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  • Essay / Internal and External Integration in Supply Chain Management

    Table of ContentsDifference Between Internal and External IntegrationStrategic Importance of IntegrationRequirements for Internal and External IntegrationThe concept of integration is broad and ambiguous, this which hinders efforts to learn from innovations. In general terms, integration means bringing disparate elements together. Integrated Research: Connecting Concepts in Environmental Science and Policy Lorraevan Kerkhoff. In business terms, how can integration have a definition when the parameters vary from organization to organization? How can the goal be the same when different departments are involved with different goals? So the answer may lie in pursuing a larger goal/vision rather than an overall team objective. Lambert, Garca-Dastugue, and Croxton (2005) explicitly emphasized that connectivity (i.e. connectedness) is essential for process integration in both an intra-firm context and an inter-company context. business. It has been observed that organizations can only succeed if they identify themselves as a supply chain manager as a whole. The focus should therefore be on research on the intersection of internal and external integration. While we can dive into each process separately by categorizing internal and external, we may have already simplified through integration providers that the intersection of the two is the definition of integration in a broader perspective. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The definition of integration will be more effective if we look at it from a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down one. The integration process can be top-down, breaking down a common goal into its subsequent parts, but the definition of integration should be about how we achieve the larger common goal of different departments through integration. 2.1 Internal integration Internal integration consists of traditional cross-functional management practices according to Johnson and Filippini.[2009] The authors indicate that internal integration is mainly used when the focus is on new product development. For example, a manufacturing company may have its production department, sales department, and marketing departments using separate independent systems, and the overall performance of the company will depend heavily on coordination between these departments so that the marketing team can bring together leads and the sales team. can give up to date stock information to the production team who should be able to supply on demand. These processes would fall within the boundaries of the company as internal integration. Lambert, Garca-Dastugue, and Croxton (2005) explicitly emphasized that connectivity (i.e., connectedness) is essential for integrating processes in both an intra-firm and an inter-firm context. . They argue that connectivity is crucial, whether the focus is on transactional efficiency or relationship management. Sales and operations (S&OP) plays a major role in internal integration, as S&OP can also be described as a form of internal collaboration, in which a cross-functional team reaches consensus (Slone et al., 2013). S&OP is frequently enabled by enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems (Affonso et al., 2008) in conjunction with other advanced planning systems + (Jonsson et al., 2007) which are used as toolsto coordinate the supply chain. Goh Stephen Eldridge (2015) emphasized that S&OP should not be seen as a standardized tool but rather tailored to the specific objectives of organizations, whether that is reducing delivery times or reducing inventory. Sales and operations planning (S&OP) and information systems (IS) would facilitate stable production, shorter delivery times, greater forecast accuracy, reduced inventory and distribution costs, integration internal processes via ERP systems. 2.2 External integration However, the complexity of business processes must be recognized. Business processes can vary significantly in terms of level (strategic or operational process) and scope (activities involved in a process). SCM itself can actually be considered a business process. It is therefore crucial to identify important processes without losing sight. Now, changes in service levels, safety stock settings, delivery times, transportation modes, and order settings can cause significant variations in ordering patterns. Manufacturers need visibility into retail ordering strategy parameters to better predict. time-phased future orders combined with store-level forecast collaboration to transition to a shelf-connected supply chain model. As pointed out by Fred Baumann[2010[5]], some of the most common out-of-stock root cause identifiers are: -Phantom/ghost inventory where the perpetual inventory found in the retailer's system is likely to be inaccurate -Inappropriate order settings -Inaccurate demand forecasts -Insufficient shelf space allocation due to promotions or seasonal demand -Shelf distribution driven by poor in-store execution. Manufacturers able to identify these out-of-stock situations and dynamically adjust forecasting and replenishment parameters through collaboration with their retail partner. . Hence the need for external integration. External integration will lead to the identity of the company as a supply chain itself and enable it to strongly meet the requirements of connectivity and simplification throughout the supply chain, because the objective is to maintain a common structure understandable by all through simplification. and also connectivity to be integrated in a permissioned manner for different entities, which will help preserve connectivity without destroying privacy. Baumann also pointed out that businesses today have exponentially more data that needs to be consolidated into a format that is easy to digest and leverage. The solutions require a metadata management system that includes common data mappings and definitions for business units, product geography, etc., to facilitate this process. Additionally, with the number of emerging market partners increasing, companies must be able to consolidate data with varying degrees of sophistication and at different times. Difference between internal and external integration The crucial thing is to understand the boundary of internal and external integration. To understand the difference between internal and external integration, areas of impact must be considered. External Process Integration: External supply chain facing environmental factors that can directly and indirectly affect the supply chain. They may be due to reasonspolitical, economic, technological or geographical (Kleindorfer & Saad, 2005). Criteria used for the external supply chain include: supplier failure, supplier quality issues, oil crisis, IT system malfunction, accident (e.g. fire), natural disaster. Internal process integration: Internal supply chain risks caused by problems within organizational boundaries include machine breakdowns or problems with information technology (Rice and Caniato, 2003). The criteria used for the internal supply chain are: machine breakdowns, import or export restrictions, transportation. failure, supply chain disruptions, increase in customs duties, change in customer demand, technological change, increase in raw material prices. [Shahram Gilaninia1, Hossein Ganjinia2, Batool Asadi Mahdikhanmahaleh3]. It was observed that the impact of external integration has a greater effect than that of internal integration. If one can look at the integration process from a bottom-up approach, internal integration forms the basis for external integration which, in turn, forms the basis of a supply chain ensuring process flow of end-to-end over time, from supplier to customer. Therefore, the two integrations may have different boundaries and areas of impact, but to achieve the common goal, both processes must reinforce each other. Strategic Importance of Bose Corporation Integration SuccessProcess integration provides a great example: A key step is to focus on creating common policies, guidelines, and methods to extend improvement efforts across the board. within and across functional areas, to achieve streamlined processes (Segars, Harkness, and Kettinger 2001). Supply chain simplification also manifests itself in other forms such as joint planning and decision-making. As a strategy, Bose Corporation has focused on transforming itself into a customer-centric organization, which basically means that the company wants to create customer value through products manufactured based on customer preferences. With measures such as the Certificate of Achievement Form and the Supplier Performance System, the company has ensured that the objectives of all external stakeholders are aligned with its objectives of having a high level of service, quality and technical innovation. Likewise, from Dell's direct model, we can observe It is not only the fact that Dell sells directly, it is also its ability to forecast demand: it is both the design of the product and how customer information flows throughout manufacturing to suppliers. It is this type of coordination of information that allows Dell to manage such a low level of inventory. The model relies on demand pull rather than supply, that is, no computer is produced unless there is a corresponding demand in the market. This avoids massive queues of inventory that typically sits unused in retail stores, distributors and factories. Internal and External Integration Requirements Internal and external integration will result in the formation of an integrated supply chain, in simple terms, a supply chain that is equally well integrated with suppliers. because customers ensure a smooth flow of business. In the modern business scenario, the channel.