Business Rebirth

 Do you know the type of guy who just graduated and believed that with no experience only university knowledge he could start a business and become rich? Well that’s me, my name is Yousif. When I graduated back in 2008, I though of starting my own business I searched for an industry to start from and after a while I decided to start my own travel agency, tourism was growing back then I offered in-country services (like a tour to the historical places in Bahrain) and I provided the regular flight & hotel booking services. 2010 was not a pleasant year; the dollar crisis had its major effect on the agency’s sales. After 2012 the consumer behavior shifted gradually, people used online booking and made their reservations. My loss was from the customers that stopped dealing with the agency. I tried to do something, one day an idea just came to my mind, as if it was a gift from the sky which sounded like an orchestra playing as a background, at last I found it “Supply- Chain Management.” People are booking online for two reasons:

1-      It’s more flexible. 

2-      It’s cheaper.

3-      It’s faster and not time consuming.
 
I want to meet with all my suppliers to make a new agreement, now that I have made a newer agreement with my suppliers I managed to offer cheaper prices and sometimes even cheaper than the online bookings. Furthermore, after learning how important supply management is I can now work with my suppliers on offering online payment through PayPal, offer (seasonal) packages – hotel + flight. Now I could survive the market, meet demand, offer high performance services, and generate profit.
 
 
Do you think my business will survive without proper supply chain management?
 
What are some of the advantages from using Supply Chain Management – besides what I presented above?

6 thoughts on “Business Rebirth

  1. Travel agencies are definitely part of businesses that suffer due to the advent of the Internet and all that it represents – power to the consumer. People are now able to book airline tickets, hotels and even various tours online. With a little more effort, they can save costs by booking online themselves and design customized tour packages that are suited to their particular needs. However, travel agencies do make the whole process so much easier; all one needs to do is tell a travel agent what they want and the agency will do everything else for them – given that you are willing to pay for it. It is interesting to read how you collaborated with your suppliers to offer rates competitive to the ones clients can find online. With rates the same, more and more people are likely to turn to the ease travel agencies provide when planning holidays.

  2. Although this article didnt go into vast detail of what supply chain management was, With the implemented ideas used such as how the company was able to collaborate with the suppliers in order to give competitive prices I got the idea. One of things I found interesting also was that the company which in my opinion took a very risky move deciding to become a travailing agency during the recession, was able to think what does the customer want? With low rates paypal accounts added for easy payment transfers and vast tourist hot spots I think this company can do very well

  3. No having a supply chain is up most important becuasae thats how everything gets from one point to the next. Having all the things nessary doesnt mean your suppy chain will help blossom your business beucase of the internet with the convients factor plays a huge role instead going out and going to a genent that might not always be free to help.
    A supply chain managment helps your business stay professional and that you can deliver on what you have on hand to the consumer in a timely manner and meet their expectations. the up side to agents you can ask question right away and not have to deal with email like on orbitz.

  4. I’m sure that it is very hard to run a travel agency, because a lot of people use online discounted sites. For me, as a traveller, 2010 was a great year. Thanks to Priceline, I was able to stay in Trump (Las Vegas), Hilton (Beverly Hills) and Shangri La (Santa Monica) for under than $100 per night. Even though I barely use services of travel agents, I know groups of people who book their trips through travel agencies all the time. It is important to notice, that most of the time people use ONE agency to book ALL their trips. Therefore, people will always work with you if your supply chain allows you to offer the best deals and if you provide the best customer service. Here are some more tips that can help you in running your business:

    http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/travel/are-travel-agents-back.html?pagewanted=all

    Good luck!

  5. I don’t know that supply chain management has anything to do with the problems you’re experiencing in your business. Further, it seems unlikely that a more efficient supply chain will help you stay viable over the long term. It’s irrelevant how cheaply you can supply flights if people don’t want your service for more fundamental reasons.

    To parrot the above, the internet is changing the way people consume travel booking services. Agencies aren’t necessary any more to navigate the complexities of the booking process itself. You might consider, then, how you can add value for customers besides in a booking capacity. Maybe consider transitioning into a tourism information service? Rather than focusing on the logistics of the trip itself, look at giving customers information about attractions, activities, and destinations they hadn’t considered. Most people don’t know what they don’t know about the world. Educate, illuminate, and entice them! Become a platform upon which customers build their trip (could it include a self-service itinerary program?). The future is about empowering the consumer. People will pay to be empowered. That isn’t about supply chain management. That’s about your competitive strategy.

  6. In this blog there are some very important ideas which are well worth trying to implement. First, the creation of new businesses or corporate entrepreneuship is one of the most important options for new graduates from different universities, especially in the areas of Business, Economics and Management. We are about to graduate and often we are inclined to seek new employment or a promotion in a current job. Rarely we think of the opportunity to start a business. If we were to choose this option, if we are persistent and creative, very possibly we are going to persue our dreams that will benefit us in the future. Second, the Supply Chain Management is one of the aspects of Operations Management that can help us efficiently improve corporate governance. Whether we are employees or perform as a manager of our business. In modern times it is considered as a useful technical logistics to improve quality and competitiveness of enterprises.

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