Analysis of Operations, Logistics & Supply Chain at Vauxhall Motors

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Vauxhall Motors' operations, logistics, and supply chain management. It examines the company's quality management strategies, focusing on Total Quality Management (TQM) and its eight key elements, including customer focus, employee involvement, and continuous improvement. The report also explores Vauxhall Motors' logistics mix, including channels, networks, transportation, inventory management (using Economic Order Quantity), and production capacity. Furthermore, it discusses the company's use of demand forecasting and its adherence to the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework for sustainable business practices. The report highlights the benefits of these strategies, such as increased productivity, strengthened competitive positions, and enhanced market image. This analysis offers insights into how Vauxhall Motors manages its operations to achieve its business objectives, and the importance of quality and effective logistics in the automotive industry.

UNDERSTANDING
OPERATIONS LOGISTICS
AND SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT
VAUXHALL MOTORS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is defined as the planning, organizing and controlling the
direction of the production and manufacturing of the product or services which the company is
providing. Without effective operation management the company cannot run its business in
successful and effective manner. This is pertaining to the fact that with good and effective
operation management company decides that whether the production of the company will take
place in effective manner or not. The present study is based on company Vauxhall Motors which
is a British car manufacturer headquartered in Luton UK. The company was founded by
Alexander Wilson in the year 1857. The current report will discuss about two major aspects
relating to company that is managing quality and the logistics mix of the company.
MAIN BODY
Management of quality by Vauxhall Motors
The quality is the only aspect on the basis of which the company can attract the
consumers to a great extent. There are many competitors within the external environment and the
consumer wants something better in comparison to the other products (Banomyong,
Varadejsatitwong and Oloruntoba 2019). Hence, the product of the company needs to possess
some of the distinct feature which makes it different from other competitors. Hence, this can
only be based on the quality of the product only as if quality will be good then this will attract
them and they will become loyal to the company only. For the management of quality of
Vauxhall Motors is the most essential aspect. For this Vauxhall Motors makes use of the Total
Quality Management (TQM) which is a tool for the company to manage the quality of the
product and services of the company. This TQM is a process that describes the management
approach for long term success by focusing on the consumer satisfaction by way of providing
quality product to consumers. There are majorly eight elements of TQM which are focused by
Vauxhall Motors which are as follows-
1. Customer focused- this is the most essential element which states that the focus of the
company must be always on the need and satisfaction of the consumers. the consumer are
ultimately focused on the quality of the goods and service that is if the quality will be
good then this will motivate the consumer to buy the product otherwise not.

2. Total employee involvement- this is another major element of TQM which states that
when there is proper involvement of employees within the company and its goals then it
will improve the quality of the product and services to a great extent (Bernon, Tjahjono
and Ripanti, 2018).
3. Process centred- this element in TQM states that process is the fundamental key and if
this will not be managed then this will affect the whole process of product or service
completion. Thus, this will have a great impact over the process that is input and output
of the company.
4. Integrated system- this is another major element of the TQM process in Vauxhall Motors
as this consist of difference types of functional specialities which are generally organized
into vertically structured departments. An integrated business system of Vauxhall Motors
may be modelled after the Baldrige award and is incorporated against ISO 9000
standards.
5. Strategic and systematic approach- this is also a critical aspect of the management of
Vauxhall Motors which involves the quality of the strategic system and approach of
company (What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? 2021). This involves the fact that
strategic planning of the company need to be very good and effective so that the business
is able to adapt and attain the objectives of business.
6. Continual improvement- this is the major aspect or element of TQM strategy at Vauxhall
Motors. This is particularly because of the reason that when there is continuous
improvement then only the company can grow and develop itself.
7. Fact based decision making- it is another major element of TQM strategy under the
Vauxhall Motors which need to be taken care off. Under this all the decision are being
made by the company on basis of the facts and figures only. Also, it involves the use of
the numeric facts and figures so that all the accurate and effective decisions are taken.
8. Communication- this is the last and most essential aspect or element of TQM which
states that communication is the key for completion of the work in effective and accurate
manner (Battal, 2020). This is particularly because of the reason that when the
communication will be effective then this will make it clear that how the work needs to
be undertaken and how well it will be completed.

These are the eight major elements which are included at time of managing the quality of the
product and services of Vauxhall Motors. But in addition to this there are many different types of
benefits which the company enjoys because of the use of the TQM within the company. These
benefits which Vauxhall Motors faces are as follows-
 Increase in productivity of the company and the products and services because of use of
TQM. This is the major benefit as the company is focusing on the quality of the product
and service and because of this the productivity of company and employees increases
(Kucukaltan, Irani and Acar, 2020).
 In addition to this another benefit which Vauxhall Motors enjoys because of the use of
TQM is the strengthened competitive position of the company within the highly
competitive market. This is particularly because of the reason that when the company will
make sure that the quality of the goods and service is very good then definitely affect and
attract the consumers towards buying the product and service of Vauxhall Motors.
 Along with this, another major benefit of using TQM as the tool for management of
quality by Vauxhall Motors the enhanced market image and increase in goodwill of the
company is another benefit (Sundquist, Gadde and Hulthén, 2018). This is particularly
because of the reason that when the company focuses on total quality management of
product and services of the company then this will improve the goodwill of the company.
The reason underlying this fact is that when the TQM is undertaken then this will involve
the increase in market condition and goodwill of the company.
Logistics mix of Vauxhall Motors
The logistics mix is being defined as the requirements which the manager need to
consider at time of taking the decisions relating to production of the company. Logistics is
defined as the process of planning and organizing for the efficient and effective transportation
and storage of goods from the point of origin till the point of consumption. The major aim of
effective logistics is to meet the requirement of consumer on time and in cost effective manner.
This is very essential for the company Vauxhall Motors that they effectively manage the logistics
so that there is not lead or lag time within the production of goods and services. Rather it is
essential for the company to ensure that there is proper and on time manufacturing being
completed so that sample can be tested and if there is any requirement so that it can be managed
in effective and efficient manner (Heitz, Launay and Beziat, 2019).

For the production and operations to be completed on time the most essential aspect is
that logistics process is being effectively followed. Hence, for this the most essential aspect for
Vauxhall Motors is that they effectively manage and maintain the logistics mix which is very
important and crucial. The logistics mix involves the major elements that are channels, network,
transportation, managing inventory and the capacity of production. All these elements make up
the logistics mix of the company (Kembro, Norrman and Eriksson, 2018). Hence, for the
logistics of the company Vauxhall Motors it is successful the most essential aspect is that these
entire four elements are being managed and maintained in proper and effective manner. Once,
the material is being brought within the company with help of the correct channel then it will be
converted into finished goods in effective and efficient manner. On the other side if the network
chosen to bring in the raw material within the company is not good then there are chances that
there is possibility that material and its quality is being affected to a great extent.
Moreover, if the medium of transportation selected is not suitable then this will also
affect the working efficiency of the employees and the quality of the finished goods to a great
extent. This is particularly because of the reason that supposes if some produce is brought and if
it gets rusted because of water and that material is being brought by waterways then there are
chances that the quality of the goods is being affected (Warmelink and et.al., 2018). In the
similar manner if the inventory is not managed on time that is the raw material is not brought on
time then this will affect the working efficiency or the manufacturing process of the company. In
addition to this if the raw material will not be managed and provided on time then this will affect
the manufacturing process of the company and the quality of the goods and services as well.
Hence, in the end it can be stated that the logistics is very essential for the company to be
managed in effective and efficient manner. The reason pertaining to this fact is that the use of
logistics is required when the company wants to manufacture some or the other product or
service for the consumers. for the management of inventory within the company Vauxhall
Motors makes use of tool of Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) this is a tool which assist the
company in placing the order of the raw material as the raw material reaches to a specific unit
called economic order unit. The EOQ is the minimum required amount of raw material which is
to be present in the company and as the stock level reaches to that level the stock is automatically
ordered and it is replenished within the stated amount of time (Lai, Sun and Ren, 2018).

In addition to this Vauxhall Motors also makes the use of the demand forecasting tools
which assist the companies in projecting the future demand of the product and service. This
effective forecasting of the demand is also very essential in the effective production and logistics
management of the goods and services of Vauxhall Motors. This is particularly because of the
reason that this future projection provides an idea to the company that how much products it
need to manufacture in order to earn a good amount of profits and to ensure that there is proper
working and production process of the company is going well (Pålsson, 2018). These demand
forecasting tools assist Vauxhall Motors to manage and predict the future demand of the product
and services. As a result of this, it will motivate the company and the employees to try to follow
that future demand and earn good amount of profits.
In addition to this Vauxhall Motors also complies with the theory of TBL that Triple
Bottom Line. This is a model which states that there are majorly three frameworks that need to
be worked by the company that is social, environment and the financial. This model states that if
these three aspects are being ensured and taken care of by the company then this will improve
the performance of the company to a great extent. This tool is generally used for the
sustainability of the business. If the business that is Vauxhall Motors will focus on three major
elements that is people, planet and profit or the social, environment and finance then it will
definitely involve the growth and long term success for the company. In addition to this, there
are many different companies who also take into consideration of the TBL model and this
improves the working efficiency and effectiveness of the company and its operations
(Warmelink and et.al., 2020). Hence, the use of the TBL is beneficial for the company as this
provides an overview to the company that how they have to manage their performance and
improve their productivity.
CONCLUSION
In the end the above report summarised that the operations management is very important
for the companies to get successful. This is particularly because of the reason that when the
company will not be having an effective operations management plan then this will not assist the
company manufacturing the product and service in better and effective manner. The present
report concluded the fact that for the success of the Vauxhall Motors also the operation
management was very essential and effective. This is particularly because of the reason that for
the operation management the TQM that is Total Quality Management was focused and this

assisted the company in managing the quality of the goods and services in effective and efficient
manner. Further the report also concluded that the effective use of logistics management is
essential as this will assist the company in managing the production and operations of the
company on time and this will improve the performance of the company to a great extent.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Banomyong, R., Varadejsatitwong, P. and Oloruntoba, R., 2019. A systematic review of
humanitarian operations, humanitarian logistics and humanitarian supply chain
performance literature 2005 to 2016. Annals of Operations Research, 283(1), pp.71-86.
Battal, T., 2020. Understanding the logistics centre location decision: what are the main decision
criteria and evaluation methods?. International Journal of Logistics Economics and
Globalisation, 8(2), pp.154-192.
Bernon, M., Tjahjono, B. and Ripanti, E.F., 2018. Aligning retail reverse logistics practice with
circular economy values: an exploratory framework. Production Planning & Control,
29(6), pp.483-497.
Heitz, A., Launay, P. and Beziat, A., 2019. Heterogeneity of logistics facilities: an issue for a
better understanding and planning of the location of logistics facilities. European
Transport Research Review, 11(1), pp.1-20.
Kembro, J.H., Norrman, A. and Eriksson, E., 2018. Adapting warehouse operations and design
to omni-channel logistics. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics
Management.
Kucukaltan, B., Irani, Z. and Acar, A.Z., 2020. Business model canvas for humanitarian
operations of logistics service providers. Production Planning & Control, pp.1-16.
Lai, Y., Sun, H. and Ren, J., 2018. Understanding the determinants of big data analytics (BDA)
adoption in logistics and supply chain management. The International Journal of
Logistics Management.
Pålsson, H., 2018. Packaging Logistics: Understanding and managing the economic and
environmental impacts of packaging in supply chains. Kogan Page Publishers.
Sundquist, V., Gadde, L.E. and Hulthén, K., 2018. Reorganizing construction logistics for
improved performance. Construction management and economics, 36(1), pp.49-65.
Warmelink, H., and et.al., 2018. Gamification of the work floor: A literature review of gamifying
production and logistics operations. In Proceedings of the 51st Annual Hawaii
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). Hawaii International Conference
on System Sciences.
Warmelink, H., and et.al., 2020. Gamification of production and logistics operations: Status quo
and future directions. Journal of business research, 106, pp.331-340.
Online
What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? 2021. [Online]. Available through:
<https://asq.org/quality-resources/total-quality-management>