Reference no: EM132218903

Global Supply Chain Management

Individual Assignment

Critical Evaluation of Supply Chain Management Theory in Practice

Assignment:

Use evidence from different industries to evaluate the benefits actually achieved from using any of the following SCM concepts:

• Partnerships

• Outsourcing operations (not including logistics)

• Third-party logistics

• Whole-chain planning

• Portals and virtual organisation

• Vendor-managed inventory

• Electronic information integration

Some ideas:

What benefits are promised from the use of this concept? Do the literature sources indicate where/when this technique should be applied?

How do your chosen cases demonstrate different competitive requirements?

Do the differences in competitive requirements explain their different approaches? Compare your industry findings with the promises of literature.

Are some approaches useful in some industries but not in others? What can go wrong?

What future research is suggested by your findings?

Use on-line journals and other reference sources to identify theoretical ideas and to deepen your understanding. You are expected to base your work on the research done for the group presentations, plus further research.

Rules:

Remember your opinion counts for nothing unless you can support it with evidence.

You should discuss, compare, and evaluate what is said in journals, books, etc. Short quotations up to one or two lines or a table / figure can be included in the text, and sources must be fully referenced in the Harvard style. Any longer passages must go in an appendix.

Do not imagine that everyone who publishes something is right - look for agreement and disagreement, and show your ability to criticise.

A target length would be around 2500 words.