Comprehensive Report: Dodge Company Operations and Supply Chain

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Dodge Company's operations and supply chain management. It begins with an introduction to the company and its industry, emphasizing the importance of supply chain management. The report then delves into a job research section, specifically focusing on the role of the Transportation Manager, outlining responsibilities, salary comparisons, and the author's interest in the position. Following this, the report explores the critical decisions of operations management as they pertain to Dodge, covering areas such as goods and service design, quality, location, human resources, supply chain management, and inventory. Finally, the report examines Dodge's mission, strategies, and competitive advantages, highlighting how the company aims to achieve its goals through teamwork, consumer enthusiasm, and continuous improvement. The analysis provides insights into how Dodge aligns its operations to maintain a strong position in the automotive market.

Introduction to Supply Chain and
Operations Management
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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Job Research..........................................................................................................................................3
Critical Decisions of Operations.............................................................................................................4
Mission, Strategy, Competitive Advantage............................................................................................5
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................7
References.............................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
Dodge is an American automobile manufacturer based in Michigan. The industry in which
the company operates makes it important to focus on supply chain management
greatly. The company has been in the sector of manufacturing cars since 1914,
making them one of the established companies in the global automotive market.
However in the Canadian market the Dodge lineup of cars had hit the bottom, when
in 1988 the Dodge Dynasty was sold in Canada as the Chrysler Dynasty. Despite the
challenges that the company faced in the country with the changes in ownership,
the company makes sure that the safety and security of the customers and their
families as paramount and is thus fully committed to producing vehicles with long
lasting reliability (FCA Canada Inc, 2018).
Job Research
Job title
The Transportation Manager (NOC code- 0731) of the company is an essential part, who
ensures that there is effective planning, organising and directing of the
transportation to and from the company. Transportation is one of the most
important aspects of the supply chain management of the Dodge Company. Apart
from that the transportation manager in the dodge company is responsible inbound
transportation and controlling of the outbound logistics as well. Further areas like
budget of transportation departments which is responsible for the transportation
and movement of goods or companies involved in supply chain services are also
dealt by the transportation manager.
Job responsibilities
The main responsibilities of the transportation manager include:
 To plan, develop, organise, direct, manage, as well as evaluate the operations and
budget of transportation departments of the company.
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 Work with the different international carriers and freight forwarders so as to
streamline the flow of goods across the international borders and through the
customs.
 Direct the activities of the staffs who, are related to transportation operations,
which includes, dispatching, routing, and tracking transportation vehicles.
 Negotiate as well as authorise contracts, and even direct procurement that are
related to transportation operational needs
 Monitor the operations so as to ensure that the staffs comply with the
administrative policies and procedures, safety rules, union contracts, and
government regulations
 Conduct investigations in order to determine the causes of the accidents related to
transportation and to improve the safety procedures.
 To remain updated with the latest technological advancements in transportation
systems and procedures (Supply Chain Canada, 2014).
From the above job responsibilities, it is seen that the transportation manager handles a
wide range of activities, which makes sure that the transportation of raw materials
and final products are made securely and safely across states and borders. However
of the eight responsibilities, two of those are quite interesting, which includes;
 Work with the different international carriers and freight forwarders so as to
streamline the flow of goods across the international borders and through the
customs.
 Direct the activities of the staffs who, are related to transportation operations,
which includes, dispatching, routing, and tracking transportation vehicles.
It allows the company to make effective transportation plan across the country and across
international locations as well. Further it also makes sure that the company is able
to understand the delivery time for the raw materials, vehicles and vehicle parts.
However there are certain responsibilities that are not attractive, like monitoring the
operations for ensuring that the staffs comply with the administrative policies and
procedures, safety rules, union contracts, and government regulations, as well as
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investigation of the causes of the accidents related to transportation and to improve
the safety procedures. These activities could also be carried out by the junior
transportation executives, as the transportation manager has several other
responsibilities which if not taken care off might lower the efficiency of the
transportation system.
Salary comparison Table
The expected salary of the transportation Manager in Canada is high. As per three sources,
the salary has been highlighted below:
Figure 1 shows a possible salary comparison table.
Glassdoor Website $67,000 - $88,000
Salary Expert Website $83,000 - $100,000
Salary Wizard Website $66,842 - $91,868
Figure 1: Comparative Salaries for a Transportation Manager (NOC-0731) Source: (Glassdoor
Inc., 2018) (Salary Expert, 2018) (Salary Wizard, 2018)
Reasons for the similarities and/or differences in the salaries from these three sources
The differences in the salary listings of the different websites could be mainly due to the
inaccurate information acquisition from the market. Apart from that, often the
amount entered by some of the websites is not verified, so there are high chances
that the salary might be different in different websites. Apart from that, some of the
websites provide the salary figure including all the benefits and the variable pay,
while some other website only highlight the actual salary or the fixed pay. However
the similarity often ensures that there are high chances that the salary could range
from the stated figure, as two or more than two website could not provide wrong
information at a particular period of time.
Interested in job – why or why not
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The job that has been highlighted in the above section- Transportation Manager is an
interesting job and requires taking great responsibility. In an automobile company,
transportation plays a prominent role, as the finished vehicles needs to be
transported in different show rooms and warehouses. Apart from that, it also
involves making sure that the company is able to meet the requirements and
delivery time appropriately. Thus, I would be glad to accept this job role. However, it
requires a great deal of experience and expertise. For that, I have to start in the
junior level and prove my expertise to reach to that level. The salary for the port is
also high. However, it would have been better if the salary would have been a little
high, as it requires much hard work and responsibility.
Critical Decisions of Operations
Based on the 10 critical decisions of operations management, 6 of them have been
explained below with respect to the Dodge Company.
Goods and service design refers to the range of products sold by the company and the
relevant transformation process. In the case of the Dodge Company, it
manufactures and sells goods such as pickup and medium to heavy trucks, sport
utility vehicles, vans and high-performance vehicles. The transformation process of
the company has been taking place at the Warren Truck Assembly plant wherein the
trucks, vans and vehicles are made. The designs of the trucks are integrated with
the features of a car with the plush adventurer package. On the other hand, the
vans, sport utility vehicles and high-performance vehicles followed the panel
delivery models with Dodge Dart platform, six-cylinder and v8 engines (Dodge,
2018). Through goods and service design, the mission of Dodge Company is attained
as it would provide the high quality and performance vehicles to its customers.
Quality has been crucial for the operation management decisions as it forces the company
to adhere to the standard procedures to meet the customer expectation. The
mission of the Dodge Company is aligned with its quality commitment as it plans to
be the premier quality vehicle retailer in the world (Dodge, 2018). Through its
continuous improvement approach, Dodge has been restructuring its vehicles for
better performance which is the mission of the company.
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Location is a significant area of the operation management on which the decision to supply
and distribute the product depends. Although the Dodge Company distributes its
vehicle on a global scale, it has its major operations in Argentina, Asia (Japan, China,
South Korea, and the Middle East), Australia, Brazil, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain,
France etc. (Dodge, 2018). In order to provide the best opportunities to its
customer, Dodge Company thinks global and hence the mission of the company is
achieved through its effective decision of location.
Human Resources and Job Designs forms an integral part of the system design. The labour
standards and the skills, abilities and knowledge are vital for the operation
management decisions. At Dodge Company, the job designs are aligned with the
organisational goals and objectives which are to manufacture high-quality vehicles
with the high-performance feature. Hence, the company conducts an effective
recruitment and selection process by justifying the roles, responsibilities and job
description of each of the positions. For instance, currently, the Dodge Company is
seeking to hire a creative designer with the ability to create both production and
advanced design proposals representing 2-D and 3-D concepts through digital
sketching, Photoshop, ALIAS and similar programs. Dodge Company’s vision is to
produce premier quality vehicles in the world which is achievable with the decision
to frame appropriate human resource policies and job designs.
Supply chain management is the most important part of the operations management
decision as it is considered to be the pathway between the production and
distribution to the end users. Dodge Company has an innovative supply chain
management process as it entails a test model for radically different models of
vehicles along with a unique method to deal with the suppliers (Dodge, 2018). This
decision is unique as it helps Dodge to ensure that the stakeholders such as
customers, communities and suppliers are satisfied with the product and service
which is the mission of the company.
Inventory deals in the availability of the products which facilitates the production process
and also tends to meet the market demand. In case of the Dodge Company, an
Automatic Replenishment Order system has been facilitating the management of
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the inventories (Kwanten, 2017). The mission of the company is to provide the best
opportunities to the customers and suppliers which could be achieved through the
effective decision of managing inventory.
Mission, Strategy, Competitive Advantage
The mission of Dodge Company is to be the premier quality vehicle retailer that would be
providing the best opportunities to its customers and communities (Dodge, 2018).
The mission statement reveals that the focus of the company is on its continuous
improvement process as well as on maintaining the highest quality of the vehicles to
satisfy the needs and expectation of the company stakeholders.
The three strategies that the Dodge Company implements and uses in order to achieve its
mission are promoting effective teamwork, being committed to consumer
enthusiasm and facilitating continuous improvement. The mission of the company
is to produce high-quality vehicles and offer it to its customers and in doing so, the
employees of the organisation play a significant role. In this regards, the company
ensures that the talents and skills are recognised efficiently and work in
collaboration to satisfy the needs and expectation of the stakeholders. With
effective teamwork, the Dodge Company is able to increase its productivity and
produce high-quality vehicles. On the other hand, the second strategy is based on
practising commitment to consumer enthusiasm. The ultimate mission of the
company is to satisfy the interests and needs of the customers and hence the
company undertakes this strategy as a symbol of valuing and caring about the
customers. By exceeding the expectation of the customers, the company is able to
provide them with the best opportunities as a part of their mission statement
(Dodge, 2018). Lastly, the strategy of promoting continuous improvement is
considered to be the step to improve the performance of the company as the
employees are given the opportunity for growth and development. This would help
them to be motivated and perform towards achieving the mission and goal of
Dodge Company which is to be the manufacturer of premier quality vehicles in the
world.
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Through these three strategies, the company is able to meet its mission. Through effective
teamwork, the company is able to create a brainstorming session to exchange
product development ideas and also to facilitate the research and development unit
of the Dodge Company. This would enable the company to differentiate their
vehicles and truck features which inevitably helps them to achieve competitive
advantage. On the other hand, by focusing, valuing and caring about the customer
needs and expectations, the company is able to attract a greater customer base
through which it gains a competitive advantage (Dodge, 2018). Lastly, the
commitment towards continuous improvement allows the company to increase the
productivity and performance. This tends to improve the quality of the vehicles
manufactured by Dodge Company and supports them in achieving competitive
advantage.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is seen that the job of a transportation manager is very
important for the company and is also an important aspect of the supply chain
management. In the context of the dodge company, it is seen that the
transportation manager’s responsibilities are important as the company operates in
the automotive industry, where transferring the vehicles play a great role, in
meeting the company objectives. The critical decisions that have been selected are
crucial for the decisions related to the operations management as it deals in areas
such as supply chain management, inventory management, job design, quality,
location, and goods design. Each of these decisions is undertaken by the Dodge
Company to attain their mission statement. Apart from this, three strategies have
been determined which focuses on teamwork, customer enthusiasm and
continuous improvement that also helps the company to gain a competitive
advantage.
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References
Dodge. (2018, September). COMPARE VEHICLES. Retrieved September 1, 2018, from
https://www.dodge.ca/en/compare/
Dodge. (2018, September). Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company History. Retrieved
September 1, 2018, from http://dodgemotorcar.com/history/index.php
Dodge. (2018, September). Dodge Motors - The Chrysler Era. Retrieved September 1, 2018,
from http://dodgemotorcar.com/history/chrysler.php
Dodge. (2018, September). Our Mission. Retrieved September 1, 2018, from
https://www.hendrickdodge.com/our-mission.htm
FCA Canada Inc. (2018). RECALL INFORMATION. Retrieved Sept 01, 2018, from
https://www.mopar.com/en-ca/my-vehicle/recalls/search.html
Glassdoor Inc. (2018). Transportation Manager Salaries. Retrieved September 01, 2018,
from https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/transportation-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,22.htm
Kwanten, A. (2017). Managing parts inventory gets tougher. Retrieved September 1, 2018,
from http://www.autonews.com/article/20171023/RETAIL05/171029997/managing-parts-
inventory-gets-tougher
Salary Expert. (2018). Salary Calculator - Transportation Manager. Retrieved September 01,
2018, from https://www.salaryexpert.com/salarycalculator/researcher
Salary Wizard. (2018). Transportation ManagerCanada, KY. Retrieved September 01, 2018,
from https://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/transportation-Manager-Salary-Details-Canada-
KY.aspx
Supply Chain Canada. (2014). OCCUPATIONAL STANDARD. Retrieved Sept 01, 2018, from
http://www.supplychaincanada.org/assets/u/CSCSCOSFinalTransportationManager.pdf
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