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10.19.2012

Today our business environments are evolving at a never-before-seen pace. Rapid implementation of technology into all aspects of business is making service availability and product delivery faster than ever before. Growing competition is forcing enterprises to reduce prices of their products and services and they constantly look for ways to cut down operational expenses to compensate for the lowered price. Implementing technology is among the top methods that any modern enterprise uses to streamline their business process and control the cost. Many businesses have made technology investments to automate and streamline their supply chain operations.

More precisely, we are talking about how cloud computing has made its way into the Supply Chain Management strategy of a contemporary manufacturing business. As with any other business sectors, cloud computing has offered opportunities to radically change how technology is deployed and utilized across the business as well as how information and data is created and exchanged within and outside the enterprise.

Almost every major manufacturing company is following  some form of supply chain management practice. Components are sourced from different partners who may be geographically distributed across the planet. The final product coming out of the plant is thus a combination of efforts from the manufacturing company as well as its several suppliers. So what difference will cloud computing make in the SCM process for a business?

For any manufacturing business, just having  an effective Intra-Organisational collaboration platform is not sufficient, they need to have an Inter-Organisational collaboration platform as well. Their business partners must be constantly available via a communication platform that eliminates all technical barriers and provides a convenient interface for exchange of information. Cloud computing provides can address this need very well. Let us take a look at how cloud computing makes Supply Chain Management more efficient.

Common Communication platform:

As mentioned before, suppliers or partners of a firm, for example an Automobile firm, could be located at different cities, states or countries across the world. To collaborate effectively, they should have uninterrupted communication with the parent firm to ensure smooth operations; but there is a big problem: Each supplier as well as the parent firm follows a different operational standard with their own set of tools and communication interfaces. This can result in communication gaps that can adversely affect their ability to collaborate with their partners. Cloud computing allows these companies to follow a common business standard or SCM protocol by providing a communication interface for the parent firm that is accessible in the same form by any supplier at any place and at any time.

The Security Angle:

Exchange of goods and services between companies and their suppliers always involve a great deal of financial commitments as well. Not only that, vital information that is exchanged between a partner and the parent- for example a supplier for components to a military armour manufacturing company – should never fall into the wrong hands. Cloud computing allows the communication interface to be secured with firewalls, intrusion alarms, data security encryption techniques and much more. It provides a secure gateway for the smooth flow of critical data.

Software as a Service option:

Cloud computing provides business enterprises to use a Software as a Service (SaaS) model wherein they do not have to physically install hardware or deploy any  software to help them manage their SCM models but they can use the service that is installed in the data centers of the cloud service provider. Monitoring and tracking your SCM strategies does involve a lot of utility tools and if you were to buy and install each one of them, then you need to have specialised personnel to handle their installation and operation as well.

Reduced Costs:

Having to maintain software developers, hosting infrastructure, data centers etc on their own poses considerable financial burden on enterprises and there will not be a proper IT budget strategy in the firm since IT is not in their core competency. Cloud computing makes everything virtual and eliminates the need for a vast majority of physical infrastructure and hence reduces costs significantly.

No Need of Physical Presence:

Since cloud computing brings the parent company and its suppliers into a single communication framework, it reduces the need for executives from the parent firm to visit the supplier location to assess and monitor their performance and quality standards.

So cloud computing is beneficial in more ways than one for the Supply Chain Management strategy of any modern day manufacturing enterprise. It can streamline information delivery across various business channels by ensuring strict compliance with a common business language and eliminating fatal communication gaps.

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About the Guest Author:

Mandira Srivastava is a fulltime freelance writer who specializes in technology, health and fitness, politics, and financial writing. Equipped with degree of mass communication and having worked for both private and corporate clients, I have experience meeting a wide range of writing requirements and styles.

10.18.2012

Travel sites are fuelling the Japanese’s love for local and domestic adventure. Japan has an isolated culture, and so anything that is unlike their own stirs their interest, hence their passion for exploring the globe.

Visit any country and Japanese tourists are bound to be in every top destination. Whether it’s the picturesque Waikiki beach, the hot springs at Banff mountain resort, or the designer shops in Paris, expect to have a Japanese tourist crowd in the midst.

And although it is pretty expensive, they also enjoy domestic travel. This is the reason why it is quite challenging to find a small hotel in Japan with an English speaking staff. They actually have establishments that cater mostly to the local market.

Another reason that encourages them to explore their own country is their efficient transportation system. Commuters can easily go from one to another because their trains and buses leave their destinations on time. Their bullet train boasts of a near perfect record on safety. It has served over seven billion passengers with zero fatality. It is never late. Passengers arrive within six seconds of schedule, regardless of good or bad weather.

Hassle-free Travel

Hassle-free online travel booking system has been attracting Japanese travellers to explore different parts of the world. The number of outbound travel via Internet has increased significantly.

According to data gathered by Google dated April 2012, 34% of travel inquiries were done by phone, while 54% were done using the PC. Japanese online travel firms like Jalan and Rakuten predict so much growth in the mobile gadget arena.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Justice, which takes note of every citizen that leaves Japan, in 2011, a total of 16,994,200 travellers left the country for business or leisure travel with China, Korea and the US as top destinations.  Industry players are attributing the rise of travel to the growing dependence on smart phones and tablets.  Sites like Rakutan Travel, Agoda, Jalan and lkyu have cornered consumers into switching to online travel instead of the traditional agency arrangement.

And while internet sites like Agora, is growing in popularity, the company has yet to go beyond their business travel buyers. They are slowly recognizing the unique needs of Japanese consumers thus the need to invest in special tools in order to have a chuck of this stable market.

Traveling with Family and Friends

The Japanese travel market is considered huge mainly because they enjoy traveling in groups. Unlike Europeans who travel alone, the Japanese like to be surrounded with their friends and family when they are on vacation. Their group-oriented culture, dictates the security of group travel. They are embarrassed to travel by themselves – like telling the world that they do not have friends.

They were brought up in an environment where everyone thinks and acts like a group. Packages are mostly for big groups and because of the volume, they are priced reasonably. The tours are also very organized, the schedule is strictly followed. They also feel a strong sense of security amongst friends. For instance if they visit a country like Honduras, where hardly anyone speaks Japanese, they feel safer roaming the streets if they are part of a group.

Because of this practice, it is very common for Japanese workers to take their holidays all at the same time. They feel more comfortable because they are not burdening anyone at work because of their absence. Their holidays are short – between three to five days, but very frequent. Unlike in other countries where workers only get two weeks off every year.

No doubt package travel arrangements are certainly more economical than traveling alone. Buyers save a lot of money, plus do not require tedious planning, because everything is arranged by the organizers.

Awaiting Low Cost Carriers

The number of travelers is expected to increase with the entry of low cost airlines.  This means a more upbeat scenario for the hotel and airline industry. These travelers are known to be very cost-efficient. They would save by buying low cost airfare but would be willing to spend for high-end accommodations.

And since online transactions are easier, budget airlines will push them to go online and book since it spares them from the trouble of leaving the house to go to a travel agency.

Aside from China, Korea and the US, Japanese travellers like to go to Italy, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Thailand and Spain. They are also most welcome in any international establishment because they are known all over the world to be very polite.

Be Part of Our Cloud Conversation

Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Guest Author:

Rodolfo Lentejas, Jr. is a fulltime freelance writer based in Toronto. He is the founder of the PostSckrippt, a growing online writing business dedicated to producing top quality, original and fresh content. To know more about him, please visit www.postsckrippt.ca. Like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.