Critical evaluate the Outokumpu's practices in supply chain management Assignment

Critical evaluate the Outokumpu's practices in supply chain management and provide the Outokumpu with your recommendation - Assignment Example 20% of it is used to manufacture internal components and industrial products. These features allow the company to develop sustainable competitive advantage and prospective growth in the near future (Outokumpu, 2011). This paper is focused on Outokumpu’s approach to global supply chain, the advantages and disadvantages faced by them, and the detailed study of their supply chain process. The supply chain management is one of the vital parts of the operations management of a company. The operations strategy of Outokumpu looks at a long term prospective of the company. It underpins the organizational vision regarding the operational activities.The operations management in the other hand encompasses the entire production process including procurement of raw materials, processing them into final goods, taking care of logistics, managing the supply chain and meeting the demands of the customers in minimum possible lead time.It is mostly short term in nature and deals with the daily activities that helps the organization to reach its goals. The supply chain management of Outokumpu is overseen by the group level. The company constantly monitors the market to make accurate demand forecasts and it modifies its operational activities based on the market scenario and current demand level in the industry. Every business unit is operated by its own supply chain management system , which is overseen by the group level (Outokumpu, 2011). The supply chain management of Outokumpu ensures that it follows the five business imperatives which are, cost, opportunity, flexibility, quality and speed. The company specializes in producing at lower cost, by resource optimization thereby increasing profitability and offering a lower price. The company also ensures that its supply chain process is efficient enough to be dependable and flexible enough to respond to the sudden changes in the market demand by