De Mesa, Mary Angelie M.

D5C – IEFTSEM

Learning Journal

Seminar Report
Hosting Institution: De La Salle Lipa
Seminar Date and Venue: September 19, 2018 BHV Gym, De La Salle Lipa
Seminar Title: Total Productive Maintenance

Objective of the Seminar

To be able to define supply chain management, its importance, strategies and real life
applications

The Speaker
Engr. Andrea Paula Alanigue
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering
First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities
2014
Senior Planner
ST Microelectronics
 ensures the creation of accurate SKU/service forecasts
 manage parameters to execute replenishment strategies, and improve service
and inventory performance
 works with vendors to establish inventory management strategies and achieve
lead time reductions

The Seminar

Figure 1. Engr. Alanigue asking questions during the discussion

 The first seminar of the day covers the topic about supply chain management and its
importance to the business. According to Engr. Alanigue, supply chain management is all about
delivering products efficiently and with less cost to the customers. The definition was further
explained by the supply chain diagram presented showing all of the elements and stages
involved, both directly and indirectly. It includes the manufacturer, suppliers, transporters,
warehouses, retailers, and customers which all requires a close coordination with each other.
Supply chain, as Engr. Alanigue pointed out, requires the integration of all the key processes in
order to sustain the competitive advantage of the business. The goals of supply chain
management which includes right quantities, right locations and right time will lead to a
minimized total system cost and satisfy customer service requirements. The speaker also
clarifies the confusion between logistics and supply chain management by defining both
subjects. Logistics refers to the activities that occur within the boundaries of a single
organization whereas supply chain management refers to networks of companies that work
together and coordinate their actions to deliver a product to market. Supply chain management
starts right away from creating the product until it reaches the customer and it acknowledges
the over-all logistics. Therefore, logistics is a part of supply chain management.
Engr. Alanigue also discussed about the conflicting requirements of supply chain, and
the need to balance each of them. It is a conflict between maintaining high levels of customer
service calls for maintaining high levels of inventory and operating efficiently by reducing
inventory. It is not ideal to just choose between the two but maintaining a balance of each one
will be very beneficial to the business. According to Engr. Alanigue, the best way to create
balance is to find the best approach to quantify what the ideal inventory level should be and
manage the levels down in a sustainable manner. Moreover, the most effective supply chain
management is balancing the customer service level and internal efficiency.
The drivers of the supply chain management are production, inventory, transportation,
location and information and there is a trade-off between responsiveness and efficiency among
the said drivers. Engr. Alanigue discussed about the strategies on how to balance them. She
also discussed about the cycle view of the supply chain and the push and pull view. It is a
conflict between being more efficient and more effective and she told us that choosing between
the push and pull strategies depends on the type of products the company provides. Lastly,
Engr. Alanigue discussed the bullwhip effect, its causes and how to reduce it.
The supply chain is a dynamic system that evolves over time: not only customer
demands and supplier capacities change over time, but supply chain relationships also evolve
over time. For example, as customers’ power increases, there is increased pressure placed on
manufacturers and suppliers to produce enormous variety of high-variety of high-quality
products and ultimately to produce customized products.

Evaluation
The topic is very interesting because supply chain is one of the most important concepts
in industrial engineering. Supply chain management affects manufacturing companies in a
variety of ways, including the availability of inputs needed for production processes, costs and
profitability of manufactured items, company infrastructure and ways in which companies
interact with their suppliers and customers. Every business’ main goal is to deliver products
efficiently and with less cost to the customers and maintain the chain. The learnings from the
seminar will be very useful in our future careers as industrial engineers and will help us to
contribute significantly to the company we will be joining to. Overall, the seminar went well
because the speaker was very excellent. She have made us understand the supply chain
management by relating it to our real life and giving us tips on how to survive the real world of
business when we finally get there. In order to really communicate to people through speech,
you need to have passion about your subject. Without passion, your speech is meaningless.
Engr. Alanigue seems to be passionate about her profession and it reflects on the way she
explained supply chain to us. Her presentation shows her sincerity to impart us with her
knowledge from her learnings and experiences. I am hoping that I can be like her and that I can
apply all my learnings in contributing to the organization in the future.