Operations Of Rolls Royce Motor Cars

The main purpose of this report was to apply information systems and operations to the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited. This report defines the companys operation, offers an input-transformation-output diagram of the operations system. Then it discusses the supply network and the flows in terms of physical and informational. And it identifies the major categories of ICT, E-business and information systems used and the influences on the operations. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a system to gain resources from the environment to produce high-quality of motor cars to customers. For the sake of describing the primary, secondary, and tertiary divisions of the operation system, the systems method is applied to show every sub-system of the entire system.

1.0 Introduction

In business world, the focus is on how people do business rather than on what people make, so companies pay more attention on operations where most organizations incur the majority of the costs. Nowadays, consumers require higher quality, quicker deliveries and lower costs, operations is adding cross-functional decision making and better deal with information system (Anupindi et al., 2005). In essence, operations management means the generation of consumer value via the efficiently and effectively managing the operation processes (Voss, Tsikriktsis & Frohlich, 2002). With added internationalization and competition and in markets, operations management are reducing product and service life cycles, shifting emphasis on consumer concerns, competing for time (Hayes, 2002). As a British manufacturer of luxury automobiles on the base of the Good wood Plant, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is the present producer of Rolls-Royce branded automobiles. Having been a motoring icon for more than 100 years, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited aims at continuing to set the pace into the next century.

The main purpose of this report is to apply information systems and operations to the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited. This report will adopt a narrow view of operations, define the company’s operation. And offer an annotated input-transformation-output diagram of the operations system presenting the primary, secondary and tertiary inputs and outputs. Following this, it will discuss the supply network of which it is part, and describe the components that comprise this supply network and the flows in terms of physical and informational between the components. Finally, it will identify the major categories of ICT, E-business and information systems used and look at the influences on the operations and supply network in Rolls-Royce Ltd.

2.0 Operations system

2.1 Operations in Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited

Operations management means the business function conscientious about planning, organizing, and controlling the resources required to generate an organization’s services and products (Slack, Chambers & Johnson, 2004). Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a system to gain resources from its environment including materials and staff, to produce high-quality of motor cars to customers all around the world. The operation system is highly standardized, low contact skills, high staff utilization, centralization and low unit costs. The operations function includes all actions associated with generating and delivering motor cars.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is typical goods producing operations. The percent of the product that is good, namely, motor cars. All micro and macro and operations in Rolls-Royce Ltd are based on its customers and suppliers. The needed components of the whole system are to fulfill the company’s mission. The company aims to produces goods with excellent durability and quality, with well function, style, and design. Rolls-Royce Ltd is emphasized on the relations of its suppliers and its consumers for the sake of operating effectively and offering high-quality to the motor cars.

2.2 A holistic view of Rolls-Royce Ltd system

The diagram below describes the components through which the entire system of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited contains. The interior process through which the company participates separately could be seen in figure 1. The primary division is conscientious about generating and delivering raw materials for the company, where the secondary division applies the raw materials for the sake of manufacturing or improving the goods of the Rolls-Royce Ltd. With regard to the tertiary division, the services are offered through the organization for the sake of satisfying the requirements of its consumers such as distributing and retailing of the motor cars. For the sake of describing the primary, secondary, and tertiary divisions of the operation system, the systems method is applied to show every sub-system of the entire system.

2.3 Input-transformation-output diagram

The input-transformation-output connects the environment to the management control system (Bertrand& Fransoo, 2002). For the sake of designing good management control systems, it is necessary to comprehend where in the environment to look the appropriate inputs, the form of transformation perform, and what output to generate (Johnston, 2005). Comprehending the input-transformation-output process assists Rolls-Royce Ltd to determine the certain design parameters of management control system. In accordance with what is shown about every division, the input-transformation-output diagram is produced for the sake of describing the primary, secondary, and tertiary inputs and outputs (figure 2).

The input-transformation-output diagram shows what kind of operations management Rolls-Royce Ltd proceeds for the sake of gaining its goals. The company gains inputs from its environment, transforms them into outputs, and delivers the outputs back into the environment. Rolls-Royce Ltd makes a limited product line of motor cars using input-transformation-output process. The company applies lots of manufacturing process having various categories of control systems than applying lean manufacturing ways. The process is visualized for the motor cars to be accomplished and is available to consumers. The input-transformation-output diagram describes what inputs are needed in the whole operation system for the sake of obtaining the prescriptive outputs. The outputs are motor cars, services, and even outcomes of product operations management.

2.3.1 The primary division

The primary division of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is the suppliers, as the organization does not generate the raw materials on its own. The company needs the raw materials from the manufacturers and suppliers to stick to several certain ways and standards for the sake of cooperate with them. The organization generates some measures to estimate the environmental influence of the cars, and assists its suppliers through comprehending the environmental influence of the goods they offer. Rolls-Royce Ltd applies reusing and reusable sources for the sake of generating more motor cars while older cars get the terminal of the lifecycle. The company proposes to the suppliers to recycle the wasteful materials to produce other goods, so as to prevent from the waste which is generated in the manufacturing process. The agents of Rolls-Royce Ltd are conscientious about buying materials, negotiating the prices to the suppliers, test the quality of goods offered and locating orders. The inputs include sheet steel, engine parts, information on raw materials, manufacturing guidelines, procedures, and personnel polices.

2.3.2 Secondary division

The secondary part is related to the manufacturing. At the transformation process phase, the materials from the suppliers are applied so as to produce the motor cars. The manufacturers are needed to apply strict standards for the sake of generating high quality cars. Rolls-Royce Ltd forms some relationships so as to obtain support to the actions. One of the company’s objectives is to be friendly with the environment, and the company offers high quality cars as it is conscientious about the environment about and people. The transformation process needs equipment, tools, fabrication and assembly of cars, and employees follow instructions.

2.3.3 Tertiary division

The tertiary division is responsible for satisfying the consumers’ requirements. Rolls-Royce Ltd has made available motor cars online to some countries. Rolls-Royce Ltd tries its best to reduce cost in the actions in the operations so as to reach the company goal. The company finds that it is difficult for the consumers to make decisions on empty stomach, so it has offered store restaurants. Although the company does the majority of the operations to the cars to get to the consumers, the consumers can choose, collect, and assembly the cars to reduce the total cost. As consumers choose and buy the motor cars on their own, the company has tried its best to strengthen the performance and aesthetic of the cars. The output in most of the company operations is a mixture of products and services, mainly in high-quality motor cars.

3.0 Supply network

3.1 Supply network of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited

Form a wider viewpoint of the operations system, it means the design, operation and development of the interior and exterior systems and resources across the entire company and the supply network generating and delivering the company’s services and goods and the value required through consumers (Waller, 2003). The supply network in the company consists of the common statement of businesses where a variety of materials are transformed and moved between different value-added points to maximize the value added for consumers. Because the components forming the supply network have been identified above, the supply network of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited emphasizes on the upstream and downstream of the supply network (figure 2).

3.1.1 Upstream of the supply network

The upstream of the supply network in Rolls-Royce Ltd starts while a consumer subscribes online, by phone or in person. The consumer’s subscription goes to the closest distribution centre and the car of the subscription is collected and distributed immediately to the consumer. Through the comparison between the downstream and upstream, it is differentiated that the retailer that is portion of the supply network does not play any role from the categories of transactions.

3.1.2 Downstream of the supply network

One of the agents’ obligations is to order forms, so while an agent orders a form to the suppliers they setout the materials needed in the company, and they are transported to the secondary division. From the distribution centers, the motor cars are transferred to the retailers in accordance with the place of the store in country, therefore the consumers are able to visit the nearest store to purchase goods.

3.2 Physical and informational flows

Relationships and information flows include personal relations across the company and lots of firms in the supply network, relationships between companies such as structures and systems required, and the information flows in terms of informal and formal essential to the different relationships to appropriately function (Roth & Menor, 2003).

3.2.1 Physical flows

Physical flows move when the informational flows deal with controlling and management of the operation process in Rolls-Royce Ltd. The informational flows in the physical processing could be developed online. Via a determined delivery deadline, the time for physical flows is predetermined in the company. The application of information systems helps to develop planning of the physical flows and the informational flow is important for the company to keep competitive.

3.2.2 Informational flows

Information flow (formal and informal) is transmission of information from one place to another in Rolls-Royce Ltd. The company tries its best to manage information flows to improve value chain performance. Figure 4 shows the information flows in supply network of Rolls-Royce Ltd.

4.0 ICT, E-business and information systems

4.1 ICT

ICT plays an important role in processing of data into information, in the interaction between sub-systems of a system and between systems in Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited. Information communications technologies (ICT) includes E-mail, Web-based ordering, EDI of invoices and payment, and Web-based order tracking. In managing business processes of Rolls-Royce Ltd, ICT acts as sensor, feedback, comparator and actuator.

ICT is in favor of determining forecasts to expect environmental disturbances and the trade-offs in buffers to accommodate environmental disturbances in the company. ICT is in favor of all facets of management such as decisions, functions, and levels. At every level, ICT processes data into information for business staff at the level, and ICT transmits the information as data for the following level up in the firm. The perception of boundary has results for the functions included in a specific information system. Having shown role of ICT in fundamental control loop functions, it is also in support of the goal setting process in Rolls-Royce Ltd.

4.2 E-business

As a trend in operations and supply chain management, E-business develops pace, quality and cost of commerce communication. E-business covers all mediated information interchanges between a company and its exterior stakeholders (Chase, Jacobs & Aquilano, 2006). Rolls-Royce Ltd uses operations information systems in day-to-day actions like transaction processing, process control, and communications. Rolls-Royce Ltd benefits a lot from the E-business.

The customers of the Rolls-Royce Ltd can gain information about cars they needed by touching a button. The company can provide better availability of service to permit consumers to shop online, better timeliness of service to provide 24-hour service for purchasing products, and reduced cost in information processing. Through E-business, the operating costs of operations are less expensive, cheaper than brick-and-mortar, and initial cost of operations is cheaper. The company offers better access to consumer markets going everywhere in the world, and improves scheduling as the online capability permits the company more precise and seasonable in scheduling production activities. The firm is more easily study the quality of materials and components in the operation process. In addition, Rolls-Royce Ltd is better buying prices from suppliers, as the company obtains more pricing information and outcomes in lowering costs. Rolls-Royce Ltd enhances car development, as the capability online assists to decrease the time-to-market and the cost for new cars.

4.3 Information systems

Information systems is applied to support the functional fields of business, is a group of relevant components working jointly to implement input, processing, output, and control activities for the sake of shifting data into information products applied to support operations (Rust & Chase, 1999). The application of these systems is much cheaper compared with other systems. This system consists of process control systems, office automation systems, and transaction processing systems, which are major information system in the company. Management information systems are applied to offer feedback on the company actions and sustaining decision making. The system contains information reporting systems, executive information systems, and decision support systems in Rolls-Royce Ltd.

Rolls-Royce Ltd can immensely enhance the performance through applying these information systems, and the information interchange between the firm and the suppliers is much faster. These information system influences the value chain in Rolls-Royce Ltd, such as identifying the methods IS may generate competitive advantage, creating a plan for taking advantage of IS, determining the role, and assessing the information intensity of the value chain. In addition, the company makes full use of interprise resource planning (ERP) systems with comprehensive functions for all main business operations across Rolls-Royce Ltd like production, finance, sales, and human resource management. What’s more, Rolls-Royce Ltd takes advantage of computer-based information system for the sake of generating management information, which is high-speed, reliable, accurate and programmable.

5.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, Rolls-Royce Ltd can generate competitive advantage through information systems and operations. The input-transformation-output diagram is produced for the sake of describing the primary, secondary, and tertiary inputs and outputs. The supply network of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited emphasizes on the upstream and downstream of the supply network, and information flows in terms of informal and formal essential to the different relationships to appropriately function. ICT plays an important role in processing of data into information, in the interaction between sub-systems of a system and between systems in the company, and Rolls-Royce Ltd benefits a lot from the E-business and information systems.

6.0 Appendices

Figure 1 Operations system in Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited

Figure 2 Input-transformation-output diagram of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited

Figure 3 Supply network

Figure 4 Information flows in supply network