Reflective Report - ALE4 Final

8/6/2019 Reflective Report - ALE4 Final

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oduction:

s report covers 4 major logistics centers visited in Barcelona and Zaragoza, respectively,r a period of 7 days. This log records my understanding and reflection upon the operationscertain strategic aspects of the enterprises visited. Upon discussion with Stephane, I was

e to observe elements of vertical integration in the corporate strategy as well as certainects of the functional strategy.

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ngoivity: Logistics (Distribution Centre)ngths: Very efficient, organized system, adherence to economies of scale

aknesses: Large dependency on automation, lack of contingency scenario planning

cription:

Mango Distribution Center (Barcelona, Spain) is spread over 20,000 sq. m. It can holdund 3, 42,000 boxes. The facility boasts of a rotation rate of 8000 boxes per hour (4000es each way i.e. in and out) and a current error margin of 0.02%. The facility has a

eption area which receives pre-packaged consignments via a supplier. Supplies aresported across the facility using a conveyor belt mechanism and an interlink is deemedhe most important part of the entire process that receives as well as dispatches the boxesnd from their respective areas.garments are then dispatched to the respective clients. To manage over-production (if

) Mango then releases it via promotions and/or outlets.

alysis and recommendation:

very first thing that caught my attention was the reception area. Trucks could unload theplies directly to the conveyor belt, thus effectively reducing the waste of transportationmotion. Secondly, folded garments meant effective management of space. Third, thees were of standard size, thus helping in storage and transportation. Fourthly, all boxesbar codes which contained details of that box which eased the stocking process as well.ective garments are returned to the facility in a different kind of box.

learned in ALE3 how demand-supply relationship can be fluctuated via lack of mmunication; Mango addresses the issue by open communication channels and letting theduction managers control the push and pull.

interlink plays an important part and thus uses 55 engines for operating as it uses somets engines as a backup. The facility is air conditioned which not only helps to keep thechines cool and running but also helps the employees by providing them a betterbience to work.

ile Mango is looking forward to even more automation, they havent invested equally onking it up. For example, they have had a power failure when the entire facility was shut

wn for 30 minutes. Even after this, they havent installed a backup power supply facility.


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improvements, one suggestion is using pallets of same dimensions instead of boxes. Thisl not only reduce the cost (as the cost of a pallet < cost of a box) but also help address thee of big garments which use the entire box despite having some extra space inside the. Also, the elimination of a box will increase surface area, resulting in increased storagemore garments per pallet.

ndisivity: Logistics (Warehousing and Distribution)

ngths: Using 3PL and preferential stackingaknesses: Less automation

cription:

ndis is a supermarket chain located in Spain. The logistics division is spread over 19,600m. Condis has classified its goods as dry goods, refrigerated goods, meat and online (e-

mmerce) goods. With a pallet (i.e. pack of any good) capacity of 14,000, about 1800 palletsreceived per day, filling almost 120,000 boxes a day. Pallets are transported usingnually operated vehicles. Pallets help transporting as irrespective of the size of the goodsvidually, pallets offer a uniform size.


ods are classified as Fast movers, standard and slow movers in order to increase efficiency.good thing is that Condis takes into account the effect of season on these goods, e.g:

mand for milk goes high in winters and that for water is high in summers. Also, Condisps the e-commerce goods near the exit bay for faster transport thus reducing waste of e.

ndis practices lean management and also 3PL i.e. using third party logistics for managingain goods. Also, their 5S approach (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain) helpsrove their efficiency. Also, they use software for preferential stacking and Real Time

ormation system for keeping track of the activities.

3 shifts system helps Condis make the most of their resources. Also, in order to saveste of time, Condis has enforced a self-explanatory pay when you need a smoking breakem.

rently, Condis uses carts to transport pallets and the carts are usually empty on their wayk to collect pallets. This can be improved by adopting appropriate re-stacking to maximizezation of resources. Also, they miss a system like Mango where they can unload boxesctly to a conveyor belt. Reducing trips can also help improve the efficiency.

o, in the future, Condis plans to use low emission CO2 vehicles and also automation inms of palletization and stacking. While this would definitely improve efficiency, the

lementation costs are going to be high.

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F (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles)


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cription:

te Winery identifies itself as a winery for 21 st century. Encompassing 12,000 sq. m.,te Wineries focuses on the artistic element of wine which is evident from the fact that theye an art gallery in the winery as well as a sculpture in the middle of their grapevine field.

te deals with red and white wines which are made from red grapes and white grapespectively.

erms of suppliers, Enate has limited suppliers for seeds, manure, fertilizers, equipmentslabor. Also, the tanks for red wine have a separate compartment to take out the leftover

p-mash, thus making it efficient.

wine needs to stand for 7-10 days for the fermentation and centrifugation whereas whitee needs 12-15 days for the same.

bottling process is almost totally automated and is has a capacity of 6000 bottles perr.

ge 1:bottles are kept on a belt manually

ge 2:ircular arrangement picks up bottles, cleans them with water and drys them with assurized air-jet.

ge 3:bottles then move to another circular assembly where the bottles are filled with wine. Thee is supplied from storage tanks to this assembly with the help of pipes.

ge 4:his stage, the bottles are corked using a wooden cork.

ge 5:bottles are now cleaned from outside with a water jet and are dried using an air-jet afterch they move to the labeling area.

ge 6:bottles are now labeled with an Enate sticker and are moved forward.

ge 7:

bottles are finally transported to an area where they are stacked an automatically puta box for transportation.


Red wine, the seeds are not separated and are instead used for flavouring, thusminating the need to use a new process to remove seeds. Also, grapes are tested using aactometer which determines the sugar levels of the grape. This not only serves as ality control measure but also helps in selecting the right grapes for the wine in a mucher way. Also, a machine separates the sticks from the grapes, thus improving efficiency.

te faces a challenge as they have a long inventory time which in turn means highentory costs, culminating into high operational costs. Inventory time is increased due to


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al restrictions i.e. there is a legal period for which wines have to be kept in order to complyh the health and safety regulations. However, the nature of the wine requires the wine toin the barrels for a certain amount of time, usually 6-8 months. Also, during this time,

ain temperature and lighting conditions have to be controlled, adding up to the cost. Ad thing about storing wines in barrels is the reusability of the barrels along with their long

thus reducing costs.

e process which can be improved is the yeast removal process, which is a manual processch involves inserting a stick in the barrel and shake up the yeast. The same result can beined by using a mechanical arm and a conveyor belt assembly.

other issue is the location of the storage unit. It is situated behind the bottling unit and isnd-proof and also, wine is transported via trolleys and then onto an exit transportation

nd-proofing is again a factor that adds to the cost. While Enate believes that the spirit of wine is to be conserved by sound proofing the storage area, the scientific reason is that

wines may face a problem dude to vibrations as the cork can loosen up and fall into thele and/ or affect the sedimentation. However, Enate doesnt have very old wines so thisasure has basically added up to their costs.

did not get any information on whether Enate practices forecasting or not. However, fromunderstanding, I can deduce that in the wine industry, a little over-production is good.

rationale behind this is as follows:

price of a wine bottle manufactured in 2010 is 7 euros. A 5 year old wine bottle by Enates 200 euro. With such a high rate of return, a directly proportional relationship betweenand price is formed. So, lets say that for a given year, the forecast for wine demand was

but Enate could sell only 70. Now the 30 remaining wines will add to the inventory costswill also carry a higher price tag, thus covering up the difference, and over time,erating profit.

o, Enate does not distribute its wine to massive consumption outlets like retial outlets,ermarkets, stores, etc. This in turn helps them maximize their profit margin as it

minates the share of wholeseller, retailer, etc.

t but not the least, Enate has created an entire art gallery inside the winery to capture thestic element of wine, which in turn adds to the cost. A better move can be to combine thegallery with the retail outlet located in the winery which would serve the purpose and

w the current art gallery to be used for other purposes like storage, etc. Theommendation would be to reduce the spending on the art element in the winery andng the same resources instead in marketing i.e. in terms of direct, visible communicationustomers which would help increase brand visibility and generate sales.

nclusion:

entire study trip was very exciting. The staff at all the facilities very warm and helpful and

ped us understand their operations better by answering our queries.got to understand the differences and similarities between the operations of these 4


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nts, how the approach changes with the nature of goods and external environment. Wee also able to understand challenges faced in terms of managing logistics and how these

anizations were able to overcome them. We also met the key personnel of thesempanies and had an understanding of their leadership styles and skills which emphasized

despite software and automation, manual competence is still essential to creating

cient systems.

Reflective Report - ALE4 Final

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