Supply Chain Management activity

Scope of the Assignment:

Pick a company and analyze its supply chain – Use the following framework / major categories to help organize your paper:

• Supply: Overview of the company’s Supply Chain Management activity – this can serve as an introduction to the company:
  • Briefly describe the company and its mandate/vision
  • What role it plays in the supply chain (i.e. where does it sit?) – Tier one supplier; manufacturer; distributor; retail, etc.
  • General statement on its position on customer relationship management
  • Is the company’s supply chain regional, local or global?
  • What supply chain management issues have they experienced recently – during the Pandemic or otherwise (example: supply disruptions; raw material shortages)?
  • Does the company have any plans to grow / gain market share?

• External Operations:
  • Describe its purchasing/sourcing activity (i.e. how does it obtain its products)?
  • Who are their suppliers and how do they manage supplier relationships?
  • Do they support sustainable supply chain practices?  
• Internal Operations:
  • Briefly outline if they support LEAN or Six Sigma?
  • Do they carry inventory?
  • What type of technology does it use to manage its own operations?
  • Does it share information with other members of its supply chain?

• Distribution:
  • Describe how the company gets its supplies to the next member of the supply chain – logistics.

• Conclusion:
  • Based on your knowledge of the company, assess whether its Supply Chain (and the management of the supply chain) has benefited the company?

Length:

1500 – 2000 words

Sources of information:

1. Company web sites
2. Supply Chain Brain
3. Supply Chain Canada
4. HBR – Case study on one of these companies
5. Social Media
6. Scholarly articles

Criteria: Demonstrate your knowledge of the course concepts throughout the paper and the Learning Goals as noted in your course outline

Notes:

1. You do not have to answer each specific question above – they are listed just as a suggested framework only.
2. If the information is not readily available on company web sites or through other forms of research, you can make assumptions – for example, “I suspect they use LEAN methodologies because their processes appear to be efficient as they emphasize on time delivery”.  That demonstrates your knowledge of the LEAN concept.  Or, you may notice that the company has a plant in Peru – therefore, you can safely assume they have a global supply chain.
3. An exact word count will not be conducted – if you feel you have a good analysis (overview) of the company’s supply chain, and you have about 1500 words, that’s fine. You won’t be deducted points for more or less words – key is the analysis. 

Grading Rubric:

1. How well it is written – it is clear and succinct?
2. Was a framework followed – in terms of organizing the paper (use sub-titles per section)? 
3. Were some of the course concepts used that demonstrated an understanding of course content?