Carlsen’s Norrkoping Project

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Background information
Commisioning of the Norrkoping plant
Importance of the ‘Monster’
Risks encountered by ‘pursuing focus’
Relevance of the self-managed team approach
Role of Staffing as a Supply Chain Component
List of References

Introduction

The Norrkoping project was a serious undertaking by Carlsen company. This company had two other stores, in Stockholm and Copenhagen and looked to open a third as part of their expansion strategy. Findings of their research identified photo resist image processing as an under developed sector of the market. The availability of market for their goods as was presented by Argsten also influenced them into pursuing the move (Slack, 2001).

The major undoing for Carlsen in their quest for dominance was their inexperience. Lack of prior knowledge in the intricacies of management, coupled with the magnitude of operations posed enormous challenges. In addition to, this, most of the people the newly assembled workforce lacked requisite experience in the field. Most of them had left other employment avenues in order to pursue a new one, as was stated by the management (Slack, 2001).

It was crucial for the persons safeguarding the process to come up with the requisite strategies to ensure that issues progressed in reference to the stated objectives. In the event that this could not be achieved then, the intricacies of management would have taken centrestage consequently diminishing the process capacity (Slack, 2001).

Background information

It has been stated by scholars that supply chain management refers to a business model, which is a necessity for survival of the business and requires the involvement of all employees. Supply chain management should not be defined like business function (Douglas, 2010).

The modern-day culture requires environmental and social responsibility, due to the abundance of risks and increasing customer pressure. In addition to, these factors, the management is expected to steer the firm to profitability, by increasing revenue growth and market share (Lambert 2008). This makes it imperative for management to realize that success is pegged on the ability to integrate business relationship to benefit both the organization and the clientele.

Dominion over this network is referred to as supply chain management, and it requires cross functional amalgamation across all firms that constitute the network (Stadtler and Kilger 2008). Understanding their execution ensures managers appreciate the importance of larger chains and the roles they play in increasing shareholder value in addition, to a sustainable competitive advantage.

It assimilates logistics to the manufacturing schedule to ensure raw materials are received, and finished products are dispatched efficiently. This also ensures time and cost effectiveness is integrated into the process (Gattorna, Ogulin, & Reynolds, 2003). The process allows for the advancement of products by organizations in a manner also shown by outsourcing.

It allows for specialization of labor and assembly of the most excellent partners offering contributions to the product value chain. This boosts the overall employee performance and effectiveness. The process is popular since members can contribute to and access information from the site without maintaining distinctive relationships (Gattorna et al., 2003).

Commisioning of the Norrkoping plant

Production services commenced officially in 2001, after rigorous methods had been employed during staff recruitment and training exercises. It should be noted, that from an initial pool of 500 hopefuls, only 50 made the interview and 19 were employed by the plant. It was a painstaking procedure intended to retain qualified applicants who were enthusiastic about working for the firm. The shortlisted candidates were subjected to a strenuous training period without any incentives for those in attendance (Slack, 2001).

Upon incorporation of team tasks into the training process, the effects were immediate as distinctions arose, between the people who had shown hitherto shown academic excellence and job enthusiasm as their common denominator (Slack, 2001). This allowed the management to choose an acceptable percentage of them and establish a focused team to propel their agenda. The inclusion of Argsten, one of the key consumers of their merchandise at the time in their portfolio also boosted them immensely.

Importance of the ‘Monster’

After years of maintaining market dominance, a rival company introduced better quality services in 1994. Coincidentally, their plant broke down for eight months during the same period. This move left Carlsen stranded, especially after the withdrawal of several key customers. This came alongside heavy liability to customers for failed deliveries in the entire. Days of work on their output quality and clean-room standards saw them regain their favorite position as market leaders, although the experience prompted further action from them.

The onset of the project ‘monster’ was characterised by the formation of a high-level team to improve on the quality of the product they had in the market. The opportunity presented itself in 1997, when it was discovered that improvements could be performed on coating levels tom increase output quality (Slack, 2001).

It was decided, after much deliberation, that setting up a new production site with enormous increment capacity was the best option to adopt. It would ultimately incorporate most of the Monster variations added to the ultra clean technology in the previous years. This process was lucrative due to its costing affordability in addition to, the changes it introduced in the entire market system (Slack, 2001). The potential for large-scale production at affordable prices bore attractive prospects for future business operations.

Risks encountered by ‘pursuing focus’

This strategy bore enormous risks and challenges, with regards to efficiency and economic viability. As opposed to their previous establishments, Norrkoping was intended to serve the photo resist market exclusively. Initially, the firm had planned to set up three small machines with different functionalities in the premise.

According to them, this would provide the variety they required in order to stay afloat on the onset of turbulent times. Extensive discussions ended with the decision to favor focus adopted in spite of the heavy criticism it encountered from some of the members. It was a risky venture, because a slump in demand, necessitating them to shutdown (Slack, 2001).

This would be detrimental to business, in addition to, the job losses that would arise from this occurrence. A large majority of the workforce would be left without a source of livelihood, making them susceptible to the lures of crime. Increased insecurity will also pose a challenge to the tourism sector, in addition, to other recreational centres. Additionally, most of the staff would remain without responsibilities to undertake in the event of system failure.

Pursing focus was a good move by the management (Slack, 2001). Considering market dynamics at the time, it was imperative that they explicitly identify customer requirements and channel all resources towards satisfying them. In addition to, this, cost implications had to be factored into the scenario, since the company required to stay profitable and guarantee sustainability.

Relevance of the self-managed team approach

Like most of their previous ideas, this concept had been discussed on several occasions before it was adopted. During a high-level meeting by the company management, the positives that could be drawn from adopting this method of management were analysed extensively and noted down against the negatives of the same. It was noted that this method allowed for rapid change and enriched jobs for all employees.

This occurred as a result of the fact that the sense of ownership by the employees was increased. The fact that it was more fulfilling for employees resulted in a sense of pride hence high-quality output (Slack, 2001). This will result in lower operational costs due to continuous movement of company stock. The method will involve all employees in their bid to realize customer satisfaction, in addition to, ensuring quality produce by attracting high-calibre employees who are flexible and think quickly.

Role of Staffing as a Supply Chain Component

The term supply chain refers to the oversight of interlinked business ventures ultimately involved in the production of wares and services required by certain clientele. The recent technological advancement has brought about changes in the way delivery chains are supervised, by introducing computer software (Douglas, 2010).

These programs have modules with provisions that facilitate execution of transactions, in addition to, monitoring other business operations (Stadtler and Kilger, 2008). This has introduced greater accuracy levels in the industry, underlining the importance of this concept in the daily operations undertaken by business ventures. For a premise to operate efficiently, members of staff are required.

This is the team that will attend to client needs, in addition to; ensuring quantities of the product stock are sold. Ultimately, members of staff are crucial in determining the success or failure of a particular business ventures (Douglas, 2010). It follows that careful consideration of several factors is crucial before employment and deployment of personnel to work stations (Lambert, 2008).

While the level of academic qualification is crucial, certain factors should be considered before a person is employed. Interpersonal and communication skills are some of the important factors to consider during staffing. In the end, the concepts mentioned above contribute to the upgrading of processes as illustrated by the efficiency and competence levels (Stadtler and Kilger 2008).

Staffing is important to the management process, since it is function charged with recruitment and job placing. While poor policies will result in failure due to incompetence, appropriate measures will result in a result oriented workforce, with a clear focus on achieving success, both at personal and organizational levels (Stadtler and Kilger, 2008).

At a strategic level, staffing is responsible for incorporating employees who can oversee network optimization. Members of staff should possess the aptitude to institute and uphold constructive strategic partnerships with distributors, clientele and customers. All in all, they should have the ability to make parallels the overall organizational course of action with the supply stratagem.

On a tactical level, members of staff should be able to supply contracts for purchasing and product decisions (Stadtler and Kilger 2008). This happen concurrently with the maintenance of inventory on quantity, location and quality of produce handled. They should monitor payments paid to and from the customers, either as compensation or for goods and services delivered.

Most importantly, the center of attention should be on customer demand, by setting benchmarks against rivals and ensuring implementation of the best strategies (Stadtler and Kilger 2008). On the operational front, they will take assume control of the daily happenings. This will include monitoring production, demand, inbound and outbound operations among many more. This will ensure detail is adhered to with precision, preventing catastrophes that may result from negligence.

In the case of Norrkoping, it was mandatory to employ competent staff members and equip them with relevant skills through various means, including orientation (Lambert 2008). This task falls under staffing; hence the strategy they employed for this venture would be crucial in determining their success or failure in the long run.

It should be noted that they handled the challenge adeptly, a factor which saw them recruit the best among those available (Lambert 2008). This set of recruits lived up to expectation by steering the company back to profitability on two occasions. As a result, one can conclude that their staffing strategy was efficient, since it helped them identify capable personnel (Gattorna, et al., 2003).

Their strongest point was in the incorporation of team activities, as opposed to focusing on individual skills only (Stadtler and Kilger 2008). It is noteworthy that this strategy was in tandem with the management policy the company hierarchy had adopted for use at the new plant.

This gave them the true picture of the interviewees, by interrogating their personal skills and team work abilities. On the contrary, focusing on individual ability, as opposed to both would have provided a different of skilled persons without the requirements for team-oriented tasks. The result would have impacted negatively on the overall policy and ambitions of the firm (Stadtler and Kilger 2008).

List of References

Doug, P 2009, Dayton region a crucial hub for supple management, Dayton Daily News. Web.

Gattorna, J, Ogulin, R & Reynolds, M, W 2003, Gower Handbook of Supply Chain Management, 5, London, Gower Publishing.

Lambert, D, M 2008, Supply Chain Management: Processes, Partnerships, Performance, 3^rd edition, Florida, Supply Chain Management Institute Slack, N 2001, The Norrkoping Plant (A), Case 7.

Stadtler, H & Kilger, C 2008, Supply chain management and advanced planning: concepts, models, software, and case studies, 4, Hamburg, Springer.

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