"The Australian wine industry is facing one of its greatest challenges in living memory - to compete on a global stage with quality wines that are accessible to the mass market, without jeopardising the livelihoods of wine producers, the communities they serve or the environment upon which they rely. Industry leaders are looking for ways to improve the industry's competitiveness into the future.

This project explores the potential for using Sustainable Value Chain Analysis (SVCA) as a tool for achieving better alignment between resource allocation, environmental management and consumer value, in the context of Australian wine destined for the UK supermarket sector. The analysis, illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 in the main report, shows the value of using SVCA as a strategic business decision making tool."

The two paragraphs above have been extracted from a major report published in January 2009 under the auspices of the Department of Primary Industries and Resources of the Government of South Australia. The link to the entire report can also be found in the GB 570 Assessments section on the learning portal. The key findings and conclusions found in the Executive Summary present a clear picture of the challenges facing the Australian Wine Industry at that time. Five years on, the markets in which Australian wine producers compete have changed considerably.

This assignment requires you to provide a report that provides three concise deliverables. Each should have an allocation of 1000 words, approximately one third, of the total report.

Part 1. A summary, in your own words, of the submitted 2009 Report and the project on which it was based with a particular emphasis on the Value Chain Analysis.

Part 2. The identification and analysis of the changes to the external environment that may, or have, influenced the value chain for Australian wine producers over the last six (6) years. Your research does not need to be limited to South Australian wine producers.

Part 3. As the Chief Executive of an Australian wine production company, use your knowledge of value chain management and the information from Parts 1 and 2 to propose strategies for the next five (5) years that would ensure not only survival of your enterprise but also increased market share and overall profitability. The use of value chain costing would be highly regarded.

The report must be written with full academic rigour using Harvard Referencing and with a layout and style appropriate to a professional report. There is an expectation that a minimum of 10-20 References will be used as a basis for this report.

These will include texts, journal articles, industry publications and websites and any other valid academically sound material.

For this particular assignment no Executive Summary is required. The word count starts at an Introduction and concludes at the start of the Reference List. The incorporation of any extra information in Appendices is acceptable if it directly adds to the value of the report.