Abstract
The fact that Olympic Games are to be held next year, it is important to analyze some of the issues relating to the supply of products. This also includes factors of importance to the companies as they prepare to have the service delivery of their best suit, as well as, the most vital considerations in the pursuit of such goals (McCarthy, 2011, p.1).
Here, let me say that London being the host of the great event, it is important for suppliers and companies at large to have the best preparation before the event. This will save them a lot of agony, which could arise from the failure to plan, in addition to constant reaction disparities.
Therefore, it is important to focus on some of the factors that the companies might be undergoing in the pre-preparation of the event with regard to the issues that are arising to them now, those that will be portrayed in the actual event also the resultant effects of the whole event thereafter.
Possessing the knowledge of the markets as it relates to issues of delivery of products precisely supply as well as the factors that affect the channels and modes of supply, the issue of Olympics games in London is of major concern. This is because it raises various sensitive considerations as it pertains to the companies and their readiness for the event.
This paper will therefore, seek to answer the question, why do companies seem unprepared for the Olympic Games in London? This will be based on the article provided for review as well as the actual analysis of management issues relating to supply in the usual market and the issue of disaster management.
Introduction
To begin with, the article analyzes the previous market behaviors as they relate to issues of supply and the essence of future strategic planning. The Olympic season here is compared to Christmas season in terms of companies’ operations requirements (Albert 1). This is because of the peak, with reference to operative considerations of organizations.
It is presumed that even though buyers may not feel directly impacted by such occurrences, their respective supply chains are significantly affected.
A managerial perspective of the situation is given by the UK country’s manager Humphries, where he denoted that a greater risk is even projected in a situation where the customer is not preferred by the supplier. This is because in terms of supply, prioritizing the customer will get a very low position and might end up running short of supply or getting none (Blackstone, 1989).
The most advised aspect of the companies getting supplies from similar suppliers to those of the Olympics are in the actual sense in a very dangerous position. This is because when it comes to supplying for them as well as the Olympics they may get the second position in priorities.
This is a major threat to the supply requirements of the companies, as it would render them unreliable to their customers and eventually losing the customers. The mentioned risk however, can be mitigated through the establishment of better control of inventories, which will help in the elimination of the error of underestimation or overestimation of demand (Sollish & Semanik, 2007).
The impact of Olympic Games on the supply of products
Actually, some companies will choose to take advantage and use the Olympic branded products seeking to obtain maximum demand of the products. However, such companies ought to be extremely careful when it comes to purchasing because of the risk of being new in the Olympics trade.
Another risk relating to the use of the branded products is, though at first they may be well selling, and giving appealing returns, they might turn to be a very big disappointment after certain occasions.
This is with reference to the case of the 2010 rebranded products whose demand significantly fell after England had dropped out of the tournament. However, this should not hinder the suppliers from accessing the benefits of the branded products, but it is only aimed at cautioning them to be flexible and take advantage of supplies when necessary.
The issue of disruption however, is not the only concern for the buyers hindering them from preparation of their contingent plans. Other issues have also been playing a role in the interference with such planning. These include the unrest that has been noticed in the United Kingdom, as well as, the issue of weather disparities.
It has been realized that in most cases, organizations are not prepared in advance for the day-to-day unforeseen risks. The organizations in the recent past have not been considerate of the disruption impact brought about by the Games.
It is further noted in the article that some suppliers who do their businesses in a small scale have not considered the factor of business continuity sufficiency, which is the main threat on the companies not anticipating for wellbeing of the Olympic Games. Effective supply chain aims at eventually getting the operations back up and ensure the sufficient consistency of the operations.
The second thing to consider in the discussion on the readiness for the Olympic Games is that of the supply chains. These chains are facing increased pressures and the purchasers should be ready for it. However, as the Olympic Games get closer, it has been noticed that most of the purchasers have realized the potential too late about the essence of disruption of the supply chains.
The exception of the percentage of companies that are anticipating and preparing for a disruption as it pertains to the games is 40%, and this is a considerably small figure as compared to the initial performances portrayed.
A research to identify the notions and perceptions of the purchasers on issues relating to the supply chain showed that more than four fifths did not think there were any problems associated with the supply chain, which in this situation is a very vital issue of consideration as it relates to the companies’ preparedness for the Olympic Games.
Further survey showed that 58 percent did not hold any plans that would be of use in the event that such problems came up.
Quoting the statement made by John Mile who is a procurement consultant, it is evident that the effects on the supply chains on an issue relating to the supply chains are inevitable.
This time round therefore, during the Olympics it should be among the suppliers’ considerations to meet these inevitable business surcharges and therefore planning for them should be amongst their most recent and considered a list of priorities (Sollish & Semanik, 2007).
These inevitable surcharges therefore, require the suppliers to plan and ensure that their councils are strategically protected from any risks they might face. The Olympics therefore, might have a big impact on business continuity.
It is presumed that due to the issue that will be accruing to the London Olympics, anyone who at that time will be operating business in and around London must have an issue however, adequately they prepare.
In the recent past however, some of the internal risks analysis on the forecasting of the Olympic Games have been underway and the main intend of the analysis is looking at the discovery of alternate working ways which may include stock piling the necessary resources before the start of the Games (Sollish & Semanik,2007).
Let me now focus on some of the major companies in the London markets also those that are intending to be involved in trading during the Olympic Games. Here, a critical look on the Dixons retail, the company feels that it is ready to handle any issues, which might arise relating to matters of operational considerations, as well as, marketing opportunities.
They are different in that in their business consideration unlike other companies who give the first priority to the trading aspect and profit maximization, their major focus is on the expectations for a disruption. In preparation for these, they have already built into their initial plans extra capacity for the accommodation of such disruptions as projected concerning the activities of Olympic Games.
Supply chains play a major role in the determination of how reactions in the workplace as issues of riots are treated also their effects to a company’s profitability. What remains to be seen is that contingency planning is a major attribute towards the effective decision making also the eventual solution analysis in the companies’ activities.
James Jaggard the best way to avoid disruptions is only through building of reliable and considerably good relationships with vendors. The companies that have used this approach in the preparation of the Olympic Games activities feel that their supply chains will not be negatively impacted and business will go on as usual (Sollish & Semanik, 2007).
An applicable methodology is the utilization of the existing long-term contracts also the existent partnership agreements as possible. This as per the article is aimed at ensuring that the supplier chain changes are greatly limited as they could lead to project delays as well as, an act as a major financial risk.
Where there are no flexible vendors, deals like the one mentioned above due to the lack of good relationships with them, Jaggard believes that the place where action should begin is at the identification of the strategic also the technical suppliers who are critical to the business.
In the advice of Jaggard, it is important to realize that some of the technicalities that can be handled include the measure of capacity and capability, an understanding of the customers of your supply, the understanding of an own spending profile as well and the supplier’s capability of your own (Cavinato, Flynn & Kauffman, 2004).
The beliefs of purchasers differ significantly in that other purchasers believe that their focus in terms of risks accruing to them is the future prices.
However, this can be treated in due consideration of the activities of making strategies that counter the rise in prices in that a reconsideration of the initial specifications of the products and work on re-designing the whole product for the purpose of changing how well it suits the particular market.
Considerations
The article ends by giving a review of certain considerations, which are the main attributes of impact assessment. These considerations are the activities of the organization to extend lead times with suppliers in advance aiming at factoring in the possible issues. A good example of how this could be done is through the updating of the Information technology system.
Secondly, the organizations should seek to find out possible alternatives for transport and the distribution where goods could be delivered effectively whenever the necessity arises as this could curb disruption issues.
There is also need to assess the possibilities of business continuity plans of the partners in the supply chain as well as the ones of your own organization. Back-up servers for the protection of the IT department should be harnessed. A given possession of the article portrays that shortage as the case of fuel should be prioritized and curtailed.
Too much reliance on a particular vendor should be avoided since this leads to disparity in the sense that it is acknowledged for dependence by different suppliers to obtain vendors at will (Trent, 2007). Alternative sources of business critical supplies and enhances ease of access. Payment ought to be backed- up also systems to ensure that vendors continue to be paid no matter the payment circumstances.
All the above information as it pertains to the article shows the varied impacts of Olympic Games also the levels of preparedness portrayed by companies as pertains the games. However, the analysis does not clarify the essence of management in the case of London companies also the issues of effects has not been clearly brought out as per the different aspects the Games might impact the companies (Sollish & Semanik,2007).
Therefore, it is important to note that the most suitable steps should be analyzed considering the various contributions of management. In addition to this, it is important to focus on how these vary to suppliers in the case of a great event like the Olympics in London also in ensuring that the main aspects of preparedness in supplies and factors of forecasting as well as, good strategic planning are in their rightful positions.
Supply management concisely describes the process of corporate or institutional buying. This is mainly in terms of buying for internal as well as, external uses of goods and services. In most of the organizational set ups, buying is mainly contractual between the buying and selling parties for the considerable amounts referred to as price (Trent, 2007).
This price is in most cases monetary in nature. In the case of Olympic preparation by the London markets, it is important to realize that in the first place, these companies ought to strategize effectively if they are to win the disruption effects, which might arise in the course of service delivery to customers.
Before the actual Games, which are due by several months, companies are facing major challenges in terms of forecasting. Here, companies should be in the frontline to work out strategies, which will ensure that the problems, which might arise in the due course of operations during the Olympics also the events thereafter, are favorable to their operations.
Let me say that strategizing gets a bit tricky when location cannot be predetermined (Hayes, Gary, and Upton, 1996).
For instance, it is a matter of fact that the companies ought to forecast the places of residence for many fans, which cannot be predetermined as the interest of people, are very dynamic also, every service provider is in the pursuit of giving the best offers to attract the majority of the customers (Cavinato, Flynn & Kauffman, 2004).
Therefore, it gets very hard for companies to project specific places to work on in terms of analyzing how supplies will be enhanced in the respective places. This therefore, brings a tragedy in that it is also not possible to invest equally in all areas and ensure an analysis of supplies in all areas is intensified.
The companies therefore, in preparation for the Olympic Games are facing major challenges in terms of the ease of analysis of the supply needs as well as lack of adequate resources to help in financing the required activities due to fear of taking the great risk of investment in the activity (Tersine, 1982).
The only solution that can be reached in this case is only to ensure that operations at the company’s level are intensified as well as the motivation for companies to take great risks and make major investments.
The second perspective to work from is the issue of the problems that the companies might face during the actual games. Here, it is important to realize that since most of the companies will not have effectively strategized, the risk of shortage of supplies is likely to result.
There are possibilities that due to congestion in the towns which in fact will result from the population seeking to be part of the competition the issue of poor system of supply may arise. Here, the main considerations are the accessibility of the areas of delivery, which most probably will be less accessible since most of the people will be heading to the outlets to get their shares of products (Simchi-levi & Kaminsky, 2004).
On the issue of the major outlets, it will be noted that because of congestion, which might reduce the accessibility of the retail areas, people may opt for the major supply areas where congestion will result and the results of congestion are usually reduced levels of efficiency in operations as well as reduced accountability of transactions.
Therefore, for those who might not have planned, their purchasers will be prone to failures in accessibility as well as shortages of goods.
For those who might have reliable strategies to work with during the period, there is a risk that they might have invested so much in their operational plans that they might not get returns enough to compensate them as well as gaining those profits. In addition, some of the planners might be disadvantaged in that their strategies might work against the actual happenings of the Olympic Games.
When such happens, it is a main disadvantage in that the eventual process and costs of the strategy is useless and the financial result could ruin the business due to the failure of returns from an investment (Simchi-levi & Kaminsky, 2004).
Aftermath of the Olympic Games
The third perspective of the Olympic Games is the factors that may affect the companies after the actual Games. Here, the discussion will take three courses. The first one involves the companies that will have participated in the supply during the actual games, secondly will be the companies that had intended to take part but their strategies did not work for the Games and the third group encompasses those that never participated at all.
The companies that will be favored by the activates of the Olympic Games are bound to get considerably very high profit returns from it and eventually increase their scope of operations as well as booster their cooperate image which might lead to them extending their functionality globally (Rose and Spiegel, 2011, p.1).
Therefore, it is important to note that however, a shortcoming of such participating organization would be a lack of efficient resources to use later, the returns obtained from the venture would be adequate to acquire the organization resources from any location (Cavinato, Flynn & Kauffman, 2004).
For companies that will have been interested in the venture but their strategies failed them, the makeup activity for them will be a hard one since such risks might end up in giving the company a financial crisis which might end up to the closure of companies that lack a wide market share.
However, the companies may recuperate through action of aggressive advertisement to ensure that they re-attain a major market share also to give them the capacity to work for the organizations wellbeing.
The third category of the companies in due consideration of the effects of the Olympic Games as forecasted is the group that will not take part at all in the affairs of the Olympic Games (Preuss, 2000).
Here, let me say that these companies will be improved in terms of the economies of scale of the other companies but dealing with similar products. Therefore, they will directly benefit from the policies that may be made pertaining to their line of service delivery by the legislation.
Conclusion
In summation, it is worth to note that supply chains are very sensitive chains in the delivery of service to customers. Therefore, London ought to take advantage of the activity in their country and maximize from the opportunity in that they should allow for more flexible rates and terms of operations during the Games to accommodate a wider audience for business.
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