Envision a business you would like to own that would employ at least Research Paper

Envision a business you would like to own that would employ at least 20 people (either manufacturing or services) but I want it - Research Paper Example 44). The operations strategy of my business involves the use of low inventory levels as this will help to keep the prices low thus generating faster sales because of the low prices and the high value of the products. Furthermore, keeping of low levels of inventory will help to ensure that the business will be able to keep the prices low for the customers. This will help to maintain the existing customers and attract new customers as well. The use of low inventories will help to ensure that products are replaced with new items as soon as the inventory is exhausted and as a result this will increase the demand of the products. Increased demand, coupled with low prices, will lead to increased sales for a company and therefore this will in turn lead to increased profits for my business (Slack, & Lewis 2008) Supply chain management Supply chain management involves the active management of supply chain activities so as to ensure that customer value is maximized and a sustainable competitiv e advantage is achieved. Supply chain activities involve product development, product and material sourcing, production, logistics and the necessary information systems that help to coordinate these activities. Efficient supply chain management strategy will ensure that the print business is exposed to several opportunities that will provide competitive advantages. Examples of the competitive advantages that will be achieved include lower product costs for the materials that have been produced, reduced carrying costs in relation to the inventory because of the fact that no inventory will be kept, improved in store value and selection due to the different materials that will be produced, and finally a very competitive pricing for the customers. This therefore will work to ensure that the print business will become a dominant force to reckon with and to ensure that the focus is maintained on innovative processes and systems which work to improve the supply chain and achieve greater ef ficiency (Mentzer 2001). The key elements of a supply chain include structuring, sourcing, purchasing, and managing. The supply chain will begin with structuring and this usually involves the creation of the organization and forming together with recruiting members into the organization that are able and willing to take the business to a higher level. The staff that has been recruited will then allocated to different sections of the business for instance in my print business; sourcing manager will be recruited who will help to source for materials, purchasing managers who will ensure that the required materials are purchased on time and finally managers will be involved with the overall management of the business. Sourcing as a component of supply management involves the process of sourcing for items to print from clients. This is done by the sourcing managers who will deal with souring for product suppliers and vendors and also procuring the products that are used on printing at pr ices and terms that ensure the profitability goals of the firm are met (Mentzer 2001). Purchasing element in the supply chain will involve determining the products that the business requires and then procuring them from the client at a favorable price. The other element in the supply chain is the managing element. This usually focuses on demand planning,