Alignment of the Supply Chain Strategy and Business Strategy in the Corporate Environment
[WLOs: 2, 3] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapters 13 and 14 in the textbook.
This final research paper must demonstrate an understanding of new learning in supply chain management and how the supply chain supports the organization’s business strategy. The paper must be eight to 10 pages in length (not including the title and reference pages), integrating readings, multimedia, and class assignments. It is mandatory to include the concepts from the course textbook, as well as learning about best practices and innovative processes found in six to eight scholarly, peer-reviewed, or credible sources (either from the internet or UAGC Library) to support your views. Please refer to the Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table for clear definitions of each source type. All sources must be properly cited and referenced, in compliance with the standards of academic integrity and APA Style requirements as noted in the UAGC Writing Center’s resource, Introduction to APA (Links to an external site.).
In your paper, you will describe both the business strategy and supply chain strategy for your current or former business employer, or your favorite company that utilizes exemplary supply chain practices, and organization profitability and customer service levels. Locate the annual report of the company for more details on their strategies. You can search for a company’s Form 10-K filings in the SEC’s EDGAR Database (Links to an external site.) or directly on the company’s official website under Investor Relations. For example, the Boeing webpage has an Investor Resources (Links to an external site.) page with “Frequently Asked Questions” that directs users to its annual report.
Your research paper will analyze how this organization aligns its business strategy with its supply chain strategy. Based on your analysis and findings, you must recommend a strategy or tactics for improvement, strategic alignment of supply chain, and business strategies. Your conclusions and recommendations should be based on scholarly resources and theory learned in this course. In addition, you may use non-course materials that support your arguments. Submit your final paper to the instructor by the last day of class.
In your paper,
- Assess the role of logistics management as a responsibility center in the organization.
- Identify the business strategy and supply chain strategy of the company.
- Briefly describe the company’s business goals;
- Identify the firm’s supply chain strategies that align with its business goals.
- Analyze transportation, warehousing, shipping and delivery, materials handling and inventory control, billing and the related credit function, and the collection of accounts receivable.
- Evaluate development of materials and components and finished products that can be controlled through standard costs and budgets in supply chain.
- Analyze how the company’s supply chain supports its business strategy and contributes to their strategic alignment.
- Generate a specific strategy or tactics for improvement of the strategic alignment of supply chain and business strategies.
- Integrate at least one metric for measuring effectiveness such as SCOR model, balanced scorecard, and other KPI measures.
In your Alignment of the Supply Chain Strategy and Business Strategy in the Corporate Environment final paper,
- Begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
- Refer to the Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) resource, and the Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.) guide for more information from the Writing Center.
- Address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
- End with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
- Include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of paper in bold font
- Space should be between title and the rest of the information on the title page.
- Student’s name
- Name of institution (University name)
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Due date