Topic The logistic challenges of the Cessna Aircraft Company essay

Topic:Thelogistic challenges of the Cessna Aircraft Company

Thelogistic challenges of the Cessna Aircraft Company

Airlinesall over the globe have been ordering planes and seeking newtechnology. As a consequence, the aerospace industry in the world isexperiencing growth and aerospace suppliers are supposed to be moreinnovative and flexible in order to remain up-to date (Weele, 2005).The industry is likely to experience numerous challenges in the nextfew years since suppliers, particularly Cessna, must create anddesign more complicated components and systems that have bettertechnological contents, reduced lead times and costs which are morefriendly. Cessna will also be face challenges that are associatedwith extending their supply chain presence into the growing marketsand enhance production capacity and share increased operational andfinancial risks with those who manufacturer original equipment (Lee &ampKatzorke, 2010). Such challenges have a direct effect in the supplychain management of Cessna which should therefore be more responsiveand vigorous (Weele, 2010).

Cessnahas experienced issues of non-performing suppliers within the companyand came up with a number of ways to deal with the challenges. Tobegin with, the company sought to get rid of the suppliers who werethought to be non-performing from its supply chain since if theycontinued dealing with the non-performing suppliers, the challengewould continue to exist (Monczka, Trent, &amp Handfield, 2002). Thecompany developed and created several strategies and plans so that itcan upgrade the effectiveness of the suppliers as well as bringtogether key suppliers who are associated with design and manufacturein Cessna. To further to deal with logistical issues associated withmanufacture of parts and supply chain management, Cessna soughttechnology for its supply chain management as a means of enhancingits goal to attain lean manufacturing (Harrison, 2003). Thetechnologies that it sought significantly decreased the timededicated to purchasing while at the same time offering more returnon investment from manual process that had been eliminated,overhauled the communication process between suppliers and buyers tomake it more interactive and effective, provided required informationto the suppliers automatically when required and improvedjust-in-time process of inventory. Further, dealing with thechallenges through acquiring better technology allowed Cessna todecrease and eliminate costs, get rid of manual systems, make morepersonnel available for strategic tasks, incorporate suppliers intothe company’s processes and deal with different sizes of suppliers(Lee, 2012).

Cessnahas also been dealing with numerous expenses related to purchasingthat it has been seeking to decrease or eliminate as well as to freeup overworked buyers so that they can deal with more tactical issues.In order to circumvent numerous delays in development and costs, thecompany made the decision to outsource while at the same timerecognizing that supplier acceptance is critical to the effectivenessof any procurement system (Myerson, 2012 Blythe &amp Megicks,2010). As a consequence, Cessna sought a system that was friendly tosuppliers and would not decrease their costs while hurting itsrelationship with its suppliers. The company further realized that itrequired a system that was able to deal with all sizes of suppliersirrespective of the capability in regards to technology. This hasresulted in the creation of an enhanced commodity team that assiststhe suppliers as it deals separately with creating a chain for thesuppliers (Handfield &amp McCormack, 2008).

Cessnahas been helping and offering suggestions, while at the same timeassembling suppliers who will make the company better and enhance itsprocess of manufacturing. It has created strategic plans which havebeen distributed to the different areas of the supply chain includingplant enhancement, strategies in procurement, mentoring of suppliersas well as management of quality (Heizer &amp Render, 2004). It hasalso developed systems which are tasked with assessment of behaviorand performance of the entire supply system including the orders,suppliers as well as order delivery among others through rating theconduct and performance of the suppliers.

References

Blythe,J. &amp Megicks, P. (2010).&nbspMarketingplanning.Harlow, England: Financial Times / Prentice Hall.

Handfield,R. &amp McCormack, K. (2008).&nbspSupplychain risk management.New York: Auerbach Publications.

Harrison,J. (2003).&nbspStrategicmanagement of resources and relationships.New York: Wiley.

Heizer,J. &amp Render, B. (2004).&nbspOperationsmanagement.Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Lee,W. (2012).&nbspCreatingentrepreneurial supply chains.Ft. Lauderdale, FL: J. Ross Pub.

Lee,W. &amp Katzorke, M. (2010).&nbspLeadingeffective supply chain transformations.Ft. Lauderdale, FL: J. Ross Pub.

Monczka,R., Trent, R., &amp Handfield, R. (2002).&nbspPurchasingand supply chain management.Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub.

Myerson,P. (2012).&nbspLeansupply chain and logistics management.New York: McGraw-Hill.

Weele,A. (2005).&nbspPurchasing&amp supply chain management.London: Thomson Learning.

Weele,A. (2010).&nbspPurchasing&amp supply chain management.Andover: Cengage Learning.