Colton Bybee
1/31/2015
Ist 1100
Module 3
What is offshoring and how is it
different from outsourcing?
Offshoring defined
in The World is Flat by Thomas L Friedman is “when a
company takes one of its factory’s that is operating in a certain country and
moves it to another country to avoid higher taxes, insurance and overall cost
to produce the good they are producing”. This is happening all the time right
here in the United States. For example, a company that has recently moved their
main factories offshore from the United States is Phillips Lighting Company.
Some of you might even have a few of the lights they produce in your homes.
They have moved there company with the mindset that they can cut cost to
produce lights, pay employees less and, at the end of the day, make more money.
Outsourcing, on the other hand, is taking a small part of your business that
you are performing and hiring another company to do it for you. A great example
of this was a medical company I used to work for. When the company first
started out they had their own call center with staffed employees that they had
to pay health insurance for, a wage and provide a working space for them. By deciding
to outsource the call center of the business, they could hire a company to do
that for them and just pay a monthly or yearly fee which would free them from
the headache of all of the little up keep and over head of staffing the call
centers themselves.
What is a supply chain and how
does Walmart use their supply chain to their advantage?
A supply chain is a
network of suppliers, producers, distributors and retailers. So, simply put, it
is what takes place from the very idea of a product before it is made to the
end result all the way to the point where you make the decision to buy it off
the shelf. Supply chains are so important to be able to keep that line of
communication consistent as well as the product coming at the same price. Walmart
has taken advantage of their supply chain by keeping your shelves stocked and as
well as their shelves stocked with what the consumers are mostly buying.
Walmart has a system that continues to run smoothly. When a consumer takes
something off Walmart’s shelves and buys it, their computer system notifies
headquarters and then headquarters notifies people all the way down the supply
chain. This allows the shelves to continuously be restocked. Walmart can also
have things rerouted in any direction they want, making Walmart very effective
and efficient.
How has Google affected businesses?
At the beginning of
this chapter on Google, Friedman states that Google’s goal is too one day have
the ability to let everyone obtain access to the world’s information through
their cell phone. I believe they have met their goal. Google has affected
business in so many different ways but one of the examples I want to expand on
is that they are making everything available online. To take Black Friday for
example, just a few short years ago, stores everywhere would be a complete mad
house. People would stampede their way through the store to get the best deals
on the items they were looking for. Now, with the help of Google, there are now
record lows of people actually showing up at the stores for Black Friday sales.
Because of the help of Google, you can now do all your shopping online in the
comfort of your own home. Business now have to not only have a whole staff for
their stores, but for their online business as well. This allows for more
competition between companies in order for the costumer to get the best deal.
