Operations and Digital Business: Tesla, Lean Strategy, and the Future

This report delves into the realm of operations and digital business, exploring the transformative impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution. It examines how technological advancements, including AI and robotics, are reshaping business practices. The report analyzes supply chain management, emphasizing the integration of technology for enhanced efficiency and reduced waste, using Tesla as a case study. It also discusses the implementation of lean strategies to improve overall performance and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, highlighting the importance of employee involvement and sustainable practices. Finally, the report addresses the challenges organizations face, such as the shift towards digital technologies, the need for customer-centric approaches, and the high costs associated with technological implementations, emphasizing the need for strategic investments and systematic installations. The report draws on various sources to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject matter, offering insights into the future of business operations and digital transformation.

Operations and Digital
Business

Table of Contents
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
1: 4th industrial revolution............................................................................................................3
2: Supply chain management.......................................................................................................4
3: Lean strategy enhances overall performance and sustainable competitive profile..................6
4: Challenges faced by organization............................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

MAIN BODY
1: 4th industrial revolution
4th industry revolution describes the changing ways of doing business by integrating physical,
biological and digital world with the help of advanced robotics, AI and several technological
advancements for describing the ways of doing business. Technology is changing the ways of
doing business which can be seen in case of industry revolution in which businesses are showing
high amount of involvement in increasing the use of renewable energy sources like solar,
geothermal and wind energy (Teng and et.al, 2019). Due to this effective utilization of renewable
energy sources organizations are able to fulfil their requirement of energy consumptions by
which it can make efforts to reduce organizational expenditures. With that organizations are also
showing high interest in utilizing digital technologies like internet at their work place by which it
can improve its communication bridge with the customers and also provide remote access to
customers for utilizing organizational services remotely through which companies are able to
increase customer’s engagement in organizational activities because of which customer loyalty is
increased.

Figure 1Forth industry revolution
Source: McGinnis, 2020
Organizations are showing high interest in implementation of technological advancements which
are achieving due to the 4th industry revolution and this can be seen in increasing role of
technologies in organizational activities. Even though digitalization is changing the ways of
boing businesses because of which organizations are able to achieve an efficient economic
growth. Depict of these advancements 4th industry revolution is facing challenges in the form of
technological limitations (Huynh, Hille and Nasir, 2020). For example, organizations are
increasing their advertisements through social media marketing because customers are investing
large amount time in online activities because of which companies are advertising themselves
through social media marketing by which it can achieve high sale. However social media
marketing is limited to literates and internet users because of which it faces limitations.
The shifting of technologies towards digital technology is not as easy as it is said because
even though digital technology users are increasing in number on daily basis but still a large
section of population is facing limitations in utilizing these technological advancements because
of which organizations have to implement integrated approach for their working and
advertisement technologies. With that shifting towards digital technology is also limited because
of high prices for the instalments of digital advancements at work place because of which
transaction towards digital technology is facing challenges and limitations.
2: Supply chain management
Organizations like Tesla has to make sure that it is able to integrate technological advancements
at their work areas by which it can enhance its working capabilities because of which high

productivity can be achieved. This happens because 4th industrial revolution involves
introduction to advanced level of machineries through which high work productivity can be
achieved and because of which the manufacturing cost established for the organization is also
reduced (Saberi and et.al, 2019). Thus organizations are Tesla are showing high amount of
interest in implementation of technological advancements at work area by which it can increase
the work productivity and also at the same time reduce the wastage of raw materials because of
which efficiency of resource consumption is also increased.
Supply chain management is the process of management which involves the flow of
goods and services for the movement and the storage of raw materials in the work process
inventory for the development of final goods. Since supply chin managements is the overall
organizational activity for the development of products from raw material to final developed
products because of which organizations are showing high amount of involvement in
implementation of technological advancements at the work areas by which it can improve the
work productivity. Through this implementation of technological advancements at work areas
companies like Tesla can reduce the resource wastage during the process of development of
product because of which organizational wastage and resource consumption can be minimized
and this company can increase the chances of achieving an efficient economic growth (Wieland,
2020).
Organizations like Tesla has to make efficient changes in its corporate strategy for
developing the working strategy by which it can make sure that it is able to work according to
the requirements because of which chances of goal achievement can be increased. Thus in order
to implement efficient changes in working process Tesla has to make efficient changes in its
organizational working capabilities by which it can make sure that it is able to efficiently
implement the changes.
The 4th industrial revolution has provided several advantages to organizations by increasing their
work productivity and reducing resource wastages due to which resource consumption is also
minimized because of which company is able to reduce its work expenditures. However due to
the technological limitations company is facing limitations in its working process because of
which it is not able to achieve complete automated working process and also at the same time the
implementation of technological advancements is very expensive because of which it can be
implemented only in specific areas.

3: Lean strategy enhances overall performance and sustainable competitive profile
It is very important for the organizations in the market to use lean strategy in order to
make sure that they are having higher profit margins. Companies in the market have to make
sure that they are not focused only on the production but also the input which is coming in
making that production. Tesla is having higher profit margins because the input which the
organization is having is less but the company is investing a lot on the employees who are
putting in ideas to make sure that the satisfaction level of the customers is high. Wastage which
is present in the company has to be reduced therefore Tesla makes sure that they are ordering
only the input which is going to be required for the manufacturing (Teece, 2018). Extra material
is going to get spoilt over time and that is going to be a loss for the company to have in the
market. Value for all the material has to be present in the company so that there is going to be
effective working which is going to be good for the overall growth and development.
Tesla has got in experienced workforce and knowledgable as well so that they can make
the most from this factor. The employees have the right to speak in the decision-making so that
there are going to be right measures for lean manufacturing to take place and Elon Musk (CEO)
is also involved in all the meetings. Higher authority has to be involved in the decision-making
so that there is going to be effective working which is going to be good for the overall
development of the company (Spansel and Ahmed, 2018). The material which is being used in
the company has to be sustainable in nature which is that they must be renewable or less fossil
fuels and resources must be sued so that there is going to be sustainability. Loyalty of the
customers has to be maintained and the performance of the organization has to be higher so that
there is going to be effective working. There are a lot of changes which are taking place in Tesla
from time to time and if the company is not going to focus on their lean manufacturing then the
solar plans and sustainable plans of the company will not receive a lot of investment for higher
competitive advantage which the organization is aiming for.
4: Challenges faced by organization
Due to busy lifestyle customers are changing the ways of buying products and with the
introduction to online retail options customers are showing high involvement in purchasing their
goods through online retail options in such a way that customers are able to fulfil their
requirements because of which online platforms like Amazon is facing high amount of traffic
through which it is achieving high sales (Moşteanu, 2020). Thus it is very important for

organization to treat each customer separately on the basis of their interaction with the
organization by which it can make efforts to increase customer loyalty because of which Amazon
has to implement several technological advancements by which it can categorize customers
efficiently. Thus company has to make a large amount of investment in implementation of
advanced digital technology through which process of information processing can be increased
through which information processing time can be minimized because of which company’s
productivity can be increased.
Company has to face several challenges in the implementation of this highly advanced IT
system because in order to maintain high speed company has to monitor external market
environment by which it can make sure that it is utilizing current and latest technological
advancements because of which work productivity can be increased. But also due to high rarity
of the latest technological advancements because of which organizational expenditures are
increased in terms of installation of such highly advanced technological advancements at the
work area due to which company has to make sure that a systematic installation is done through
which expenditures can be reduced and chances of goal achievement can be increased.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Teng, W. and et.al, 2019. Graduate readiness for the employment market of the 4th industrial
revolution. Education+ Training.
Huynh, T.L.D., Hille, E. and Nasir, M.A., 2020. Diversification in the age of the 4th industrial
revolution: the role of artificial intelligence, green bonds and
cryptocurrencies. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 159, p.120188.
Saberi, S. and et.al, 2019. Blockchain technology and its relationships to sustainable supply
chain management. International Journal of Production Research, 57(7), pp.2117-2135.
Wieland, A., 2020. Dancing the Supply Chain: Toward Transformative Supply Chain
Management. Journal of Supply Chain Management.
Moşteanu, N.R., 2020. Challenges for Organizational Structure and design as a result of
digitalization and cybersecurity. The Business & Management Review, 11(1), pp.278-286.
Spansel, C. and Ahmed, S.A., 2018. There is Always A Better Way: The Argument for Industrial
Engineering.
Teece, D.J., 2018. Tesla and the reshaping of the auto industry. Management and Organization
Review. 14(3). pp.501-512.
Online
McGinnis, D., What is fourth industrial revolution, 2020 [Online]. Available through: <
https://www.salesforce.com/blog/what-is-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-4ir/>