Programme: Pearson BTEC Level 7 Extended Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership
Unit Number and Name: Unit 14 Strategic Supply Chain Management and Logistics
Assignment title: Strategic Supply Chain Management and Logistics
Credit value: 15
Level: Level 7
4500 words
The Purpose of this Assignment:
The concept of supply chain management and logistics is based on the idea that every product that reaches an end user represents the combined effort of multiple organisations which make up the supply chain and that until recently, most organisations paid attention to only what was happening within their own business.
Few organisations understood, much less managed, the entire chain of activities that ultimately delivered products to the final customer. This resulted in ineffective supply chains.
Therefore, this assignment is designed to provide you with the chance to fully demonstrate your level understanding and skills necessary to plan strategies to improve an organisation's supply chain.
Scenario:
Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company based in Seattle, Washington. The tech giant is the largest Internet retailer in the world as measured by revenue and market capitalisation, and second largest after Alibaba Group in terms of total sales. The amazon.com website started as an online bookstore and later diversified to sell video downloads/streaming, MP3 downloads/streaming, audiobook downloads/streaming, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry.
You are a Strategic Supply Chain Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which is an American multinational management consulting firm with 90 offices in 50 countries. The firm advises clients in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors around the world, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 500 and is one of the 'Big Three' strategy consulting firms (MBB). You have been called to meet managers at Amazon.com, Inc. as they have required you to undertake a full review of how their company manages its supply chain and logistics. In this case you will start of things by identifying the main concepts of supply chain management and explain the importance of effective supply chain management. After that you have to examine the link between supply chain management and organizational objectives and business functions within the company. To end this section you will have to explain the concept of an integrated supply chain and discuss the key drivers that can push the organization towards implementing an integrated supply chain.
After that you have to explain the range of possible strategies used to maintain relationships with suppliers and add an evaluation of the effectiveness of these strategies evaluating the effectiveness of said strategies. Then, discuss how Amazon can use IT to create and maintain strategies to develop their relationship with suppliers. At this point you will need to examine the use of different IT systems within the supply chain which result in enhanced supplier relationships.
Finally make some recommendations that could improve or further develop the company's systems in order to maintain the relationships.
At this point you have to make an assessment of how IT could assist in the integration of different parts of the supply chain and then you will have to evaluate how it contributes to the management of the supply chain.
At this point you have to explain and evaluate the role played by logistics in the management of the supply chain within the company and then evaluate procurement practices to end this task, using your evaluation of both the procurement and logistics, discuss the factors that must be considered when looking at making improvements to both procurement practices and logistics in the organization.
Now that you have reviewed and evaluated the organisations' supply chain and logistics, make some recommendations on how to improve the management of the supply chain and explain how you would instigate these recommendations into the improved strategy. Finally, assess how your improvement strategy will benefit overall business performance. Before finishing this report you decide to identify any current or potential barriers that could prevent or hinder the improvement strategy from being implemented successfully and explain how you would overcome them.
On the base of the above scenario the Learner has to:
Task 1
I. Understand the relationship between supply chain management (SCM) and organisational business objectives
1. Identify the main concepts of supply chain management and explain importance of effective supply chain management in achieving Amazon objectives. (1.1).
2. Examine the link between supply chain management and organisational objectives and business functions in Amazon with some real examples to illustrate. (1.2).
3. Explain the concept of an integrated supply chain and discuss the key drivers that can push the organisation towards implementing an integrated supply chain. (1.3).
Task 2
II. Be able to use information technology to optimise supplier relationships in Amazon.com, Inc.
1. Explain the range of possible strategies used to maintain relationships with suppliers and add an evaluation of the effectiveness of these strategies, evaluating the effectiveness of these strategies. Include a commentary of Amazon here. (2.1).
2. Discuss how Amazon can use IT to create and maintain strategies to develop their relationship with its suppliers.
You will need to examine the use of different IT systems within the supply chain which result in enhanced supplier relationships. (2.2).
3. Make some recommendations that could improve or further develop their systems to maintain these relationships. (2.3).
Task 3
III. Understand the role of information technology in supply chain management. Kindly design a table or chart that can summarise the following:
1. An assessment of how IT could assist in the integration of different parts of the supply chain (3.1).
2. An evaluation of how it contributes to the management of the supply chain (3.2).
3. An assessment of the effectiveness of IT in managing the supply chain (3.3).
Task 4
IV. Understand the role of logistics and procurement in supply chain management
1. Explain and evaluate the role played by logistics in the management of the supply chain in Amazon.com, Inc. (4.1) and then evaluate procurement practices. (4.2).
2. Using your evaluation of both the procurement and logistics management, discuss the factors that must be considered when looking at making improvements to both procurement practices and logistics in the organization. (4.3).
Task 5
V. Be able to plan a strategy to improve Amazon.com, Inc. supply chain
1. Now that you have reviewed and evaluated the organisations' supply chain and logistics activity, make some recommendations on how to improve the management of the supply chain, and explain how you would instigate these recommendations into the improved strategy. (5.1).
2. Assess how your improvement strategy will benefit overall business performance Amazon (5.2). Identify any current or potential barriers that could prevent or hinder the improvement strategy from being implemented successfully and explain how you would overcome them. (5.3).
Assessment Criteria:
: Explain the importance of effective supply chain management in achieving organisational objectives
: Explain the link between supply chain management and business functions in Amazon.com, Inc.
: Discuss the key drivers for achieving an integrated supply chain strategy in Amazon.com, Inc.
: Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used by Amazon.com, Inc. to maintain supplier relationships
: Use information technology to create strategies to develop
Amazon.com, Inc. relationship with its suppliers
: Develop systems to maintain Amazon.com, Inc. relationship with its suppliers
: Assess how information technology could assist integration of different parts of the supply chain of Amazon.com, Inc.
: Evaluate how information technology has contributed to the management of the supply chain of Amazon.com, Inc.
: Assess the effectiveness of information technology in managing the supply chain of Amazon.com, Inc.
: Explain the role of logistics in supply chain management in Amazon.com, Inc.
: Evaluate procurement practices in Amazon.com, Inc.
: Discuss the factors that must be considered when improving logistics and procurement practices in Amazon.com, Inc.
: Plan a strategy to improve Amazon.com, Inc. supply chain
: Assess how a supply chain improvement strategy will benefit overall business performance in Amazon.com, Inc.
: Explain how barriers will be overcome in Amazon.com, Inc. when implementing a supply chain improvement strategy.
Learning outcomes:
• Understand the relationship between supply chain management (SCM) and organisational business objectives.
• Be able to use information technology to optimise supplier relationships in an organisation.
• Understand the role of information technology in supply chain management.
• Understand the role of logistics and procurement in supply chain management.
• Be able to plan a strategy to improve an organisation's supply chain.