
empathic clinical staff should be prepared to effectively provide care to the patients along with
providing proper attention to the caregivers also (Dzhingarov, 2017).
Another thing to improve the services is that all the staff members should understand their
respective roles. Everyone must take full responsibility for their actions and tasks assigned to
them which includes treating the patients with courtesy, making sure that all their needs are met.
The primary task of the staff should be to understand and meet the needs and requirements of the
patients.
Setting goals in every industry are very effective in increasing performance. Goals and objectives
motivate the staff to work better. For achieving success in the healthcare industry the set goals
and targets need to be achieved.
For making the hospital perform more efficiently London Bridge Hospital should set clear
guidelines. Setting clear guidelines will help in making sure that the staffs follow the procedures.
Clarity is the most important thing to make sure that everything is clear among the staff
regarding the rules and regulations set for them. Specific examples should be provided to the
staff members who can assist them to follow the defined rules and guidelines.
Another recommended method for improving the performance includes working closely with the
advocates of the patients. Patient advocates focus on ensuring that the patients get the perfect
care they need. Cooperating with patient’s advocates will help London Bridge Hospital to take
proper opinions and decisions regarding patients and the treatment they need. Focusing on
patient care services is not beneficial for patients only rather it also ensures the success of the
health care organisation.

The organisation should reduce staffing cost. Labour is one of the largest expenses for the
hospital. The management should consider using flexible staffing and should also monitor the
efficiency of the staffing continuously by reviewing benchmarking data.
Supply costs should also be reduced by managing the vendors. Improving contracts and making
the physician take responsible supply decisions will help in reducing supply costs. Cost of supply
can also be reduced by reducing the number of vendors (Staff, 2016).
Services should be delivered on the schedule of the patients not just according to own
convenience. Unnecessary long waits should be avoided which may cause inconvenience to the
patients. Employees should be trained perfectly so that they know the right way of handling the
patients.
Along with the above-mentioned recommendation there are numerous other recommendations
for improving the service provided by London Bridge Hospital which includes investing in
health IT systems, reduce unnecessary testing, reduce readmission, understand revenue cycle
performance, review drug costs, reduce competition by partnering with local physicians, focus
on communication strategy, invest in green projects, conducting benchmarking of salaries and
wages, manage new service lines if they can provide good return in the market, revamp energy
cost strategy (Nock, 2015).
A more effective recommendation for the organisation is that the concept of the triple criterion
should be used. According to the concept of Triple criterion (Triple bottom line, TBL) the
business should be built, by not only considering the financial performance rather should also
focus on social and environmental performance of the organisation. Triple criterion concept
states that the business is built on the “three pillars of sustainable development” – which are
people, profit and planet. It is also used as an accounting tool along with being a management
tool. The business should remain honest with the people who are working in the hospital, the
region and the community. The hospital should not only perform any action which cause harm to
the planet, and should also allocate some funds for environmental activities. It should focus on
using the energy and the non-renewable resources with proper care along with focusing on
reducing the production waste.
The above-provided points were some of the recommendations by applying which London
Bridge Hospital can apply and improve the quality of service provided to the patients and ensure

their ultimate satisfaction. The process of development of new product and services can also be
improved and the resources can be utilised properly (Kenton, 2019).

Conclusion
From the following essay, it can be easily identified the details about the logistics and supply
chain management. The focus is made on the analysis of relevant logistics and supply chain
theories in context with the London Bridge Hospital. As there are numerous theories of logistics
and supply chain management, thus instead of focusing on all, only two theories are analysed
which are development process of new product/service and managing the quality. Both the
theories are analysed in reference with London Bridge Hospital with focusing on all the major
aspects of both the theories (McDonough, 2018). In the process of development of new
product/service all the major steps which are necessary to be taken are studied with their proper
usage. For managing the quality, the factors are studied which affects the quality of the products
and services provided. After the analysis of the theories, recommendations are made based on the
analysis done which can be implemented by the London Bridge Hospital to increase their
productivity and quality. Also, the focus is made in the triple bottom line as a recommendation to
be used by the London Bridge Hospital. Application of all the recommended methods and
theories will help the London Bridge Hospital in improving their level and quality of
productivity along with providing more satisfaction to the customers.
Reflection
The assessment done early and the one get performed now is basically having certain
differences. The topic chosen were not effectively defined, and the key approach of the topic was
lacking in the previous assessment. The need to do an in-depth study is highly needed which was
missing in the work. The present study has highly focused on the key concept of the chosen topic
rather seeking side information. The key and major significant part of the topic has been covered
in the assignment. The weak area which has been identified in the previous report is that the
information gathered was highly lacking with the reliability factor. The need to meet the success
criteria for the assignment is very important which was not been able to get obtained by in the
previous study. The significance of the chosen topic is very important to be obtained by in the
previous report this factor was not present which has created an issue and did not meet the
requirements as needed.

References
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