>Chapter 3 Purchasing Policy and Procedures:

• Why purchasing policies are essential
• A summary of different purchasing policies
• An overview of different types of purchasing procedures

>Chapter 4 Supply Management Integration for Competitive Advantage:

• Why integration is essential for company performance
• The role of supply chain management for internal and external integration
• The role of cross-functional teams in promoting supply chain integration
• How supply chain managers can work with engineers and suppliers to develop new products and services

>Thomas Insights: “Supply Chain Integration Enhances Efficiency & Maximizes Revenue,”  Link:https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/supply-chain-integration-enhances-efficiency-maximizes-revenue/ (Links to an external site.)

>SupplyChain247: “Top Challenges and Solutions for Optimizing Procurement & Inbound Supply Processes,” Link:  https://www.supplychain247.com/article/top_challenges_and_solutions_for_optimizing_procurement_inbound_supply/one_network_enterprises (Links to an external site.)

>Ford: “Production Purchasing Global Terms and Conditions,” Link: https://www.foley.com/-/media/files/insights/publications/2021/04/ford-global-terms-and-conditions-4-9-21.pdf?la=en (Links to an external site.)

Please review the assigned materials before posting your comments.

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1. Please see Exhibit 4.1 on page 122 in the textbook and discuss how the flow of communication among strategic partners is critical to creating a competitive advantage for a large manufacturer like Ford Motor Company.
2. Please discuss how the use of technology discussed in the Thomas article could be integrated with the communications model in Exhibit 4.1 to create a competitive advantage for Ford Motor Company.
3. Please describe how the challenges and solutions for optimizing supply chain integration in the SupplyChain247 article could be addressed at the Ford Motor Company.
4. Please provide an insightful question about supply chain integration.

POST

hello Lopesamills, can I get a reply for these two comments.Comment 1:1. The flow of communication among strategic partners is critical to a competitive advantage for a large manufacturer like Ford for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is important to be able to have partners in the first place. Without good communication, companies are unable to get their foot in the door and start having business partners. Secondly, continued communication enables companies such as Ford to be able to create their products more cost effectively, allowing them to focus on the final product and other companies to focus on the smaller components such as computers and tires. 2. The use of technology as discussed in the Thomas article could be integrated with the communications model in Exhibit 4.1 to create a competitive advantage for Ford Motor Company (FMC) by allowing automation to speed up production and by using digital twins to plan ahead and mitigate errors or problems before they happen. If FMC created a digital twin, they would be able to plan out their factory processes before having to create scale models or move actual machinery around the factory floor, saving them both time and money. Additionally, their digital twin could help them see potential errors before they happen saving them even more money. This technology could be integrated with the model by aiding the Design/Product Engineering, Process Engineering, and Operations by using technology to speed up, solidify, and streamline the production process.3.For FMC, potential challenges of having unreliable logistics, poor coordination of inbound supplies, and not propagating demand to upstream tiers. Having unreliable logistics slows down the production process on both ends, stopping the needed supplies from coming in and the finished products from going out. The solution to this is to have good communication between strategic partners, allowing both ends to accurately schedule logistical needs. Having a poor coordination of inbound supplies can either create backups due to too much of one item or too little of another, alongside slowing down production as a whole. The solution to this is to again, have adequate communication between the strategic partners, ensuring that product is coming into factories and FMC inventory at the desired rate. Not propagating demand to upstream tiers can take production to a grinding halt. If FMC doesn’t have a good way of propagating that demand, then they will soon run out of stock in needed supplies and parts, and possibly end up costing the company more through last minute purchases. The solution to this is to have a good inventory management system, allowing FMC to know when levels are low and that supplies will need to be replenished.4. Question about Supply Chain Integration… What poses the biggest threat/roadblock to digital integration of an analog supply chain?————————comment 2:Hello Everyone, 1.) The flow of communication among strategic partners is very important it is said the communication itself is the key towards success and it can be shown in the exhibit 4.1 by looking at all of these sections each subsection includes something that is done only by communication. Like under Operations in subsection Performance tracking and feedback/ actions remarks the importance of communication especially when talking about a large manufacture like Ford. Ford needs to know the Performance tracking and feedback/actions in order for Ford to continue to produce better products and all of this can be only performed by communication.  2.) Robotic Process Automation and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems would be of great advantage in where they not only remove the possibility of human error and are able to run 24/7 but also will free up employees to focus on more pressing tasks. Another technological advantage the Ford could adapt to create an advantage would be Blockchain Technologies in were crypto ledger keeps an accurate record of all transactions in were companies can easily bring enhanced communication.3.) Ford Company is a large manufacturer in where some of the challenges that inbound supply creates is the impact of responsiveness. This is a huge challenge because without the proper communication it can create a huge problem in the supply chain. Another challenge that can be addressed at the ford company would be the direct materials in where companies are struggling with increasing costs due to high inventory levels and or facing out of stock resulting in lost production time causing problems in the supply chain. One of the possible solutions in facing shortages in materials would be to Automatically relocate inbound materials in where you need to plan and execute when materials are replenished on a regular basis.4.) In the case of Ford Motor Company, a large manufacture how should the demand distortion bullwhip be handled?Best, Ladislao Moreno