You are to find two companies in the same industry (e.g. Two grocery retailers, or two Transport Companies) to study. This will require you to investigate these businesses and (to a lesser extent) the...

Running Head: SUPPLY CHAIN – WOOLWORTHS AND WESFARMERS 1
Supply Chain – Woolworths and Wesfarmers
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SUPPLY CHAIN – WOOLWORTHS AND WESFARMERS 2
Supply Chain – Woolworths and Wesfarmers
Introduction
Global supply chain practices and their effects have received considerable attention over the last
two decades. In the recent past, the need for integration across supply chains has been identified
as a key for effective and efficient operations of supply chains. This is observed with the
increasing trend of collaborative partnerships among supply chain partners.
Supply chain management links all the supply interacting organizations in an integrated two way
communication system to manage high quality inventory in the most effective and efficient
manner so as to provide value to the consumers. Supply chain management is an inclusive
function and needs all the related functions and departments to perform their respective tasks
efficiently. Any failure from any related department and functions results into non-performance
of the supply chain management function. The supply chain includes internal stakeholders as
well as external stakeholder such as supplier. It is imperative for both to perform efficiently. The
inclusion of supply management and suppliers into the process would result into efficient
performances as the co-ordination between various stakeholders would increase and they would
be able to understand the needs and capabilities of each other as well as respective bottle necks
in all the functions with which the company will be able to solve all the challenges for the supply
chain management. Supply chain leadership includes activities that link suppliers and customers
downstream and upstream, where supplier‟s link to customers that become suppliers for other
customers until the final product is produced for the final end user (Burt et al., 2003). Supply
chain leadership activities include supplier selection, systems management, operations,
purchasing, material inventory turn management, material scheduling, order processing,
transportation, cash disbursement, and customer service (Burt et al., 2003). The research
included the use of the following definition offered by Monczka et al. (2002):
Supply chain management is the integration of these activities [supplier selection,
systems management, operations, purchasing, material inventory turn management,
material scheduling, order processing, transportation, cash disbursement, and customer
service] through improved supply chain relationships to achieve a sustainable competitive
advantage. (p. 5)
SUPPLY CHAIN – WOOLWORTHS AND WESFARMERS 3
Advantages that are achievable through proper supply chain management include quality
improvement, cost savings improvements, reduced product or service cycle time, improved
product or service delivery, and improved technology (Monczka et al., 2002).
The term supply chain management became an accepted catchphrase with consultants in the
1980s and throughout the 1990s and was analyzed by the scholarly community (Burt et al.,
2003).
Christopher (1998) highlighted similar elements and included storage and parts, finished
inventory flowing “in as much a way that current and future profitability are maximized through
the cost-effective fulfillment of orders” (p. 4). Pagonis (1992) related that supply chain
management included the integration of transportation, supply, warehousing, maintenance,
procurement, contracting, and information management into coherency in a manner that
prevented the sub-optimization in any of the individual activities.
Supply chain management is one of the aspects which focuses on linking different aspects and
communication, with which the company is able to achieve a strong competitive edge and
advantage over the other.
Supply chain in Australia has been filled with different challenges because of the economic
conditions, environmental awareness, community impact on from road and traffic congestion,
ageing workforce, fluctuating prices of fuel and changing regulatory regime. With this many
companies have changed and improved their supply chain system. In this paper we will focus on
analyzing the supply chain of Woolworths and Wesfarmers with which they have been able to
operate effectively.
Woolworths
Woolworths Limited (Woolworths or 'the company') owns and operates retail stores that sell
food, liquor, fuel, general merchandise and consumer electronics. The company has taken several
proactive measures to enhance the value perception, which ensures customer footfall in the
current value oriented market.
Supply chain of Woolworths:
SUPPLY CHAIN – WOOLWORTHS AND WESFARMERS 4
Over the years, Woolworths has built a strong portfolio of private labels. The demand for private
label product range is gaining strong customer acceptance. The growth in private label products
exceeds the company‟s overall sales growth, and endorses the quality and value for money that
customers are able to associate with these brands. The private label products have also recorded
good levels of repeat purchase. Sales of Home Brand continue to increase as customers opt for
more budget-friendly products. Other brands such as Select, Freefrom, Naytura and Organics
have also gained strong customer acceptance. The launch of the Macro Wholefood Market range
in...