Richmond Business School: Supply Chain Management Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of supply chain management, focusing on the context of Amazon. It explores strategies to improve supply chain relationships through customer segmentation and multi-tier inventory systems. The report examines methods to mitigate supply chain risk by ensuring supply quality, diversifying suppliers, and transparent communication. Furthermore, it discusses cost reduction strategies such as utilizing information systems and outsourcing. Finally, the report investigates ways to improve supply chain sustainability through supply chain mapping and baseline supplier performance, offering a comprehensive overview of key aspects within the field of supply chain management.

Supply chain
management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................3
Discuss different ways to improve supply chain relationships..............................................3
Explain several ways to mitigate supply chain risk and reduce cost of supply chain............4
Examine ways through which entity can improve supply chain sustainability.....................6
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................11
Books & Journal:..................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Business sector is increasing at wider scale in which suppliers and supply chain
management play important role an exhibition of functions and operations in market. Supply
Change management is defined as process of flow of goods and services which comprises
methods from converting of raw materials into final products (Beck 2017). Competition
level in business has also increased which makes it essential for donations to focus on their
supply chain management. Amazon, multinational corporation technological firm
headquartered in US. Organisation deals in artificial intelligence, consumer electronic goods
and products and e-commerce websites etc. It is located at global scale and has many
competitors in market like eBay, Walmart and many more. This report comprises of concept
of supply chain, different ways through which it can be improved, methods of reducing
supply chain cost and risk as well as how sustainability in supply chain is increased by
enterprises.
MAIN BODY
Discuss different ways to improve supply chain relationships
Supply chain management is a longer procedure which consists of different types of
stages and activities which focuses on converting of raw materials into final products for
consumption and sale. It is critically important for Amazon to improve their supply chain
relationships in order to execute other processes in well effective manner (Chen, 2018).
Amazon has global clients and they also have number of suppliers across the globe with the
help of which they are capable of delivering their products and services into every part of a
country. Amazon focuses on implementation of long-term strategy when it comes to supply
chain as they sell differentiation products into smaller entities and on the basis of demands
and needs of customers. In business, relations are to be properly maintained so that decisions
can be undertaken accordingly. There are different types of strategies which are adopted by
Amazon with purpose of improving supply chain relationships across the globe which are
further discussed as follows-
 Segmentation of customers- It is most effective strategy which can be used by
Amazon in which they are needed to segment their customers according to their needs
and demands. To maintain and manage as well as developer optimistic relationship
with customers it is critically essential for selected organisation to focus on this

segmentation strategy which helps them to make decision and provider prime
customer delivery services to customers at all aspects. Segmentation of customers is a
time-consuming process but is essential and need to be implemented with reliable use
of information of market and changing situations.
 Multi-tier inventory system- This is another appropriate strategy which is to be
adopted in which Amazon have a multi-tier system as because they have a number of
suppliers and which are connected with the one single supply chain which also results
in low cost as well less reduces capital assets of business.
 Systematic communication- It is also related strategy which is being carried out by
Amazon in which they aims towards carrying out the effective and systematic
communication in supply chain processes which is beneficial for reducing risk and
leads to carrying out processes in systematic manner. Communication is necessary to
be carried out in most efficient way so that message and information are properly
understood by every individual in management which results in execution of roles and
responsibilities appropriately. For example- for communication, supervisors can use
entity’s internal system, mail, online channels like Facebook, Instagram etc. on basis
of which information can be shared easily.
From above explained matter, it is seen that it is critically important to improve supply
chain relationships on the basis of which it become easier for Amazon to carry out their
business activities in most efficient way. It is duty of both managers and leaders to make
assure that correct type of strategies are implemented to develop positive relationships.
Explain several ways to mitigate supply chain risk and reduce cost of supply chain
In business, there are number of activities and functions which are being carried out
by organisations. Supply chain management is responsible for shaping the raw materials into
image of a product and then conception or usage is being made by customers. It is further
seen that risk related to supply chain is hire and are of different types which are needed to be
properly determined and solved. To execute business activities in convenient procedure
correct type of strategies as well as methods are needed to be adopted through which
organisation is capable of reducing risk and managing cost. Reducing cost is critically
essential so that management of Amazon is able to drive supply chain activities in cost
effective manner (Deng, 2019). Furthermore, it is too stated that risks as well as cost both to
be minimised by adoption of relevant methods. There are various ways of mitigating supply
chain risk which are described as follows-
Ensure supply quality- Suppliers and their decisions have a deep impact on business
activities as well as goodwill. To mitigate the supply chain risk it is essential for Amazon to

ensure that quality of supply is of higher so that satisfaction level is accomplished by both
employees as well as customers. By ensuring the quality of a supply, it is essential for
company to analyse and identify the faults raw materials which can impact upon future
processors and leads to lower level of satisfaction. Quality play important role in
improvement of supply chain procedures and processes because of quality is low then it is not
applicable for organisation to increase their productivity and profits scale.
Diversify suppliers- It is also any effective method which is being adopted by
Amazon to mitigate the risk as because with the adoption of diversified suppliers company is
capable of delivering products and services within a systematic timely manner which is
beneficial for development of business (Haghighat Khajavi, 2020).
Also, by establishing of various reliable secondary suppliers in different parts of
country can minimise risk. With the changing period of time it is becoming a critically ill for
businesses to have number of suppliers in their business that goodwill of company increases
because of delivery products of customers in a specific time scale. Due to enhance in
competition level in retail sector, it is necessary for every firm to diversify their suppliers so
that benefits are achieved appropriately.
Includes partners in risk planning- As organisation works with number of people in
management they can include different ranges of people such as suppliers data management
centres and customers transportation careers through which it will be easier to recover the
losses and continue business plan in on-going motive. By involving wide number of partners
in planning, it is convenient for enterprise to make decisions and take precautions for future
business activities. Through implementation of risk planning, entity easily deal with issues &
conflicts that arises in between process of supply chain (Kamalahmadi, 2017).
Be transparent with partners- In order to mitigate risk in supply chain it is duty of
both managers and leaders to share all information as well as data to partners in transparent
manners like sharing of information such as sales projections, product design changes, etc.
Through sharing of information transparently results in distribution of right product at right
time to customers. Partners make it easy to resolve issues by use of information in most
correct process. By being a transparent company, Amazon can competitive advantage because
of large number of suppliers and this can also leads to improving of better relations within the
management.
Thus, it is analysed that mitigating supply chain risk can leads to driving of business
into effective process and it too also results in improving effectiveness of organisation into
better way.

Methods to reduce cost of supply chain
Main reason for minimising the cost of supply chain is that it helps businesses to
invest in other sectors too which leads to higher growth and development. This has been too
examined that by use of relevant approaches cost can be reduces up to some extent which are
given as follows-
 Using information system- This is to be viewed as appropriate method because
through implementation of information system in management of Amazon, company
can easily manage & maintain the order management system through they can deliver
products and goods within time scale. There are many types of tools and a technology
through which information system is link carried out and is also used by Amazon with
proper concentration of technical teams and supervisors.
 Outsourcing- Running business is not an easy task which requires detailed
knowledge of market as well as customers in. proper manner. Outsourcing is defined
as process of taking services from outsiders in order to higher candidates and
expertise within home country (Li, 2017). This method is beneficial for reducing the
supply chain cost and it is used by Amazon with purpose of gaining more benefits and
skilled employees. It is further seen that by having competitive benefits and right it
service providers it can leads to sharing of cost for many other business processes and
increases efficiency as well. In context of selected organisation, they also have
number of outsourcing agencies all over the world through which they are capable of
minimising cost of supply chain in effective procedure.
This, it has been seen that it is critically crucial for international enterprises to use
most effective methods in order to reduce cost of supply chain and through which they can
enhance their business functions as well as operations at larger level. With above examined
points, it is stated that there are various ways by which risk factors related to supply chain
management can reduce significantly. Apart from this, there are several ways such as using
information system, outsourcing and more that are helpful in minimizing cost of supply chain
management. For this, purpose, there are models of supply chain management are also
applied significantly.
Examine ways through which entity can improve supply chain sustainability
Supply chain management helps businesses to execute their business functions and
fulfil the needs of customers at all aspects. It is recorded that need for suppliers in businesses
has been increased with the time period. Without accessing to suppliers it is not easier for

both company and customers to accomplish their demands in effective process. Amazon is a
multinational company which have a number of suppliers who purchase and sell their
products as well as goods on e-commerce website of Amazon in legal and ethical manner.
 Mapping supply chain- Developing and improving sustainability in supply chain
records proper knowledge and information regarding customers and market through
which supply chain is being mapped. There are many enterprises in market that do
not have relevant information and data about customers observe processes which is
needed in functionality of organisation (Marchi, 2017). This makes it difficult for
them to survive in market for longer period of time. In context of Amazon, it is
further stated that to improve the sustainability level of business enterprise maintain
its relationship with suppliers and customers with the timely procurement third which
is being viewed as a source of income for suppliers and other people. So, it is saying
that making supply chain is the best way of improving supply chain sustainability for
longer interval.
 Baseline supplier performance- Suppliers are asset of organisation because they are
bi pass through which products and goods are supplied in market and to customers.
Selecting supplier for business is also need to be done in proper manner because it
may directly impact upon cost of the business and other processes which can results in
negative outcomes. Conducting baseline for a supplier performance is required an
essential to be done through which it become convenient for entity to determine
progress level of suppliers who are capable of selling more products to consumers and
accordingly costs are negotiated between them
 Assure ethical sourcing/ introduce transparency: It is stated that supply chain
managers need to ensure that they are sourcing raw material and other such resources
from ethical sources which so essential for ensuring sustainability standards within
supply chain management. )(Moktadir, 2018). In this, information system can be
adopted for monitoring the working conditions and environmental factors. In addition
to this, there is requirement to have more transparency between company & suppliers
in order to make proper control over the activities of suppliers. Moreover, it also
assists in terms of establishing relationship with vendors which is essential for
sustainability. Inconsideration of chosen entity, they also need to ensure to embark
ethical practices in sourcing of raw material & also need to maintain required
transparency with suppliers for future benefits.

 Reducing overproduction by efficient planning of demand and supply: Amazon
deals in various parts of countries but it is also necessary for them to have a control
over production and supplies of raw materials as well as products so that resources are
used in efficient manner and demand and supply are properly managed. Main result to
minimise over production is that it leads to saving of cost and resources which are
beneficial for future growth of organisation in long term. They can manage their
production scale by properly using statistics of market and strategies of customers to
attract more customers which give a path to management how and when to produce
products or goods in market= (Rajeev, 2017).
This has been analysed to that different methods are available which can be used by
Amazon with purpose of improving supply chain sustainability. Moreover it has been also so
sweet that business with long term sustainability is more capable of earning higher profit and
sales ratios. In order to supply chain sustainability, a proper internal and external analysis is
to be carried out through which it become convenient for company to make decision
regarding future and present contexts (Sreedevi, 2017).

CONCLUSION
After a brief examining of above report it is critically seen that supply chain
management is the core part of business which is to be processed with the proper
considerations. So, discussions have been made about ways to improve supply chain
relationships, approaches of minimising supply chain risk and cost. Then further
improvement in supply chain sustainability is briefly explained. It is evaluated that managers
and leaders need to prepare about how to deliver better services to customers and maintain
supply chain so that productivity is increased at higher scale. The concept of supply chain is
required to be carried out in systematic procedure so that it results in accomplishing of
organisational goals and objectives without facing any issue.

REFERENCES
Books & Journal:
Beck 2017. Blockchain technology in business and information systems research.
Chen, 2018, September. Information about bank intangibles, analyst information
intermediation, and the role of knowledge and social forces in the ‘market for
information’. In Accounting forum (Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 261-276). Taylor & Francis.
Deng, 2019. Evaluating green supply chain management practices under fuzzy environment:
a novel method based on D number theory. International Journal of Fuzzy Systems,
21(5), pp.1389-1402.
Haghighat Khajavi, 2020, January. Impact of Additive Manufacturing on Supply Chain
Complexity. In Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System
Sciences.
Kamalahmadi, 2017. An assessment of supply chain disruption mitigation strategies.
International Journal of Production Economics, 184, pp.210-230.
Li, 2017. Additive manufacturing technology in spare parts supply chain: a comparative
study. International Journal of Production Research, 55(5), pp.1498-1515.
Marchi, 2017. Supply chain management for improved energy efficiency: Review and
opportunities. Energies, 10(10), p.1618.
Moktadir, 2018. Modeling the interrelationships among barriers to sustainable supply chain
management in leather industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 181, pp.631-651.
Rajeev, 2017. Evolution of sustainability in supply chain management: A literature
review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 162, pp.299-314.
Sreedevi, 2017. Uncertainty and supply chain risk: The moderating role of supply chain
flexibility in risk mitigation. International Journal of Production Economics, 193,
pp.332-342.

Stevenson, M. and Cole, R., 2018. Modern slavery in supply chains: a secondary data
analysis of detection, remediation and disclosure. Supply Chain Management: An
International Journal.
Xu, 2020. Supply chain management approach for greenhouse and acidifying gases emission
reduction towards construction materials industry: A case study from China. Journal
of Cleaner Production, 258, p.120521.