The influence of IT on Supply Chain Management Systems Dissertation

The influence of IT on Supply Chain Management Systems - Dissertation Example About the organization 2. Literature review 3. Dissertation methodology 4. Ethical considerations 5. Findings and analysis 6. Discussions 7. Limitations of the study 8. Conclusions 9. Works cited The influence of IT on Supply Chain Management Systems 1. Introduction 1.1. Background Business organizations operate in a competitive environment in which different players scramble for the market share. The organizations strive to be attractive to clients by offering services that are exceptional and conventionally accepted that are unique to the company. This aim of business organizations is not always achieved due to the other challenging forces in the in the industry. The overall costs of operation are often high at certain instances while the customers are attracted to competitive (lower) prices for different products and services. The organizations also experience labor shortage or heavy loads of tasks on the employees that slow down the operations at the organization. This leads to o verall reduced output of the employees. The manual systems that are applied by certain organizations in their operations are not only slow but are also subject to errors that can lead to huge losses to the organization. This situation has been corrected in many business organizations with the recent development of information technology. The use of information technology has improved operations in various business organizations through excellent information management. ... Two or more organizations that have a direct link of this nature form a supply chain (Mentzer, 5). There is need for proper coordination of the processes involved in the conveyance of these products, services, or finances across the supply chain. Supply chains are encountered in both the service and manufacturing industries, though with some deviations across the industries (Ganeshan & Harrison, 1). Supply chain management is the science and art applied in improving the business functions through enhanced flow of information with an aim of improving long-term productivity and customer satisfaction (Wailgum & Worthen, 1; Mentzer, 2). These steps are hardly implemented with the traditional manual system. The introduction of modern technology and the integration of the technology into supply chain management have improved the operations of many organizations. Competition then becomes between organizations and between their supply chains as well (Xia-feng, 72). Tigo Ghana is one organiza tion that has recently integrated information technology into its supply chain management in order to improve its operations. This study investigates the roles that information technology has played in the improvement of supply chain management at Tigo Ghana, a telecommunications company in Ghana. It performs an analysis of the significant milestones that have been witnessed in the telecommunication company since the beginning of technology-based supply chain management. This study focuses on the role that IT has played in improving the operations in supply chain management of the organization. 1.2. The research question The research entails an investigation of the influence of information technology on supply-chain management

International trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

International trade - Essay Example It has made remarkable foreign investments, mostly in its nearby countries, owing to its huge capital reserve and high market prices. For LUKoil, foreign acquisitions are a means of acquiring experienced workers and technological know-how to gain efficiency and effectiveness in both domestic and global competition. It has acquired 800 U.S. stations from ConocoPhillips and 100 per cent of Getty Petroleum in the United States. It is imperative for both Russia and LUKoil to export petroleum in order to fulfil their economic goals. However, LUKoil’s future ability to export may be hampered by the sorry state of political relations of Russia both inside and outside the nation. Thus, to make sure that the company operates successfully, it must lay more emphasis on foreign investments and relations with the oil companies in the West. Russia’s position as an oil exporter can be explained on the basis of the theory of absolute as well as competitive advantage. Russia ranks eighth largest in the world in terms of its oil reserves and hence the country enjoys the natural gift of such a comparative advantage. As compared to Saudi Arabia, Russia presently has 15 more established oil reserves. Besides, the country enjoys not only natural but also acquired advantages with respect to oil production. In the global oil market the prices are determined by the basic laws of demand and supply. Of Russia’s total oil production, just 27 per cent is put to use for inland purposes and the remaining 73 per cent is exported. Moreover, its oil companies have come up as major players in the global competition. Thus, factor proportions theory is also valid for Russia’s competitive advantage. The country similarity theory can also be applied in this case if we consider the fact that a major part of its foreign expa nsion corresponds to the countries that were formerly a part of the Soviet Union. In addition to this, Russia’s global position as an oil exporter can be