QUESTION

 

MAX Lagos Case

You are acting as a consultancy company to MAX. You need to provide a considered and detailed report for the company explaining what they need to do to scale their operations to stimulate growth in their business. Your answer will need to consider operational issues and information systems.

MAX Lagos Case Study

 

ANSWER

 

OPERATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

Introduction

Operations and information management of any company is very much important in order to run the company well and gain success regarding company goals. Operational management refers to the management scenario where various operations of a company can be managed with responsibility and focused objective to gain success. This module holds a significant role to company’s achievement and success. Information plays a crucial role in the company’s management system. The following study sheds light on operation and management of information system. Along with that, it demonstrates transporting system and the way of delivering goods by MAX.

Summary

MAX (Metro Africa Xpress), is a transport solution and delivery based company resides in Lagos, Nigeria. MAX has been involved in the business of package delivery system with full security, end-to-end pickup and drop-off since July, 2017. They also have mobile platform to detect available motorcyclist for delivering the packages.

There are several operational issues that MAX is facing regarding operational management scenario of the company on a daily basis. Five of the most faced problem includes Globalization as well as Sustainability and Ethical Conduct. Along with that, it includes effective Communication and System design. Issues regarding ethical conduct can be seen in MAX for lack of attention of the managers and employees related to product, facilities and services. As per the views of Soomro et al. (2016, p.220), operation managers are facing challenges regarding communication as most of them are from Nigeria itself. Thus they are facing problem while interacting with customers of different country. Need of an operational and well structured system is creating barrier between company and its success as their previous system is losing its effectiveness. It is directly affecting sales of MAX. This issues regarding operation management also affect the information systems and technological aspects of MAX.

Analysis of the problems

Five of most faced problem in operation management is discussed below:

Globalization

Globalization is driven by different facts including advancement of information technology as well as transportation technology. Operation managers of MAX have been facing competition from the other company across Lagos and other places of Nigeria. As per the views of Lin et al. (2016, p.8), companies which are competing with other companies have to improve their quality of services as well as lowering prices in order to stick to the market. MAX have to upgrade their services as in 2019 they have several competitors who has the ability to compete with MAX.

Sustainability

It is another issue that MAX is facing due to poor concern about sustainability of the business. Soomro et al. (2016, p.220) opined that operation managers are lacking concern and planning for developing sustainability of their company regarding the three main pillars of sustainability.

Ethical Conduct

Issues regarding ethical conduct can be seen in MAX for lack of attention of the managers and employees related to product, facilities and services. Customer satisfaction is an important factor of any business. Unethical behavior of some of the employees ruins the reputation of the company (annals-csis.org, 2019). Effective business process can be continued by conducting an ethical business process such as including best quality ingredients into different products and maintaining fair price level for different operation services.

Effective Communication

In order to maintain success and customer satisfaction a business or service is responsible for providing good and understanding interaction with the customer. According to Qu et al. (2016, p.10), the challenges that managers are facing while interacting with customers from outside of the country are one of the problem in operation management. Lack of communication clarity of the operation managers leads MAX to a significant loss. Effective communication with business partners and trade partners are significant aspects in case of enhancing rate of earning profit and developing business process. As opined by Liu et al. (2015, p.2565), establishing strong relationship with national and international trade partners as well as observing feedback of customers on official website are ways of improving business process.

System Design

Relation between operation management and system design is the main success field of any company. An organization is responsible for developing an effective system design that is capable of producing quality goods and services as per need of customers in a given time frame. Theorin et al. (2017, p.1300) stated that it is the responsibility of operational managers of MAX to develop an efficient system design according to services and need. Managers who are not aware enough about the system structures and its management are not able to plan a good strategy.

Operation managers of MAX need to aware of the present and upcoming challenges that are causing by globalization, sustainability, ethical conduct, and effective communication and system design.

Common problems in management of information system that MAX is facing are discussed below:

An information system is a necessary part of any business organization as well as logistic sectors. As per the views of Webb (2017, p.20), managers have to aware of information and data that are needed and how to manage those data and information while applying it to growth of the business. Management information systems are effective and powerful technical tools that can be used for making valid decision and exploring trends in the data that company generates.

Goals

Before choosing any information system management managers need to focus on purpose of the data collected and in what manner they will be used. Tao et al. (2015, p.13) opined that, an information system management addresses the current facts as well as the facts that can be appear in future. Thus an Information system that is used by MAX must be goal oriented.

Maintenance

In order to maintain raw data and keep them up-to-date that come in the system regularly a strong technology oriented planning is needed. Management information system in MAX is lacking of maintaining extra database that are often used by marketing department as they are using a orthodox format of this system.

Usability

Usability is a significant problem that can be identified in MAX. Having a system that cannot be managed by the employees of the company is directs it to total loss. As opined by Liu et al. (2015, p.2565), management information system’s user interface is very much complicated and hard to use. It’s very much difficult to get needful results because the data are generated by the system are may not be in useful form. Before selecting this kind of management information system MAX have to check for the issues.

Changes in clients need

An important feature of management information system is to adopt the changes of need that can be made by the clients over the time. So, the system that MAX is using has to be simple enough in order to add new data in system and delete as well as modify existing data in system. McArthur (2015, p.1100) stated that there has to be a simple method for adding new user accounts as this system can be operated by several users and has a security threat regarding older accounts.

Technical issues that MAX is facing regarding their logistic solution refers to the bad planning of wireless warehouse implementation, selection of less efficient wireless solution and lack of effective equipment configuration. WMS (Warehouse Management System) and TMS (Transport Management System) are causing various issues to MAX regarding instability of the system, update issues of the software and poor quality of database system.

Impact of the problem on other functional units

Problems regarding various operation management fields, management information system and technological issues that MAX is facing recently have a bad impact on its other functional units like Customer Management, Product Management and cost management systems.

Analysis of the most faced issue and proposed solution

According to previous discussions it can be see that the main issues that MAX is facing regarding success of its logistic business is Management of information system. As per the views of DeLone and McLean (2016, p.50), lack of knowledge about information system management leads the company to loss of their reputation and popularity in Lagos. Not having proper information about the data that can be used in order to satisfy the need of customers as well as business and other functional units lead other units as well as technological factors of this logistic business to face various issues in the market. Application of proper MIS model which also have a new computerized look, can be used by MAX to address those issues regarding information management. Computerized format of MIS added more dimension to the system such as speed, increased volume to store data and accuracy. These features have speed up decision making process as well as able to address issues regarding technical failures of the system (annals-csis.org, 2019)

Appropriate Concepts for resolving the issues

Concept of applying computerized Management information system can minimize the work pressure of the employees and improve performance of MAX. Management Information System is an effective set of components or modules that is used for interacting in order to achieve a particular objective or goal. Theorin et al.(2017, p.1300) opined that this systems provides easy access to manage all information related to various services as well as customer related information without doing it manually. MIS is also known as computer based Decision system. Thus MIS plays a very crucial role in MAX. It can create a broad impact on organizations function, performance and productivity that directly promotes functionalities of other units of the organization. Along with good MIS support operation management, marketing, finance and production systems of the company become more efficient (Weike and Cui, 2015, p.30).

Tracking of products that are going to be delivered and monitoring on workability of employees and all other functionalities of other departments has been made easy with this system. The operational managers of MAX are informed by the information control department about progress of work, shortfalls as well as achievements, targets and other activities. As stated by Tao et al. (2015, p.13), applying this process the effectiveness of the services and product will increase that directly helps in growth of MAX. Using MIS system reduce the clerical work which have a identical impact on the employees as their work pressure is reduced and work with MIS also consuming less time which is effective for cost management also. These solutions can directly address the issues that MAX are facing and will solve it positively (apics.org, 2019). Cloud technologies and predictive analytics tools can be used in order to address the challenges of less visibility, tracking and management related issues and warehousing issues (Refer to Appendix 1).

Logistic businesses are moving from on-premise software to high level software like hadoop and big data. Webb (2017, p.20) opined that cloud computing can provide real-time data across organization regardless of location or time which includes warehouse management and transportation management system (Refer to Appendix 2).

Thus application of cloud computing can solve the issues regarding warehouse management that is the main issue of MAX till date (apics.org, 2019).

Scope of the Solution

Integration of management information system in logistics will help logistic business to enhance growth rate of a business. Management information system is used to administer data recorded within a business. Logistics business deals with huge data in everyday process. Management information system is most significant aspects in context of improving business process by providing key strategy regarding logistics process. The main aim of the management information system is to improve delivery service from one destination to another point by maintaining security of all products. As opined by Lv-qing (2015, p.3726), management information system assists in providing idea regarding the way of maintaining protection of all goods and delivering safely to appropriate destination.

Along with MIS, Robotics technology can be used in logistic business process of Max Company. Robotics technology is designed to perform many tasks at a single time. With the help of robotics logistic industry can enhance the efficiency of business by creating a benchmark in the market. Lots of international companies have integrated robotics in their logistics department to meet the increase of demand of products. It will also help Max Company at Lagos to stay competitive in the market. As opined by Keow (2018, p.25), robotics technology can enable managers of logistics department of the organization to maintain security of all goods during transporting from one point to another point.

Automation can be another technology that Max Company at Lagos can integrate in their logistic business. Over the years automation has enhanced operational activities of much industry along with logistic industry. According to Zhang (2016, p.45) it offers greater scope in packaging, labeling, and warehouse sorting by making machines more advanced. Automation will also help in decreasing the work time of employees working in warehouse. Automation of operational machineries can enable the managers of logistic company to improve productivity of the business.

Building of the solution in MAX

MAX Company is already making a place in Lagos by providing same day delivery of packages to the customer. They have disrupted old postal system by integrating modern technology into the logistic business. However, to expand the services of business MAX need to adapt to some new technology. As opined by Christopher (2017, p.50) Management information system is an effective technology in today’s modern era. It can help MAX in managing huge data that they will deal every day. With the expansion of business service of delivering packages the number of customers will also increase. So to smooth run of business and to deliver products at the right time to right customer management information system should be integrated in the system. Along with MIS, MAX can also update operational machineries by bringing automation to the system. Yu et al. (2016, p.180) mentioned that automation of machineries will enhance the growth rate of companies catering into logistic industry. MAX Company can increase market share in the industry by upgrading machineries to automation. Computer programmed cranes will help in unloading cargo in smoother way. Automation will also assist MAX to reduce labor costs by decreasing the work time of workers. Along with reduction in labor costs, integration of automation in logistics business of MAX will enhance handling performance. As opined by Keow (2018, p.25) robotics technology can be another significant technological tool to aid smooth run of business in MAX. As MAX Company is catering into ecommerce business there will be a high demand of flow of customer who will request for same day delivery. In the following context, it can be demonstrated that focusing on technological improvements and taking benefits of management information system are most effective ways to deliver appropriately to customers.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded that taking strategy regarding the way of taking advantages of automation system and robotics technology are most significant aspects in context of delivering effectively. Along with that, management information system is most effective technique to gather information regarding the way of maintaining security of all goods during transportation. Strategic idea regarding the way of maintaining an effective business process is the way of enhancing number of targeted customers and increasing rate of earning profit based on which Max Company can be able to achieve leading position in competitive market.

References

annals-csis.org. (2019). Impact of cloud computing on logistics. Available at: https://annals-csis.org/Volume_1/pliks/001.pdf [Accessed on: 25/02/2019]

apics.org. (2019). Critical challenges in Supply chain and logistics. Available at: http://www.apics.org/docs/default-source/scc-non-research/supply-chain-issues.pdf?sfvrsn=2 [Accessed on: 25/02/2019]

Christopher, M., (2017). New directions in logistics. In Global logistics and distribution planning . Routledge: Abingdon.

DeLone, W.H. and McLean, E.R., (2016). Information systems success measurement. Foundations and Trends® in Information Systems, 2(1), pp.1-116.

Keow, M.A.K.S. and Nee, A.Y.H., (2018). Robotics in Supply Chain. Emerging Technologies for Supply Chain Management, pp.25-31.

Lin, Y.C., Chen, Y.P., Huang, W.T. and Hong, C.C., (2016). Development of BIM execution plan for BIM model management during the pre-operation phase: a case study. Buildings, 6(1), pp.8-13.

Liu, N., Chen, Q., Liu, J., Lu, X., Li, P., Lei, J. and Zhang, J., (2015). A heuristic operation strategy for commercial building microgrids containing EVs and PV system. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 62(4), pp.2560-2570.

Lv-qing, Y., Xiao-li, H. and Sheng, Z., (2015). Analysis and Design of Intelligent Logistics System Based on Internet of Things. International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication, 3(6), pp.3725-3731.

McArthur, J.J., (2015). A building information management (BIM) framework and supporting case study for existing building operations, maintenance and sustainability. Procedia Engineering, 118(3), pp.1104-1111.

Qu, M., Yu, S., Chen, D., Chu, J. and Tian, B., (2016). State-of-the-art of design, evaluation, and operation methodologies in product service systems. Computers in industry, 77, pp.1-14.

Soomro, Z.A., Shah, M.H. and Ahmed, J., (2016). Information security management needs more holistic approach: A literature review. International Journal of Information Management, 36(2), pp.215-225.

Tao, F., Zhang, L., Liu, Y., Cheng, Y., Wang, L. and Xu, X., (2015). Manufacturing service management in cloud manufacturing: overview and future research directions. Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 137(4), pp.13-25.

Theorin, A., Bengtsson, K., Provost, J., Lieder, M., Johnsson, C., Lundholm, T. and Lennartson, B.,( 2017). An event-driven manufacturing information system architecture for Industry 4.0. International Journal of Production Research, 55(5), pp.1297-1311.

Van Meldert, B. and De Boeck, L., (2016). Introducing autonomous vehicles in logistics: a review from a broad perspective. Faculty of Economics and Business, Leuven: Belgium.

Webb, S.P., (2017). Knowledge management: Linchpin of change. Abingdon: Routledge.

Weike, C. and Cui, H., (2015). Research on Operation Models of Emergency Logistics Virtual Union Based on Emergency Lifecycle. Journal of Catastrophology, 10(2), p.30.

Yu, Y., Wang, X., Zhong, R.Y. and Huang, G.Q.,(2016). E-commerce logistics in supply chain management: Practice perspective. Procedia Cirp, 52(3), pp.179-185.

Zhang, Y., (2016), June. Management information system. In 2017 2nd International Conference on Machinery, Electronics and Control Simulation (MECS 2017). Atlantis Press: London.

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