The Westminster Case Study

The Westminster case is a situation analysis. The company is trying to evaluate the cause of a drop in its general sales and supply units. In order to come up with the exact and accurate answer, the company had to retract all the information pertaining to sales overseas and locally, this includes shipment percentages and the cost of having and keeping inventories. The newly upcoming private sectors have taken a greater percentage of Westminster market share. It is because they supply the retailers with durable goods and at a lower cost than Westminster. Situation analysis is done with the aim of helping a company reassess its weaknesses and strengths and this helps a company be able to put corrective mechanisms that can see an organization get back to its leading role in supply and service delivery or even to beat its rival in their field of economy.

            The major issues that comprise the situation are; the rapid reduction in the amount of freight supplied or sold to the various individual, retail and wholesale customers from the three distinct branches of the company. The reason for a reduction in total revenue and inventory output coming from the three companies. The effect of the rivalry companies that are emerging in the business and how to match up to their game and even be able to beat them thus having the company back at its earlier stage of glory in terms of sales and supply of consumable health products.

            The best alternative way that can help the company resolve such issues is by engaging in SWOT analysis. Through this, the company is able to enlist its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as enlisted in the abbreviation (Sarsby 2016). The analysis should not just be of the company but for even the other competing companies. It allows the company to be able to investigate its rivals and exploit their weaknesses and opportunities the company itself has. When effectively and intensely done, the company is likely to make it back to the level it was in before a gradual fall came in.

            Cost factors are the total cost of all the factors of production which have been used in producing a good. In this case, the health consumable products require lots of substances in order to come up with a valid consumable cost. When all these costs are accumulated up to the final product, it assumes the name cost factor. The cost is likely to affect all the consumers, retailers, wholesalers and the company itself. To the consumers, it will determine the price at which they purchase the products as the aim of every business is to realize profits. To the retailers and wholesalers, it will determine the price at which they buy their inventories hence affecting their selling price as well thus inflicting financial pain or joy on the price and quality sensitive consumers. To the company, the factor price will determine the; amount, quality and efficiency of goods they will be able to produce. The factor price will, in the long run, determine the cost at which the company sells the products.

            Transportation is a key factor for business entities. It helps the business connect with its customers through delivery of goods and services. When offered free, transportation lowers the profit margin of businesses hence in relation to Westminster, it will have to charge more for transportation in order to realize profits. Even though they will have to charge for the transportation, they should harmonize the prices so as not to scare away the consumers. Inventories and warehousing also need money in order to manage and control, the more the inventory the higher the management fee and the lesser the income revenue as they are not put into production as required. The company needs to accumulate a substantial amount of inventories that can facilitate product at a time without bringing more surpluses that will be costly to manage and maintain over the production period. This will help cut on the cost of expenditure in the company hence higher revenues.

            Warehousing decisions are influenced by; location. Location is as well influenced by the customer population in a specific area or target market. Accessibility, when choosing a warehouse the business owner has to determine how accessible it can be to the consumers and suppliers. The other deciding matter in warehousing is the storage area (Ponniah 2001). One has to choose a warehouse that is able to provide him with enough space to go about the company business.

            Transportation changes would either help rebuild the business or break it further. This will now depend on the type of changes the organization will implement. Customer relationship and cost is impacted by the type of delivery mechanism the company chooses to use. When the deliveries are safe and compact as they were the customers will be happy with the company hence improving their trust and relation with the company. However, the cost can still be harmonized or charged in accordance with the means of delivery the company chooses to use. The use of accessible warehouses also improves the customer relationship as they will be able to access the goods from whatever place they will be more comfortable.

            I would introduce a company website or application that only operates on customer relations, ordering of goods and that enable client tracking of their shipments from wherever point they are. This would build more trust in the customers as they are sure of the safety and movement of their products. Packaging and labeling bring surety to consumers of the products they are using. It also markets the company’s brand in the market as customers are able to read the specifics and be able to get established with the organization’s brand.  Packaging and labeling also help consumers know the quantity and ingredients of the products they are about to consume hence creating consumer awareness.

            The supply chain management has a mutual business relationship. This is because all those involved at every stage of the chain benefit from each other in one way or the other. This relationship counts from the producers of the raw materials up to the consumer levels. The key measures I might have in place when trying to reformulate the business include, changing the weigh scale options so as to adjust the payments. The risks involved are that I might not favor the business itself or the consumers. When this happens, the best action is never to frustrate consumers. The business has to be customer centered as they are the ones who determine the prosperity of the business.  

References

Ponniah, P. (2001). Data warehousing fundamentals: A comprehensive guide for IT             professionals. New York: Wiley.

Sarsby, A. (2016). SWOT analysis.