OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Operations Management



Operations Management

Introduction

The main purpose of this paper is to make a case analysis on Nissan. The paper makes an analysis on the improvement initiatives taken by Nissan in order to win the Sunderland plant a new model. The paper also makes analysis on the importance of supply base activity management. The paper also analyses on the strategic benefits of Nissan for choosing Sunderland to produce new vehicle.

Case Analysis

The case makes discussion on Nissan's decision to choose Sunderland to produce its Leaf electric vehicle. According to the mentioned case, it is very important for the car manufacturers to take into account all the issues that can be functional in building new models, and operation management is one of them. Because of the improved operational performance, Nissan has secured the new model of its Sunderland's plant. The plant has been very successful for Nissan, and it helped in reducing the number of rejected components from suppliers. The programme also included the strategies of product development and people development. These strategies helped in boosting up the performance of a European plant. In order to reach Nissan's European operations, it started another initiative named Next 21, which can help to reach best Japanese performance level.

1.One of the improvement initiatives that helped to win the Sunderland plant a new model was a four-year programme. It started eight years before the new model was expected start production. Explain why you think it took eight years for initiatives like this to come to fruition?

The main reason that helped Nissan to win the Sunderland plant a new model was a four-year programme. The four year programme helped Nissan in gaining success for Nissan. The four year programme started almost eight years before the new model was due start production (Blance, 2005). The reason that why it took eight years for initiatives like this to come to fruition is the lack of management. Nissan made the four year plan because it wanted to get it into the Nissan's top four plants into Barcelona. Given below is the chart showing the four year programme of Nissan at Sunderland.

Operation management plays a very significant role in success of any programme. It is necessary for any company to focus on its operational management activities. Same is the case with Nissan. In the Sunderland's project, Nissan failed to maintain its operations in a proper way that is why it took eight years to complete the programme. The main purpose of operations management is to manage all the operations of a company from the production till the distribution (Porter, 1979). Therefore, for any company it is very important that it should properly manage its operations in order to save it from any failure.

2.Use examples to show what Nissan did to help its suppliers?

The effective Sunderland's programme helped Nissan to reduce the number of rejected components from its suppliers. In order to make the product developed, and gain the competitive advantage, Nissan included a programme to help suppliers enhance their own ...