Value Chain

Value Chain

BSA / 411

April 20, 2015

The Organization I choose to design my Value Chain on was the company I work for, Northrop Grumman.  This particular value chain is based on the program I work on which is part of the Missile Defense Agency, Ground-based Midcourse Defense which employs integrated communications networks, fire control systems, globally deployed sensors and Ground-Based Interceptors that are capable of detecting, tracking and destroying ballistic missile threats.  At the facility I work at we design and test the communication suite the network uses to communicate among the multiple sites that are positioned in the northern hemisphere.

Primary Activates:

There are four phases to the primary activities.  These four phases represent the public image of the company for this particular contract.  The four phases are:

• Inbound Logistics: The management of materials from suppliers and vendors working with Procurement often times into product development or storage facilities.
• Product Development: This is where we take the materials that are supplied through inbound logistics and involves either improving an existing product or its presentation, or developing a new product line to better benefit the Missile Defense Agency.
• Outbound Logistics:  The process related to the movement and storage of products from the Product Development phase line to the end user or site.
• Services: This is the phase where the product from product development is installed, tested and evaluated in a live environment to ensure it meets the needs of the customer as well as to evaluate the products integration into the existing network.

Support Activities

There are four support elements that are directly related to the primary activities.  All though each can and often do work independently they are critical in the support of Product Development. These four support elements are:

• Company Infrastructure:  Provides the leadership needed to run the organization.
• Human Resource Management: Focuses on recruitment, employee services such as payroll, health and benefits, manages short and long term disability, personnel files and training assignments, compensation and lastly travel. They also so manage the workplace culture and environment.
•  Technology and Development: Provides the office automation needed.  Directly provides support to Product Development by supplying the technology needed to not only design the software needed but to do basic office automation.
• Procurement: Provides goods and services. Includes preparation, processing of a demand as well as the end receipt and approval of payment. Procurement directly and indirectly supports Inbound Logistics.  Involving, purchase planning, standards determination, specifications development, supplier research and selection, value analysis, financing, price negotiation, making the purchase, supply contract administration, inventory control and stores, and  disposals and other related functions.

Conclusion

As you can see the program I work on can be represented in a very basic and noncomplex way.  In essence Product development could be broken down into each sub group that makes the total of product development.  The subgroup I choose to represent was the Global Communication Network or GCN.  There is also Long Haul Communication (LHC) and Long Haul Communication Network (LHCN).  One develops the hardware for the communication suite while the other designs the software to be used.  Sticking to my little subgroup is very basic and can be explained much easier.