Individual case
MGMT4337 – Individual Case Analysis
The purpose of this assignment is to identify and apply SCM concepts/tools to solve problems in
managing global supply chains. Students are expected to find an interesting SCM problem from
the real business world, think about how you can apply the SCM concepts/tools that you learn
in this course to solve the problem, and write up a report based on your analysis.
More specifically, each student should:
Find a problem in managing global supply chains from the real business world (from
work or from any business articles/cases)
Identify specific SCM concepts/tools that can be applied to the problem
Apply an appropriate SCM concept/tool or a set of appropriate SCM concepts/tools to
propose a solution to the problem
Analyze the expected results that may be obtained when the solution is implemented.
The report should be 10-15 pages in length including the cover and appendices, with 1” margins
on all sides, double-spacing, and 12 point font. The cover of the report should include title, class
code and name, section number, student name, and date of completion.
The report MUST follow the outline below:
1. Abstract (150 words maximum)
– Summarize the entire report, including problem statement, SCM concepts/tools that
have been applied to the problem, and expected results of the proposed solution.
2. Background information
– Clearly state whether the problem is from work or from business articles/cases. If it is
from business articles/cases, provide its source (title, author, name of the journal, date
published).
– Briefly introduce the company background (e.g., name, products, business size,
location, internal/external interesting facts, and etc.).
3. Problem Description
– Describe the problem clearly and specifically.
– You should focus on a single problem, although you can introduce several other issues
for informational purposes.
– This section must include a problem statement starting with, e.g., “This paper
considers the problem of determining …”, “The main problem of the firm is how to …”,
and etc., either in the beginning or at the end of the section.
4. SCM concepts/tools that can be applied
– Describe what specific SCM concepts/tools can be applied to the problem and why
they are appropriate to the problem. This section should make it clear that you
understand the concepts/tools you are about to use.
5. Application of SCM concepts/tools
– Choose an SCM concept/tool or a set of SCM concepts/tools among the ones provided
in section 4 and apply it to propose a solution to the problem.
– This section should include your work/calculations in details to show how you have
applied the SCM concept/tool(s) to develop the solution.
6. Analysis of expected results
– Analyze the expected results of the proposed solution.
– The expected results may include cost/revenue impact and/or improvement of supply
chain performance. You must be specific to receive full credit.
– Discuss the pros and cons of the suggested solution.
7. Conclusion
As you can see in the textbook contents and course schedule, a supply chain management
problem may involve global sourcing, resource planning management, global location decisions,
customer relationship management, service response logistics, process design and
improvement, inventory control, demand forecasting, and etc.
You are encouraged to find a problem from work if you work for a multinational company, so
that you may apply the concepts/tools that you learned from this course at work. However, if
you want to find a problem from business articles/cases, you can find one from any
journals/newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, Harvard Business
Review, and so on. Or you can surf the Internet to find an interesting article/case.