Group Paper

A major requirement of this course is the group paper which you will do in teams of 2
people.

In this paper you will research the supply chain of some industry that is of interest to you.

Examples: Health care, passenger aircraft, consumer electronics, fresh food, furniture,
clothing, automobiles, coffee, beef, movies, mortgages, etc.

Two groups cannot work on the same topic.

You will submit a paper and make a presentation of your findings to the class on March
4th, the last day of class.

What is your paper about?

1. A description of the industry whose supply chain you are researching. What products
or services does the industry provide? How big is the industry? Where is this
industry based?
2. Key players in the supply chain and their roles – like raw materials suppliers,
manufacturers, transporters, wholesalers/distributors, and retailers. What value do
they add to the product or service? Who are the big players? Draw a detailed
diagram of the supply chain. This is the heart of your paper.
3. What are the key challenges faced by this supply chain?

By the end of this project I expect you to be the expert on your supply chain.

Teams
Put yourselves into teams of two. If you need help let me know.

Deadlines

Jan 29th - Topic Selection: You should have selected an industry on which you will do
your paper. Do some research on this industry before you decide to make it your topic.
Email me the name of your industry. If an industry has already been selected by another
group, you will have to pick another one. You have to get approval from me for your
topic.

March 3rd - Paper Due.

March 3rd – Presentation Deck due. Details on the presentation will be provided later.
Important: Before you start work on your chosen topic, please read thoroughly the
paper Introduction to Supply Chain Management, by Gal Raz. It is included in the
course-pack.

Outline of Report

Cover Page: Showing the names of your team members and the topic of your
paper.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary: 1-page summary of the supply chain you researched and
what you learned. A busy executive reading this should get a general idea of what
you did and found. It is not just an introduction.

Description of the industry

Discussion of the supply chain of your industry. Divide this discussion into
sections that deal with the different players in the supply chain. Have headings
for these sections. Include the diagram of the supply chain here.

Changes anticipated in the next 5-10 years

Challenges faced by this supply chain

Conclusion

References (these can’t all be vague references to some stuff you pulled off the
web. Actual journal or magazine articles will carry much more weight.)

Use sub-sections and sub-headings to organize the report and make it easier to read.

Use diagrams and schematics as needed. Avoid heavy graphics and cute pictures pulled
from the web.

Your report must be under 8 pages double-spaced (not including references and any
appendixes). Make it look professional. Spelling and grammar will count.

Where should you look for information?

 Harvard Business Review

 Many of the big-name consulting firms like Deloitte, McKinsey, Accenture,
etc., publish white papers on these kinds of topics. These are written for
general business audiences and should be useful.
 Business periodicals and magazines like the Wall Street Journal, Economist,
Fortune, etc.
 Google Scholar (search for the words in your topic). You should get lots of
journal hits. Many of these journals are available in the Sprague Library and
you should be able to access the article online. But don’t waste time on
scholarly articles that you don’t understand.
 Google