Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this assignment you will be able to:
- Critically appraise how operations and information systems contribute to an organisation’s competitiveness and strategic direction ;
- Evaluate the relevance of the ‘competitive advantage Vs. necessary
cost’ debate Combine and evaluate complex IT related issues; - Assess the contribution of IT to systems and operations management;
- Establish and implement effective operational decisions, with
particular reference to change management; - Critically assess the functionality of organisations from systems, information, and business process perspectives.
Scenario
Your Task
Integrated business systems and the use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) has transformed operations, logistics, and even the structure of organisations.
This assignment requires you to demonstrate contemporary knowledge of supply chain management principles in an organisation known to you. You are required to critically analyse how these principles work with other aspects of systems and operations management to create a competitive advantage through sustainable practices.
The assignment requires you to research an organisation known to you. It can be the one that you work for or one that you have researched. In either case, it is appreciated that you may not have in-depth knowledge of every aspect of the supply chain or operations. The primary aim of the assignment is to show your ability to apply academic theory to practice and for this reason, some reasonable assumptions can be made.
You may choose any organisation you wish, but clearly, as the questions focus on supply chains, the organisation should have one of these. Large manufacturing organisations are a good choice because they have substantial use of both materials management and logistics. Airlines and large restaurant and hotel groups may also be appropriate.
You are a specialist in supply chain management and have been asked to review the supply chain of a company known to you. You have been provided with three tasks as outlined below. Each of the tasks is to be addressed within the report format.
Task 1
Critically review the subject organisation’s approach to materials management. You should review the structure of the supply chain, its approach to the management of intermediaries, and how lean and agile practice.
Task 2
Critically review the role of relationships in the organisation’s approach to materials management, its logistics, and its handling of reverse logistics. You should consider such aspects as contractual arrangements and how activities such as outsourcing impact upon the operations.
Task 3
Critically analyse the role of emerging technologies in the subject organisation’s approach to the supply chain. The analysis should cover the application of information technology, materials planning, and systems development to manage supply chains and their relationships within it.