Introduction
of Middle Eastern Firms and Supply Chain Management
Generally, the supply chain is
associated with the organization of companies, their processes, their
operations, functions, and facilities which are utilized in manufacturing and
delivering a specific product to customers. Usually, this organization starts
with suppliers and it reaches to final customers. For example, warehouses,
processing centers, distribution centers, offices, and retail outlets are
included in facilities while forecasting, inventory management, quality
assurance, distribution, delivery, customer service, and scheduling are
included in activities. The management of supply chain is generally described
as the strategic coordination and assessment of different operations within a
firm with the objective of incorporating the management of demand and supply. Almarai,
Emirates Airlines, and Al Baik face issues in their supply chain and these
issues can be resolved with effective management.
Three Middle Eastern firms are
considered in this paper which include Al Baik, Emirates Airlines, and Almarai.
In the context of SCM or supply chain management, these companies will be
discussed and issues will be described which are faced by these firms in this
sector. At present, there are some problems which are faced by these
organizations and they will not only be discussed but also assessed in this
paper. Other than assessing these issues, solutions will be recommended which can
be implemented by the organizations to resolve issues and acquire success in
their operations (Christopher, 2016).
Almarai
Company of Middle Eastern Firms and Supply Chain Management
In this paper, there are three
Middle Eastern organizations which have been selected and one of them is
Almarai. In 1977, it was established and it is based in KSA or the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. With its establishment, it began to produce products and sell
them. Gradually, it gained popularity among the customers and ever since then,
it has been one of the market leaders in bakery items, yogurts, cheese, and
juices. It is recognized as one of the biggest organizations in the region (Almarai, 2019).
Al Baik
Restaurant of Middle Eastern Firms and Supply Chain Management
It can be said that Al Bair is a
restaurant that deals with customers in the region of Saudi Arabia. It is also
established in the same region as Almarai and it is one of the largest
restaurant chains in the country. For instance, in Jeddah, it has over 40
branches and this figure is enough to indicate its growth and fame within the
nation. Throughout the country, it has several branches and is considered an
important organization because of its network (Albaik, 2019).
Emirates
Airlines of Middle Eastern Firms and Supply Chain Management
Just as the name suggests, it is a
business associated with airlines and air travel. Emirates Airlines is based in
the UAE or the United Arab Emirates and ever since its establishment, it has
been the project of The Emirates Group. The project is generally owned by the
Investment Corporation of Dubai and at the moment, it is recognized as one of
the largest and most popular airlines in the Middle East. In the beginning, the
network was not large and in its primitive stages, airlines had been lent from
the PIA or Pakistan International Airlines for starting the work. With time and
efforts, the airlines was developed and it has gained significant fame in the
present time (Emirates, 2019).
Issues of
Middle Eastern Firms and Supply Chain Management
The three organizations considered
in this paper are Almarai, Emirates Airlines, and Al Baik. These firms are
different from each other in terms of their nature and their operations. For
instance, Almarai deals with bakery products, Al Baik is a restaurant chain,
and Emirates Airlines deals with air travel. Their operations and the
activities associated with them are also different and that is why, the issues
faced by the organizations are different from each other. Considering the fact
that issues are different, the solutions proposed for resolving the issues will
also be different from each other.
Emirates Airlines is facing the
issue of mismanagement in ground services. For instance, in the inventory, the
foods served to passengers are decreasing and due to it, passengers are not
satisfied. For instance, it was predicted that each and every passenger will be
served but only half of the passengers could be served due to the shortage of
food. In order to resolve the issue, it is important for operational management
to identify the issue and resolve it as soon as possible.
The issue of rising costs in the
production of different bakery products is being experienced by Almarai. Within
a few months, the costs of producing a number of products has increased and
this concerns operational management because the products are similar to the
ones being produced in the past. However, their product costs have increased
and if this continues on then there is a possibility that sales will decrease
because the prices of products will have to be increased (Singh & Hagahmoodi, 2017).
Meanwhile, a completely different
issue being faced by Al Baik. For instance, it is unable to satisfy customers
because deliveries of products are not on time. It has been reported by
customers that their ordered foods couldn’t be delivered to them on time. In
addition to it, some customers have also reported that their orders were almost
an hour late and due to it, the organization is facing the issue of low
customer satisfaction. If this issue is not addressed to as soon as possible
then there is a possibility that customers might begin to order food from other
restaurants.
Comparison of
Supply Chain of Middle Eastern Firms and Supply Chain Management
It can be said that the supply
chains of Almarai, Emirates Airlines, and Al Baik are both different and
similar to each other.
Size: One
of the most important similarity between these organizations is that the sizes
of their supply chain are almost similar to each other. For instance, the
supply chains of Almarai and Emirates Airlines are similar in terms of size but
the nature of their products and operations is different.
Products and
Raw Materials: The products and raw materials stored in inventories of
these organizations are both similar and different. In both Almarai and Al
Baik, some products are similar to each other such as water bottles. However,
it doesn’t mean that their management is also similar because it depends on the
demand of the water bottles for both of the organizations.
Logistics: Among
these organizations, logistics as a function is not similar and the systems are
also different. The issue of delay in deliveries is being faced by Al Bai and
that is because of the inefficient logistics within the organization.
Therefore, it can be said that the
supply chains of these organizations are both similar and different from each
other in terms of products and operations. It means that the solution for two
organizations with the same issue has to be changed to meet the standards of
that specific firm.
Identification
of Root Causes of Middle Eastern Firms and Supply Chain Management
In order to resolve the issues, it
is important for the operational management to conduct RCA or root cause
analysis and in order to conduct, fishbone diagram has to be drawn. If fishbone
diagram as a tool of identifying issues is implemented then it will help in
ensuring that the root causes of problems faced by the firms are identified. Once
this diagram has been drawn, it will indicate that Emirates Airlines is facing
the issue of lack of products because of inefficient record-keeping and
management of products. Meanwhile, Almarai is facing the issue of rising
production costs because the products are not being handled in inventory in an
effective manner. The inventory is not suitable for storing the products and it
has an adverse effect on the quality of products. When products are not safe to
utilize in production, new products have to be purchased and utilized in
production.
Lastly, Al Baik is facing the issue
of low customer satisfaction because there are significant delays in the
deliveries. These delays are occurring because the tracking technology is not
latest and it is not possible to keep track of products as they are delivered
to products (Weller, 2019).
Conclusion and
Recommendations of Middle Eastern Firms and Supply Chain Management
Overall, it can be said that the
supply chains of Almarai, Al Baik, and Emirates Airlines are both similar and
different to each other. The issues being faced by them are also different from
each other. In order to resolve the issue of inefficient record keeping, it is
important for operational managers to introduce a new and efficient application
for keeping records of raw materials and products which can help in determining
when a specific product is about to deplete. Meanwhile, the issue faced by
Almarai about rising production costs is because of inefficient inventory
space. This issue can be resolved by removing the products and either
implementing a quality standard or changing the inventory space. This solution
will help in maintaining the quality of products.
Lastly, the issue of delays in
deliveries can be resolved by the operational managers of Al Baik with the
implementation of an effective and innovative tracking technology which can
help in recording the tracks of products. If there are some issues in
delivering the products on time then customers can be simply notified about it.
Although these practices can resolve the issues, it is important to note that
benchmarking should also be utilized as a monitoring and evaluation tool for
ensuring that organizations are progressing effectively (Ibn-Homaid & Al-Sulaihi, 2016).
References
of Middle Eastern Firms and Supply Chain Management
Albaik. (2019). How We Started. Retrieved from
Albaik: http://www.albaik.com/en/section/albaik-talk/how-we-started
Almarai. (2019). Profile. Retrieved
from Almarai: https://www.almarai.com/en/corporate/almarai/profile/
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics
& supply chain management. Pearson UK.
Emirates. (2019). About us.
Retrieved from Emirates: https://www.emirates.com/pk/english/about-us/
Ibn-Homaid, N. T., & Al-Sulaihi, I.
A. (2016). Benchmarking Financial Performance: A Case Study Of Saudi
Construction Companies. Benchmarking, 2(12).
Singh, A., & Hagahmoodi, S. O.
(2017). Performance Measurement of Almarai Products and Customer Satisfaction. International
Journal of Management Science, 4(1), 1-12.
Weller, E. (2019). Root Cause Analysis
(RCA).