Tyson Foods Inc. Soft And Hard Technologies essay sample

TYSON FOODS INC. SOFT AND HARD TECHNOLOGIES

Tyson Foods Inc. is an American based company that deals in food production- chicken, beef and pork products. The company is based in Springdale, Arkansas and in the U.S., it operates in 27 states, employing 115,000 people in over 100 production facilities. Internationally, Tyson Foods Inc. products sell in more than 130 countries while it maintains business operations in more than 20 countries. Like many other businesses, the company makes vast use of both soft and hard technologies in its operations. The hard technologies are the physical entities employed in the operation of technical processes while the soft technologies are the human-mediated processes (McDon and Kahn, 1996).
This essay discusses these technologies used by Tyson Foods Inc., the barriers they face and the strategies that can be embraced to protect these technologies.

HARD TECHNOLOGY

Hard technology is an elementary part of the Tyson Foods Inc. Company. The technological advancements are a crucial ingredient in providing a competitive advantage over other key players. One of its applications is the SecureNet system which was installed to cater for security purposes. The system was provided by SecureNet Inc. to provide security solutions for the company’s physical and logical assets (Mayer, 2014). The system, which included a multi-technology ID system allow the company administration to man and regulate the level of physical access to the processing sites. A viable security system is a vital necessity for the continuity of the company’s operations.Another technology employed by Tyson Foods Company is the ultra-light equipment that enables the company to ship more bulk of its products. The ultra-lights technology allows the company to increase the amount of weights per shipment. A larger quantity of products is, therefore, transported by a single truck, thus eliminating the need for extra transportation. In 2013, the company was able to cut off more than 2 million miles of transport. In conjunction with the ultra-light equipment, the company makes use of the rail-to-ship food and other byproducts to reduce the number of truck miles. In 2013, it helped eliminate more than 55 million miles (Mayer, 2014). Tyson Foods also uses Lab technologies to enhance its food production processes. Through the Tyson Foods’ Corporate Laboratory and Research Services Group, the company conducts microbiological testing. The laboratory tests enable the company to improve the quality of its products as well as ensuring other elements such as food safety. The company’s laboratories make use of various techniques such as gas chromatography in a bid to provide a top-notch product for its consumers.

SOFT TECHNOLOGY

This type of technology entails the processes that are majorly human controlled such administrative processes, sales and marketing, among others. One such technology is the supply chain network. Tyson Foods Company has a distribution network that provides support for both foodservice and retail channels. The company has 19 distribution centers through which their products are shipped. From these …