7ENT1069 Procurement and Supply Chain Management

This Assignment assesses the following module Learning Outcomes (from Definitive Module Document):

LO1 – explore the role of procurement and supply chain management within the business and strategic context.

LO2 – analyse supplier selection and the relationship this has on elements/ functions within the supply chain, individually and/or in a group.

LO5 – analyse capacity related issues and develop alternative propositions.

Assignment Brief:

This assignment consists in the development of an individual piece of work in which you will synthesize the result of your analysis and research.

With this you are to prepare a presentation with narrative or a narrated poster or a video (maximum 7 minutes±10%) in which you will be giving (from a procurement perspective) an overview of the sourcing of a key raw material used by the company you selected as a case study.

Your presentation must include the following sections:

Section 1 – Introduction to the Case Study

In Section 1 you are to trace, analyse and discuss the structure of the supply chain of one key raw material that is largely used by the company you selected to analyse (e.g. you might select lithium if you choose Panasonic, plastic if you choose Xerox, etc.). As part of your analysis and discussion, you are to explain how the company you selected uses the raw material and state clearly in which products the raw material can be found.

Section 2 – Reflections on the raw material sourcing In section 2, you are to discuss:

• The factors which need to be taken into account during the procurement of the key raw materials identified
• The principles of good practice that can be applied to select a supplier. School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science

Section 3 – Reflections on the raw material sourcing

Assuming that the company needs to deliver the raw material to the UK, you should design a supply strategy for the specific raw material that is key for your business operations. This implies to recommend:

• A country or region to supply the key raw materials for your manufacturing the company’s products.

To complete the section, you are also to:

• Comment on the suitability of the various regions which might currently supply the raw materials
• With respect to the region you’ve recommended, discuss the current advantages and challenges faced with respect to using this area for one’s supply chain.

Section 4 – Addressing Capacity Issue

One of the buyers in your team has informed you that there is a sudden disruption in the supply of another key raw material for your business. In fact, due to a natural disaster the factory that refines/manufactures the specific raw material has been completely destroyed and it might resume its activity only 8/10 months at 40% of the initial capacity. A prompt response to the event is required otherwise this is going to impact on operations in your company.

Unfortunately, the company doesn’t have a back-up plan: in fact, the company mainly relies on a single sourcing – global sourcing strategy for the purchase of the raw materials.

With this information, you are to identify an alternative strategy to cope with the capacity shortage. More specifically, you are to:

• Critically discuss the drawbacks of the initial strategy (i.e., single sourcing – global sourcing).
• Then, identify a new solution/strategy to address the capacity issue.
• To conclude, justify the logic behind the new strategy that was proposed.

Submission Requirements:

1. You are to submit your presentation in one of the following formats – .mp4, .pptx, ppts or pptm – other formats won’t be accepted. If you submit a video or a macro-enabled presentation, then, slides must be submitted separately from the video to allow the Turnitin Check. High similarity report will be referred to the School Academic Officer in line with UH Regulations.
2. It is your responsibility to make sure the presentation is visible and includes all the material that needs to be marked.
3. Submissions via email won’t be accepted. In fact, you are to submit your work in an assignment page via Canvas/StudyNet.
4. The presentation is subject to a time constraint (7 minutes ±10%) and we will stop marking at that point.

Analysis of the supply chain and key raw materials. 15 Analysis and discussion of the factors influencing procurement of raw materials.

Ability to identify appropriate principles of good practices in the procurement of raw materials to be used in an industrial context.

Recommendations for procurement of raw material.

Ability to justify the strategy adopted and discuss its suitability for the sourcing of the selected raw material.

Critically discuss the drawbacks of a specific supply strategy.

Recommend appropriate alternative solutions.

Organisation of information for a clear presentation.

Has the information been presented in a way that is easy to understand – is it easy to follow your argument and logic?

Do the visual aids contribute to, or distract from the message you are trying to convey?

Delivery style, clarity of the narration, time keeping and usage of the visual aids.