Woolworths' Supply Chain Operations: Sustainability and Value Chain

This report provides an overview of Woolworths' supply chain operations management, focusing on inbound and outbound logistics, and day-to-day activities at its headquarters and supermarkets. It analyzes the linkages between Woolworths' operations and the concept of the value chain, highlighting the company's emphasis on quality, supplier relationships, and waste reduction through advanced technology like EPC GEN 2 labels. The report also discusses Woolworths' sustainability initiatives, including partnerships for efficient product delivery and the use of MetricStream's solutions for provider management and quality auditing. By partnering with various companies, Woolworths ensures timely product delivery, reduces transportation costs, and builds successful supply chain operations systems, contributing to its overall sustainability and profitability.

Running head: SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
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Overview
Supply chain operations are one of the critical sectors in any organization or business
enterprise across the globe. If the operations that regard the supply chain sector are not
effectively managed, an organization may undergo huge loses since their products may not
reach the desired market. In analyzing supply chain operations management, we will focus on
the Australian company Woolworths (Li, Holsapple, & Goldsby, 2019).
Woolworths Group specializes in supermarkets and general consumer stores. It also
specializes in selling food, liquor, and other consumables in their stores. The company also
has engaged in pubs, accommodation, and gaming operations (Li, Holsapple, & Goldsby,
2019). Due to its diversity and enormous businesses, the company has amassed total
worthiness estimated at $40. Its net worth has, in the past, grown tremendously with a growth
rate for the year ended 2017/2018 being 4.87% (Swink, Melnyk, Hartley, & Cooper, 2017).
This massive growth can be attributed to the management of its supply chain
operations sector effectively. Since it has many diverse businesses, it has to manage the
supply chain operations, which has the sectors of inbound logistics, outbound logistics and
operations encompassed as one. To analyze the supply chain operations of Woolworths, we
have to explore all the sectors mentioned above and related them to the day to day operations
in one of their biggest branches in Australia and even its headquarters (Levering & Vos,
2019).
Day to day activities at Woolworth headquarters and supermarkets
The operations at Woolworth Group headquarters are mainly centered on ensuring
that all its operations run successfully. The department that deals with inbound logistics has
professionals who must ensure that they receive all the goods ordered from different

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companies across the globe (Swink, Melnyk, Hartley, & Cooper, 2017). Some of these goods
must be repackaged before they are sold to the final clients, and this is a function of the
inbound logistics sector. This sector has to receive these goods from the manufacturers in
bulk, repackage them, and pass them on to the operations sector. Apart from this, this sector
has to analyze the customer's needs and requirements for them to deliver goods and services
that are required and satisfy the customers (Levering & Vos, 2019). For example, there is an
inbound sector that deals with their various consumer stores and supermarkets and another
sector that deals specifically with their liquor stores (Heizer, Render & Munson, 2017).
The operations sector mainly deals with the management of the general operations of
the company. This sector is mandated with ensuring that the goods being supplied are of the
right quality and quantity. It also performs a day to day analysis of the goods received in the
company in the day to day operations of the company (Fredendall & Hill, 2016).
The outbound sector is the final sector in this case. This sector deals with receiving
the demands and orders placed by clients. After they receive daily orders, they have to
process them and understand what should be done for them to deliver the goods to their
different customers on a timely basis (Heizer, Render & Munson, 2017).
Linkages between this company operations and the concept of the value chain and
operating management
The operational methodology is a business capacity of an association, which is, to a
great extent, connected with supervision, plan, and overhauling of the business activity for
the creation of products and administration. An organization can structure a successful and
proficient framework for utilizing assets and work processes by the obtainment of

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mechanically advance hardware and employing skilled staff (Heizer, Render & Munson,
2017).
The operational system of Woolworth's is intended to convey the quality items and
administrations to clients. The operating system includes operational divisions. Under this
division, many sorts of regions are cared for, like administration of production network and
dispersion focuses, interest in the consistent improvement of data innovation and
methodologies to diminish the shrinkage (Levering & Vos, 2019).
Woolworth puts stock in sub-contracting with its providers, so it doesn't have to
fabricate plant. In this way, the organization needs to improve the determination procedure of
providers, as the nature of items received from providers will decide the fulfillment of clients.
Woolworth stresses on growing long haul association with the provider since it doesn't accept
to purchase an item from the open market. Or maybe it trusts in purchasing stock from the
providers, who are creating items just for Woolworths (Levering & Vos, 2019).
The principle focal point of Woolworth's operational system is to diminish the misuse
of material. The design innovation in the operational methodology of Woolworth additionally
made a stride ahead. EPC GEN 2 labels are utilized by the organization at explicit provider
dispersion places for following and following of crisp items, their development in-store
network, and circulation arrange (Levering & Vos, 2019). It diminishes the need for desk
work under the documentation procedure of Woolworths.
Sustainability
For any project undertaken by any given organization or business enterprise across the
globe to be worthwhile, it has to be sustainable. The long term analogy is one of the key
factors that should be considered by an organization for a project to be successful (Tynan

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Prabhakar, & Nisar, 2019). For Woolworths to be sustainable in its supply chain operations
sector, it has had to partner with various companies which ensure that the organization’s
products are delivered to their customers in good time (Heizer, Render & Munson, 2017).
Apart from that, Woolworths has partnered with several companies that deliver their goods to
Woolworths’ supermarkets, consumer stores, and liquor stores directly hence avoid the costs
of transportation. In doing this, the company has built successful supply chain operations
systems which have brought it massive profits (Swink, Melnyk, Hartley, & Cooper, 2017).
MetricStream's has provided a solution that has brought together system to
Woolworths to enlist and locally available providers for their supportability the board
program, measure provider consistency through intermittent self-evaluations and outsider
reviews, keep up provider information and oversee provider affirmations (Meindl, 2016).
Woolworths is at present utilizing MetricStream's Quality Audit Management answer to
enhance their Total Quality Management (TQM) program (Swink, Melnyk, Hartley, &
Cooper, 2017). This current arrangement will be reached out to incorporate MetricStream's
Sustainability Performance Management Solution, furnishing Woolworths with an extensive
perspective on their provider execution, manageability, and quality administration programs
(Mangla, Luthra, Jakhar, Kumar, & Rana, 2019). The company has ensured the above
recommendations are made in running its operations making it sustainable.

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References
Fredendall, L. D., & Hill, E. (2016). Basics of supply chain management. CRC Press.
Heizer, J., Render, B., & Munson, C. (2017). Operations management. Sustainability and
Supply Chain Management, 12th Ed., USA.
Levering, R., & Vos, B. (2019). Organizational Drivers and Barriers to Circular Supply
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Li, X., Holsapple, C. W., & Goldsby, T. J. (2019). The structural impact of supply chain
management teams: Supply chain agility development in multidivisional
firms. Management Research Review, 42(2), 290-310.
Mangla, S. K., Luthra, S., Jakhar, S. K., Kumar, A., & Rana, N. P. (2019). Sustainable
Procurement in Supply Chain Operations. CRC Press.
Meindl, S. C. P. (2016). Supply Chain Management--Strategy, Planning, and Operation.
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Swink, M., Melnyk, S. A., Hartley, J. L., & Cooper, M. B. (2017). Managing operations
across the supply chain. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Tynan, M. P., Prabhakar, G., & Nisar, T. (2019). A qualitative review of the contribution of
military leadership to the humanitarian supply chain operations.