Supply Chain

Supply Chain

Managing a business supply chain involves maximizing the flow of materials and information from raw materials to finished product. The strategy for carrying out individual components of the process is affected by and may be changed due to many things including industry, current product life cycle stage, production and delivery costs, product profitability, and competition. For example, a company in the manufacturing industry could build a second warehouse closer to its customers if delivery costs increased. An example in the service industry would be a restaurant changing vendors due to increased material costs.

In this assignment, you will identify the supply chain process and strategy for the operations of a business from either the service industry or manufacturing industry.

Using the module readings, the University online library resources, and the Internet, address the following:

• Identify a product or service and assess the location where the company offers it in the supply chain. Define the stage in the product life cycle.
• Develop a questionnaire with 10–12 questions that will allow you to do the following:
• Explain what the company does to protect its business and manage risks.
• Analyze cost savings by determining the return on investment (ROI) for one product offered by the company.
• Identify the company’s competitors and determine who owns what market share for the product.
• Evaluate how the company manages production or delivery of service.
• Defend your choice of questions and support your selection with scholarly articles.

Your final product will include two deliverables. In addition to submitting your questionnaire, submit a 2–3-page paper in Word format. Include a minimum of three scholarly articles to complete your research. Your writing should be clear, concise, and organized. Demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of resources. Display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M2_A2.doc. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document will be named SmithJ_M2_A2.doc.

By Sunday, November 1, 2015, deliver your assignment to the M2: Assignment 2 Dropbox.

Grading Criteria

Assignment Components	Proficient	Maximum Points
Identify a product or service and assess the place of the company that offers it in the supply chain. Define the stage in the product life cycle.	The product or service life cycle is correctly defined. The company is presented in the context of its supply chain.	8
The questionnaire allows you to explain what the company does to protect its business and manage risks.	The question(s) are clearly formulated and will produce answers that reveal the risks inherent to the chosen company, as well as the applicable risk management methods.	8
The questionnaire allows you to analyze the cost savings by determining the ROI for one product offered by the company.	The question(s) are clearly formulated and will produce answers that reveal the chosen business’ product costs and ROI.	8
The questionnaire allows you to identify the company’s competitors and determine who owns the market share for the product.	The question(s) are clearly formulated and will produce answers that reveal significant competitors and the market share held by each of them.	8
The questionnaire allows you to evaluate how the company manages production or delivery of service.	The question(s) are clearly formulated and will produce answers that reveal the company’s production or service methods as they apply to the supply chain process.	8
Defend your choice of questions and support your selection with scholarly articles.	The need for and the importance of each question in company analysis is defended with scholarly sources.	12
Academic Writing
Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e., in APA format); and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.	Written in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.	8
Total:		60