Global Supply Chain Management: Group Project

INTRODUCTION

This project is to be conducted in groups of 5 students.

The aim of the project is to have students experience working in a team to investigate and
develop presentations and reports about a challenging research topic. The research topic is
the Form and Operation of Global Supply Chains.

The team will choose a company or type of business and is to analyze the supply chain
using the theories and supply chain drivers presented in class. As part of its analysis the
group is expected to identify the stages and roles within the firm’s supply chain and its
effectiveness to meet customer and industry needs. The groups should try to give concrete
examples of the barriers and successes they find through their research.

PROGRESS

The project consists of two parts; (i) a PROJECT REPORT, and (ii) a TEAM
PRESENTATION of no more than 10 minutes.

The report requires the group to research a company or business type’s supply chain. It is
expected that students will use desk research (web based and library investigation, thesis,
papers, websites, company’s information, etc.) and /or Field research (interviews with
business owners and supply chain members as well as observing supply chain activities) to
be able to fully describe and discuss the supply chain under study.

The report should; (i) introduce the company, its market and strategies, (ii) Description of
the global supply chain, (iii) Identification of supply chain drivers, (iv) designing distribution
networks and applications to online sales, (v) Network design in the supply chain, and (vi)
Designing global supply chain networks

The presentation should be concise and be timed to last approximately 10 minutes.

EVALUATION

Evaluation will be made through a PROJECT REPORT and a TEAM PRESENTATION.

Project report. The content of the group project is described below, and it will be considered
the citation of the information. Use APA format. This is mandatory.

Project development and presentation should involve all members of the group. Group
members must be able to demonstrate familiarity with the content of the report and
presentation and have participated in its research, writing and design of the PowerPoint
slides.

Project Development

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The written report will be graded on:

Content Assignment
1. Summary of the Company: A clear and brief description of the
company, its market, customers and business strategy.

1.1 Description of the Global Supply Chain: Team

 Describe the various stages in the supply chain and the different Assignment #1.
flows involved.
 Identify the cycles in this supply chain and the location of the
push/pull boundary.
 List two supply chain decisions that have a significant impact on
supply chain profitability.

2. Supply Chain Performance: Achieving Strategic Fit and

Scope
 How would you characterize the competitive strategy of the
company? What are the key customer needs that the company
aims to fill? Team
 Where would you place the demand faced by the company the Assignment #2.
implied demand uncertainty spectrum? Why?
 What level of responsiveness would be most appropriate for the
company’s supply chain?
 How can the company expand the scope of strategic fit across
its supply chain?

3. Identification of Supply Chain Drivers:

 How could the company use inventory to increase the
responsiveness of the company’s supply chain?
 How could the company use transportation to increase the
efficiency of its supply chain? Team
 How could the company increase responsiveness through its Assignment # 3.
facilities?
 How Does the company manufacture its product? (In-house or
outsourcing)
 What are the pros and cons of the two approaches?

4. Designing Distribution Networks and Applications to Online

Sales.
 What sort of distribution network Does the company utilize?
 In which product category does going online offer the greatest
advantage compared to a traditional channel? In which product Team
category does the online channel offer the smallest advantage Assignment # 4.
(or a potential cost disadvantage) compared to a traditional
channel? Why?

5. Network Design in the Supply Chain

 How do the location and size of warehouses affect the
performance of the firm? What factors should the company take

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 into account when deciding where and how big its warehouses
should be? Team
 How do import duties and exchange rates affect the location Assignment # 5.
decision in a supply chain?
 List the pros and cons of having many facilities and why it may
or may not be suitable for the company.

6. Designing Global Supply Chain Networks

 Identify factors that need to be included in total cost when
making global sourcing decisions.
 Define uncertainties that are particularly relevant when Team
designing global supply chains for the company. Assignment # 6.
 Explain different strategies that may be used to mitigate risk in
global supply chains

Presentations will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1. Presentation Style: Is the presentation clear, provides strong easy to read graphics
or diagrams, communicates well, with a confident and practiced presentation.
2. Content: The presentation should identify the structure and members of the supply
chain and its drivers. Be clear, concise and relevant.
3. Citations: Is the information well cited?

SUBMISSION
The report (word format) and presentation (PPT format) are to be submitted on the day of
the presentation, before the classes have begun. A copy of the report and presentation
slides have to be uploaded into the UEvirtual folder.

SOME EXAMPLES:

Carrefour
IKEA TOYOTA (small convenience
stores,
supermarkets)

The
LEVIS APPLE Home
Depot
(home-improvement
retailer)

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 Wal-Mart Tesco
AMAZON Stores, – PLC
(online retailer) (grocery-
Inc improvement
retailer)

Costco
Wholesale
Corporation