Module title

Global Supply Chain Management

CRN

53094, 53099

Level

7

Assessment title

Assignment 2

Weighting within module

This assessment is worth 50% of the overall module mark.

Submission deadline date and time

See OnlineCampus

Module Leader/Assessment set by

How to submit

You should submit your assessment via OnlineCampus.

Assessment task details and instructions

“Businesses need to lead ‘transformational change’ in order to tackle the most urgent threats facing the planet and its people, including a radical overhaul of supply chains… We must work together, because the engine of global business – its supply chain – is broken, and requires transformational, cross-industry collaboration to fix it,” Grant F. Reid, CEO Mars Company.

Based on the above predictive statement before the advent of current pandemic situation, you are asked to choose a sector/industry (e.g., food, technology, healthcare, retail, services, automotive), and critically:

1. Discuss the supply chain visibility and agility, i.e., the ability of companies in the chosen sector/industry to build and manage more cost-effective, efficient, responsible and customer-focused supply chains given the disruption caused by COVID-19.  

2. Identify both internal and external COVID-19 risks for the companies in the sector/industry and discuss how the companies build supply chain resilience to quantify and rebalance those risks by emphasising cross-industry collaboration.

3. Discuss how state-of-the-art technologies and/or new forms of supply chains (e.g., Additive Manufacturing, Big Data analytics, Internet of Things, Omnichannel, blockchain) help companies within the chosen sector to tackle those urgent supply chain threats and remain competitive during and after the pandemic.

For each question above, you should support your arguments by bringing into the discussion 1-2 examples of companies that belong to the selected sector/industry.  You will also need to consider the following when completing your assignment:

• Quality of executive summary (does it give a brief complete summary of your paper for an executive to read?)

• Establishment of relevant theory (e.g. how supply chain environments are differentiated from region to region?)

• Allocation of credit and sources used (have I included references and citations to the material I have used?)

  • Clarity of argument

  • Overall report presentation including spelling and grammar

  • Adherence to the nominated word limit (+/- 10%)

  • Word processed (letter size 12, times new roman, 1.5 space)

• Fully referenced (Harvard Referencing System).

Marking scheme:

Explicit marking criteria and mark ranges can be found below.

Assessed intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Critically analyse the theory, concepts and models of global supply chain management to interpret and understand complex and ambiguous risks in global logistics and supply chain environments.

2. Synthesise facts and ideas in support of an argument when evolving alternative solutions and concepts such as lean and agile supply

3. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of global lead-time management and time-compression.

4. Critically evaluate the role of national and regional distribution centres (NDC/RDC) and warehouse management systems (WMS)in the strategic development of international supply chains

5. Demonstrate a sound understanding of the role and importance of an integrated and responsible approach  in  shaping managerial attitudes and actions, and in the establishment and maintenance of cross-functional teams and longer-term stakeholder relationships

Practical, Professional or Subject Specific Skills

1. Leads by example - as high levels of self-awareness, emotional and social intelligence, empathy and compassion, and able to identify mental well-being in others. Work collaboratively enabling empowerment and delegation - acts with humility and authenticity, is credible, confident and resilient.

2. Judgement and Challenge - Takes personal accountability aligned to clear values. Demonstrates flexibility and willingness to challenge when making decisions and solving problems - instils confidence demonstrating honesty, integrity, openness, and trust.

3. Courage & Curiosity - is confident and brave, willing to innovate, seeks new ideas and looks for contingencies. Manages complexity and ambiguity, comfortable in uncertainty, and is pragmatic.

4. Valuing Difference - engaging with all, is ethical and demonstrates inclusivity, recognising diversity, championing, and enabling cultural inclusion. Empowers and motivates to inspire and support others.

5. Professional Reflects on own performance, demonstrates professional standards in relation behaviour and ongoing development. Advocates the use of good practice within and outside the organisation.

Transferable Skills and other Attributes

1. Identify and utilise appropriate methods for collecting and analysing data related to global supply chain management issues.

2. Locate, summarise and synthesise a range of information from published literature and electronic sources on global supply chain management.

3. Work on their own and with others in analysing and presenting solutions to complex supply chain issues in a range of diverse environments.

4. Manage their time to meet deadlines in both group discussions and in preparation of in-class activities

Module Aims

1. To enable students to develop an in-depth understanding of the critical nature and meaning of global supply chain management and its application across a range of organisations and sectors internationally.

2. To provide students with an analytical framework for global procurement, logistics and supply chain systems, their design, monitoring and control

3. To facilitate a critical evaluation of the contribution of global logistics and supply chain to an organisation’s competitive advantage

4. To enable students to recognise and implement responsible and sustainable approaches to supply chain management.

Word count/ duration (if applicable)

The maximum word count is 3000 words (+/- 10%), excluding References.  Words over the word limit may not be considered and not marked.  

Feedback arrangements

You can expect to receive feedback for your assignment via OnlineCampus in two weeks from the submission date. 

Support arrangements

You can obtain support for this assessment by participating in the online class discussions.

askUS

The University offers a range of support services for students through askUS.

Good Academic Conduct and Academic Misconduct

Students are expected to learn and demonstrate skills associated with good academic conduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correct referencing of source materials. Here is a link to where you can find out more about the skills which students require http://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.

Academic Misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in your academic work. This includes plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment for you or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconduct seriously.  You can find out how to avoid academic misconduct here https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.

Assessment Information

If you have any questions about assessment rules, you can find out more here.

Personal Mitigating Circumstances

If personal mitigating circumstances may have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about personal mitigating circumstances procedure here.

Student Progression Administrator

If you have any concerns about your studies, contact StudentCare.

Assessment Criteria

You should look at the assessment criteria to find out what we are specifically looking at during the assessment.

In Year Retrieval Scheme

Your assessment is not eligible for in year retrieval. If you are eligible for this scheme, you will be contacted shortly after the feedback deadline.

Reassessment

If you fail your assessment, and are eligible for reassessment, you will need to resubmit in a date that will be notified to you. For students with accepted personal mitigating circumstances, this will be your replacement assessment attempt.  Students should be aware that there is no late submission period at reassessment (this includes those students who have an accepted PMC request from a previous attempt).

If a student needs to be reassessed, s/he will be given a new assignment brief with a deadline, which will be provided by the School.