Deriving learnings from Supply Chain Management Essay Example

goods from their origin to consumption. Therefore, supply chain management within the human body includes all processes involved in converting raw materials (food) into work-in-progress (such as amino acids and fatty acids) and finished goods (energy).

Literature Review

This project aims to identify lessons from supply chain management in the human body that can be applied in modern factories and provide examples of how these lessons can be applied. Additionally, this project aims to demonstrate how modern-day operations that are considered to be the best are already similar to the human body's operations in terms of achieving maximum efficiency and profitability. Initially, we will focus on the most basic supply chain of the human body - the food supply chain - and extract lessons from it that can be applied in present-day factories. Later on, we will present a case study on how HP improved its operations and profitability by following the advice of Fed-Ex, which was greatly inspired by the operations of the human body.

The supply chain of nutrients is comparable to a 25-foot long assembly line, extending from the oral cavity to the anus. At one end, whole food is consumed, while waste is eliminated at the opposite end. During this journey, nutrients are extracted from the food and absorbed into the bloodstream based on the body's requirements. This process plays a vital role in the supply chain. The subsequent phase involves how absorbed nutrients and glucose are utilized by the cell mill to convert them into ATP, which acts as the energy currency for living systems. Essentially, digestion entails breaking down large food molecules into smaller ones that can

pass through the intestinal lining and enter the bloodstream.

Your body uses both mechanical and chemical methods to achieve digestion. The process starts in the brain, where you anticipate the enjoyable taste of food before a meal. Your eyes and nose help prepare your body and mind for food, and just thinking about it triggers the secretion of digestive juices. Saliva, an essential component that breaks down food, causes your mouth to salivate. Similarly, the mere thought of what will soon satisfy your taste buds makes your stomach churn.

Even before the first bite, you prepare your digestion system by thinking, smelling, and salivating. The mere anticipation of eating prepares your digestive tract for the food that is about to come. In fact, this preparation starts even before the actual food arrives, showing that the digestive system is proactive in its functioning. Modern factories could possibly learn from this.

If all our current mills and everyone in the supply chain can receive information about upcoming natural materials, they can prepare themselves for production. This will help reduce production time and improve efficiency. For example, in a software industry, the design engineer cannot start work without the full Software Requirement Specification (SRS) from the requirement engineer. Similarly, the development team cannot start working without complete specifications from the design engineer, and so on. Therefore, when a client requests a software requirement engineer for a project, the company can gather preliminary information based on past experience and start preparing the design, development, and testing teams accordingly. This includes scheduling developers with experience in similar projects to coincide with the expected availability of design specifications.

Digestion starts in the mouth with mastication,

breaking down nutrients like fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Saliva produced in the mouth aids in beginning the digestion process for fats and carbohydrates. This early breakdown of carbohydrates is advantageous as they are easily digested and provide immediate energy. Efficiently processing high-profit raw materials at a fast rate can be a valuable lesson for modern mills.

Starting the processing early enables the company to expedite the production of finished goods and maintain a solid financial position for daily operations. In the stomach, food undergoes digestion through a combination of churning and the release of hydrochloric acid, which serves two purposes: breaking down food particles and eliminating bacteria. Hence, the stomach not only digests but also disinfects. A valuable lesson we can derive from this is how to merge two different functions into one stage and potentially carry out multiple tasks using a single machine. As food progresses through the digestive system, it traverses stations in the small intestine where digestive juices further break down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into smaller molecules capable of entering the bloodstream.

The small bowel has specialized "doors" that are labeled to indicate whether they can absorb saccharides, aminic acids, or fats, among other substances. Each door is accompanied by a blood vessel, which quickly transports the nutrients throughout the body for energy production or tissue construction. This serves as a perfect example of efficient multi-product processing. As soon as the final products (such as sugars and amino acids) are produced, they are transported within the body without wasting any space or time. The small intestine is an excellent demonstration of space utilization.

The small bowel is designed in an 'S layout' to maximize

its length within limited space. It also has villi on its surface, which enhance absorption by increasing the surface area. The small bowel measures around 7 meters (23 feet) in length and has a surface area about 10 times greater than that of the skin. Thus, the efficient use of space in the human body's arrangement offers valuable insights for design.

The process of fat digestion involves breaking down fats into fatty acids. The resulting fatty acids are then stored in microscopic compartments within specific cells in the intestinal lining. These compartments are filled with microscopic bags, which are later transported out of the body through the blood stream using lipoproteins. These lipoproteins act as molecular ferries, distributing and depositing fat molecules at various cell docking sites throughout the blood stream. Each cell in the body has numerous docking sites on its membrane, akin to millions of loading docks. If a cell does not require any additional fat, it closes off its docking sites, preventing lipoprotein ferries from docking and causing them to continue circulating in the blood stream until they find alternative locations to deposit the fat. The most common destinations for excess fat are the liver and fat cells.

Modern mills can learn from this approach, which challenges the traditional way of manipulating raw material suppliers (through techniques like JIT) and other methods. Our approach is that "no matter what happens, we will make our system strong enough to withstand any unforeseen circumstances." The method used to manage fats in our body can teach us how raw materials can be managed semi-automatically by designing an efficient process.

Within a cellular framework, cells possess "docks" that indicate

their ability to accept fat. Similarly, contemporary mills may incorporate docks within their cellular structure to deposit natural materials upon arrival. When a cellular structure reaches its saturation point with natural material, it can close the dock and transfer the material to the subsequent structure. Nevertheless, it is crucial to acknowledge that this method may not be suitable for all types of natural materials. Similar to fats in the human body which are large and unable to circulate in the bloodstream.

Hence, this alternative method facilitates the delivery of any natural substances that cannot be transported via the regular supply chain. It is noteworthy that this approach allows cellular construction to function independently from the actual arrival time of these natural substances. Autonomous reception and processing of raw materials occur regardless of the availability of natural resources. This strategy proves particularly beneficial in countries such as India, where uncertainties surrounding raw material delivery prevail.

The enzymatic activities in digestion are regulated by a supply-and-demand process. The enzymes responsible for breaking down and absorbing nutrients adhere to this principle. If the secretory organs in the enteric liner and pancreas produce sufficient enzymes to handle and assimilate all incoming food, then the intestines function properly. Conversely, if there is an excess of food that exceeds the capacity of available enzymes, the intestines will close off and redirect the surplus into the lower bowels.

The large intestine, also referred to as the colon, plays a vital role in digestion by absorbing most of the food from the small intestine. Afterward, the remaining waste passes through the jejunum and enters the colon. Inside this part of our digestive system, water is extracted

from the food and supplied to our bodies, which need a significant amount of water. If there isn't enough water in the waste, more water is added to avoid constipation. This process can be likened to how a factory's final stage in its supply chain collects and reutilizes any valuable waste.

Implementing this practice in all mills will lead to decreased wastage and increased efficiency. Moreover, the large intestine has a vital role in housing beneficial bacteria that aid in the digestion of indigestible food. These bacteria also regulate harmful bacteria and ferment soluble fiber, producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFA's). SCFA's nourish the cells of the large intestine, promote healing, and reduce the risk of intestinal cancer development.

Having a symbiotic relationship with other small organizations greatly influences mills and their ability to utilize waste for the benefit of these organizations. For example, a sugar factory that produces molasses as waste can be utilized by an ethanol-producing mill. Therefore, establishing contracts like this can result in profit for both parties involved and contribute to the overall profitability of the mill.

To complete the digestion process, waste is expelled from the colon after enough mass has accumulated. This is analogous to how mills discard final waste. In essence, all the nutrients are stored in a partially prepared state, allowing the body to assemble proteins using amino acids, carbohydrates from sugars, and so forth. Dell is already implementing this model of mass customization.

HP Case Study We will also compare the supply chain management in the company Hewlett-Packard with our human body system and would then derive the learning from it. Case description: Hewlett Packard, founded in 1939, was a technology

innovator which always exceeded customer expectations. Though it had many retail stores yet it wanted to reach directly to the consumers through e-commerce. It wanted to leverage the power of internet so as to give its customers an easy and convenient access to its products.

The program had the goal of enhancing client relationships, reducing costs, managing demand, and increasing gross revenue. This led to the creation of hpshopping.com as a new online sales channel for customers. The management of hpshopping.com collaborated with FedEx to create a comprehensive solution that would handle the entire process from order management to order fulfillment. The objective was to implement the new online sales channel quickly and effectively.

Evaluation of HP's analysis of consumer demand and supply chain

FedEx evaluated HP's supply chain structure and identified crucial integration points. It also needed to develop strategies to address the growing consumer demand.

The system being discussed is comparable to the Nervous System, consisting of two components: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system. The CNS, made up of the brain and spinal cord, mainly receives information from the body and gives instructions. In this situation, the brain functions like FedEx by collecting data from individuals and creating strategies accordingly. It then instructs various entities (which we will explore further) to perform necessary actions in order to fulfill those needs.

FedEx, similar to the encephalon, plays a vital role in managing various systems within the company, including order direction and order fulfillment. This is crucial for the organization's proper functioning. Just as the encephalon gathers market information through spinal cords and nerves, employees analyze consumer demands at FedEx to take appropriate action. In

this case, FedEx acts as the encephalon by providing instructions on necessary tasks. HP chose FedEx for similar reasons: expertise in information technology, access to U.S. households via a distribution network, experience in electronic commerce and supply chain management, ability to analyze business processes and suggest solutions, integration of multiple solutions from alliance partners with HP's business processes to meet customer demands, and swift delivery of solutions to the market. Effective communication holds significant importance in any organization.

Just like nerve cells connected throughout the body to effectively transmit messages, in any organization, collaboration and coordination between different departments is crucial for the successful implementation of any strategy. It was only through FedEx's action of creating a new channel for HP that allowed the company to sell its refurbished printers and computing products to customers online that they experienced great success.

Order Management and Inventory Management

FedEx understood that one of the key factors contributing to the solution's success was the integration of online credit card authorization and settlement within the order management system. Once the order was authorized and confirmed by HP, it was then routed to the fulfillment center by FedEx. It was also important to have the necessary integration between the order and inventory management system.

We want to compare the hormone system, which works with the brain and nerves to keep the body in order. Glands are the organs that run the hormone system, controlling growth rate, hunger, body temperature, and more. In this case, the pituitary gland acts as the control center, secreting the hormone that regulates growth. Therefore, nothing will be done to fulfill the consumer's order until the payment is successfully processed

and inventory management is in place, just like the rise and fall of our body's growth.

Below is a diagram showing the Order Management process:

The diagram above illustrates that hpshopping.com is like the heart of the body. The flow of order information represents blood entering and exiting the heart.

By integrating order direction and stock list direction systems, the company can monitor and control stock levels. Just like how the body controls hormones to maintain balance, excessive stock leads to unnecessary costs while low stock levels result in lost goodwill. Customers of HP can track their shipments online or by calling toll free Numberss.

Warehouse Management

The proximity of the fulfilment centre to the FedEx SuperHub reduces transportation costs and delays. Similar to how saliva aids in quicker and easier digestion, warehouses should be located near the order fulfillment area.

Order Fulfillment

HP made sure to provide flexibility to its customers in terms of time. Orders placed as late as 10pm were shipped on the same day. Additionally, instead of multiple shipments, multiple orders from customers were delivered in one coordinated shipment. The company's speed has been a major factor in its success. FedEx also adopted a similar approach, delivering orders to customers whenever they requested, as the brain reacts quickly to external stimuli regardless of the time of day.

hpshopping.com debited client accounts quickly and helped them find products that met their needs. The response to external stimuli had to be immediate!

Conclusion & Recommendations

Based on this project, we can conclude that our initial assertion that the human body is the best benchmark is partially correct. However, it has its own limitations, but it can still provide

valuable insights for supply chain management. Some limitations in applying all supply chain management concepts to modern factories include:

• The main raw materials of the body - carbohydrates, proteins, and fats - are all carbon-based. So, there is limited interconversion possible among them in the human body. However, in factories, it is not possible to convert one raw material into another.
• The extreme flexibility provided by the human body is sometimes unnecessary and can be sacrificed for greater efficiency.
• Sometimes other functions of the human body take priority.