Abstract
The Global Supply Chain Management is the management of products and services that are offered by a company with regards to increasing the profit margins. These products and services that are management in the supply chain management are all in an aim to improving the service rendering to the particular customers and consumers. In addition to that, supply chain management involves the transportation, storage and marketing of the products that are to be sold to the customers and consumers.
On the other hand, supply chain management facilitates for the movement of finished products from the point of manufacture to the point where the products are to be delivered to the customers and consumers. In addition to that, supply chain management monitors all the processes and logistics that are involved in the supply of the products and services to the end customers and consumers.
This project will focus on the global supply chain management of the Agility Kuwait Company that is involved with the offering logistics services to people in Kuwait and all over the world. These logistic services that are offered by this company include air freight services and cargo transportation by ship which is the most common kind of transport for most of the merchants in Kuwait and most parts of the world.
Introduction
Agility Kuwait Company is a company that deals with logistics services in Kuwait and other parts of the world (Turconi 2010, p. 15). Agility Kuwait Company deals with the movement of cargo by ship or by air to other parts of the world or in Kuwait. This kind of transportation of products has evolved to become one of the most used types of types of transportation in that most of the business people consider it to be cheap and fast as compared to other types of transportation.
Most of the business people also go for this type of transportation because it is considered to be safe in that there is less theft as compared to other types of transport which have been merged with cases of cargo theft which in turn leads to huge losses that are faced by the companies in question.
The Agility Kuwait Company has an employee base of 22,000 with over 500 offices all around the world offering logistics services to its clients with a very efficient supply chain in some of the most challenging environments that are found in the world around.
Agility Kuwait Company has also taken advantage of the emerging markets across the world to become one the world’s leading logistics and warehousing companies in the world in that it facilitates the movements of over 10,000 containers every single month which has in turn translated to huge profit margins that are being experienced by the company (Turconi 2010, p. 26).
The Agility Kuwait Company was established in 1974 as a logistics company and by the end of 2004, it had become the leading logistics offering company in the Middle East with the facilitation of over 1 million containers. In addition to that, the Agility Kuwait Company employed other strategies which in turn led to the company rising to become one of the leading logistics and warehousing offering company in the world by the end of 2008.
In 2006, the brand Agility was established through aggressive mergers that led to the company being able to acquire some of the world’s biggest logistics brands.
At the moment Agility Kuwait Company deals with several services which include; international freight forwarding which involves the processing of moving containers by ship or air, warehousing which involves the process of storing the containers that are being transported by the company.
The Agility Kuwait Company also deals with the movement of petroleum products by containers which most of the logistics companies in the world consider to be risky in that petroleum products are very highly flammable and may cause damage to other products that are being transported by the same means.
Strengths of Agility Kuwait Company
The Agility Kuwait Company has risen to become one of the leading logistics company in the world (Branch 2011, p. 22). This has been impacted greatly by several factors which include; the expertise that Agility Kuwait Company has gained in the past few years with regard to emerging markets in the world. This has greatly helped Agility Kuwait Company to be able to conduct all its logistics services effectively and this has, in turn, led to it rising to become one of the leading logistics company in the world.
In addition to that, the Agility Kuwait Company has also been able to acquire the necessary knowledge that is necessary to enable it to conduct all logistics services effectively which has, in turn, led to the company becoming one of the biggest logistics company in the world offering logistics services. On the other hand, the Agility Kuwait Company has had a far-reaching network which had a significant impact on the services that it offers to its clients which has in turn led to huge profit margins that are being experienced by the company.
The Agility Kuwait Company has also employed workers who offer services that are considered to be interpersonal which has led to an increase in the client base of the company which has in turn translated to huge profit margins that are experienced by the company.
In addition to that, the Agility Kuwait Company has been on the front line in taking up more complex challenges in very challenging conditions all across the world which has enabled them to increase their client base which has in turn translated to substantial profit margins that are experienced by the company.
In addition to that, the Agility Kuwait Company has created global networks that are used in the forwarding of the international freights which has eased up the process of freight forwarding which has in turn translated to huge profit margins that are experienced by the company (Skjott-Larsen 2010, p. 33).
The Agility Kuwait Company has also created logistics capabilities that enable the company to be able to warehouse the cargo and distribute to the rest of the world. This has created a more significant customer database in that customer opt to go for the services that are offered by the Agility Kuwait Company other than any other logistics offering company which in turn translates to more significant profit margins that are experienced by the company at the end of each financial year.
The use of technological advancements has also been on the front line in helping Agility Kuwait Company in being able to deliver quality services to its clients which in turn increases the clients’ database which will translate to more significant profit margins that are experienced by the company.
Agility Kuwait Company has also developed effective marketing strategies which has helped the company in a bid to making sure that more and more people are aware of their presence and the type of services that they offer considering that most of the products that are transported today use either water transport or air transport which Agility Kuwait Company offers (Skjott-Larsen 2010, p. 33).
Methodology
Several methodologies are used by a company in a bid to being able to acquire a bigger market share which will in turn translate to increase in the profit margin of the company that is in question. In a bid to be able to evaluate this project fully, this paper will use three major steps of the methodology, which are problem description, data collection and possible modelling by use of an effective model.
Problem Description
The Agility Kuwait Company is most of the time faced with problems that may in one way or the other reduce the profit margins that are experienced by the company.
The Agility Kuwait Company being a logistics company is faced with very many challenges that at times affect the normal operations of the company which translates to some of the clients losing faith in the services that the company offers which will lead to a reduce in the client database which will, in turn, translate to reduced profit margins of the company (Roussel 2011, p. 45).
Some of these problems that are faced by the Agility Kuwait Company may be due to failure in the internal systems or may just be human errors. In addition to that, when the company suffers any kind of problem is it internally or externally, this leads to the company losing millions of dollars in terms of revenue that may have been earned at that particular time the problem has occurred.
Some of the problems that Agility Kuwait Company faces on a day to day basis include; customer service, which is the management of the quality and quantity of products and services that are offered by the company.
The Agility Kuwait Company is affected by this problem so much in that at times it finds that the products that are delivered to its clients are substandard or are not of the right quantity which leads to some of the clients losing faith with the company which in turn translates to reduced clients’ database and a reduction in the profit margins experienced by the company.
The other major factor that affects Agility Kuwait Company drastically is cost control. With the rise in the rate of the dollar, the cost of freight has been under pressure to increase, which has affected logistics companies a great deal.
The Agility Kuwait Company has had to increase their cost of products and services which has had a significant effect on their clients, some of whom are very regular. There has also been a rise in the labour costs which has meant that the Agility Kuwait Company has had to increase the cost of freight transportation to accommodate for this increase in operations cost (Drake 2012, p. 42).
This has made some of the clients move to other logistics companies that offer the same services as Agility Kuwait Company which has in turn translated to reduced profit margins that is experienced by the company. As a result, the Agility Kuwait Company has had to make adjustments to the prices of the products and services that it offers to make room for the rise in the costs.
There have also been technological advancements that have come with very high costs which have meant that the Agility Kuwait Company has had to incur more costs in a bid to being able to deliver quality services and products to its clients.
On the other hand, the Agility Kuwait Company has been affected drastically by planning and risk management. This is due to the Agility Kuwait Company being assessed and modified to be able to move with the market changes. These changes in the markets include new products that are launched by other companies to help logistics companies to be able to deliver quality services and products to their clients. There has also been the issue of sourcing for new clients in new countries which has had a severe effect on the Agility Kuwait Company which has had to go out of its way to try as much as possible to deliver quality services and products to its clients.
In addition to that, the Agility Kuwait Company is adversely affected by supplier/partner relationship management in that when the company goes into partnership with other organizations, they usually come with different approaches to be able to tackle given tasks which in most cases mean that the Agility Kuwait Company has to be able to adjust their given methods to be able to cater for the needs of the other partners.
The communication between the Agility Kuwait Company and the other partners is another severe problem that has to be addressed in that for the partners to be able to achieve their goals, they must be able to communicate effectively on the way forward with regard to achieving profit margins for the partnership (Butcher 2010, p. 26).
The Agility Kuwait Company has also not been able to utilize talents effectively. Some of the employees may be talented in different ways which may include marketing of which Agility Kuwait Company has not been able to tap so as to be able to achieve their specific needs. In addition to that, the Agility Kuwait Company has not understood the specific talents that are contained by their employees so as to be able to achieve maximum profit margins by using the specific talents that are contained by the employees.
Data Collection
For any company in the logistics industry to be able to do well, it must be able to use more efficient data collection methods that will help it be able to keep track of the current ongoings in the markets. In addition to that, it must also be able to use more efficient data collection methods to be able to know about any new technological developments which may, in turn, translate to huge profit margins that may be achieved in the long run.
The Agility Kuwait Company has been on the front line in the use of very efficient data collection methods. The data collection methods that the Agility Kuwait Company is using are in a bid to making sure that it continues to keep the clients’ faith intact at the same time be able to search for other markets so as to increase their market share which will, in turn, increase the profit margins.
Some of the data collection methods that have been used by the Agility Kuwait Company include; use of questionnaires. The Agility Kuwait Company has been using questionnaires which they would give to clients to fill out after services have been offered to them. The clients would fill out their feedbacks and give them back to the company.
The Agility Kuwait Company would then be able to know what the clients like about the company and what the clients do not like about the company. This has been a very efficient data collection method in that Agility Kuwait Company has been able to work on their weak points as suggested by their clients thereby improving service delivery which will, in turn, translate to more significant profit margins that are achieved by the company.
In addition to that, Agility Kuwait Company has also employed the use of questionnaire which they would give out in new markets to be able to establish how to capture a more significant market share with regards to the comments that have been given out by the people themselves (Blanchard 2011, p. 59).
On the other hand, the Agility Kuwait Company has also been using the internet as a data collection method of which they use to keep themselves updated with new technological developments with regard to the logistics and warehousing industry. When a company launches new machineries that can be used in the logistics industry, they will post them over the internet and by using the internet Agility Kuwait Company is able to know about the new machinery that can be used to improve service delivery to their clients.
On the internet, the Agility Kuwait Company will be able to know about the specifications of the machines and payment details which they will use in a bid to being able to buy the machinery that may be used to improve service delivery which in turn translates to an increase in the profit margins that are experienced by the company.
By the use of this type of data collection method, the Agility Kuwait Company is able to achieve a more significant market share which is by improving service delivery to their clients who in turn have faith with the company thereby increasing the profit margin of the company (Blanchard 2011, p. 65).
The Agility Kuwait Company has also been using sampling as a data collection method so as to be able to improve the quality of products that are delivered to its clients.
In this type of data collection method, Agility Kuwait Company will take samples of the products that are delivered to their clients and make sure that all the products that are delivered to its clients are of the best quality so as to be able to keep the faith of the clients. This has in turn translated to more and more clients streaming in to ask for the services of the Agility Kuwait Company which has in turn translated to huge profit margins that are experienced by the Agility Kuwait Company.
On the other hand, the Agility Kuwait Company has also employed the use of feasibility study as a data collection method in that Agility Kuwait Company conducts a feasibility study before exploring a new market to be able to know how the new market works and what kind of products the clients in the new markets expect from the Agility Kuwait Company.
By conducting a feasibility study Agility Kuwait Company is able to know of any potential market which they explore and in turn, increase the profit margins that are experienced by the company.
The Agility Kuwait Company also conducts a feasibility study on potential clients in the markets to know about what the clients expect of the company so as to be able to deliver quality products and services to its clients. This has helped Agility Kuwait Company in terms of being able to deliver quality products and services to clients which in turn increase the profit margins that are experienced by the company.
Modelling
The Agility Kuwait Company uses Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) of which they use to analyse data accordingly. The most type of data analysis of the two is AHP which can be used in decision making wherever there is a problem somewhere.
The Agility Kuwait Company being in the logistics and warehousing industry encounters problems on a daily basis which are mainly leaned on machinery and other types of mechanism.
The Agility Kuwait Company must make sure that all the machinery that is used for service delivery is of the highest quality at all times so as to keep their clients’ faith. AHP is commonly used to analyse the data by the Agility Kuwait Company because it requires a lesser number of judgments as opposed to ANP, which requires a more judgment (Hult 2011, p. 36).
On the other hand, ANP is also used by the Agility Kuwait Company because it is the most reliable of the two data analysis models and considers dependencies in the elements that are involved in the data analysis process. In addition to that, most of the companies in the logistics industry prefer to use ANP because it is the recommended model of data analysis, especially in the Brazilian logistics industry.
On the other hand, ANP can be used to analyse company performance with regard to profit margins that are experienced by a company. This being the case, the Agility Kuwait Company uses these type of model to analyse clients’ reactions to the products and services that are offered by the Agility Kuwait Company which will, in turn, improve client satisfaction with the products and services that are offered by the Agility Kuwait Company.
The use of ANP and AHP in data analysis in the logistics company is very advantageous to the companies in that it improves the performance in terms of customer and consumer service delivery.
In addition to that, it improves the type of services that are offered by the Agility Kuwait Company in that the company uses the data that has been provided by the customers and clients to be able to make sure that service delivery is of the best quality and quantity which will, in turn, translate an increase in the client database of the company. This will, in turn, lead to an increase in the profit margins that are being experienced by the company (Hult 2011, p. 39).
The Agility Kuwait Company must also be able to keep up to speed with the ongoings of the market and that is why data analysis must be conducted efficiently so as to be sure of the quality of services that are wanted by the customers and consumers.
The logistics industry market trend changes on a daily basis and that is why it is very important for the Agility Kuwait Company to be able to analysis the data that has been collected and translate it so as to be able to increase the profit margins that are being experienced by the Agility Kuwait Company.
The increase in profit margins is very significant, but the Agility Kuwait Company must also be willing to use efficient data analysis methods so as to be able to know about the market trends which will, in turn, improve the quality of products and services that are being delivered to the customers and consumers.
If this is done it will increase the client database of the company which translates to more and more people responding to the products and services that are being offered by the Agility Kuwait Company in the logistics and warehousing industry (Mol 2012, p. 42).
AHP is also used as a data analysis model in that it is cheaper and is recommended by some countries for the logistics industry. AHP analysis data using a systematic formula of which it uses the data that has been collected to be able to analyse and translate with regard to the company’s profit margin.
The Agility Kuwait Company uses AHP in the analysis of data with regard to the machinery that uses to deliver services and products to customers and consumers in part of the world. AHP has helped Agility Kuwait Company in that it has been able to acquire the latest machinery that can be used to deliver products and services to the customers and consumers who expect Agility Kuwait Company to be able to deliver the right quality and quantity.
On the other hand, the Agility Kuwait Company uses AHP model to analyse data with regard to employees who work in different departments in the company. AHP takes up all the data that has been provided by the employees to be able to create a profile of the employee so as to know the strengths and weaknesses of the employee.
In addition to that, AHP also uses the data that has been provided by the customer and consumers with regard to the employees to analyse who among the employees is effective and who among them is not effective with regard to quality of service delivery to the customers and clients.
The information that is analysed by the AHP model is stored in the employees’ database, which the directors of the Agility Kuwait Company are able to know what the strengths and weakness of each employee are.
When this happens, the directors of the Agility Kuwait Company are able to place every employee where he/she may be able to produce the best quality of services which in turn increases the clients’ satisfaction which will also translate to huge profit margins that will be experienced by the Agility Kuwait Company (Mol 2012, p. 42).
Recommendations
With regard to the problems that have been underlined above, this paper will provide recommendation that is aimed at improving the quality of products and service delivery in an Agility Kuwait Company which will, in turn, translate to huge profit margins that may be experienced by the company.
The Agility Kuwait Company must make use of experienced and well-trained staff that will be able to provide quality service delivery to its customers and consumers. By doing this, the Agility Kuwait Company will be able to maintain and later increase the client database, which will translate to huge profit margins that may be experienced by the company.
In addition to that, the Agility Kuwait Company must make sure that all the employees that in the company are experienced in their fields of expertise which will increase the quality of service delivery and increase the client database.
On the other hand, the Agility Kuwait Company must also put in place measures that will cushion them with regard to the cost control. This has been one of the significant problems that Agility Kuwait Company as a logistics company has been experiencing but to overcome it Agility Kuwait Company must make sure that enough budget is allocated to the specific departments in the company so as to be able to reduce cases of loss with regard to an increase in the rate of the dollar which drastically affects the international logistics industry.
The Agility Kuwait Company must make sure that all the companies that they go into partnership with are all capable of handling the flow of products and services that are delivered to the customers and consumers. This will reduce cases of going into partnership with companies that do not deliver the right quality or products and services to its clients.
In addition to that, the Agility Kuwait Company must conduct a planning and risk management analysis regularly to make sure that all aspects of quality service delivery are catered for. By doing this, the Agility Kuwait Company will be able to increase the client database with regard to more and more people wanting to do business with them which in turn translates to substantial profit margins that will be experienced by the company.
In addition to that, the Agility Kuwait Company must also exploit the talents that are cropping up on a daily basis to use them to their advantage in making sure that the quality of products and services that it offers is maintained.
The Agility Kuwait Company must also be well informed with regard to new technological developments in the markets so as to be able to improve the quality and quantity of products and services that are brought into the market so as to be able to capture a bigger market share thereby increasing the profit margins that are being experienced by the company.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Agility Kuwait Company which is one of the biggest logistics and warehousing company in Kuwait and the world is experiencing problems with regard to the products and services that it delivers to its customers and consumers.
This has been the case with most of the companies in the logistics industry but by using the models that are mentioned above, the Agility Kuwait Company has been able to improve on the quality of products and services that it was offered to its customers and consumers which has, in turn, led to an increase in the client database of the company.
This has, in turn, translated to an increase in the profit margins that are being experienced by the company. The Agility Kuwait Company has also put more emphasis on the improvement of their weakness and that of their biggest rival so as to be able to capitalize and in turn capture a more significant market share which will translate to an increase in the client database and in turn lead to an increase in the profit margins that is being experienced by the company.
References
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Branch, A 2011, Global Supply Chain Management and International Logistics, Cengage Learning, Oklahoma.
Butcher, T 2010, Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Chicago University Press, Chicago.
Drake, M 2012, Global Supply Chain Management, Sage, New York.
Hult, M 2011, Global Supply Chain Management, Oxford University Press, London.
Mol, M 2012, Global Supply Chain Management, Cengage Learning, Oklahoma.
Roussel, J 2011, Strategic Supply Chain Management, Oxford University Press, London.
Skjott-Larsen, T 2010, Managing the Global Supply Chain, Harvard University Press, London.
Turconi, S 2010, Achieving Strategic Agility, John Wiley and Sons, London.