Target Supply Chain

Target is considered by many experts and industry analysts as the leading retailer using distributed order management systems, including their ability to continually make the Sales &

Research also can establish the services valued by all customers versus those valued only by various segments. Then the company should apply a disciplined, cross-functional process to develop a menu of supply chain programs and develop segment-specific service packages that combine basic services for anybody with the services from the menu that will have the greatest appeal to particular segments. This does not mean tailoring for the sake of tailoring. The goal is to find the degree of segmentation and variation needed to optimize

As one of the current leading retailers in the US, the Target Corporation has made a path to easily get back to the majority of their customers’ demands by straight forwardly streamlining the business logistics of the supply chain, forcefully putting into distribution centers to support new chain growth, handle growth volumes from smaller frequent shipments and improving levels of service for all stores even during peak periods of volume.

Supply chain management has become an important issue in today’s business world, it is used by many companies to improve their competitive advantage (Vickery, Calantone & Droge, 1999). In a supply chain, the customer is the most impart part and seeing that every company seeks to please their customers, supply chain management therefore helps companies in satisfying the needs of the customer which involves the management of various aspects such as manufacturing, suppliers, transportation, information and retailers to deliver value to the customers (Chopra & Meindl, 2007).

RFID has also been positive in that it helps to make sure that promotional displays are delivered and in place so that products are in Wal-Mart stores and ready for sale when the advertising begins. It shortens the amount of time it takes for new items to make it to store shelves. In fact the process is three times faster than for non-tagged products. RFID also aids in proof of delivery and purchase order reconciliation by providing visibility of product even after it has left the receiving dock. By the end of 2005, more than 200,000 tagged pallets and more than 8.5 million tagged cases had been received and more than 80 million EPC reads had taken place.

In today’s business world, gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage is key to longevity in business. The goal of a given business is to meet the expectations of its customers better than competitors whilst increasing revenue. Implementing an effective supply chain model can serve to increase efficiency whereas implementing an effective demand chain model improves relationship management. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate an understanding of the supply chain and its relationship to the demand chain by analyzing the Target Corporation’s supply chain and assessing its efficiency and if it meets demand chain expectations. Ranked at number 92 on Forbes 2015 world’s most valuable brands, Target Corp was founded by George Draper Dayton in 1962 and headquartered in Minnesota. Target grew from 977 stores in early 2000 in 46 states to 1,790 stores, including the Super Target and City Target footprints, in 49 states in January 2015. Earlier this year, Target decided to close its 133 Canadian stores less than two years after opening the first one in 2013. Critics believe blamed a “dysfunctional supply chain” as Target’s Achilles heel (SupplyChain247).

The work of Niederman, Mathieu, Morley and Kwon (2007) entitled "Examining RFID Applications in Supply Chain Management" states that radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that has recently emerged in the news due to large organization's requirements that goods shipped by identifiable by RFID tags. The potential benefits of RFID tags include lowering of costs by improvement in inventory management, consumer information gathering, and checkout procedures. RFID tagging is such that data from a tag, which is attached to the product, a case, or pallet, may be "captured by a reader device. Functionally, this data can be used to identify all of the times passing the reader's location at a point in time." (Niederman, Mathieu, Morley, and Kwon, 2007) This enables the tracking of items "from supplier through the distribution network to the point of consumption." (Niederman, Mathieu, Morley, and Kwon, 2007)

In today's highly competitive global marketplace the pressure on organizations to find new ways to create and deliver value to customers grows ever stronger. There is a growing recognition that through logistic efficiency and effective management of the supply chain both cost reduction and service enhancement can be achieved. The goal of supply chain management is to link the marketplace the distribution network the manufacturing process and the procurement activity in such a way that customers are serviced at higher levels and yet at a lower total cost.

Tom Greening once said, "All management begins with planning” (Tom Greening). Those who study and research supply chain management will agree that the aforementioned quote holds true in their field. Companies looking to reduce their costs and better their customer service often look to implement supply chain management. In order to effectively execute successful supply chain management one must acknowledge the importance of demand management, communication, collaboration, integration, and technology.

Supply Chain Management seeks to guarantee that “merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time. . .” (Stock, Boyer, & Harmon, 2010). It is the management of a company’s supply chain by coordination and integration of the multitude of supply chain partners that a company interacts with. Initially, the concept focused on how to make a relationship between supplier and purchaser more efficient but has now been broadened to include the management of many activities, functions, and organizations. In some industries it may include a company’s entire supply chain, including all of its customers, suppliers, and strategic partners (du Toit & Vlok, 2014; Walker & Jones, 2012). The concept has expanded so far today that many argue that there is no longer any competition among individual companies but instead competition among separate supply chains (Brun & Moretto, 2012).

Supply chain management can be described as a means with which companies across the globe are identifying powerful new sources of competitive advantage. This process incorporates all integrated activities that bring products to the market and generate customer satisfaction. Some of the major aspects in supply chain management include purchasing, manufacturing operations, transportation, and distribution in a unified process. Therefore, successful supply chain management processes involves coordinating and integrating all these operations and functions in a flawless process. As part of ensuring effective supply chain management, companies usually incorporate and link various partners in the chain or process. The major partners in the chain include third-party firms, vendors, information system providers, and carriers. Supply chain management is defined as all activities and processes associated with the movement of goods from raw-materials to the end-user product (Zigiaris, 2000).

Supply Chain Management is a process of streamlining the supply-side activities in order to order to take control over production, shipment and distribution (Cooper et al, 1997). An impeccable supply chain management process should enhance the quality of the production environment and help the organization to gain the competitive advantage. The supply chain management, in a nut shell, looks after the flow of goods within the organization. The flow normally refers to the movement of raw materials from storage area to work-in-progress area to inventory of the finished goods to distribution to the inter-linked networks that reach the end customers. The effective supply chain management would help the organization to reduce the ownership of the raw materials and distribution channels and to enhance the trust and collaboration with the supply chain partners. The globalization, information technology and outsourcing practices have been helping the organizations to successfully operate supply chain networks with the help of the technology

Supply chain is a network of facilities and distribution options that performs the functions of procurement of materials, transformation of these materials in to intermediate and finished products and distribution of these products to the customers. Supply chain Management (SCM) is the management of flow of information, products and services across a network of customers, organization and supply chain enterprises. It incorporates the development and capacity of raw materials, work-in-progress of stock, and finished products from purpose of origin to purpose of utilization. Interconnected or interlinked systems, channels and hub organizations are included in the vision of items and services required by end users in a supply chain. Supply

This paper articulates that supply chain management is all about providing the right products, at the right time, to customers at low cost. To attain competitive advantage, organizations should think radically about business process optimization to maximize profits and gain new customers. Forward looking companies are going beyond improving customer service, partnering commitment and improved quality controls in service supply chain. Successful companies are managing warranty costs, improving their product through upgraded service supply chain operations, which generate more revenues. Firms must identify what the company can do to improve their practices and services while classifying what their employees are capable to perform at

Most people do not realize that the products filling the shelves in every aisle of retail stores are the result of supply chain management. Cumulative efforts of multiple organizations within a supply chain enable customers to fill their shopping carts with various goods. Today, managing supply chain activities in order to maximize customer value and gain competitive advantages in the marketplace is common business practice. This process involves streamlining the supply-side of businesses, which requires an effort by suppliers to cultivate and implement the most efficient and