The purpose of this assignment is to identify and apply IOSCM (International Operations Supply Chain Management) concepts/tools to solve problems in managing international operations. To this purpose, you should find an interesting IOSCM problem from the real business world and think about how you can apply the IOSCM concepts/tools that you learned in this course to solve the problem. More specifically, each individual should: • Find a problem in managing international operations supply chain from the real business world (from your own work experience or from any business articles/cases) • Identify specific IOSCM concepts/tools that can be applied to the problem • Apply at least two operation supply chain concepts/tools to propose a solution to the problem • Analyze the expected results that may be obtained when the solution is implemented. The table in the appendix below will serve as the grading rubric for this assignment. The report should be 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, your full name, and date of completion.
Read Individual Project Report Instruction and complete Section 2, 3, and 4. Note: Since in final report section 5, there are two or more IOSCM concepts that need to be applied, section 4 needs to identify at least two concepts/tools.
2. Background information • Clearly state whether the problem is from your own 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, etc).
3. Problem Description • Describe the problem clearly and specifically. o You should focus on a single problem, although you can introduce several other issues for informational purposes. o The problem may involve either operational decision-making, process improvement, or supply chain strategies in managing international operations and supply chain. • 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 …”, etc, either in the beginning or at the end of the section.
4. IOSCM concepts/tools that can be applied • Describe what specific IOSCM 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. Since section 5 need to apply two or more IOSCM concepts, at least two IOSCM concepts need to be identified in this section.
HERE IS THE COMPANY THAT WAS CHOSEN:
I am working with company Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is one of the multinational companies with branches distributed globally. This company is involved in the production of soft drinks among other products. I work in the distribution sector where you determine what is going out of the warehouse of the company. The distribution is mainly done with the appointed distributors of the company.
As a department, one of the main challenges which we are facing is having choosy customers who want zero sugar soft drinks. This has been the main challenge since we find that the company produces a lot of soft drinks which are sugary hence, we are left with a lot of drinks which faces the risk of expiring. Even when it comes to the market in some of the regions customers purchase sugar-free drinks which have left the sugary drinks on shelves which faces the risk of expiring. I hope I will use the knowledge which I have acquired from this class to solve the issue. I think the most important method for solving this is by doing market research to determine consumers’ preferences so that production will be following what is required to avoid any wastage.
*THIS WAS THE FEED BACK*
Highlight the international aspect of this issue: e.g. an international market makes the forecasting (understanding of customer demand) more diificult?
