Reference no: EM132399211

731SSUP Strategic Supply Chain Management Assignment - Australian Institute of Business, Australia

A. A practical investigation of supply chain concepts

Choose a local organisation involved with the supply, distribution, or sale of physical products or services. This may be an organisation you work with or one which you are familiar with in your local region. The organisation might be a retail store, a wholesaler, a manufacturer, or any other type of company with product or service being sold locally or internationally. Your task in this assignment is to investigate the company's supply chain with a view to assessing whether it is as up-to-date as it could be according to the latest views on supply chain management. Essentially, your tasks will be to:

(a) Describe the organisation well enough for the assignment examiner to understand what the organisation does and its relevance to this assignment in terms of the supply chain systems involved in its operation;

(b) Describe and analyse at least three of the following areas of supply chain management in the organisation: Supply chain competitive strategy Supply chain agility, flexibility and responsiveness.

How well the supply chain is synchronized Supply chain risk management.

How well the supply chain is organized and managed, including the company supply chain organisational structure. Global supply chain management in the company (if the company does not operate globally, assess the potential for it to do so, and discuss the key issues).

(c) Provide your own opinion on how the company's supply chain is performing based on your analysis of key supply chain performance factors. Identify any critical issues and problems and make recommendations about improving the company's supply chain management.

Or:

B. A desk investigation of supply chain concepts

Design a global supply chain for a new local entrepreneurial product or service of your choice. This could be either a product or service idea completely new to the world, or a product or service new to your local market. The object of the assignment is to examine and plan for the type of supply chain that would be necessary to obtain raw materials, produce the product and distribute the product within your chosen market areas. Your assignment should cover the following issues:

(a) Describe the product or service well enough for the assignment examiner to understand its relevance to this assignment in terms of the supply chain systems involved in its production and distribution;

(b) In breadth rather than depth, describe and analyse the following areas of supply chain design and management: The structure of the supply chain network that might be needed including any potentially critical supply chain issues. Potential competition and what supply chain strategies could be used to meet it. How you will provide for supply chain agility, flexibility and responsiveness. Potential sources of risk and how these can be minimized or managed. How the supply chain should be organized, including a potential organisational structure. Issues of supplier integration into the new product development process.

(c) Based on your supply chain design, provide a very brief conclusion about the product's potential for success.