Introduction

Operations management plays very important role in the production system of a company. It
covers the whole process of producing to delivering finished products to the hand of final
consumers. Samsung Group also follows operations management for ensuring good balance
in production process. Samsung Group is very committed to provide premium quality
products and services to its customers. So, it has separated its operations management for
independently operating its activities. Samsung Group is a multinational conglomerate which
is headquartered in South Korea. It is a private limited company which was established in
1938. It has various businesses including Samsung Electronics, Samsung life insurance,
Samsung Engineering, Samsung heavy industry etc. The company is world’s largest
electronic products manufacturing company. It has generated 212 billion USD as revenue in
2019. It has large amount of employees. The amount of employees is 287,439. However, it
produces various categories of products including smartphones, refrigerators, washing
machines, home appliances, TV, computers, construction accessories etc.

Samsung Group use process management for successfully producing and delivering its
products. Moreover, it illustrates its whole processes through process chart. The company
also uses lean methods for improving the conditions of its manufacturing system. It uses
various tools like value mapping, pull manufacturing, Kaizen for operating its production
activities without any excess wastes. Pull manufacturing helps the company to reduce the
excess costs and processes in its inventory management. Value stream mapping is also useful
for Samsung Group for distinguishing value-added activities and non value-added activities.
This is very useful for the company to shorten its production process by using only value-
added activities. The company also uses Kaizen method for continuously improving the
conditions of its products quality and designs. However, Samsung Group uses capacity
management for analysing its current capacity and determining whether existing capacities
are able to match future demand in the market.

 
Current operation management of Samsung Group
Operations management is very essential for Samsung Group because it has various product
lines. The company needs operations management for operating its business activities
effectively. The company has separate operations management department which is
responsible for all of its business processes (Kato, NEC Corp, 2015). The operations
managers are very well-trained and they are the key persons for whom Samsung Group can
offer high quality products to its customers and can increase its market share.

Functions of operations management of Samsung Group

The operations management is responsible for the whole production process from producing
to delivering finished products. The functions of operations management of Samsung Group
are explained below.

Planning and scheduling: The operations management of Samsung Group start massive
planning and scheduling process before operating production process (Radosavljević, Jevtić,
and Klimenta, 2016). It needs to plan various things including how much raw materials the
company will need, which suppliers will be cost effective for the company, which production
method is helpful and cost effective etc. Moreover, the operations management also needs to
schedule when its production process will be started, which suppliers will supply at what time
etc.

Analysing and Forecasting: The operations management also forecasts various things
including which are favourable and unfavourable for the company. It analyses the current
resources of the company and how the resources will meet the future demand. It also analyses
the duty environment for forecasting future market demand and market conditions. The
operations management also analyses the ability and productivity of Samsung Group.

Purchasing: Samsung Group is a large conglomerate company which produces a lot of

electronic products for customers (Kato, NEC Corp, 2015). For producing various products,
the operations management department needs to purchase various materials like machineries,
raw materials, office supplies etc. That’s why it needs to take various purchasing decisions
because lack of any materials can hamper the production process of the company.

Regulating quality: The company produces vast amount of products for its customers. The
products are essential for everyday life of customers. So, it needs to ensure high quality in its
products. For this reason, the operations management uses various tools for ensuring high
quality in its products like ISO standards.

Inventory controlling: Inventory is an essential part for keeping flow in production process.
The operations management of Samsung Group controls its inventory for ensuring workflow
in its production process. It stocks raw materials, finished goods etc. in its inventory. These
are necessary for operating production process effectively.

The role of operations manager in Samsung Group

Operations managers play very important roles in the production process of Samsung Group.
They are responsible for maintaining good balance in the production process and delivery
process (Zhang, Wang, and Lin, 2019). Some roles of operations managers are explained
below.

Monitoring production process: The operations manager of Samsung Group monitor the
whole production process. They monitor if the employees are working, everything is in the
right place etc. for maintaining good production process. The operations managers also
communicate with senior management for any unexpected circumstances.

Human resource management: Samsung Group offers premium quality products to its
customers. So, it needs well skilled employees for running production process effectively.
The operations managers manage human resources regularly for ensuring good balance in
production process (Ji, et al., 2020). Besides, they arrange various training and development
programs for improving the productivity of employees and always try to keep employees
motivated.

Cost management: The operations managers also always become alert for the cost of
production. They try to reduce the cost of company using various techniques like lean
methods. They also analyses the budget of the company to determine the estimated
production cost.

Quality control: The operations managers also ensure high quality products for its
customers. They control the quality of products regularly. They ensure following various
guidelines for producing high quality products.

Managing supply chain: For ensuring continuous flow in production, the operations
managers of Samsung Group keep good relation with their suppliers (Joglekar, and Lévesque,
2013). The managers also communicate with suppliers regularly for supplying raw materials
continuously.
Comparison of industry standards for Samsung Group
Samsung Group produces high quality products for various segments of customers. It follows
industry standards for keeping good balance in production process.

Quality: Samsung Group provides good quality products for their employees. There are
some complaints that some products are harmful for the customers (Kirchmer, 2017). That’s
why it can be said that the company doesn’t follow industry standards regularly.

Cost: Samsung Group uses various tools for reducing its overall costs. Lean is one of those
tools which curtails the production costs of the company. So, it is compatible with industry
standards.

Speed: As Samsung Group produces vast amount of products, it needs more time to produce
the goods. So, the company sometimes fails to deliver products at the right time.

Dependability: The products of Samsung Group are produced through extensive production
process (Joglekar, and Lévesque, 2013). So, these are enough dependable.

Flexibility: Samsung Group is very flexible because it changes its working process when
something goes wrong. Samsung Group sold some of its businesses as they didn’t generate
good return for the company.

 
Process management of Samsung Group
Process chart of Samsung Group
Process management is a method of producing goods and delivering finished goods in a
systematic way. Samsung Group uses process chart for planning how it will procure raw
materials, how it will start manufacturing process and how it will deliver its products to its
customers (Mendling, et al., 2018). The process chart of Samsung Group is illustrated below.

Figure 1: Process chart of Samsung Group

Source: Created by author

The operations management of Samsung Group starts planning for its production process. At
this time, the operations management illustrates various designs for the products. When the
designs are approved by the top management, the operations management starts
manufacturing process. In manufacturing process, the management follows various methods
so that it can reduce the costs and wastes for quickening the production process (Vom
Brocke, and Mendling, 2018). Then it transfers the products to the primary testing process.
After primary testing, the management assembles the part of products to make complete
products. Then the products are sent to final testing process. After final testing, the
management starts to package the products for ensuring safety.

Process management of Samsung Group

Samsung Group always wants to produce high quality products to its customers. So,
operations managers of Samsung Group use process management for ensuring good balance
in its production process (Ji, et al., 2020). The operations management analyses various
resources for successfully completing production without wasting any resources. The process
management of Samsung Group are explained below.

Process analysis and improvement: Samsung Group analyses various problems related to
its production. It always wants to improve the process which will quicken its procedures and
will benefit the company. There were some allegations against Samsung Group that some of
its products were defective which harmed many of its customers in recent years (Mendling, et
al., 2018). These complaints impacted the company badly. That’s why the company takes
various precautionary steps for ensuring good quality products so that they don’t harm its
customers. Thus it manages its process.

Customer service strategies: Customers are valuable for the success of a company.
Customers can affect the market share of a company easily. So, Samsung Group always
considers the problems of its customers first. It provides good services to its customers. On
the other hand, the company offers various training sessions to its employees regularly. Thus
it trains its employees so that they can serve its customers effectively. However, it also
ensures premium quality products to its customers at reasonable price.

Inventory management: Samsung Group produces various products for various segments of
customers. So, it needs to stock sufficient amount of inventories. This is essential for the
company to operate its production process effectively (Kirchmer, 2017). The company uses
various methods for managing its inventories including Economic Order Quantity, safety
stock, batch tracking etc. The company stocks various types of inventories like raw materials,
finished goods etc. Thus the company can easily maintain good balance in its production
process. The company also can deliver its products quickly to its final users.

Scheduling operation: The operations management department of Samsung Group

schedules various things for continuing its production process successfully. It needs to
schedule which suppliers are cost effective for the company, which delivery channels are
effective for reaching its products to customers quickly, which production methods are useful
at what time, which inventory methods are cost effective for the company. These all decisions
are important for the success of Samsung Group because any interruptions in any of these
things can lead to a greater loss for the company (Joglekar, and Lévesque, 2013). So,
operations management schedules and analyses these things at the inception of the production
process. Thus the company can gain large market share and gain competitive edge over
competitors easily.

Purchasing and supplier management: For keeping production process smooth, the
operations management of Samsung Group purchases various materials including raw
materials, machineries, office supplies etc. These materials are necessary for making the
production process effective. The management also considers the conditions of these
materials because the defective materials would make the final products defective (Kirchmer,
2017). Furthermore, the management is very attentive in reducing the costs when purchasing
various materials. On the other hand, the management maintains good relations with suppliers
and chooses those suppliers who are cost effective and are committed to supply quickly. Thus
Samsung Group gains competitive advantages.
References
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