The use of Postponement Decisions in Determining Supply Chain Strategies of Light Vehicle Manufacturers in South Africa

This article investigates the use of postponement decisions in determining the supply chain strategies of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. The article is exploratory and descriptive in nature. A survey was conducted among light vehicle manufacturers and the findings analysed by means of descriptive statistics. The results revealed that postponement decisions could be used to determine the supply chain architecture used by light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. With regard to postponement decisions, the study found that all the light vehicle manufacturers made use of a lean supply chain strategy, while a few made use of an agile supply chain strategy. The results also revealed that all the production lines engaged in full speculation based on projected forecasting, and therefore employed a lean supply chain strategy. In terms of the postponement decisions made in line with the parent company of origin, European manufacturers 1 and 2 kept a work-in-progress inventory of stock to be customised for a particular customer. These manufacturers thus employed a lean and agile supply chain strategy, while most of the manufacturers adopted a lean supply chain strategy. All the manufacturers, except Asian manufacturer 1 and the American manufacturer, employed both lean and agile supply chain strategies. Therefore, the majority of the light vehicle manufacturers employed lean supply chain strategies in their inbound and outbound supply chain, while a few employed an agile supply chain strategy in their outbound supply chain, there by indicating leaglity. The article provides evidence of some form of postponement practice being followed by light vehicle manufacturers

Alignment Of Supply Chain Strategies And Practices Of Locally Made Vehicles In South Africa

This paper sought to investigate the alignment between supply chain strategies and practices of local manufacturers of locally made light vehicles in South Africa. The research design employed was a combination of exploratory and descriptive research design using a qualitative approach. A face-to-face, semi-structured interview questionnaire was used, based on purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software was used for the data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the research revealed that across the supply chains of locally made models, all the manufacturers followed a lean strategy for their inbound supply chain and some had a lean supply chain strategy for their outbound supply chain. A number of them also had an agile supply chain strategy in the outbound supply chain, which suggests a leagile supply chain strategy. It was also found that in some instances there was a mismatch between strategies and practices in the area of product characteristics, manufacturing characteristics, and the decision drivers of the supply chain. Local manufacturers of locally made light vehicle models in South Africa do not always make decisions and implement practices in line with their chosen supply chain strategies

Key Indicators For Optimising Supply Chain Performance: The Case Of Light Vehicle Manufacturers In South Africa

This article investigates key indicators for optimising supply chain performance of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. The article is based on a survey conducted among light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa with origins in Asia and Europe. Semi-structured interview questionnaire was used based on purposive sampling technique and the data was analysed using SPSS. The findings revealed that quality, final product delivery reliability and cost were highly rated and the most important indicators for the South African automotive market. Innovation (radical and incremental changes) was the least important among the indicators sampled. The article further revealed that there is a perceived difference on the importance of supply chain indicators between manufacturers of Asian and European origins. Final product delivery reliability and order delivery lead time tended to be more important to European manufacturers compared to Asian manufacturers. The article attests to the fact that competitiveness in cost, quality and product offerings are paramount to automotive manufacturers in today’s turbulent environment. It also reveals key competitive criteria used by European and Asian manufacturers based in South Africa. The article contributes to literature on SCM and reveals the way in which vehicle manufacturers in South Africa do business

Difficulty To Overcome Supply Chain Challenges Faced By Vehicle Manufacturers In South Africa

This article explores supply chain challenges faced by light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa and determines how difficult the challenges are to overcome. A mixed research design was employed. The supply chain challenges revealed in the findings were categorised into technological, infrastructure, cost, market/service, relationship and production/skills challenges. Most are difficult to quantify, such as road freight volumes, port delays, rail unreliability, high fuel costs, high operating costs and high port charges. Nevertheless, addressing some of the challenges could help manufacturers to become more competitive, for example by replacing outdated assembly/manufacturing tools, finding new markets, preventing or reducing the effect of cancellation of customer orders and improving the level of service in general. This article provides an understanding of the challenges in the supply chain, which is paramount not only for locally manufactured vehicle supply chain practitioners, but also for the automotive industry and South Africa as a whole

Agile Supply Chain: strategy for competitive advantage

ABSTRAC

Born to change: supply chain management is a journey and not a destination

Business Managemen

Determining supply chain practices and strategies of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa

This study determined whether local manufacturers of light vehicles in South Africa employ supply chain best practices and strategies. The research design employed was a combination of exploratory and descriptive research design using qualitative and quantitative approaches based on a survey of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. A face-to–face, semi-structured interview questionnaire was used, based on purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software were used for the data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the study revealed that across the supply chain, best practices were implemented to a large extent by all manufacturers. Light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa, however face supply chain challenges, which include technological, infrastructural, cost, market/service and production/skills challenges. The most important supply chain performance indicator that contributes to optimisation of performance is quality, followed by final product delivery reliability, and then cost and supplier reliability. All the manufacturers followed a lean strategy for their inbound supply chain and some had a lean supply chain strategy for their outbound supply chain. A number of them also had an agile supply chain strategy in the outbound supply chain which suggests a leagile supply chain strategy. It was also found that in some instances there was a mismatch between strategies and practices in the area of product characteristics, manufacturing characteristics and the decision drivers of supply chain. One of the conclusions of the study was that local manufacturers of light vehicles do not always make decisions and implement practices in line with their chosen supply chain strategies. The study concluded by developing a framework for determining supply chain best practices in line with a chosen strategy that could guide supply chain managers (in locally manufactured light vehicles) in the automotive in South Africa in their decision making.Business ManagementD. Com. (Business Management

Exploring supply chain management practices within municipalities in the West Rand district

This article explores supply chain management practices within selected municipalities in the West Rand district, Gauteng. An empirical research was conducted among supply chain practitioners in the municipalities based on the purposive sampling technique and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that the municipalities have adopted and implemented supply chain management practices. However, supply chain management objectives are not always appropriately aligned with government policies, and the municipalities face serious supply chain issues such as leadership, lack of proper accountability and good governance. From the findings, it is evident that the lack of proper implementation of supply chain management in municipalities is the root cause of problems in service delivery in South Africa. It is recommended that municipal supply chain officials be empowered with supply chain skills for proper supply chain management execution. Keywords: supply chain, municipalities, practices, West Rand district. JEL Classification: M1