Introduction
Vertical integration as a management style involves integration of the supply chain to accommodate the different products that company deals in line with the market specific demands. Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly propose a strong vertical integration process for the Zeizt Fashion Company. Besides, the paper explores the fashion product description, location, human resource needed, required material for the fashion product, and market forecast.
Product description
The Zeizt Fashion Company has been in existence for more than three decades. The company is based in Los Angeles and specializes in manufacturing and retailing of clothes. Reflectively, this company needs a strong vertical integration in its industrial organization. From a single location, the company will control its designing, cutting, sewing, finishing, dyeing, distribution and marketing process for its fashion product.
There is need to segment and disfranchise the fashion product within a systematic control system that monitors production progress. Moreover, there is need to develop a successful distribution and in-house advertisements and promotions without having to outsource other industry players. This may be achieved through adoption of the FMS system (Bowman 7).
Production efficiency is critical in the production line since it is characterized by optimal utilization of allocated factors of production within the least possible cost. From the above refection, it is apparent that the company will gain in the long run through the FMS proposal. Despite lower returns on investment below the projection, the overall effect of adopting this proposal will have benefits that will outweigh its limitations. For instance, when the FMS is fully adopted as proposed, the reduction in cost of factors of production such as labor and reduced actual production costs will result in accumulated gains as a result of controlled costs that are recurring (Andrea and Romano 24).
When the recurring costs such as labor, production space, and cost of machinery are curtailed within a manageable level, the company will increase its returns on investments. Besides, the excess labor may be channeled to another line of production besides the extra production space. Even though the return on investment is lower than projected, the project is viable since it will permanently reduce the recurring cost by a margin of more than 10% of the company’s current production cost.
Moreover, the aspect of efficiency as a result of FMS will push the production frontier curve towards sustainability in the long run. Basically, the immediate adaptation of the proposed FMS will contribute towards sustainability in the aspect of cost, dependability, speed, quality, and flexibility. Specifically, the reduced production floor space will give room for expansion and production without having to expand the infrastructure of the company. More space means more products being produced within same production bundles. Due to increased output, the market will eventually expand and the company will get more revenues (Bowman 8). This is summarized in figure 1 in the appendix.
Location
The location in Los Angeles will give the company the much needed ease to reach the market since the main product, which is female printed trousers, will target the female residents within Los Angeles. Besides, the Los Angeles location makes the company have a strategic reach of the market. As a result, the distribution pattern will be efficient and sustainable in the short-run and long-run.
At the Los Angeles location, the quality system is certain. Thus, when the system is quality oriented, the entire chain coordinating these segments would result in optimal operations. Although operations management systems experience constant metamorphosis as a result of short term, midterm, and long term goal planning, no company can operate efficiently without quality system functioning.
Thus, quality will quantify optimal functional within a competitive advantage parameter for the company. Besides, high standard operations management score acts as the engine that supports implementers of business strategy in order to comprehensively verify rationale for supporting current, predicted, and actual results for every step upon introduction of a functional system (Andrea and Romano 25).
Therefore, the probability of success is far much better than that of failure when the system is properly designed as indicated by the high score card at the Los Angeles location. Moreover, balancing act between having to perform optimally at minimal operation and overhead costs is a component of quality in system modeling. Thus, the success of an operations management system is dependent on soft artful skills which are part and parcel of efficient system management (Bowman 8).
Human resource needed
Interestingly, the company needs fashion designers, tailors, marketers and a management. This will enable the company to operate and fully own its sub retail branches instead of franchising any production, marketing, or distribution channels. The topological structure of the company will consist of communication and operations management system which help in determining efficient performance and optimal resource use.
The question that arises at this point is how it makes decisions for proper performance within its operations. Based on the credo emphasize, it will stress on ethical behavior and customer satisfaction within accepted standards of moral obligation on the forefront, while the stakeholders at bottom of the triangle. Vertical integration process will allow the company to cut, design, sell, and distribute its products around Los Angeles within a short time span. This is possible due to direct and complete control of the distribution and production process for its fashion designs (Bowman 8).
Required material
Basically, the vertical integration process at the company will include aspects of cost, dependability, speed, quality, and flexibility. These variables determine success or failure in business. These variables are achievable through value delivery, value addition, and creativity within a single production chain. Reflectively, these concepts are techniques and tools essential in the art of integrating the production and distribution processes.
Besides, this process is inclusive of the scientific aspects such as technical process of understanding the operations involved in operations management, their application, and evaluation criteria. Due to the successful implementation of this efficient operations management system, the company has fully established a mechanism for monitoring progress at micro level (Andrea and Romano 23).
It is apparent that this company has efficient knowledge and experience in uniqueness of products and services in terms of their requirement in order to produce high quality products in its single unit production and distribution system. The variables are connected at central point by strategic planning which encompasses costing, speed, quality, flexibility, and dependability to create a smooth continuous operation tracking model that operates like computer from one segment to another. Therefore, the major part of success puzzle for the integration management delivery operates on the periphery of the soft skills involving the timeless vision of organizational principles, defining value of the business, determining requirements, clarifying the vision, building teams, mitigating task, resolving issues, and providing direction as incorporated in the vertical integration process at the Zeizt Fashion Company (Andrea and Romano 25).
The company should adopt the six-sigma approach in quality control and assurance in the maintenance department. Six-Sigma is an experience of operations management that is used to develop business operations that ensure efficiency through optimal and timely production. Six-Sigma is adopted to attain significant effects of production efficiency through periodic review of the production matrix. Actually, Six-Sigma is a sequence of business events which delivers positive outputs which develop business aim of reliability in the production chain (Bowman 9).
In fact, Six-Sigma is aimed to reduce wastage of production resources that can be experienced in long queues and ineffective task outputs. Quality control is commonly utilized to promote quality of business products. Six-Sigma usually integrate employees to provide the highest quality of products through self assessment and proactive approach to skills tests.
Six-sigma is done to prepare, synchronize and manage the multifarious activities of company through efficiency module. This alternative can be compared to the three balls that are juggled by the circus performers. By implementing the six-sigma alternative, the company can visualize the future risks and hurdles in the implementation of any production plan and can take suitable remedial measures for unforeseeable risks such as machine breakdown (Bowman 7).
Reviewing market
In the marketing and distribution channels that are run from a central point, it is apparent that company structure, operations management, and efficiency of the advertisement department determine sustainability of its business. Besides, the ability to customize products and offer competitive but high quality services determine success and profitability in short and long run.
Skills required in supporting business strategy plan are found in the integrated management model which functions as an implementer and driver of business decisions. The company’s operations management systems incorporate planning, development, implementation, and discovery. Reflectively, the process captures organization chart, status reports, process map, compliance requirements, review structure, activities, dates, and resources employed within a specified period of time. The system has remained efficient due to consultative decision science and will ensure that the company is sustainable (Bowman 9).
In order to achieve quality operations management, Zeizt Fashion Company’s existing forms of system monitoring should be periodically upgraded to introduce multiple operating system models such as ratio analysis in operation management that is compatible with tracking and analysis within and without the company across the three major segments. Despite having this efficient operations management system, the company has not fully established a mechanism of monitoring progress at micro level and majorly depends on macro auditing in decision making and still has to deal with the risk of internal redundancy (Bowman 9).
Scheduling
In order to accomplish the above goal, there is need of a time frame of three months. The first month will be utilized in product modification, sourcing for the right personnel, creating a marketing plan, and reviewing the targeted market. The second month will be utilized in implementing the element of vertical integration within the production function. Besides, efficiency channels will be created within the budget limits. The last month will be critical in implementation of the Six-Sigma and FMS systems.
Conclusion
Basically, a quality integration management system performs optimally via integration of appropriate scientific methods and techniques. To enrich artistic managerial talents, scientific techniques come in handy to not only magnify the margins of success, but also to ensure smooth transition of an idea or an event after another. In order to strike an optimal performance balance, the process of designing a quality operations management system should commence with a clear overview of budgeting, objectivity, and scheduling. In addition, this part should include control procedures and assessment.
Works Cited
Andrea, Arnaldo & P. Romano. “Understanding how Formal and Informal Communication affect Purchasing, Manufacturing and Logistics Integration.” Advances in Management 4.7 (2011): 22-32. Print.
Bowman, Singh. “Corporate restructuring: Reconfiguring the firm.” Strategic Management Journal 1.4 (2003): 5–14. Print.