apply the operations theories to the production process of the company to explain their effectiveness in increasing productivity

AJINOMOTO CORPORATION As a Japanese food and Amino Science corporation with strengths in amino acid production technology and technological innovation development ability, Ajinomoto Corp

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE

FACULTY OF ECONOMICS

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UE UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS & FINANCE

MIDTERM REPORT GROUP 4 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT — MGT1127E — BO4E

Lecturer: Dr Huynh Ai Van

Question 1

IIL CONCLUSION ooo 15

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| INTRODUCTION AJINOMOTO 1 AJINOMOTO CORPORATION

As a Japanese food and Amino Science corporation with strengths in amino acid production technology and technological innovation development ability, Ajinomoto Corporation currently conducts business activities in three main areas: products Food, Biological products and Pure Chemicals, Pharmaceutical and Health products with thousands of diverse products Currently, the Ajinomoto Group has 123 factories and representative offices, and a staff of more than 34,000 employees worldwide Ajinomoto Corporation's diverse products are being distributed to more than 130 countries, contributing to the happiness of people around the world

2 AJINOMOTO VIETNAM COMPANY 2.1 FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT

(Ajinomoto Long Thanh Factory) Established in 1991, Ajinomoto Vietnam Company is a 100% foreign-invested company under Ajinomoto Group with an initial investment value of more than USS8 million Currently, Ajinomoto Vietnam Company has two representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, two manufacturing plants in Bien Hoa operating since 1991 and Long Thanh operating since 2008 In addition, the company has 3 centers large distribution network with 65 branches spread over 63 provinces and cities, 300 sales teams nationwide with a total number of employees up to nearly 2,300 people

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1.1 AAINOMOTO MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE PRODUCTION PROCESS Ajinomoto MSG, the product that makes up Ajinomoto brand We will learn the process of creating products

Customer Feedback

(Source: Self-designed by students)

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STAGE 1: NATURAL MATERIALS The source of raw materials that Ajinomoto company uses to produce MSG varies from country to country The selection of raw materials will be based on the following criteria: The source of raw materials must be abundant, ensuring the supply for the production process

Example: in China, the company uses its raw materials mainly from corn (maize) In Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, prioritize using sugar cane or tapioca as raw materials STAGE 2: MATERIAL PROCESSING AND SACCHARIFICATION

In Vietnam, they use materials for the production process from two main sources: Purchase molasses from sugar factories However, they will conduct treatment to separate the amount of Ca in the molasses into a simple sugar solution, the chemical commonly used for this process is usually concentrated H2SO4

Purchasing starch (from sugar cane, tapioca) The raw material is then made into a simple sugar solution by the cleavage of hydrolytic enzymes

STAGE 3: FERMENTATION The difference in the quality of MSG products is at this stage Fermentation of the molasses solution is carried out in a very strict manner The use of enzymes (yeast) to carry out this process is also guaranteed to be safe for the benefit of the company The yeasts were brought back from Hokkaido (Japan) in a small test tube, stored at -85°C, and cloned by factories in other countries for production throughout the year Each member company will have a research room dedicated to this field Some information about the fermentation process is also kept to a minimum

In addition, the recalled product contains some by-products of the fermentation process These products will be separated and they will use this source for the production of AMI-AMI fertilizer which is also a product of the company

STAGE 4: RECOVERY AND NEUTRALIZATION After being recovered, glutamic acid will enter the neutralization phase The chemical used for this process is soda in powder form to form the main formula of MSG, sodium glutamate

STAGE 5: COLOR FILTERING AND SIEVING

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Because the color index of the product is very high at this time due to the reddish-brown color of molasses, it must therefore undergo additional color filtering The color filtering will be carried out by a layer of activated carbon (3 layers) to decolorize, forming a clear white MSG solution

Sorting sieve stage: The crystals after crystallization will be passed through a vibrating sieve system The aim is to sort the grain sizes and smooth the sizes before moving on to the final stage of packing STAGE 6: PACKING

A very important stage is conducted very strictly to ensure food safety and hygiene for products before reaching consumers That is why the process is closed and the entire packaging area is sterilized Ajinomoto has automated this entire packaging process from loading finished products to packaging, packing, and checking the weight The workers working in this packing phase must be protected with health, labor protection, and hygiene before stepping in to supervise the process

During the production process, someone will cut the bag to check the quality of MSG Packaging purchased from outside companies If an error is detected, it will determine the cause of the fault In 1000 products allow error of 0.05 The most common error is inthe process of packing excess or underweight Staff checks the appearance through packaging, printing, and size

1.2 AJI-NGON SEASONING PRODUCTION PROCESS

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Input materials for the production of bone and meat broth extract include: tube bones, ribs, lean pork shoulder, and pork thigh which are selected according to Food Hygiene and Safety standards To ensure quality, these ingredients are carefully selected and tested for all the digestive, physical, and microbiological criteria at the factory's quality control department

Bones and meat are stored at -18 degrees Celsius as standard After that, they are defrosted in a natural way for preliminary processing

Meat and bones are examined again STAGE 2: SIMMERING

The bones and ribs are stewed for over an hour to extract all the sweetness from the bones Meanwhile, the meat is also stewed continuously for 3 hours to soften the meat and take out all the sweetness from the meat

STAGE 3: MINCING, MIXING, AND GRINDING Meat after stewing is ground dry and mixed with defatted broth and then ground The bone broth is also defatted before being mixed with the meat and meat broth mixture STAGE 4: STERILIZING

The mixture of bones and meat is pasteurized at 85 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes and cooled before packaging the product

STAGE 5: PACKING Bone and meat broths are packaged and stored in cool storage to ensure the best quality products

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The product is transferred to the delicious Aji workshop for the production process of the final product The product is granulated and dried using modern methods It is then packaged and put on the market

2 EXPLAIN THE QUALITY OF OUTPUT OF THE COMPANY (I.E PRODUCT QUALITY AND SERVICE QUALITY) 2.1 PRODUCT QUALITY

2.1.1 ASQUA, the Ajinomoto Quality Assurance Mechanism This method was set up in 1997 to guarantee the Ajinomoto group's production quality The system is based on ISO 9001, a global standard for production management and quality management systems such as hazard analysis and critical control points, good manufacturing practices, GMP food hygiene management, and HACCP standards

This system incorporates guidelines, benchmarks, and other requirements for quality assurance that have been established by pertinent departments To maintain the highest standards of quality throughout the production process, from the procurement of raw materials to the sale of goods, and to accomplish more ambitious aims 2.1.2 The Ajinomoto Corporation's standards for quality

The purpose of the quality standards is to satisfy the high standards set by the Ajinomoto group's brands These exacting criteria cover labeling, traceability, and instruction

2.1.3 Operational framework of ASQUA Senior management and the board of directors guarantee the task's excellence After receiving management's permission and developing policies and programs based on client input, the agency will ensure the company's quality and apply them to other organizations throughout the world The department evaluates how the group as a whole is carrying out policies and plans every six months These structures permit employees in management positions

These frameworks enable staff members, from senior management to production workers, to constantly be conscious of product quality and dedicated to giving customers the greatest products

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2.1.4, ASQUA's execution system

Ajinomoto Group

Management Committee Requests, compiaints Quallity assurance regulations, Group Shared Policy on Quality and targets

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2.1.6 Create more human resources to boost quality control To raise staff quality, Ajinomoto focuses on human resource development initiatives The company assesses the caliber of its training annually and provides courses designed to meet the requirements of all organizations and companies Events are then planned

2.2 PRODUCT QUALITY MANAGEMENT A strict quality management system has been established and implemented by Ajinomoto Vietnam from the input of raw materials until the final product reaches the consumer according to the standards The quality management system ISO 9001:2015 includes the system of hazard analysis and critical control HACCP to ensure food hygiene, safety and safety; food protection systems control hazards that can affect product quality; OHSAS 18001:2007 Occupational Health and Safety Management System, ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System and ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management System

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In particular, all materials used in the raw material stage are thoroughly checked for criteria such as appearance, physical chemistry, heavy metals and microbiology The software system will evaluate whether the material can be manufactured or not based on the results of this analysis

Likewise, when the manufacturing process is finished, the software system ensures that only goods that meet their stated goals leave the factory to be distributed to consumers ASQUA system is also interested in receiving, analyzing and processing the opinions and suggestions of consumers and constantly improving the quality of products and services to make consumers more satisfied

The food safety system is another important quality management system that Ajinomoto Vietnam has implemented Ajinomoto has developed a very strict food safety control list to prevent any intentional interference in the production process This list requires all employees to work clearly, wear labels and wear guaranteed uniforms Security forces and camera systems continuously monitor the production area Make sure that there are no open or hidden areas In addition to the main quality control systems mentioned above, Ajinomoto Vietnam also cares about environmentally sound and protective manufacturing environment The company currently uses an environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001 and achieves zero- emission targets including waste water, waste and emissions This not only reduces water consumption, but also treats all production wastewater using the latest Japanese microbiological technology The treated water fully meets the strict standards of Ajinomoto Co., Inc and Vietnamese state standards At the same time, the bio-boiler system using rice husk firewood instead of oil and gas can recycle up to 99% of solid waste and reduce CO2 emissions It can be said that Ajinomoto is one of the pioneer companies in Vietnam applying strict environmental protection measures A strict quality management system has been established and implemented by Ajinomoto Vietnam from the input of raw materials until the final product reaches the consumer according to the standards

3 COMPARE THE RESOURCES AND COMPETENCIES OF THE COMPANY TO OTHER COMPETITORS Working in the same field, Ajinomoto faces a wide range of competitors However, in the case of resources and competencies, there are two pioneer companies which can be compared with Ajinomoto In this report, we will choose Vedan as an example

Vedan Enterprises , established in 1954 in Taiwan, has more than 30 years’ operating in Vietnam Similar to Ajinomoto, Vedan is also a giant in the field of seasoning and flavor products The firm itself has achieved numerous international standard certifications, including: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO/IEC 17025: 2005

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3.1 PRODUCTS In terms of product varieties, Ajinomoto has 8 product lines spread out to 6 business fields while Vedan only consists of 6 product lines

Umami seasoning

Meanwhile, Vedan with the scale of over 3641 employees, the corporation owns 2 branches in Dong Nai and Hanoi as well as a starch processing factory based in Binh Phuoc

3.3 RAW MATERIAL SOURCE Ajinomoto selects their own suppliers Since their factories base in the rural area of the country, it can take priority for local farmers Every batch of raw material prepared for manufacture always goes under several quality checking processes, Ajinomoto ensures that the product reaches the customers in the best condition

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