The Brick Industry in South Africa
BERT’S BRICKS ~ SUPPLY CHAIN
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
PBSB 813
The Value Chain of Bert’s Bricks
Submitted by: Submission date: 12 February 2011
Chicken Run Group Members
“There is nothing more determined than poultry with a plan…”
Bezuidenhout, P.J. 1224 6093
Botha, Desere 2250 2556
Buys, Johan 2049 8705
Kleynhans, Wessel 1251 7755
Schoeman, Willie 1032 6065
Van Wieringen, Anton 12318388
Wohlfahrt, Andre 2255 3533
Group Leader: Willie Schoeman willie@vtrade.co.za Graphic illustration of clay brick manufacturing process:
Digging raw clay materials Transport and Stock up
Crush Raw
Materials through
Crusher Add Water
Clay water mass is pressured and cut Stock piling and sun dried
Coal-fired kilns
1. Introduction
Baltzan & Philips (2010:26) describes the supply chain as a dynamic process which involves the constant flow of information between different parties.
The website supplychaindefinitions.com (Anon, 2011:1) in turn defines the supply chain as the movement of materials as they flow from their source to the end customer. Supply chain includes purchasing, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, customer service, demand planning, supply planning and supply chain management. It is made up of the people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product from its supplier to customer.
2. The brick industry in perspective
According to WOW (2010:3) the brick industry in South Africa is in its worst slump in 15 years. The economic downturn and slowdown in the industry has crushed many players, hundreds of retrenchments and placed surviving players with production shutdowns and cut-throat competition with “excessive price cuts” and excess stock.
A slight recovery in 2010 went slower than expected. This left many brick
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
PBSB 813
The Value Chain of Bert’s Bricks
Submitted by: Submission date: 12 February 2011
Chicken Run Group Members
“There is nothing more determined than poultry with a plan…”
Bezuidenhout, P.J. 1224 6093
Botha, Desere 2250 2556
Buys, Johan 2049 8705
Kleynhans, Wessel 1251 7755
Schoeman, Willie 1032 6065
Van Wieringen, Anton 12318388
Wohlfahrt, Andre 2255 3533
Group Leader: Willie Schoeman willie@vtrade.co.za Graphic illustration of clay brick manufacturing process:
Digging raw clay materials Transport and Stock up
Crush Raw
Materials through
Crusher Add Water
Clay water mass is pressured and cut Stock piling and sun dried
Coal-fired kilns
1. Introduction
Baltzan & Philips (2010:26) describes the supply chain as a dynamic process which involves the constant flow of information between different parties.
The website supplychaindefinitions.com (Anon, 2011:1) in turn defines the supply chain as the movement of materials as they flow from their source to the end customer. Supply chain includes purchasing, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, customer service, demand planning, supply planning and supply chain management. It is made up of the people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product from its supplier to customer.
2. The brick industry in perspective
According to WOW (2010:3) the brick industry in South Africa is in its worst slump in 15 years. The economic downturn and slowdown in the industry has crushed many players, hundreds of retrenchments and placed surviving players with production shutdowns and cut-throat competition with “excessive price cuts” and excess stock.
A slight recovery in 2010 went slower than expected. This left many brick
Bibliography: ANONYMOUS. 2011. Website: http://www.supplychaindefinitions.com/ Date accessed: 6 February 2011 BALTZAN, P. & PHILLIPS, A. 2010. Business Driven Technology. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. 616 p. HUGO, W.M.J., BADENHORST-WEISS, J.A. & VAN BILJON, E.H.B. 2008. Purchasing & Supply Management. 5th Edition. South Africa: Van Schaik Publishers. Pretoria. 376p. MILLER, SAM. 2011. The Importance of Taking Supply Chain Measures. Website: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Taking-Supply-Chain-Measures&id=1559979 Date accessed: 6 February 2011. MOSTERT, P.G. & DU PLESSIS, P.J. 2007. Introduction to Marketing Management. 1st Edition. South Africa: Platinum Press. Potchefstroom. 298p. STEYN, T.F.J. 2007. Introduction to Business Management. 6th Edition. South Africa: AndCork. Potchefstroom. 164p. WOW, 2010. The Manufacturing of Clay and Concrete Bricks. www.whoownswhom.co.za Date of Access: 7 Feb. 2011.