Challenges in Supply Chain and Logistics for Brarudi S.A. Operations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the supply chain and logistics challenges faced by Brarudi S.A., the largest beverage company in Burundi, as it navigates globalization and expands its operations. The report explores the concepts of globalization, supply chain management (SCM), and logistics management, highlighting their interconnectedness and impact on business operations. It examines the challenges encountered by Brarudi S.A.'s managers when establishing operations in different countries, including issues related to inventory management, sourcing, marketing, and green logistics. The analysis considers the company's strategic planning, market forces, technological advancements, and micro-economic conditions. Furthermore, the report discusses the importance of balancing efficiency, cost reduction, and quality standards in SCM and logistics to ensure successful expansion and maintain a competitive edge in the global market. The report emphasizes the need for strategic planning to address these challenges and achieve financial success.

SUPPLY CHAINS AND LOGISTICS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Critically analyse the challenges of business managers towards the establishment of
operations in different countries based on logistics and supply chain of products.....................1
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................10
APPENDIXES...............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Globalization is the latest promoter of economic growth and development in all sectors in
around the world. It paved the path for countries in joining hands to make the international trade
simplified, easier and convenient. Moreover, this is defined as that procedure where
homogeneity has been prevailed at transcendental level for socio-economic as well as political
theories. In regard to the above mentioned, Burundi has been considered as the area of region for
understanding the implications it has on the operational activities of organisations that assist in
exploring the supply networks with logistics at the global level. Here, Brarudi S.A. is taken to
make an effective apprehension of supply chains and logistics with respect to globalisation. It is
going to reflect on the challenging situations faced by their managers while establishing in new
country, where various organisations have already established operations. Furthermore, there is
an analysis with respect to supply chain of products in context of business environment and the
overall cultural aspects.
TASK 1
Critically analyse the challenges of business managers towards the establishment of operations in
different countries based on logistics and supply chain of products
Overview of Company
Brarudi SA is the largest beverages and brewer companies in the Republic of Burundi
and has a long history of how it reached its current position. It is a recognised manufacture in the
food and beverages sector and has an astounding portfolio in both non-alcoholic and alcoholic
beverages Their major products include Primus,Amstel,Heineken beers along with soft drinks
like Sprite, Coca-Cola and many more. Currently, the ownership in terms of shares of stock are
shared between Heineken International with 60 percent and Burundi Government with 40
percent. In addition to it, it was founded in 1955 and is operating as a subsidiary to Heineken
International B.V.
Burundi is an agricultural based country, however, with the help of this company, there is
an upsurge in generation of employment helping the local residents to support their livelihood.
Furthermore, this company has a sustainable drive of securing the sources for raw materials in
terms of longer run with an increasing productivity in this global competitive marketplaces by
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reducing the carbon footprint as well as foreign currency exportation. This will assist in
enhancements of its products' competitiveness through balance of trade.
Concepts of Globalization
With the advent of this globalization supply chain networks and logistics, the operational
activities of organisations in context of logistics and supply networks has become complicated. It
has become easier for an African company having many production facilities in different
geographical locations worldwide. For this purpose, organisations are actively collaborating or
franchising with the third party companies through outsourcing their supply chain activities as it
minimises the costs. This amalgamation of globalisation with company' activities increasingly
affect the exodus of jobs at cheaper rates and uplift the developing countries through legal
pliabilities and more.
This sustainable technological integrated methodology brought transparency with
consistency that has been modified by providing and developing longitudinal analytics and
auditing solutions to expand the company's standards and requirements in different locations for
profit generation (Hall, 2018). Further, it has brought visibility and minimised the risk of
financial losses when expanding because of unwanted delays that affected the quality of
products. Moreover, it is useful in restricting the bottom line of the company by management of
Supply Chain Management to employ their competitive strategy analysis. Here, the working of
companies have been changed drastically for executing their logistics activities and trading
facilities with inclusion of modern transportation infrastructural framework that has helped to
elevate the flow of managerial regulations in orderly fashion.
Concepts of Supply Chain Management (SCM)
This management of supply chain networks involves designing, executing, following-up
and controlling of all activities related to operations of manufacturing and production of
products. It has a chain of integrated framework for flow of matter and imparting information
with respect to wholesalers, retailers up till customers. Here, various processing components are
taken into consideration for employing hassle-free supply chain such as sourcing, inventory,
production for development of product, location for storage in warehouses etc., transportation for
on-time delivery and lastly, facility for return of goods.
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Subsequently, it deals in major two sections of supply and distribution. In simpler words,
it covers organisations with respect to both downstream and upstream linkages to implement the
systems of information and data by coordinating the processes, techniques and activities to reach
the consumers in effective manner (Sam, 2018). Additionally, there are mainly three types of
distribution channels to deliver the product or service to the customers' and are direct supply
chain, extended supply chain and ultimate supply chain.
In addition to the above, this framework consists of companies who are dealing with
multifunctional units like suppliers, retailers, distributors etc. to fulfil customers' requirements by
managing the operational and managerial value added activities. With onset of globalization,
SCM played a pivotal role by protecting organizations from chaotic fuss and assisting in
synchronising the primary activities through proper interconnected channels of marketing,
distribution and supplying from point of origination till its consumption point.
Concepts of Logistics Management
This is refereed as an important extension of supply chain management. It primarily deals
in maintenance of support planning and personnel, technical data with documentation and
reporting, training and more. Nonetheless, the logistics management is the component which
involves in arrangement of inventory as per forecasting of demand, customer services, storage
and handling of mater, transportation, purchasing power parity and related topics.
Logistics in general manner can be defined as that vital part of business in which
managing supplies, raw materials, equipments and finance are needed to have a control on the
entire operational flow of processes with suitable storage and transportation facilities. It is the
helping tool to reduce the costings with eliminating wastage by incorporating the business
control on the inbound and outbound freight, maintaining the reverse movement of raw
materials, goods and services, using proper modes of transportation for optimum utility and such
related factors that enhance the revenue generation and assist in improving the customers'
services (Sowers, 2017).
With open economy that promoted globalization, this segment is following many
elemental parts of selecting and choosing the distributors, retailers, vendors with proper channel
of transportation route so that delivery can be done with time efficiency. Here, Rise of IT and
internet has encouraged owners to take risk and pursue challenges in handling the complete
product development in proficient and cost effective approachability.
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Supply chain management versus logistics
With respect to Brarudi SA, there is a small disparity between these two on the basis of
local sourcing. This affected in the production of low-cost with good quality beer which replaced
the unhygienic home made brews with alcohol content. Therefore, logistics emphasis on
efficiency reaching the objectives by maximising profits and minimising costs. However, SCM
has a wider reflectivity with delivery of product on quality standards is the recognising nature of
demand and technologies. (Mir, S. & et.al., 2018) Additionally, these two components must
work together for this company to establish in newer marketplaces at different geographical
locations.
In context of expansion plans of this company, the governing body decided to lay some
objectives for better management of designing of planning and organising across various
destinations to expand their financial horizons in terms of new untapped marketplaces with
explicit involvement of its outbound and inbound transportation, fleeting distribution in
warehousing and inventory,
Challenges towards implementation of operations in different countries
Any enterprise when designing an expansion plan in different locations due to entry of
globalisation in the economic factor has led to the need of detailed and coherent plan. There are
many factors that are required to study for exploring various aspects in terms of new locations
and marketplaces and this part includes Global Market Forces, Technological Forces, Global
Cost Forces, Micro-economical forces and many more. Nevertheless, Brarudi SA must have a
strategic planning to face such critical issues that have arisen due to global supply chains with
international logistics. This company has seen an orientation of networks of facilities like
service, quality and information about dynamic micro-economic conditions including production
costs, transportation economies of different markets in the business environment.
Consequently, the Supply chain business processes with allocation of Product
Development and commercialization of the development of suppliers, distributors to set up an
interface for the global supply chain involving the re-engineering improvements in order to
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address the marketing perspectives are amongst the major landmarks for any company's
establishment to assess it in the most optimum manner for capturing the tactical functionalities of
production volumes that assist in the formation of product.
Although there has been extensively comprehensive operations research when
organisations plan to move towards new markets, however, there are few burning challenges
faced by the departmental managers while laying a foundational benchmark of their operations
(Kiessling & Harvey, 2014). Here, Brarudi SA put its focus on combating the inventory with
transportation management, sourcing and marketing in SCM and inclusion of behavioural
operations, green logistics and supply chain.
For an exclusive analysis of performance metrics while establishing the operations of
Brarudi SA in different locations, it is necessary to know about the implications they might face
while employing their undertakings in new area. For instance, when this company's inventory
has to be established, there must be key pointers like proximity to markets or decentralised
supply network should be followed to locate the entire supply chain networks appropriately.
Along with it, their managers must have decided the allocation of various facilities on the basis
of economies of sale by prioritising competition and order profiles. They must look into the re-
engineering techniques whether centralised or decentralise approaches should be executed or not.
Therefore, this specialised outlook shown by managers would help this company to bring the
logistics and sourcing in a coordinative angle by keeping all the sales activities in mind as per the
market prevalent scenarios. When failed in maintaining this balance, it would lead to incur
clinician losses and impact their reputation at global level.
Another challenge can be marked as sourcing in new arenas with the utilisation of
auctioning in the already established markets, which would have an upper hand in interacting
with residents effectively. In regard to this, the procurement scheme can assist the buyers or
purchasers for each purchasing. Henceforth, the pricing and promotion must have pivotal roles in
identifying the issues in context of marketing management. If formulation of pricing occurs on
the basis of availability and demand of that product in that region, it has an effect for exploring
the uncertainty and efficacy of products by providing accurate details and correlated demand that
might help in enhancing he availability of beverages and soft drinks of Brarudi SA.
In this global world, the infinite horizontal motion of green logistics is welcoming but it
act as a hindrance for the working practises of this largest beverages company of Burundi. This
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concept has gained momentum due to inventions by dynamism of globalisation but affected the
entire supply chains and logistics adversely. This eco-environmental conservation has uplifted
the industrial up gradation for establishments like Brarudi. It supported the transformation
journey of economic structure with other relevant promotional logistics level, however, it made
enormous burden on this company's manufacturing units as these expenses reached sky due to
employment of green processing, packaging with recovery and consumption of advanced
technology for improving logistics.
This company started small and gradually converted into one of the leading corporations
with the aim of expanding its operations in different locations. Moreover, the constraint they
have embarked upon by making an entry into its neighbouring countries posed several threats to
its financial accounting (Sweeney, Grant & Mangan, 2018). When investigated, the
transportation chain has been affected in bad light due to lack of coordination between their staff
and local residents. Due to this communication gap and insecurities, it led to the spiralling loop
of deterioration of their products at warehouses where they were stored for sometime. Along
with, the local distributors, retailers etc. must be taken into confidence for procurement of
product to deliver it to the shopkeepers and other small owners by maintaining and preserving
the freshness of their products, for which they are known for.
Subsequently, it can be inferred that globalisation has brought risks and struggles as
managing supply chains at global scale has become tiresome and complicated for managers at a
particular instance. It has highlighted that many people are involved and there can be
misinterpretation of information during production as it has made the identification and
quantification of stages difficult to mitigate and prioritize the decision making, resulting in
unnecessary delivery and wastage of allocated resources at larger global scale. Furthermore,
there is the availability of enormous data leading to improper communication with lack of right
collaboration systems
Additionally, there are many strategies to combat such challenges faced by managers of
Brarudi SA company. This abrupt flow of exchange of knowledge with technological innovation
and trading and capital has upthrusted globalisation into the limelight. This has led this company
to mark its entry by expanding its sourcing into a secure and diversified workforce by giving
higher quality and decreasing the costings. Their customers can be increased by understanding
their needs based on the study of socio-cultural aspects. Additionally, it assisted in economic
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viability and presence of their products which supported in downsizing of the operational costs.
It also makes the traditional local companies to operate as per their scales, operating
expenditures of storage, transporting etc. and also, it enhances the pool of opportunities for the
varied marketplaces (Mangan, Lalwani & Lalwani, 2016).
Such globalism logistics and supply chain networks brought flexibility in approaches that
imploded the supply chains in the most effective timeline. Therefore, a sense of competition
would be heightened and this act as fruitful for retailers and suppliers which can set their
standards by providing better outsourcing options and provisions for making the items, being
manufactured from a group of standardised procedures and regulations (Janné, 2018). This
affected the competitive advantages in positive forwarding direction by maintaining the
proactive engagement by employees to improve their performance through innovation and
bringing substantial gains by sales volume.
Therefore, it has affected the multi-faceted industrial sector, especially for Brarudi SA
which has utilised its SCM with the help of important developments in international trade and
infrastructural enhancements in context of taxations, transportation, trading rules, employability
contracts and cultural growth at wider scale for both the company and the country it is embarking
its operations. This has unlocked a new multidimensional approachibility for Brarudi to enter
into new marketplaces outside and gives a platform to jump into this plethora of opportunities by
moulding the critical components of SCM and logistics to flourish at international level
successfully and effectively. Overall, with globalisation and onset of open economy has paved
the path of development and progression for companies like Brarudi, which is located at the most
underdeveloped continents in the world and more than 80 percent population is agrarian based.
Key trends and drivers for industrial market growth due to globalisation
This is a new phenomenon in context of digitalization as this technological advancements
led its widespread reach by lowering the wastage, costs of transportation and communication. It
brought world of knowledge at the footsteps and raised the intensity of using new technologies
by interrelating it in vertical order for achieving geographical dispersion of networks, products
and consumers (Zinn& Goldsby, 2014). It supported small and large organisations in expansion
of its trade for promoting goods and services at both regional and inter-national levels. Also,
there is a deeper and wider influence on the capital flows in persistent mode. It aids in high
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number of transactions by affecting high daily turnovers with context of foreign exchange
markets. Thus, this trend drove the commitment and passion of Brarudi's management to sustain
and flourish in new markets by adopting approaches for their success.
Business environment with oversees culture
Globalisation has led to accessibility of untapped and new marketplaces for organisations
who want to expand their operations. However, this has an adverse influence due to an unstable
atmosphere created by surplus amount of choices as per the customer's demands. There has been
a crucial need of cultivating an understanding of the overall implications because of existing
business environments and the varied other aspects of supplier, transportation, commitment,
cross border cultural disparities and many more such parameters that has impacted the overseas
culture for those organisations who are planning to expand.
Along with, the market orientation plays a vital part in pushing companies to invest and
explore new locations at different countries. This is mostly useful for improving the performance
management of workforce, employers and investors with related operations (Garbie, 2016).
Although it is more oriented in stable markets rather than trying to flourish in struggling or
churning markets. Here, Brarudi had a strong backup of managers for responding to their
strategic planning efficiently. Human Resource Mangers are updated with the interpretations of
global supply chain and this helped them to hire people who were aware of their surroundings in
terms of political issues or cultural beliefs and accelerated the product development process in
appropriate manner by adapting to its cultural workplace properly.
CONCLUSION
It has been summarized that with emergence of globalisation and flexibility in socio-
cultural aspects of communities, businesses have been able to take a 360 degrees approach in
expanding their reach in global perspective at both international and regional levels. Along with
this, roles of supply chain and logistics departments has been mentioned to have an
understanding on their utilisation and related implications for smooth running of operational
activities. Furthermore, there are many challenges faced by Brarudi SA while establishing in
different countries but were supported from its parent organisation wisely through employing a
structured administration for proper employment of supply networking channels and
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international logistics. Henceforth, it has been summed up that globalization accelerated the
business environment by strongly impacting the established operations of organisations through
Internet of Things, predictive analysis and other digital operating models in context of logistics
with supply chain of products.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Garbie, I. (2016). Globalization and International Issues. In Sustainability in Manufacturing
Enterprises (pp. 11-21). Springer, Cham.
Janné, M. (2018). Supply chain management, logistics, and third-party logistics in construction:
A literature review. Construction Management and Economics.
Kiessling, T., & Harvey, M. (2014). Human resource management issues associated with the
globalization of supply chain management and logistics. International Journal of Physical
Distribution & Logistics Management. 44(8/9).
Mangan, J., Lalwani, C., & Lalwani, C. L. (2016). Global logistics and supply chain
management. John Wiley & Sons.
Mir, S. & et.al. (2018). Content analysis in SCM research: past uses and future research
opportunities. The International Journal of Logistics Management. 29(1). 152-190.
Sam, A. (2018). E-Business using Supply Chain Management Integration and
Globalization. International Journal of Supply Chain Management.7(1). 209-211.
Sowers, E. A. (2017). Logistics labor: Insights from the sociologies of globalization, the
economy, and work. Sociology Compass. 11(3). e12459.
Sweeney, E., Grant, D. B., & Mangan, D. J. (2018). Strategic adoption of logistics and supply
chain management. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 38(3). 852-
873.
Zinn, W., & Goldsby, T. J. (2014). Logistics professional identity: strengthening the discipline as
galaxies collide. Journal of Business Logistics. 35(1). 23-28.
Online
Hall, M., 2018. Globalization and International Investment. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/022615/what-effect-has-globalization-had-
international-investments.asp>.
Mhugos, 2014. Five supply chain drivers. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.scmglobe.com/five-supply-chain-drivers/>.
Mukit, 2018. Objectives of Logistics Management in SCM. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.scmwizard.com/objectives-of-logistics-management/>.
APPENDIXES
Illustration 1: Stages of Supply Chain Management
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