Assignment 1: Discussion—Supply Chain Management as a Value Driver

Assignment 1: Discussion—Supply Chain Management as a Value Driver

A successful supply chain strategy includes good design and implementation. However, supply chain strategy is not considered truly successful until there is a measurable contribution to the bottom line. To be successful, managers must plan, forecast, and execute the operational plan as well as face and overcome the organizational, partner-based, and personnel-based factors that can diminish value. Effective supply chain management continues to grow in importance as a competitive differentiator for most companies. However, most companies fail to realize a competitive advantage or value for the customer.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, research supply chain management. As you examine the readings in this module, consider how change affects all stakeholders in the supply chain and apply those reflections to the following questions:

• What do you consider are some of the problems that affect supply chain management success?
• Using at least two current examples, discuss effective supply chain strategies that were used by a company to positively impact organizational effectiveness and yield desirable results.
• Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation
• ___________________________________________________________________

Assignment 2: Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is the integration of activities that procure materials and services, transform them into intermediate goods and final products, and deliver them to customers. The production, distribution, and sale of both goods and services are bound by constraints in demand, supply, capacity, capability, and a myriad of other parameters.

In this assignment, consider the strategic implications of how an organization produces and interacts with its partners, customers, and suppliers.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, research supply chain management processes. Based on your research, complete the following:

• Describe the overall goal of a supply chain.
• Describe the difference between a supply that is responsive (service) and a supply chain that is efficient. Can a supply chain be both?
• How can an organization optimize supply chain management to improve results and remove obstacles? Support your answer with two current examples.
• Based on your learning from your research, what additional recommendations might add to what was accomplished?

Write a 3–5-page paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc.