Bottlenecks_in_a_Process

Bottlenecks in a Process The country chosen as a second alternative to ship the parts from is Taiwan and Vietnam. The strike situation produced a serious obstacle for acquiring the parts from the preferred supplier. And could have been considered a bottleneck. But, it is important that organizations have a “plan b” or a back up supplier to manage these unplanned events. Personally, I have a preferred supplier that gives our company excellent service and good pricing. But in the event that they cannot supply the product or service in time we have a back up supplier that operates their business until late hours and is able to supply next day service. Some of the advantages in developing a business relationship with these foreign countries are that they are major exports in electrical equipments and mechanical appliances. They are also becoming leaders in electronics, telecommunications, plastic and optical instruments. According to the Yearbook of the Republic of China, Taiwan's major trading partners in 2002 were the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and EU members. These facts will aid in keeping the supply chain process running as planned. A possible bottleneck for the automotive manufacturing process can be the foreign trade policies and cultural differences between the Asian Continent and the United States. These cultures have a different approach to negotiations and a reserved attitude which can be hard to identify their emotions. These and other characteristics such as few bodily expressions characterize the Asian culture during business discussions and planning. It is very important that an organization researches the foreign culture and is aware of their cultural behavior and expectations before engaging in business. These facts can be obtained by the organization during simple and routine Internet research and up to date news and media coverage. Currently the trade policies in Taiwan and Japan have fomented their economic development and investors and businesses have become major partners with China and Vietnam. Both of the supplying countries have also been actively joining trade negotiations through international trade organizations. Therefore the organizations mayor concern and risk regarding the shipment of the parts has been reduced. This supply chain manufacturing procedure should continue being structured to meet the needs of the product launch date. References Chase, R.B., Jacobs, F.R. & Aquilano, N.J. (2006) Operations management for competitive advantage Recovered June 22, 2010 from University of Phoenix eBook Collection. Dunbabin, J. P. D. (2008). Economic history of Taiwan Recovered June 22, 2010 from University of Phoenix eBook Collection. Yearbook of the Republic of China. (2002) Recovered on June 22, 2010 from http://www.taiwan.com.au/