Critical Review of Operations, Logistics, and Supply Chain at BMW

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of BMW's operations, logistics, and supply chain management. It begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of these areas in business, followed by a critical review of key concepts such as workforce planning, job design, incentive schemes, and the logistics mix within the context of BMW. The report then presents an analytic discussion, emphasizing the significance of effective labor planning, employee motivation, and supply chain relationships. The report concludes with recommendations for improving operational efficiency and supply chain performance, offering insights into how BMW can optimize its processes for greater success in the automotive industry. The report also highlights the importance of understanding customer needs and supplier criteria within the supply chain management framework.

UNDERSTANDING OPERATIONS,
LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
CRITICAL REVIEW.......................................................................................................................4
ANALYTIC DISCUSSION............................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.............................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

Illustration Index
Illustration 1: Issues in Job Design..................................................................................................6
Illustration 2: Logistics Mix in Supply Chain Management............................................................7
Illustration 3: Workforce Planning..................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
In business, there are so many departments which have to work together in order to give
effective services to their customers. In any organization, it is very important to have a proper
management of operations, logistics and supply chain management. Logistic is a process which
is defined as method that primarily deals with transportation and planning of goods and services
of company from one location to another as per requirement of their customers. It has to be
managed properly. Logistic management is part of supply chain management. It also deals with
the security of operation management in organization (Christopher, 2016). In operations
management, there are a variety of different factors which are included in this department. It
basically helps to manage designing and controlling of process of production and business
operations dealing with goods or services for their organization. It helps them to attain maximum
results in less time. There are many responsibilities of an operational manager like scheduling,
maintenance, managing supply chain system, layout design and strategies, inventory
management, process and capacity design, etc (Coyle and et.al., 2016).
Whereas, supply chain management or SCM is the process which is based on the flow of
goods and services in company which includes various functions like its storage, transportation,
inventory process, etc. It is basically defined as designing, planning, execution, control and
monitoring of the supply chain activities in organization aiming to create net value, competitive
infrastructure, investing in worldwide logistics which enhance their overall performance in the
business. In an organization, it is very important to understand their production process and its
productivity. Production is a process in the firm which is used to process, create and manufacture
goods and services of organization (Ellram and Cooper, 2014). Whereas, productivity is the
overall measure of how efficiently resources are combined and utilized in the production process
for achieving desired results in organization. This report will discuss the topics like critical
review of operation, logistics and supply chain management theories of BMW, UK and its
analytic discussion as well as appropriate solutions of operations management in the firm.
CRITICAL REVIEW
In operational management and logistic supply chain, there are many factors which have
to be managed by the organization to work properly in industry. For example: managing quality
and people in operation and supply chain as well as logistics mix which can include channels,
networks, transportation, managing inventory and capacity, etc. All factors are responsible for

an effective operational management of the firm. Managing people in operations and supply
chains management and logistics mix includes different factors, like, channels, networks,
transportation, managing inventory and capacity are some main key element to understand better
(Govindan, Soleimani and Kannan, 2015).
Managing people in operations and supply chain management is very important for the
organization as it can affect them in many ways. For this, they have to implement some planning
and strategies in their system which can resolve these issues. First thing is to evaluate the labour
planning and design process in BMW, UK. For this, they have to design their workforce station
into employee friendly so that they can enjoy while working in the organization. They have to
keep in mind the needs and requirements of their staff members to ensure that they meet their
legislative, regulatory, service and production requirements and achieving organizational
objectives (Heckmann, Comes and Nickel, 2015). It can help them to increase their productivity
and yield better products as a result. The main objective of workforce planning is to ensure that
BMW, UK provides an adequate supply of their employees with skills, knowledge and
experience which is required to achieve their strategic targets in an efficient and effective way
for short and long term; both. Various steps which can be taken by the organization to make a
great workforce planning include:
 They have to understand their employees and what are their expectation from the
organization,
 Focusing on the work management of the organization to work effectively,
 Focusing on the major issues arising in the organization, etc.
Other than this issue of labour planning and design process, there are issues in job
designing as well in the organization which have to consider very carefully to deliver the best
services to their customers. Working as an automotive company, it has become very crucial for
them to take care of every aspect of their organization. Job designing is a planned process in the
firm which includes job-related tasks and responsibilities, their functions and duties at the
workplace, etc. This method has its own importance as it can affect the productivity of their
employees and organization (The Importance of Supply Chain Management, 2018). Job
designing has to be done in such a manner which can be beneficial for employees and for the
firm. It would help them to balance the work and their personal life, should be flexible in terms
of working hour, etc. It plays an important role for BMW, UK as it helps to motivate their

employees which ensure high level of job performance and satisfaction in company. It is also
helpful in improving their performance of firm in target industry to achieve their goals and
objectives. Various factors which can arise in the organization can be studied by the following
issues, such as, telecommuting or opportunity to work from home, facility of work sharing,
alternating work pattern, flexibility in the working hours for their employees, etc (Workforce
Planning : A Practice Guide, 2014). All these factors contribute a lot in making an effecting
labour planning in the organization.
There are various factors which can affect the process of job designing in any
organization. For example: organizational, environmental and behavioural factors. In an
organizational issue, it affects their firm in terms of its work nature and workflow of employees
and ergonomics as well as culture of organization is also an important factor. In environmental
issues, it includes factors like employee’s availability and abilities as well as socio economic and
cultural expectations from company. In behavioural issues, it includes elements like autonomy,
diversity, feedback, etc. in it which has a great impact on the organizational behaviour as well as
on their employees which has an adverse effect on them (Hugos, 2018).
Other managing issues can be related to incentive schemes and establishing labour
standards. An incentive scheme is a type of process which is used in the organization to promote
and encourage their employees. This is basically related to overall performance of employees in
Illustration 1: Issues in Job Design
Source : (Issues in Job Design, 2018)

firm and used to motivate them. These types of schemes enhance the morale and loyalty,
improves their employee’s wellness, increases retention, etc. It keeps the environment of
organization positive (Kozlenkova and et.al., 2015). On the other hand, labour standards are
different laws related to employees working in BMW, UK. They have to maintain these laws in
order to work properly in the target industry. It helps to protect basic rights of employees
designed in the organization for their benefits.
Managing business relationships in supply chains is another factors in the organization
which has to be managed by them very carefully. These includes the importance of supply chain
in the firm. Supply chain management helps to organize the processing of raw material of the
organization into its final product and make them to reach to their end users or customers
(Rushton, Croucher and Baker, 2014). There is huge advantage of this management in BMW
UK as it is a leading company in automotive industry. Some importance of Supply Chain
Management are as follows,
 It helps to enhance their customer service which ultimately encourage and motivate their
staff employees to work more hard for the organization.
 It improves the financial condition of the organization by increasing the profit
investment of the company as it helps to decrease the supply chain costs. It also helps in
increasing the cash flow rate in the company which can give them a good revenue, for
example, if the company makes and deliver that product to their respective client in 25
days rather than in 60 days, it helps to invoice the customer early which can be beneficial
for them (Schönsleben, 2016).

Logistic Mix in Supply Chain Management: Logistic management is a part of the supply chain
management only. Logistics is a type of method which is used to manage all the plans, controls
and manage the services related to goods which has to delivered to their destination point or
place. It also helps to coordinate the whole process of storage, transportation and delivery of
goods and services for BMW UK. It ensures that right products are delivered to the right
customers by them (Swink and et.al., 2017).
Identifying customer needs : This is very important for the organization to understand their needs
and preferences in automotive industry so that they can deliver their products according to that.
It can be done through various ways, for example, doing market research to reach to their
customers and identify their needs. It will also help them to enhance their business in the
industry and increase their sales production.
Identifying Supplier Criteria : It is very important to have a good supplier for the organization as
they are dependent indirectly to them because they are the only source for the company to get
their material for the manufacturing of their products (Tatoglu and et.al., 2016). It has to be done
properly in order to get the best supplier for the company, such as, cost, quality & safety,
delivery, service, social responsibility, convenience/simplicity, etc.
Illustration 2: Logistics Mix in Supply Chain Management
Source : (Business logistics — importance and some research opportunities, 2015)

ANALYTIC DISCUSSION
From the above critical review it is clear that operational management, logistics and
supply chain management all these factors are very important for the company to work on. For
example, labour planning and work design is the fist step for the organization which has to be
very perfect and effective to work properly and manage their them on time. It can be achieved
by applying various techniques and methods into their management system which can be
beneficial for them and for the employees as well. Such as,
 It helps in developing a sense of collective ownership of the strategic importance of
employee's issues arising in the organization.
 It also agrees on the workforce strategies which are directly linked with the strategic
objectives of the firm.
 It ensures to focus on the major issues and problems of the company and helps to find
measures on how to resolve those issues in time (Touboulic and Walker, 2015).
 Labour planning uses practical and cost-effective methods for the development of their
plan to execute.
 It also helps to manage the planning of day-to-day activities happening in the
organization.
 It ensures that right employees are engaged in the work which is the best suitable for
them. For example, if an employee is good at mechanical work in the organization than
he or she cannot perform the work of management as good as mechanical.
These are some criteria which can be helpful for the organization to monitor, evaluate
and refine the whole planning process in the organization. Having an effective and employee
friendly organization helps the company to work as a strong team which can improve their
services and helps to deliver the best services to their clients on time. This process will also
ensure to increase the profit rate as well as helps to earn a good revenue. These planning can be
useful for future workforce profile as well (Touboulic and Walker, 2015).

Another factors which is mentioned in the critical review is about the incentive schemes
of the organization which plays an important role in any organization to encourage their
employees and motivate them to work hard in the firm (Govindan, Soleimani and Kannan,
2015). These schemes can be very crucial for BMW UK in increasing and improving various
factors present in the company, for example,
 Increasing their overall turnover from the business,
 Enhancing their margin and improving their services,
 Helps to target specific products to catch their valuable customers in the market,
 It helps to decrease costs,
 Enhancing the skills of their staff members in the organization,
 It also helps to resolve their complaints.
Labour standards is a process which helps the organization's employees to have some
rights in the firm which can be beneficial for them (Kozlenkova and et.al., 2015). It helps to
Illustration 3: Workforce Planning
Source : (Workforce Planning: A Guideline, 2014)

maintain the environment of the organization. In operation management it is very important to
ensure that every department works properly and effectively in the organization, i.e., from
planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling all the resources witch are needed to produce
a company's goods and services is managed by them.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
From the above file it can be concluded that for any organization it is very important to
have a properly managed system to work smoothly in the target industry. It has great importance
in the company to have an effective operational management which can include operations,
logistics and the supply chain management of the company. As all these elements plays crucial
role to increase the overall performance of the organization and its employees as well. This
report explained about various factors involved in labour planning and job designing in the
organization. Labour planning helps the firm to encourage their employees and motivate them to
work hard which ultimately increases the chances of earning a good incentive which forces them
to work effectively (Wang and et.al., 2015). It also ensures to increase the overall performance of
the company and generate good revenue from their manufactured products. Supply chain
management is the most important department of the BMW UK company as it helps them to
deliver their products to their clients in the given time which is very important.
To increase the overall standard, reputation and performance of the company it is
recommended they should take care of their operational, logistics and supply chain management
process very carefully as it can affect their business a lot. They have to understand their
employees and what are their expectation from the organization, by focusing on the major issues
arising in the organization, etc (Develop a Workforce Plan in 5 Easy Steps, 2017). All these
changes can help them to increase the overall performance in the target industry, can enhance
their services which they deliver to their clients, it can also help them to target their valuable
customers in the market by providing them products according to their preferences and needs, it
helps them to enhance the skills of their staff members working in the organization and also in
resolving their complaints. All these improvements are very mandatory for them to establish a
good business in the industry. They have to communicate with their employees in order to help
them and understand them better. It is also recommended that they should ensure that all the
products which they are providing to their customers are according to their preferences as this

will help them to increases their sales and productivity in the target industry (Govindan,
Soleimani and Kannan, 2015).