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Kaizen‟s Operations & Research Entity Presents

HEAT TREATMENT: IS IT A BACKBONE OF MANUFACTURING?

By Mahesh Hiremath 1 |K A I Z E N ’ S O P E R A T I O N S & R E S E A R C H E N T I T Y

EDITOR’S LETTER

“"With Evolution, Changes happen in every part of the world every day, every time."”

Welcome to the eighth edition of “LAKSHYA”, our monthly supplement designed for people who dare to think above the average and believe in connecting the dots. In an age where technology has taken over every sphere, information is abundant and data is omnipresent, we have conspired to bring to you a collection of thoughtfully created and carefully crafted pieces of work by some bright aspiring minds of ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad on the current trends and hot topics in the field of Operations Management and their relevance in different industries.

We look forward to providing you with some valuable insights and inculcate the passion for reading once again within you all. We hope that you enjoy this first issue and do let us know if there are any topics you‟d like to see covered in the future.

Please write to us and become a part of this discussion Email ID: kaizenclub.ibs@gmail.com An Initiative by : MAHESH HIREMATH JOINT SECRETARY - KORE Kaizen – IBS Hyderabad Batch 2018-20

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CONTENTS

Heat Treatment : Backbone of Manufacturing

04

Express Shipping

14

How Strategic Management adds value to the Company?

16

Inventory Management

22

Top Strategic Operation Funds

24

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Heat Treatment: Backbone of Manufacturing BY Mahesh Hiremath

DIFFERENT EDGE Before modern metalworking techniques were invented, blacksmiths used heat to make metal workable. Once the metal was formed into the desired shape, the heated metal quickly was cooled. Quick cooling made the metal harder and less brittle. Modern metalworking has become much more sophisticated and precise, allowing for different techniques to be used for different purposes.

Effects of Heat on Metal Subjecting metal to extreme heat causes it to expand in addition to impacting its structure, electrical resistance, and magnetism. Thermal expansion is pretty self-explanatory. Metals expand when subjected to specific temperatures, which vary depending on the metal. The actual structure of metal also changes with heat. Heat typically makes metals softer, weaker, and more ductile. Ductility is the ability to stretch metal into a wire or something similar.

Heat also can impact the electrical resistance of metal. The hotter the metal gets, the more the electrons scatter, causing the metal to be more resistant to an electrical current. Metals heated to certain temperatures also can lose their magnetism. By raising temperatures to between 626 degrees Fahrenheit and 2,012 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the metal, magnetism will disappear. The temperature at which this happens in a specific metal is known as its Curie temperature.

HEAT TREATMENT: Heat treatment is the process of heating and cooling metals to change their microstructure and to bring out the physical and mechanical characteristics that make metals more desirable. The temperatures metals are heated to, and the rate of cooling after heat treatment, can significantly change metal's properties.

With the huge competition in market, every company is looking to provide extra benefit to their customers in terms of cost, quality, delivery etc. Every customer can provide flexibility 4 |K A I Z E N ’ S O P E R A T I O N S & R E S E A R C H E N T I T Y

in dimension error, but metallurgical error are never compromised, and any error can put company in blacklist domain. Hence, For any process, assessment plays a significant role, as it ranks your organization from the quality, effective utilization of resources till customer satisfaction.

I will share my experience of Heat Treatment assessment workshop conducted by CATERPILLAR INC. at Aurangabad. The workshop was a lightning mode for many engineers, to further enhance their existing capabilities.

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Express Shipping BY Dhananjay Harkare

Express Shipping – A logistics masterpiece The wait for the package starts right when you hit that „Proceed to checkout‟ button on your favorite e-commerce website. Delivery through drone is limited to few areas in some countries, but overnight or 1-day shipping is quite popular and is rapidly gaining momentum.

Overnight shipping is an absolute masterpiece of logistics that happens every single night.

You can have the package shipped from Edinburg, Scotland on Wednesday and get it delivered to Alaska on Thursday morning. Major companies like FedEx, UPS, DHL etc. make it possible as we sleep placing the order. Amazon, which ships million packages per day is getting into delivery business. They are building their logistics network and with such a scale, they have the capability to take shipping services out of business. FedEx has more planes than Emirates, Qatar and Etihad airways combined. UPS flies to almost double as many destinations as the largest passenger airline and DHL delivers to every country including North Korea. Each of these make hundreds of flights every night and FedEx‟s operations make them the largest cargo airline in the world. These worldwide operations are carried out at one of their hubs where packages are sorted and transferred from one plane to another. Out of several hubs, Memphis, Tennessee is their superhub.

How do they do it?

About 150 airplanes around the world fly to Memphis from 10pm to 1am. Immediately after arrival, packages are unloaded and transferred to the automated sorting facility where packages reach staging area and loaded into containers making them ready for the next flight.

Planes therefore can start taking off from 2am and continue to operate till 4am. For locations which are remote to Memphis or for smaller cities having relatively less number of shipments, FedEx operate smaller propeller aircrafts. Packages are transferred from planes to smaller planes to trucks and vans to reach their destinations.

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However, it is important to note that not every package travel via Memphis. It would be extremely inefficient for FedEx to operate from Memphis if the package is to shipped to and from some city at the west coast of the US. In such cases, their secondary hubs are used to route the packages.

FedEx‟s most ingenious hub is in Anchorage, Alaska and is one of the busiest cargo airports in the world. This airport is the perfect stop-over point for the flights from US to Asia. If shipping companies have to stick to their agenda of overnight shipping, they would likely have to operate non-stop flights from their Asian hubs to their US hubs but they don‟t have the demand to fill this many planes. So, they run flights from Asian hubs to Anchorage and Anchorage to other American hubs. While stopping at Anchorage, packages are sorted and passed through customs to be put on the planes bound nearest to their destinations. This helps reduce the costs and shipping time.

The express shipping model is relatively expensive largely because how courier companies use their most expensive assets – planes. Express shipping is one of those models which require enormous network to make work and that is why there are no small companies in this business. It is almost impossible to get started, unless you can make your own demand.

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How Strategic Management adds value to the Company?

BY Mohit Bhardwaj

Organizations in the real world are engaged in hundreds, or say thousand of activities which compel them to be on their toes and think out of the box. These activities starting from raw material procurement followed by inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics and then final delivery to customers are easier said than done if not properly seeded. The inputs, transformations and the outputs require the acquisition, allocation and consumption of resources - money, machine and manpower which must be backed by a well defined strategy.

This strategy building involves identifying Strategic Intent, mission and vision statement, objectives, problem solving, alternative action plans, selection criteria, scorecards , internal and external communication practices, analysis of SME competitors and performance measurement.

HOW TO APPROACH?

Diagnose the problem

Follow Guidelines Formulating Action Plan

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DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM: Organizations need to identify the problem which needs to be addressed at prima facie. They need to identify the simplicity or the complexity of the problem and the root cause of it.

Diagnosing requires the use of inductive, deductive and adductive logic.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Identify the problem.

Check past records, if the same/similar kind of problem has ever occurred.

Brainstorm for the possible causes of its occurrence.

Think in terms of „Why Issue Tree‟ where we break our diagnosis into multiple questions and each question has further questions. Answering these questions in chronology simplifies the issue.

PROBLEM

Reason for occurrence

Reason for occurrence

Action

Reason for occurrence

Reason for occurrence

Reason for occurrence

Reason for occurrence

Reason for occurrence Action

Approve / Reject

Counter Measure

Flowchart – Problem Identification

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FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES AND POLICIES: The World is advancing at a rapid rate, so are the organizations. In order for them to be in sync with what is the current demand of the customers ,they need to aggrandize their capacities, technology , workforce , skill set, competence in a way that it becomes easy for them to manoeuvre well in the market. For this, continuous challenges and changes are required with brings problems/crises along with it.

It is pivotal for organizations to diagnose the problem and find solutions, but more importantly, these findings must be backed by well defined policies and guidelines.

1. Identifying the alternative solutions to the problem.

2. Selecting the best approach based on pros /cons, feasibility, affordability and risk associated with it.

FORMULATING ACTION PLAN: 1. Communicating the approach to the concerned people and formulating the required steps.

2. Monitoring the action plan and proposing changes wherever necessary.

3. Keeping a record if the actual problem is resolved by the action plan. If No, then the plan must be changed.

PURPOSE

mnkk

PLANNING Scrutiny

IMPLEMENTATION Strategy Making

Goal Setting

Structure

Control & Feedback

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT – DISPARITY In order to be irreplaceable, organizations needs to be different; different in terms of product, price, promotional methods, features, services and other aspects of business. What customers demand today is finest quality in lowest price. This poses a challenge for the market players 18 |K A I Z E N ’ S O P E R A T I O N S & R E S E A R C H E N T I T Y

who want to be at par with their competitors. Some companies engage in high-risk battle of cost leadership while some have altogether different approach and don‟t want to settle as the second or third best in terms of selling cost.

Example – Car Manufacturers like Cadillac, Jaguar, and BMW will never want themselves to be seen as low cost car manufacturers, rather, they will target a niche market, and i.e. the elite class who can afford to buy their cars and thus this creates a point of difference from them and separates them from other brands.

Such type of strategy can be beneficial as the players can give vent to the prestige of those who are willing to pay premium for the limited editions.

Organizations which adopt such strategies may develop an expertise in their product range due to the product line being limited.

But this has a flip side too, as the limited demand can sometimes stymie the growth and expansion.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT – Innovation Organizations should focus on continuously improving their product quality and should jettison the approach which is now obsolete. Their NPD (New Product Development) departments must offer customers some add-on and can justify the increased cost.

Competitors who only play at cost cutting or lowest selling price strategy will find it difficult to imitate these strategies.

Example- Apple platforms adopt the cutting edge technology in their products macOS, iPad, iPhone, Smartwatches. These products undergo continuous technological advancement and stand at par with in terms of sales and revenue from their competitors who offer low cost products or play on discounts and schemes.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT – Response to the Competitors It is important for the organizations to formulate their operational and marketing strategy but it is very much crucial to have an eye on the competitor‟s next move. On the basis of capacity, capability and resources, the organizations must decide their response to the competitor. Many organizations run head to head marketing because there is very less amount of disparity in their products. Delay in response may turn the market scenario upside down.

Therefore, a quick response is needed.

For Example- Coke& Pepsi, Ford & GM , McDonalds & Burger King are some of the prominent brand names whom we have seen in head on collision with each other. Their counter strategies are based on thorough analysis of competitors and current market conditions.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT – Mergers & Acquisitions

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When you can‟t get through competitors, get along with them. It is wise to look for a win-win situation rather than competing hard and ending up in crises. This type of mutual agreement helps the organizations to share resources and get benefit from each other‟s competencies and knowledge base which in turn promises better control over the market. Some of the popular forms of cooperative moves are – Joint Ventures, Alliances, Collocation, Concentric Merger, Conglomerate Merger, Vertical Merger/Acquisitions and Horizontal Merger/Acquisition.

Example- The successful Mega merger of Vodafone India Ltd. And Idea Cellular Ltd fetches synergy benefits to both the companies and inhibited their capacity to compete against prominent competitor Reliance Jio. Vodafone- Idea combined 3G/4G Spectrum saw substantial growth over Reliance Jio‟s.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT – Multifariousness Having a unique product is good but it is lethal to stick to only one kind of product in long run unless your organization has an unparalleled brand image and dominance in the market.

Strategy says- Expand the horizon of your product line and operate in different markets.

Being diverse in product range helps organizations to survive better in market especially when the economy is slack. This type of strategy is most suitable for those organizations that have to alter minimal in their operations and can produce an altogether new kind of product.

Example- Samsung – Today, It‟s everywhere, be it mobile phones, Air purifiers, UHD TVs and other home appliances.

HOW TO EVALUATE STRATEGY? Broadly, there are 4 steps of evaluating the strategy:

Setting Performance standards

Monitoring /measuring the performance

Error Analysis

Corrective Action plan 20 |K A I Z E N ’ S O P E R A T I O N S & R E S E A R C H E N T I T Y

Strategic Management provides a framework for day to day operations and decisions which drives the organization towards its goal. It helps the organizations to assess the decisions and associated benefits with it. Last but not the least; it is an integral aspect of an organization which connoted planning, Implementation, evaluation, error analysis, and correction for the optimization of the resources.

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Inventory Management BY Arushi Vij

Inventory management system is system of (hardware and software) where goods are delivered by production department to receiving of warehouse storage in the form of raw materials (input) or components and are put into stock out production department areas of shelves and supplies, or finished goods which are ready to be sent to vendors or end consumer by sales department.

Flow of Inventory Management This system basically includes the barcoding or asset tags, reporting tools, inventory forecasting, Inventory alerts, accounting tools or tie-ins.

Hardware tools are used to read the barcode labels such as smartphones with barcode scanning apps or by normal handheld barcodes whereas Software tools provides a central database and point of reference for all the inventory, forecast future data and more.

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TECHNIQUES – Inventory management uses various methodologies to keep the right amount of goods on hand to fulfil customer demand satisfaction and operate them profitably. This task is particularly done when organizations need to deal with thousands of stock keeping units which can be used to span multiple warehouses.

Some of it techniques are as followsStock review- stock review inventory management is a methodology which is mostly for the smaller businesses. This basically involves a regular study of stock on hand versus required future projects. This only uses manual efforts to review minimum stock level which involves mandatory stock inspections and reordering of supplies to meet its optimum level.

Just in time (JIT) methodology- It is a methodology which is completely based on customer behaviour study, this involves full customization of orders by customers. This also involves buying research patterns, demand on seasonal basis, and location based factors that interprets an exact study of what goods are necessary at certain places and time.

ABC analysis methodologyABC analysis is an analysis which is divided into 3 categories which represents the value and cost of significant inventory.

Category A- represents high-value and low-quantity goods, Category B- represents moderate-value and moderate-quantity goods, Category C- represents low-value and high-quantity goods.

All the above mentioned categories can be managed separately in the system, this help us to identify the best seller items to keep the record of quantities of buffer stock in hand

BENEFITSWithout an inventory management system, the goods and products that flow through an organization will inevitably be in disarray. An inventory management system enables a company to maintain a centralized record of every asset and item in the control of the organization, providing a single source of truth for the location of every item, vendor and supplier information, specifications, and the total number of a particular item currently in stock includes improved cash flow, Better reporting and forecasting, capabilities, Reduction in storage costs (overhead) Reduced labour costs Reduction in dead stock Better organization Enhanced transparency Improved supplier, vendor, and partner relationships

ConclusionBy this we can conclude that a good inventory management system can help to enhance productivity and efficiency only if the basic amenities are sufficed. These basically includes name of location, easy to read location labels, unique item identification numbers, units of measures, a software solution that effectively monitors and tracks clear activity, also including companiesâ€&#x; wide policies and processes.

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Top Strategic Operation Funds BY Tanuj Marwaha

Pattern 1: Geo planning Outside elements including the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), geo explicit remaining tasks at hand and worldwide and provincial system get to are driving IT to invest more energy in geo arranging as a component of their more drawn out term procedures. The long haul objective isn't to claim a worldwide foundation, yet to fabricate the framework expected to help the business by means of accomplices, just as utilizing an association's accomplice's foundation to help bolster activities, for example, numerous system associations and framework plan and backing.

Pattern 2: The Intelligent Edge Numerous computerized business ventures make information that can be handled all the more proficiently when the registering power is near the thing or individual producing it. Edge figuring arrangements address this requirement for confined registering power. For instance, with regards to the Internet of Things (IoT), the wellsprings of information age are normally things with sensors or implanted gadgets. The shrewd edge fills in as the decentralized expansion of the grounds systems, cell systems, server farm systems or the cloud.

Associations that have left on an advanced business venture have understood that a progressively decentralized methodology is required to address computerized business foundation prerequisites.

Pattern 3: Intent-based Networking (IBNS) Gartner predicts that by 2020, in excess of 1,000 extensive endeavours will utilize plan based systems administration frameworks underway, up from under 50 today. Goal based systems administration (IBNS) isn't an item, or a market. Rather, it is a bit of systems administration programming that designs, structure and execute/work arranges that can improve organize accessibility and nimbleness, which turns out to be progressively essential as associations change towards computerized business.

With IBNS, as opposed to expressly characterizing to the system what should be done, the product makes an interpretation of the business expectation to decide the "rightness" of the system arrangement before sending. The framework at that point constantly thinks about the real and wanted condition of the running system.

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ABOUT US: The word “Kaizen”, where “Kai” = change “Zen” = good, simply means “change for better”. In English Kaizen is typically applied to measures for implementing continuous improvement. It is an approach to activity organisation based on common sense, self-discipline, order and economy and is a strong contributor and fundamental part of a lean production process model in lean manufacturing. Kaizen- The Official Operations Club of IBS Hyderabad believes in relishing in the essence of "Constant Change and Evolvement" and hence we, as an organization work willingly for the betterment of the student community. KORE- Kaizen‟s Operations and Research Entity, one of our primary wings which flaps to cater to the needs of students and motivate them to soar high by polishing their technical competencies. KORE‟s area of expertise includes Case Based Research, Consultancy, Live Projects and Workshops. LAKSHYA, an initiative taken by KORE primarily focuses on the concepts of operations management and various articles based on the day to day operations and logistics of an organisation - DHANANJAY HARKARE Batch 2018-20

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LAKSHYA is an academic print and is not for any commercial sale.

Reliability and Responsibility, for sources of data for the article vests with the respective authors. Please feel free to drop in your suggestions at kaizenclub.ibs@gmail.com KORE: Kaizen’s Operations & Research Entity.

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