Introduction:
The Panasonic Corporation was established on March 13, 1918, in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The company is also known as Konosuke Matsushita and was started by Japanese industrialist Konosuke Matsushita to create things of value. With diligence and dedication, the company has successfully introduced innovative products throughout its history and has become the electronics giant of today. It has now become a global manufacturer and has a presence in countries throughout the world. It has various business domain companies that fulfil explicit consumer requirements internationally.
Its products include home appliances and different consumer and industrial solutions. All business domain companies have discrete R&D, production, and sales functions. Panasonic also acquired SANYO under a business agreement in 2008. This paper will discuss the Panasonic/Sanyo supply chain or logistics management systems and the evolution of this system over time. There is also a discussion regarding the use of current technology, outsourcing, rules, and regulations in the supply chain and their effect on supply chain capability. Moreover, recommendations are also given to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization’s supply chain, along with an evaluation of the effectiveness of new strategies.
Panasonic supply chain or logistics management systems:
The company establishes partnerships with suppliers internationally to respond to manufacturing activities on a global scale. All the procurement activities comply with laws and regulations, social rules, and corporate morals. There are contact points for suppliers to report the product values that customers anticipate. Thus, in an unusually competitive market, there is enormous stress on Panasonic Company to respond promptly to complex customer needs by embarking on value-chain management initiatives. It has a supply chain management system that ensures on-time delivery, preeminent customer service, and greater market share based on timely delivery.
Also, it has a good reputation in corporate social responsibility, and while selecting new suppliers, the company keeps in focus that these suppliers must also practice CSR. The assessment for this purpose incorporates features such as human rights, manual labour, health and safety, protection of the global environment, and information safety. To ensure this further, it uses Standard Purchase Agreements that comprise CSR necessities with the dealers. The company also conducts CSR self-assessments on existing suppliers. Choosing suppliers also ensures the safeguarding of human rights and the health and safety of labor, along with satisfying green procurement. To make decisions quickly, the Panasonic Corporation maintains a fast-paced supply chain. Technology and skill sets are the main features added to the supply chain of the Panasonic Corporation. Combined systems and tools enhance alertness in the supply chain.
Supply chain function over time:
Panasonic Corporation, a multinational electronics corporation, needed a supply chain that made sense of all the signals affecting demand. As Panasonic deals in high-tech products, an agile and efficient supply chain contributes to its competitive advantage in an environment where costs rise faster than revenues. This system also allows customers to change the product concerning the promotion of the specific brand.
Panasonic Corporation has also introduced a customer inquiry response system within the context of supply chain management. Customers make inquiries before purchasing products, as well as raising concerns regarding the use of products. For this purpose, there is a special unit called the Customer Care Center (Christopher, 2016). Each product even has distinct phone numbers that have increasingly decreased the hold time for customers, and the unit is also specialized to provide precise and quick service. Also, to assist customers in their purchases, much assistance is provided to them through the website. For instance, when a customer comes to the website and starts typing questions regarding any product, the site displays multiple pertinent FAQs. In this way, the company is committed to providing quick replies to questions. In recent years, the trend has also shifted towards the use of Facebook and other social media platforms. This leads to the posting of lots of valuable information concerning time and season. Thus, when there is a change of season, customers get attracted to sales by visiting these social media pages that carry the company’s advertisements.
Moreover, the company has also introduced a repair and spare-parts department, which is responsible for repair services. As the company deals with housing facility products, it has constructed a network of engineers who go into local regions and use their advanced technical skills and know-how to deal with customers. This network responds to customers’ complaints and provides a very quick response and resolution of problems. Panasonic also conducts a survey connected to its customer satisfaction, and based on that response, it revises its strategies and excels in customer service.
Now, Panasonic deals with over 15,000 products under its brand, being a principal producer of electronic products in the world. Along with a number of channel partners, several distribution centres, and business entities, it still faces many issues related to the status of an efficient supply chain. Therefore, with the current supply chain, it is not able to manage demand and supply within its supply chain strategies. One flaw in the supply chain is the use of point of sale (POS). With this, the supply chain suffers from unsuccessful promotional exertions. This also leads to unsuccessful product launches. Function-oriented teams are working, which have an end-to-end view of the supply chain and do not go through its analytical analysis.
Current technology used and the impact of this technology on supply chain capability:
Supply Chain Management refers to managing activities that make it possible to deliver products to end users. This management includes activities encompassing the flow and alteration of goods from the raw materials phase to their supply to consumers. From distribution centres to global trade, supply chain management relies heavily on an ever-evolving suite of technologies that help increase efficiency and productivity. Panasonic practices cargo management solutions. These are multifaceted, tightly integrated supply chains that use the latest technology and ensure timely product availability (Yücesan, 2007). This supply chain performs different functions, including in-transit cargo, packing, and unpacking, leading to storage. The company is also paying attention to its products to make them easy to transport. For instance, there are products like Toughbook mobile computers, which are lightweight, and thus they are very easy to transport anywhere. Moreover, the company has employed proactive inspections that ensure greater uptime.
Outsourcing impacts an organization’s supply chain strategy:
Outsourcing is a part of a business strategy that deals with moving some functions of the business to outside providers. Outsourcing makes the company more elastic and adjustable to new market conditions. In this way, it also has time to focus on its fundamental business functions and gain a competitive advantage. Also, organizations go for outsourcing when they get the opportunity to get the same job done by a supplier economically. For this purpose, companies negotiate contract agreements with a dealer responsible for the specified production process. Companies sometimes show their apprehensions about using outsourcing. But there is a solution to this as well. The company is not required to outsource a specific function fully; rather, it may outsource a function partially and retain the remainder internally. Different functions are outsourced to organizations functioning in different industries. The common areas that get outsourced include human resources, marketing, and accounting services.
Furthermore, outsourcing leads to better-quality customer service, product quality, and reduced costs. This also allows the company to bridge the gap in staffing. Also, with outsourcing, the company receives specialized vendor system services. Due to the efficiency of these systems, it is possible for the company to have shorter improvement times and higher levels of quality. Working with a third-party organization, the company gains flexibility in its functions, and at any time it is in a position to switch to another company that can perform better. Thus, outsourcing has plentiful benefits, which are recognized as greater flexibility, lower labour costs, lesser investment risk, and enhanced cash flow. Panasonic also functions globally, and it outsources its activities to both local and international parties. It is riskier for the company to manage outsourcing while dealing with international suppliers and vendors. However, the company can do well in this area with good experience, brand reputation, and management.
Specific applicable rules and regulations related to the supply chain of the company:
The services or goods that an organization purchases must follow all standards, rules, and regulations that apply to that organization. These standards are not only provided by the government but also by the organization itself. Customers, regulators, and suppliers also provide details of the standards to be followed by the business. Thus, before going for outsourcing, there is a need first to identify the company’s own internal standards. These will then frame the necessities for its outside suppliers and supply chains. If a publicly traded company goes for outsourcing, it will follow the Codes of Conduct. These Codes of Conduct will guarantee that the organization will perform its role ethically and in compliance with appropriate laws and regulations. Also, if organizations comply with these codes, they will not incur unnecessary costs from fines, drawbacks, legal fees, or reputational damage.
US federal laws do not precisely control outsourcing transactions. State law governs contracts. There is also a requirement for a legal structure for outsourcing. There must be a master contract between a principal supplier and a customer that sets out plans describing the range of services, performance standards, and prices. Moreover, an amendment to Federal Labour Law in 2012 now incorporates new regulations for outsourcing services. Now, some regulations are associated with contracts established between clients and service providers during outsourcing. These also address pricing rules and social security responsibilities regarding outsourcing services. In this context, Article 15-A deals with the sub-contracting regime.
Recommendation and plan that you believe would be the best supply chain strategy for this organization
After analyzing end-to-end sales and operations planning practices, there are many serious gaps in the supply chain of the Panasonic Corporation. A recurrent and unplanned surge in demand has added to the complexity of the organization’s supply chain. Also, during peak times, there are delays in shipments as the company has a policy of maintaining low inventories and mostly depends on transportation to fulfil orders promptly. Thus, there is a need for improvements in the supply chain that can improve real-time process transparency and enhance decision-making and customer satisfaction.
Panasonic should go for supply chain restructuring and pay attention to the prevailing methods and construction of the chain. There is a need to undertake process redesign and review the value proposition to customers. These will enhance the quality of services and products provided to customers. The best structure for the Japanese electronic manufacturing company is to use RFID and mobile technology in the system (Attaran, 2007). Under this structure, there will be a digital transformation, and the company will not undergo a large transformation. With this, it will also be able to pay attention to real issues and will apply its strategies in an agile way that will improve the overall results of the supply chain. Panasonic needs to apply the technology while managing transport and logistics in all areas, whether it is air, rail, or road.
RFID technologies will assist the company by reducing inventory problems, increasing the efficiency and speed of procedures, and improving information accuracy (Attaran, 2007). Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification and data-capturing technology comprising three elements: a tag, a reader, and middleware. The tag is formed by a chip that has a connection with the antenna; the reader is responsible for producing radio signals and accepting them in response to reactions from tags. The third part is middleware that connects RFID hardware and organizational applications.
The company needs to introduce electronics reprocessing programs under RFID technologies (Sarac, Absi, & Dauzère-Pérès, 2010). These will allow customers to benefit from disposing of old gadgets and adopting new technology. People dispose of their old tech gadgets and old batteries. People will also get rid of heavy metals in this way. But it will also assist the company with the issue of raw materials. This will also be a good step towards corporate social responsibility, and the company will excel in its efforts to conserve the environment. The first step here is to establish collection points where customers may deliver their old products and the company can then recycle them.
Within this new system of supply chain management, it will also have horizontal integration with some of its best suppliers and will produce raw materials for use in production. For instance, it can merge with one of the supplier companies and produce photovoltaic (PV) cells and units for solar sheets. In this way, it will be able to meet its demand promptly, and the quality of the raw material will not be compromised. This should also be linked with the unit that collects all the old products from the retailers delivered to them by customers.
Also, Panasonic needs to outsource some of its functions that are not under the company’s cost-effectiveness category. There can be outsourcing concerning human resources as the company functions on an international scale and is not well-versed in every region. Thus, it is better to outsource this service to local recruitment companies. They can better search for suitable candidates and employ them in respective positions within the organization. Also, dealing with retailers requires lots of effort in a new region. This can also be outsourced, and the company needs to outsource this partially and retain the main decisions internally.
Thus, all these changes need to be integrated into a new system, and new technology needs to be built for use by the company. The company needs to use powerful digital and analytics tools within the system to address all issues. The areas that need greater use of technology are warehouse and DC procedures. There is a need to use more 2D barcodes here. This will make the system efficient and cost-effective because data will be encoded properly. The other advantage of using barcodes is that the driver at the end will be able to have courier-like tracking, and the system will be easy to operate. Shipping, receiving, and docking need to be integrated with the technology. Fulfilment centre operations must be fully integrated with technology to operate efficiently. RFID technology requires investment, so it will be implemented in the initial phase. The company will begin studying this technology and try to ensure compliance with customer directives.
Expected benefits of your new strategy on the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization’s supply chain:
In a typical supply chain, the raw material is taken from one point and carried to another. The product is manufactured at some other point, and the products are then shipped to stores for transitional storage. Then, they are transported to end users through retailers. This typical supply chain contains many loopholes, which are also sources of the decline in profits for any company in this world of the latest technology. Thus, to address all the issues in the supply chain, lessen costs, and expand quality levels, there is a need for a new system. Panasonic faces severe competition while operating globally, having products with shorter life cycles, and facing increasing customer expectations concerning the quality of products. The company needs to focus on the supply chain and adopt the proposed solutions. If adopted, the new system is expected to benefit all spheres of the organization. In the first step, there is only an improvement in warehouse and shipping operations, and then other supply chain activities will be linked with this technology in the second phase.
The new system, which is based on incorporating the latest technology in all of the organization’s functions and adding this to the supply chain, will benefit the organization. When there is collaboration on raw materials, this collaboration will make the best use of both businesses’ strengths to improve the effectiveness of products. This will also be a source of synergy and competitive advantage in an atmosphere of severe competition. In this way, it can also expand the scale of operations and can have separate units for each product. With time, it can exceed its current production capacity by working on this idea.
Conclusion
With this advanced mobility that will be part of a digital transformation in the warehouse, warehouse operations will become more efficient. Mobile technology is still in use during warehouse operations, but its integration with other systems and self-operated software will simplify the different functions of warehouses. It will be easier for pickers, packers, spot jockeys, and managers to integrate within their company-operated integrated mobile system (Liang, Huang, Yeh, & Lin, 2007). Thus, by changing to advanced mobile devices and with the proper training of all employees, it is possible to create a more organized workflow with fewer expenses than before for its operations. These mobile systems enable real-time updating of orders and catalogues and improve speed and accuracy. These can also fulfil progressively multifaceted customer requirements. These enhance value chain operations by substituting labour-intensive worksheet schemes. By using this technology, the company will attain a larger market share and will be able to lessen customers’ inventory and lead times (Tellkamp, 2006). Suppliers will also benefit from this new technology when it is used. They will be able to implement and operate a quality management system. An important capacity of RFID technology is to lessen costs and provide a wealth of information to assist the organization in meeting its customers’ demands.
References
Attaran, M. (2007). RFID: an enabler of supply chain operations. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 12(4), 249-257.
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.
Liang, T. P., Huang, C. W., Yeh, Y. H., & Lin, B. (2007). Adoption of mobile technology in business: a fit-viability model. Industrial management & data systems, 107(8), 1154-1169.
Ngai, E. W., Cheng, T. E., Au, S., & Lai, K. H. (2007). Mobile commerce integrated with RFID technology in a container depot. Decision Support Systems, 43(1), 62-76
Sarac, A., Absi, N., & Dauzère-Pérès, S. (2010). A literature review on the impact of RFID technologies on supply chain management. International Journal of Production Economics, 128(1), 77-95.
Tellkamp, C. (2006). The impact of auto-ID technology on process performance: RFID in the FMCG supply chain. na.
Yücesan, E. (2007). Impact of Information Technology on Supply Chain Management. In Trends in Supply Chain Design and Management (pp. 127-148). Springer, London.
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