Assignment Task

Introduction

Global market competition is evident, and while product life cycles are shortening, consumer demands are rising as well. As a result, businesses are being forced to concentrate and make investments in their individual supply chains (Sell, 1999). Li, Ragu-Nathan & Subba Rao (2006) state that in the recent past, supply chains have become a point of competition for organizations. Furthermore, the development of supply chain management techniques has continued due to the productive and quick advancement of communication and transportation technology (Law, 2016). It`s crucial to comprehend supply chain management before continuing, and then quickly review responsive supply chain plan.
Janvier-James, (2012) defines Supply Chain as a set of entities (eg. organizations or individuals) directly involved in the supply and distribution flows of goods, services, finances, and information from a source to a destination (consumer)’. Whereas, Sells (1999) defines supply chain management as: “Supply chain management is a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and stores, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time, in order to minimize systemwide costs while satisfying service level requirements”.

Task

1. Critically discuss the supply chain strategy your chosen organisation has pursued over the last. Considerations should be given to what was the intended strategy against what had actually happened (the realised strategy).

2. Critically evaluate the key Global environmental challenges (external and internal) that affected the supply chain strategy of the organisation during the last years. Based on your evaluation, conclude how successful your chosen organisation was in addressing these challenges. 

3. Critical discussion and evaluation in tasks 1 and 2, conclude whether the present supply chain strategy of your chosen organisation is sustainable or not. Support your opinion with a range of academic frameworks. Students are expected to critically discuss the sustainability of company’s competitive advantage and its strategic direction over a long term. 

4. Critically discuss a range of implementation issues for your selected option, giving considerations for impact, timescale and ownership within the organisation.