Each team will be required to prepare a 10-15 pages project report.
There are three possible group project types as follows:
I. To analyze an existing logistics process and suggest any improvements that needs to be made.
Examples include a study of the distribution system and store deliveries at McDonalds or Starbucks; the design of a logistics system to provide catastrophe emergency relief, an analysis of intermodal movement for a railroad.
II. To study supply chain practices in industry from the point of describing risks, benefits, best practices along with industry examples of each.
III. To identify a business opportunity (for example selling cars on line) involving a product and build a business plan with a focus on supply chain issues. The goal is to identify the business opportunity and design the ideal supply chain for it. The project should include implementation details.
Options for the Group Project:
I. Analyze an existing logistics process and suggest improvement
The project report should not be a detailed description of everything you have done but a specific set of observations and recommendations. All details are to be put in an appendix in the form of exhibits, tables etc. The general guidelines for the project are as follows:
a. Executive summary
b. Define the process and the context (business unit) in which it operates.
c. What is the strategy / market of the business unit?
d. What are the implication on the logistics process you are studying? What must this process be able to do particularly well in terms of cost, time, quality, and/or flexibility? The areas mentioned here are broad. You are expected to identify specific dimensions along which the process is expected to do particularly well.
e. Describe the current process structure in terms of information, inventory, transportation, and location.
f. Discuss the process capabilities, given the current structure, in terms of the specific dimensions identified by you in (d).
g. Discuss existing problems and weaknesses in the current process. What additional capabilities are needed in the process?
h. How should the process be restructured to develop these capabilities? Discuss why the changes suggested by you will have the desired effect along the key dimensions identified by you.
i. Discuss how the suggested changes should be implemented with a time line. Explain any resistance you may face in implementing the changes.
Please note that these are general guidelines. I am not looking for a project report with nine points in the sequence listed above. This is a good set of important points to be addressed but feel free to add or to alter the above list as best fits your project.
II. Study supply chain practices in industry
The objective here is to study supply chain practices in industry such as
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• Third party logistics
• Reverse logistics
• Procurement practices – supplier contracts
• A survey of the supply chain software landscape
• Cross docking and its practical implementation
• International trade norms
• Warehousing / Distribution technologies
• Sales & Operations / Integrated Business Planning
• Collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR)
• Advanced Planning Systems
• Cold Chain
• Supply chain issues in a specific industry: Electronics, Retailing, Automotive, Pharma,
etc.
• Others
III. Build a business plan with a product focus
The objective of this report is to identify a business opportunity (preferably on the web) involving products where supply chain issues are significant. This could be done for a particular company or an industry in general. The business plan should detail the supply chain opportunity and how it will help the business position itself strategically. The report should also detail implementation issues.
Group Project Deliverables
• One-page project proposal: This one page, single spaced document must contain: Team
name; team member names; project title; project objective and brief project description Please refer to the course schedule for due date.
• Final Project report. A final group project is one of the requirements for this course. Each team will be required to prepare a 10-15 pages project report (not including the title page, exhibits, and references). When writing the report, you must follow General APA guidelines and write it in a word format and submit it in Cougar Courses before its due date. All group members must participate in writing of the final project report.
Project Evaluation
Project will be evaluated based on the final report, individual presentation, and peer evaluations. Each group member will receive an individual score representing a combination of these three elements.
Reports will be evaluated for:
1 – Clarity in defining the problem or selected subject of investigation
2 – Depth of insight, analysis, or research
3 – Comprehensiveness of the paper’s content
4 – Thoroughness
