Fieldtrip report
The paper will discuss about why the company chooses the strategy nd how it operates to be successful.
PFS’s process strategy is process focus in which “the facility organized around processes to facilitate low-volume, high-variety production”. Its equipment, layout, and supervision are designed to operate processes that perform a variety of activities and handle frequent changes. In details, PFS invested in most modern equipment to serve the best service. Firstly, it welcomes trucks with an oversized truck yards.
Then containers will connect with 16 dock doors to transfer freights into 1,623 square meter refrigerated docks.
After that, freights will be consolidated, repacked, weighed, labeled, cross-docked, or stored. The process of PFS is described in the diagram below: products arrive: block frozen product, IQF (individually quick frozen), and value added. Then the products will go through all steps from storage, move to process, process, package, and re-export. After a process, products are more value added and well protected. About procedures, customers will meet with agencies through a window.
Then the application will be transfer among department through a smoothly automated system.
Hence, customers can access the procedures easily and quickly. 3. Warehouse – Inventory management Warehouse of PFS’s function is to maintain the temperature of the frozen freight. Temperature in the warehouse is always minus 20 Celsius degree. With 100% generator backup, the products are always protected with the right cold environment.
Processes in the warehouse are operated by fully automated robots. Robots get the freights at the door then put them into the right place on shelves.
On the other hand, they take the right freights out of the shelves and “export” them utside. All of the processes are set by a modern system. There are two big screens outside the warehouse that the supervisors know exactly what is happening inside the warehouse without suffering the extremely low temperature. In addition, at the very end of the warehouse there is an area to maintain and repair the robots in schedule.
Hence, the robots are ensured to work well all the time. If there is anything wrong happen in the warehouse, the warning system will show by a red light.
That way of management make sure the warehouse operates effectively and efficiently. Preferred Freezer Services has an International presence in both China and Vietnam with cold storage warehouses in Lingang Park, Shanghai, Wai Gao Qiao, Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. According to the text book, six reasons why domestic firms decide to go international are reduce costs, improve supply chain, provide better good and services, understand markets, learn to improve operations, and attract and retain global talents.
Applying to PFS, the company set building in Vietnam and invested millions of dollars in equipment while many facilities in the US still have abor working instead of robots.
It seems that the company does not reduce their cost. The sales and operation VP said that they want to provide better services and set new standards for Vietnam market. To understand market, the sales and operation VP did the research himself around the wet market s and hypermarket in chain. The intermediates and transportations do not strictly follow the requirement to maintain the temperature and quality of the freights.
Therefore, the company brings a better model to improve the operation of the cold chain. Through this model, uality measurement will be strictly checked at every single step in the process of transportation to ensure the right temperature needed for frozen food.
On the other hand, the company wants students to understand and work hard to raise the standard of Vietnam market in frozen industry in detail and in the overall economy in general. Preferred Freezer Services – Vietnam facility was built in a strategic location in Ho Chi Minh City, district 7.
