Bottlenecks_in_the_Process

Bottlenecks in a Process The country that was chosen to supply the rolling transmitter for the wireless key fob is Japan. Japan has experienced tremendous success within this industry and the automotive industry as a whole due to its inter-corporate alliances and networks within the Japanese and global economic system. Japan has also concentrated on their supply chain management process by cooperating with their customers and suppliers within the markets. There are many significant issues that can create bottlenecks in the supply chain of Japan. A bottleneck is the one thing that will take the longest operational time to work out which determines the throughput of the supply chain. The most identifiable bottleneck in the supply chain of Japan is the recent occurrence of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Derived from this bottleneck, sub-bottlenecks have occurred such as transportation and shipping issues, labor availability, and production. As a collective, the global supply chain was threatened to be broken. Japan is a critical source of electronic parts, such as rolling transmitters, and the 8.9 magnitude earthquake caused a total shutdown in production across most of Japan’s industries. Although many of the production plants for key chips were far removed from the epicenter of the earthquake, the transportation of materials, the shipment of product and the available labor were affected. (WardsAuto.com) In a bottleneck such as this – one caused by a natural disaster - advanced knowledge would not have prevented the effects on the supply chain. In minimizing the effects, it is necessary for the supplier and the organization to have a contingency plan set in place that can become effective after the damage. To change suppliers is not necessarily a preventative measure in case of further damaging events, but it is believed having a back-up supplier is always a necessary option while the primary supplier recovers. A contingency plan of assessing the operational impact from the earthquake should be performed immediately to recommend counter-measures to address business needs. Japan maintains low capacity utilization levels so that, though this quarter may render a shortfall in production, plant utilization levels can be raised in the next quarter as the supply chain stabilizes. Culture plays an important role in the reaction, recovery and the perseverance of the global supply chain within Japan. The reaction of the Japanese workforce is one of gaman in that workers have continued to go to work despite the disaster. An article from www.Globalization101.com stated that Japanese culture has its own brand of resigned pragmatism and organic respect for social order. (2011) This perseverance in culture is an attribute that maintains confidence in supplier production and the organization’s right to remain with the Japanese supplier. References Chrysler, o. S. (2011, March 25). Japanese Auto Makers Stalled by Supply-Chain Bottle Necks. Retrieved April 24, 2011, from WardsAuto.com: http://wardsauto.com/ar/japanese_makers_stalled_110325/ Fallout from Japan’s Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster. (2011, April 05). Retrieved April 24, 2011, from Globalization 101: http://www.globalization101.org/news1/Japan-earthquake The Economic Impact of Natural Disasters. (2011, April 12). Retrieved April 24, 2011, from Business Pundit: http://www.businesspundit.com/the-economic-impact-of-natural-disasters/