Supply Chain Report: DHL's Strategies and Cycle View Analysis

This report delves into the intricacies of supply chain management, exploring the concepts of a single global supply chain, the standardization of data and processes, and the importance of collaboration within supply chain hubs. It examines the critical role of employee capabilities in the logistics industry, particularly in Singapore. The report further analyzes push and pull strategies, providing a comparison of their advantages and disadvantages, illustrated with DHL as a case study. Finally, it discusses the significance of the cycle view in shaping operational decisions within supply chain management, offering insights into its implementation and benefits. The report includes references to relevant literature in the field.

Table of Contents
Part A)......................................................................................................................................... 2
A single global supply chain:......................................................................................................... 2
Enabling the standardization and harmonization of data and processes across the
businesses and functions:............................................................................................................... 2
In the global supply chain hub, employees from purchasing, supply chain,
operations and IT collaborate with other departments as an integrated team on a
common agenda:................................................................................................................................ 2
Right capabilities to seize the exciting professional opportunities in the logistic
industry:............................................................................................................................................... 2
Efficient ports and airport make it an ideal choice for all kinds of logistic operation:
................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Part B)......................................................................................................................................... 3
Q1:........................................................................................................................................................... 3
Advantages and Disadvantages of Push and Pull view:........................................................3
Q2:........................................................................................................................................................... 4
References................................................................................................................................. 5

Part A)
A single global supply chain:
This concept is popular in the field of supply chain management as this helps
organizations to improve the operations in terms of speed, agility and the
efficiency, which leads companies to attain the organizational objectives by
growing substantially.
Enabling the standardization and harmonization of data and processes across
the businesses and functions:
This underlined concept makes the data of different entities like products,
customers, logistics etc. transparent. This exchange of information about
different entities within the organization not only improve the overall operations of
organization but sustain them by setting standards and continuously monitoring
to achieve them.
In the global supply chain hub, employees from purchasing, supply chain,
operations and IT collaborate with other departments as an integrated team on
a common agenda:
The concept of collaboration between different teams and departments in the
global supply chain hub of an organization not only helps different teams to get
knowledge about diverse disciplines but also harmonizes them to hold a common
ground in order to attain the overall objectives of an organization.
Right capabilities to seize the exciting professional opportunities in the logistic
industry:
This underlined concept discusses the training and positioning of employees in
the supply chain of an organization to be fully equipped and qualified to grab
multiple opportunities in the logistic industry of the Singapore.
Efficient ports and airport make it an ideal choice for all kinds of logistic
operation:
The size and load of passengers measure the efficiency of the ports and airports
worldwide however, in case of Singapore the location of the country matters a lot
as well. Singapore, which connects Asia with the whole world in terms of logistics

as bigger companies from different origins such as DHL, FedEx etc. have already
invested their heavy chunks to improve their supply chain management.
Part B)
Q1:
DHL as a logistic giant globally uses the push and pull strategies in there supply
chain. Push strategies usually refer to when the demand of a particular product
arises that particular product enters the process, an example of the push strategy
would be that warm jackets that are usually worn in winters by the people are
pushed in the end of a summer season and just at the start of the winter season
to specific retailers. Similarly pull strategies refer just-in-time solution where the
stock on hand is minimized with more focus on last minute deliveries. Under this
strategy product usually enters the process when the demand of those products
arises. A good example of this strategy is a computer retailer who gets an order
from its customer first and builds the computer according to the instructions and
demand of a customer (Christopher, 2011).
Advantages and Disadvantages of Push and Pull view:
Advantages
Pull System Push System
Limited inventory
Customer centric
Improves the cash flow
Made on order
High inventory
Producer centric
Make to stock
Forecasting
Disadvantages
Systems must be balanced
Setup times affect the throughput
Problems lead to dissatisfied
customers
High stress work
Scrap is generated before the
discovery of errors
Maintenance of large database is
required
A lot of attention is needed in place to
maintain the product flow

Q2:
A cycle view of supply chain is considered as very important because it can
shape the operational decisions very easily since this approach clearly specifies
the duties and different responsibilities assigned to each member of the supply
chain. Each of the cycles occurs at the real interface between the two phases of
the SCM. The cycle view of supply chain is very useful, when implemented by
any company: for example, if company goes on to set up an information system
to ease up the operations of the supply chain it really assists the implementation
because the objectives and the ownership is clearly defined (Stadtler and Kilger,
2005).

References
Christopher, M. (2011). Logistics & supply chain management. 1st ed. Harlow,
England: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Stadtler, H. and Kilger, C. (2005). Supply chain management and advanced
planning. 1st ed. Berlin: Springer.