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Analyzing the internal supply chain of Toys R Us/ Babies R Us Name Institution

2 1. Describe the company from an Australian market perspective and the Supply Chain in which the store operates. 1.1 Introduction of Toys R Us/ Babies R Us Toys R Us / Babies R Us is the top toy retail company in Australia. It was founded in 1948 as the Childrens Supermarket. It was later changed to Toys R Us in 1957. The parent company has its headquarters at Wayne, new Jersey with subsidiary stores all over the world and Australia with 35 such stores is an important market venture for the company. 1.2 Product in the Store The 1419 Albany Highway Cannington store of Toys R Us/ Babies R Us was visited for conducting this study before the writing of this report.. the products that were in the store were a varied range of toys and baby products that were characteristic of the companys profile. These ranged from, Art and Craft products, Bikes, Dolls and stuffed animals, electronics, games and puzzles, Vehicles, as well as video games. 1.3 Internal Supply Chain Interactions As a company involved in the retailing of baby toy products, the store was had several prominently divided sections that comprised the supply chain interactions within the store. These served to meet the services required by the customers within the store as well as customer orders that had been placed via the stores online system. To begin with, there was the IT sector, which was in charge of managing the information and data collected from the customers. Then there was the human resource department that was concerned with the customer experience within the stores. Additionally, it was this department that received and dealt with any customer queries about the stores product.

3 There was also the procurement and inventory department that dealt with the procuring and restocking of the stores goods, and always making sure that all demands on supply had been fulfilled. Finally there was the marketing group which was responsible fo r the advertisement of the store as well as the products. Clarify the competitive priorities that the company is trying to achieve 2. Competitive Priorities In order to remain at the top as a major contender and player within the Australian market, Toys R Us / Babies R Us had several major priorities that can be grouped into four classes. This was in effect to counter the competitor effect from companies such as Wal-Mart. The main priorities of the company were timely deliveries, cost enhancement, quality enhancement and maintenance as well as flexibility. To ensure that the company is always at the edge of business and up to speed with other market players, these priorities had to be highly considered (Prajogo& McDermott, 2008) 2.1 Costs Being a top industry player required diligent and low operational costs on the store to ensure optimum output from the business. Due to the competitive nature of the business, the company relied heavily on the growth and promotion of their online trade systems that is growing rapidly. Additionally, by making the store more of self service and reduced the cost of having numerous attendees within the stores, this served to lower the operational costs incurred (Rennie 2010). 2.1 Timely Deliveries Due to the online system of operations, the store always had a huge demand

4 from the online buyers. To ensure customer satisfaction, a segment of the store was usually reserved to facilitate the packaging and transfer of the goods to the customers. The timely deliveries enhanced customer faith in Toys R Us/ Babies R Us. 2.2 Quality This was a major challenge that faced, as the store always had to ensure that the goods sold were of the highest quality possible. 3. Analyze the efficiency of the Supply Chain and explain the reasoning behind the analysis? The efficiency of the store was a measure of the stores utilization of resources in order to give the customer experience that was desired. In the context of satisfying the customer, while ensuring that lowest possible costs are used (Neely et al. 2010). 3.1 Motivating the Exemplary Employees The employees noted to have served most clients as well as those who had received comments of praise by customers due to the experience had, were always rewarded and given a bonus (Barrile 2007).This was meant to help motivate the employees into always giving their best to the company in the terms of ensuring that the customer had the best experience while at the store. 3.2 Enhancement of Technology It was also noted that due to the bulk processes that were received from the bulk transactions that happened through the internet in the purchase of Toys R Us

products, it would be of essence if the technology was improved in order to enhance efficiency of the company (Brewer & Speh 2000).

5 3.3 Increasing Company Profit This was also a major efficiency indicator that would show the smooth flow of trading activities that have consequently enhanced the companys store profits. This was to be achieved by increasing the sales volume while lowering the transaction costs of running the store (Forgionne & Guo 2009). 4. Analyze the features of the companys operations which clearly reflect common practices in Supply Chain Management The supply chain management refers to the management and control of the relations between the customers and the products suppliers (Chung et al. 2011). The incorporation of certain management practices can be used as a yard stick for gauging the success of the supply chain management. For the company to be successful, it must be eligible, always ready to adapt as well as coordinate all the internal and external chains of management (Whitten et al, 2011). management features that can be considered are 4.1 Cost Reduction This is always a fundamental target that aims at lowering the production and supplying costs while banking on the optimization on the cost of sales. These will determine the cost of the product that is presented to the customer. If the operational costs are minimized then the customer will receive the product at a friendly price (Rennie 2010). 4.2 Management of the Inventory Being a giant retailer Toys R Us will rely on the supply chain management to help in the management of the inventory. This is in the sense that the procut is meant to Some of the supply chain

6 cover almost all the aspects of the business life within the store (Holmberg 2000). Additionally , due to the huge capacity as well as the wide range of products that are offered by the store, there is the fundamental need to have an efficient means of managing this diverse portfolio (Neely et al. 2010). 5. Clarify how the company relies on Supply Chain Partners for continuously renewing their offering to customers. The supply chain partners play a pivotal role in the operations of the business. Considering a product that has received high customer interest, the marketing department will research further to find out the reason for the rising interest. After the analysis, they will inform the managers who will in turn decide to add more stock of the particular product (Barratt 2011).. The role is then shifted to the procurement department which procures for the particular product that has been ordered for. The logistics department then plans for the delivery of the goods to the store. The marketing department begins an advertising campaign that will then inform the consumers on the availability of the product. with the information, the customer then proceeds to the store to make further consultations at the sales department, where the sales people will make a deal with the customer to come up with the final price at which the product will be sold at (Barrile 2007).. The customers product is then packaged and taken to the logistics department for delivery. This is a fundamental process that comprises the process of supply chain. Additionally the company could serve to renew their offers by asking the customers what they need (Fenies et al. 2010). This is essential in determining the consumer trends and the changes that have to be implemented within the company supply chain in order to ensure that the company operations are cost effective as well

7 as improves on the service delivery to the customers. 6. Identify areas of improvements in the Supply Chain operation Improvement is necessity that will serve as an indicator of future prospects of furthering the business as well. The store visited had future plans that were to be put in place in order to ensure that they keep up with the rising demand of the consumers. 6.1 Integration Of Store Services Due to the various products that were being marketed for, specialization in one product was a common experience that enhanced the employee knowledge of a particular product. To change this scenario, the store was implementing the strategy of ensuring that all the employees were familiar with the products that was in the store. This was necessary in order to reduce the number of employees that were required for the store operations (Bodman 2011). This was fundamentally a cost cutting measure that would reduce the operational costs. 6.2 Sustainability The sustainability of the store operations was fundamental in the sense that it was to ensure the progression and availability of the business. In retrospect, the store had measures in place that ensured sustainability but the improvements needed would ensure that the store made more profits (Whitten et al. 2011).