Global Supply Chain Management: Contemporary Issues and Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of global supply chain management (GSCM), comparing fresh food and car manufacturing supply chains. It examines current issues such as quality, time, cost, and CO2 emissions, along with the challenges and strategies employed in each sector. The report further explores expected future strategies, emphasizing innovation and sustainability. Task 2 delves into contemporary issues and strategies, including bimodal value supply chains, supply chain innovation, customer service improvements, changing distribution power dynamics, and the rise of demand-driven supply chains. The analysis includes a critical evaluation of these approaches, providing a detailed overview of the complexities and advancements within GSCM. The report concludes with a review of the provided references.

Global Supply Chain Management

Table of Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................2
Critical analysis...............................................................................................................................2
Fresh food supply chain vs. car manufacturing supply chain......................................................2
Current issues...............................................................................................................................2
Challenges....................................................................................................................................2
Strategies......................................................................................................................................3
Expected future strategies............................................................................................................4
Task: 2.............................................................................................................................................5
Contemporary issues & strategies in GSCM...................................................................................5
Theme 1........................................................................................................................................5
Theme 2........................................................................................................................................5
Theme 3........................................................................................................................................6
Theme 4........................................................................................................................................6
Theme 5........................................................................................................................................6
Task: 3.............................................................................................................................................7
Critical evaluation............................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9

Task 1
Critical analysis
Fresh food supply chain vs. car manufacturing supply chain
Current issues
Key performance indicators
1. Quality
In the fresh food global supply chain the current issues is to manage the quality of food in
order to distinct among the competitors within the same industry because the competition
is rapidly increasing in the food sector whereas in the global car manufacturing supply
chain the current issues is to improve the quality with the innovative features in order to
provide high quality of products to the consumers (Govindan et al., 2014).
2. Time
In the global supply chain of fresh food the current issue is to manage the time of
delivery in order to provide fresh food to the consumers whereas the current issue for car
manufacturing global supply chain is to manage the inventory in order to avoid the
problem of overstock and understock (Monczka et al., 2015).
3. Cost
The current issue for the global supply chain of fresh food is to maintain the cost from
converting the raw material into the final product which enables to increase the profit

margin whereas the current issue for car manufacturing global supply chain is to reduce
the cost of manufacturing in order to add competitive advantage to the company.
4. CO2 emission
The current issue for fresh food supply chain is to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide
in the food processing whereas the current issue for the car manufacturing supply chain is
to minimise the emission of carbon dioxide in order to protect the environment from
harmful gases.
Challenges
Key performance indicators
1. Quality
In the global food supply chain the unique challenge is to nurture the food for example
vegetable, fruit and meat in order to ensure that the food remains intact in good quality
whereas in the global car manufacturing supply chains the quality is a major challenge
which enables to provide competitive advantage to the competitors within the same
industry.
2. Time
In the fresh food supply chain, the time is the most critical element because the food is
non-durable goods which need to be delivered to the consumer within the particular time
period (Manzini et al., 2013). The perishable food such as meat, food and vegetables are
required to be delivered within the specific time period to avoid delivery of poor quality
food to the consumers which results in frustrated consumers whereas in the global supply
chain of car manufacturing the number of products must be delivered within the
particular time period.

3. Cost
In the global food supply chain the cost of running the supply chain is high because it
includes food sanitation practices, food security, management of resources and others
whereas in the global supply chain of car manufacturing the cost management is the most
important challenge which enables to maximize the profit margin (Shukla et al., 2013).
4. CO2 emission
In the global food supply chain another challenge is to reduce the emission of carbon
dioxide in the production and processing stage in order to protect the environment from
harmful gases whereas in the global supply chain of car manufacturing the emission of
carbon dioxide is done in a large amount which is a major challenge for the company
(Accorsi et al., 2014)
Strategies
Key performance indicators
1. Quality
In the global food supply chain, the strategy is the manage the quality of food in order to
attract a large number of consumers to increase the profit margin whereas the strategy of
the global car manufacturing supply chain is to provide innovative cars in order to add
competitive advantage for the company.
2. Time
The global food supply chain used just in time strategy in order to deliver the perishable
food whereas the global supply chain has the strategy to manage the inventory in a most
efficient and effective manner.
3. Cost

The global food supply chain is using low-cost strategy in order to increase the revenue
of the company whereas the global supply chain of car manufacturing is using
differentiation strategy in order to distinct the product by innovative skills.
4. CO2 emission
The company is using reduce energy use strategy in order to minimise the emission of
carbon dioxide whereas the global supply chain of car manufacturing is using sustainable
use of energy resources strategy in order to protect the environment from harmful gases
(Waters et al., 2014).
Expected future strategies
Key performance indicators
1. Quality
The global food supply chain future strategy is to provide the high quality of food
through innovative ideas and technology in order to distinct the brand among the
competitors whereas the global supply chain of car manufacturing has the future strategy
is provide excellent products to the consumers by innovation (Kilger et al., 2015).
2. Time
The future strategy of global food supply chain is to manage the chain timely in order to
supply the product to the end users in a large number whereas the future strategy of
global car manufacturing is to manage the inventory in a most efficient and effective
manner which helps to provide competitive advantage to the company (Fernie et al.,
2014).
3. Cost

The future strategy of global food supply chain is to minimize the cost of production by
applying the cost minimization strategy in order to maximize the profit generation for the
company whereas the future strategy of global car manufacturing is to use differentiation
and cost minimization strategy in order to enable the competitive advantage to the
company (Christopher et al., 2016).
4. CO2 emission
The future strategy is to minimize the use of carbon dioxide emitted energy resources in
order to protect the environment from emission of harmful gases whereas the future
strategy of global car manufacturing company is to utilize the energy resources in a
sustainable manner in order to protect the environment from emission of carbon dioxide
(Schaltegger et al., 2014).
Example
The global supply chain of Jeep is to provide a high quality of product with the management of
inventory, and the company is using cost minimization strategy with the utilization of energy
resource in a sustainable manner.
The supply chain of Jinsan T&C Corp is managing the quality in order to provide fresh food to
the consumers. The company is using just in time approach in order to maintain the stock and
company is using green processing in order to reduce the emission.
Synergic & integrated approach
Both the supply chain needs to use innovative strategy with the TQM, Lean and six sigma’s
integration in order to provide synergy to the company through adding competitive advantage to
the company.

Task: 2
Contemporary issues & strategies in GSCM
Theme 1
Bimodal value supply chain
The first theme of the conference is bimodal value supply chain which is the new reality for the
companies. It is the agile approach in which the investment is made in leadership, talent and
technology (Etemadnia et al., 2015). The implementation of the bimodal model is effective
because the technology is changing day by day. The leaders are responsible for innovation in the
supply chain which helps to promote the brand in the eyes of the customers, and it directly
improves the sales volume of the company. It also builds the competitive advantage which
enables to distinct the brand among the competitors within the same industry globally. The goal
of the bimodal model is to drive the digitalization to the core of the business which enables to
generate high profit by promoting the brand globally. It also enables the business on online mode
as well which acts as a competitive advantage for the company (Colicchia et al., 2016).
Theme 2
Supply chain innovative summit
The innovation in the supply chain is the contemporary challenge in the global supply chain
management which enables to provide a competitive advantage to the company by distinct the
brand among the competitors globally (Wuttke et al., 2013). The innovation helps to provide
unique products to the consumers which attract a large number of consumers globally by

developing the brand awareness among the consumers across the globe. There is a tough
competition among the competitors globally, and the innovative is the tool which helps to stand
out among the competitors by adding competitive advantage to the company, and the innovative
global supply chain management promotes the brand globally by applying innovative tools. The
innovation is required to develop new products and services. It also enables to provide end to end
solution for customers. The innovation enables the profitability, partnership and performance. It
helps to satisfy the needs and demands of the consumers which help to maximise the profitability
of the company (Hazen et al., 2012).
Theme 3
Improved customer level of service over cost cutting
The cost of the supply chain is continuously reduced by the company which helps impacts on the
customer satisfaction due to which the profitability of the company is impacted by the company
(Dabholkar et al., 2015). The company must improve the level of service in order to satisfy the
consumers which help to attract a large number of consumers. The level of service improvement
must be focused which is necessary in order to attain the competitive advantage among the
competitors within the same industry.
The service improvement must be made on the basis of research and development which enables
to provide the high quality of service to the consumers in an innovative manner. The service
improvement is the contemporary issue which benefits the organization by providing the high
quality of services to the consumers globally (Christopher et al., 2016).
Theme 4
Changing balance of power in the distribution channel

The contemporary issue is changing the balance of power in the distribution channel in which the
power is transferred from the seller’s market to the buyer’s market (Fernie et al., 2013). The
consumers have become more powerful due to which the markets have become commoditized. It
benefits the global supply chain by removing the issue of product acceptance because the
products will be delivered according to the needs and demands of the consumers which enable to
generate high-profit margin by satisfying the consumer's demand. The customer's satisfaction
enables to generate more demands for goods and services. It is the contemporary issue which
benefits the global supply chain management through product innovation according to the
demand of the consumers which enables the company to get a competitive advantage (Gaski et
al., 2013).
Theme 5
Rise of demand driven supply chain
The contemporary issue is increasing in the supply chain because it is difficult for the company
to forecast the demand which implies the high level of responsiveness across the supply chain.
The high level of responsiveness among the managers enables the company to generate the high
level of revenue through delegating the authority and responsibility of the company which
smoothed the flow of supply chain (Hines et al., 2014). It increases the competitive pressure on
the competitors which enables the company to produce innovative products in order to compete
with the competitors within the same industry globally. The demand drove supply chain benefits
the supply chain by supporting the company in producing innovative products within the
particular time period. It enables the companies to continuously search for the time compression
opportunities by applying the agile supply chain. The companies will use short technology life
cycle which helps to provide the competitive advantage to the company. The demand drove

supply chain prepares the company to quickly react to the unexpected changes in an effective
manner due to which the company can overcome the issues of the external environment (Emmett
et al., 2016).
Task: 3
Critical evaluation
Approaches:
Global supply chain issues
From the analysis of articles, it can be summarised that there are common six issues in the global
supply chain which needs to be resolved in order to achieve the success of an organization. The
six issues include the availability of resources, complexity, challenges, complexity, purchasing
issues and poor risk management (Fernie et al., 2014). These are the main issues which need to
be managed in order to provide a competitive advantage to the global supply chain. The firm
activities need to be maximised in order to provide a competitive advantage.
The approach to managing the global supply chain includes identification of risk then prioritises
the risk after that the strategies are developed in order to mitigate the risk. The issues of
complexity can be minimised by applying the supply chain management process which enables
to provide supply chain structure that reduces the issue of complexity (Stadtler et al., 2015). The
supply chain can be improved through total quality management which enables to provide a
competitive advantage. The issues can be resolved by applying the strategies of managing the
global supply chain which enables to resolve the issue which acts as an obstacle to achieving the

goals and objective of the company. There is various type of risk which is considered at the time
of managing the global supply chain such as communication, intellectual property, culture,
distance and urgency. The cultural risk can be managed through understanding the culture which
enables to manage the global supply chain effectively. The effective risk mitigation tactic must
be applied in order to manage the risk in an adequate manner.
Global supply chain strategies
The strategies include supply chain efficiency, improvement and excellence in which the six
sigma, lean and agile supply chain, performance measurement and forecasting is applied in order
to provide synergy to the global supply chain. The performance measurement enables to evaluate
the performance within the particular time period (Taticchi et al., 2013). The strategies enable to
minimise the risk by controlling the elements of global supply chain in the most efficient and
effective manner. The supply chain management processes include the structure of supply chain,
strategic procurement and purchasing, and logistics management. It enables the company to
manage the logistics in a most efficient and effective manner by eliminating the risk. The
strategic procurement enables the company to procure the raw material effectively by market
research on the cost of raw material from other suppliers (Rushton et al., 2014). Lean six sigma
includes the particular information for developing the inventory model, metrics for the objectives
which are aligned with the strategic goals (Cucoranu et al., 2014). It enables to minimise the
investment of inventory and improve the utilisation of assets which provide a competitive
advantage to the global supply chain. It improves the global supply chain in an effective manner.
The maintenance of flexibility in the global supply chain is very necessary which enables to react
instantly on the uncertainties. The value chain transformation needs to be utilised in the global
supply chain which enables the company to serve and operation according to the customers'