Your Analysis: Major Problem And Possible Solutions

Case Study 2
Student’s Name
Institution
Case Study 2
Major Facts
Jack Reynolds exercises excessive control over all the operations of the company. As seen in the case, he often feels the need to control all aspects of the organization.
After buying off earlier partners, Reynolds became the sole owner of TAM and now controls all decisions in the company.
TAM has been experiencing rapid growth. As seen in the case, the revenues of the company grew from below $1 million to more than $25 million in under sixteen years.
While the company initially relied on shipments from India and China on “available basis,” Reynolds increased the sources while still maintaining previous ones.
Major Problem
The major problem in the company is poor inventory system that manages its complex supply chain operations. The long lead time means that the firm has to make bulk orders through ELM. Also, high costs of storage and low rate of product turnover characterize the poor inventory system of the company. The poor inventory system has been the source of most problems of the company as it has led to lack of motivation and distrust among the employees of the company. Therefore, it is critical that TAM addresses its inventory management problems.
Possible Solutions
* The first viable solution for TAM at the moment is a change of leadership style to a more collaborative one. Reynolds has to be ready to delegate some of the decisions to ensure all members of the organization participate in its operations. This will help employees in feeling part of the firm, and they will be motivated to work for the company. Lack of involvement in decision making has contributed to the problems of the company to a great extent. With all decisions being made by Reynolds, other members of the organization do not have the opportunity to participate in its processes, and they thus feel left out. An advantage of this solution is increased motivation among employees while a disadvantage is that it may take longer for the company to make decisions.
* The second probable solution that can help the firm in dealing with the problem stated above is setting up of a Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) system that will help the firm in boosting its relations with suppliers for the benefit of the customer. As noted by Piercy (2009), the system can help a firm strengthen the relationship with its customers. In this case, TAM can use an SRM system to ensure that it meets the exact demands of its customers. As noted in the case, the company has been losing some of its clients to competitors due to inability to fulfill their demand. Though the system, this problem will be eliminated as the company will be able to negotiate well with suppliers and hence meet the customer demands. As noted by Herrmann & Hodgson (2001), the advantages of the system include higher flexibility, shorter lead times, and cost savings. A disadvantage of the system is that more attention is put on the suppliers r...