ASSIGNMENT 1

"Supply Chains are only of any interest to customers when they go wrong. Therefore, Supply Chain Resilience is considered as a very important factor in modern Supply Chains"

The above statement is shown to be true in numerous occasions in the past. Examples include the "Horsemeat Scandal" in processed meat products, "100's of garment workers crushed to death" in an arguably avoidable factory collapse in Bangladesh, or other "Supply Chain Scandals" in Asia that have affected McDonald's, Burger King and Starbucks. These scandals (specifically in branded products) have caused significant reputational and financial damage (as well as loss of human life) to different types of industries.

By taking as an example a Supply Chain that you are familiar with, identify and discuss in detail ONE ONLY important obstacle (such as Demand Forecasting, Inventory Management, Bullwhip Effect, Traceability etc.) that must be overcome to manage that Supply Chain successfully (100% of the assignment grade).

Typical examples of Supply Chains may include: production of fresh milk, automobile manufacturing, outpatient appointments or accident and emergency departments in public hospitals, banking services, supermarkets, the garment industry, pharmaceutical products, food supply chains etc.

Some of the data for this assignment may be ‘live'; for instance the horsemeat scandal was reported extensively in the newspapers, on the media and other company accounts. You should use these sources for information on what may go wrong within your chosen Supply Chain. Material for most Supply Chains is easily available and is included in books and articles. Theory of supply chain strategies, relationships and response to breakdown is to be found in textbooks and peer review journal articles.

You will also need to take the following into account when completing your assignment:

• Quality of executive summary (does it give a brief complete summary of your paper for an executive to read?)
• Establishment of relevant theory (e.g. what do I mean by supply chain resilience or supply chain obstacles?)
• Allocation of credit and sources used (have I included references and citations to the material I have used?)
• Clarity of argument
• Overall report presentation including spelling and grammar

The assignment must be submitted via Turnitin. Please remember that marks for assignment will also be awarded in relation to presentation and structure, and aspects such as use of examples, figures, tables, illustrations and statistics that indicate wider/independent reading.

INDICATIVE READING

Please refer to the reading list issued at the start of the module. Further material in the form of articles from refereed journals and web references are available on Blackboard. www.emeraldinsight.com and www.sciencedirect.com are two good starting points for refereed publications.

RELEVANCE TO LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Analyse and critically evaluate the ways in which supply chains are adapted in view of specific market dynamics and environments.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of global lead-time management and time-compression.
• Critically analyse the theory, concepts and models of global supply chain management to interpret and understand complex and ambiguous risks in global logistics and supply chain environments.
• Locate, summarise and synthesise a range of information from published literature and electronic sources on GSCM.

ASSESMENT HOUSEKEEPING

You are required to follow the University's regulations regarding plagiarism and citing sources and references used.