Analyzing Supply Chain Management - Research Planning and Communications

This research paper focuses on analyzing supply chain management and its impact on operational efficiency. The paper includes a case study of Tesco and aims to evaluate the importance of supply chain management, ways of improvising it, and the benefits of having an effective supply chain management system. The paper also discusses the novel points of research, research techniques, and a work plan. The subject is Research Planning and Communications, and the course code is not mentioned. The college/university is not mentioned.

Research

Table of Contents
PART ONE [30 marks]...................................................................................................................3
PART TWO [40 marks]...................................................................................................................3
PART THREE [30 marks]...............................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

PART ONE [30 marks]
§ Write an abstract of your proposed project with a project title
Project title is – Analysing supply chain management
§ Write an introduction to the research area
Supply chain management is present in all organisations. Here, they manage the operations, raw
material and manufacturing of the product and services. It is very important for any company to
look upon proper delivery of raw materials so that it can easily deliver the final product to
customers.
problems to be addressed and potential benefits
The problem which is addressed in this research revolves around supply chain management. This
means the company has to focus upon the development effective strategies to deal with problems
like shortage of raw material, unavailability of products, improper management, etc.
Shipping firms own vessels and specialise in transporting specific types of cargo, such as general
cargo, containerized cargo, bulk commodities carriers, oil tankers, gas tankers, OD freight
carriers, and so on. Normally, mother vessels traverse the main transport route across continents,
passing across the Pacific or Atlantic oceans and calling on countries along the way.
§ Describe the aims [2], objectives [4] and scope of your project
Research aim
To evaluate the relation supply chain management on operational efficiency. A case study of
Tesco
Research objectives -
 To understand the importance of supply chain management within a company
 To evaluate ways of improvising supply chain management in an organisation
 To assess benefits for a company by having effective supply chain management system
§ Describe the novel points of your research (i.e., contribution to knowledge) [4].
PART TWO [40 marks]

In an organisation, supply chain design would detail, plan, and strategize procurement strategy,
manufacturing location selection, distribution network and strategy for finished items, and so on.
While logistics planning is concerned with the logistics of procurement, finished goods
distribution, sales order fulfilment, and inventory management, among other things. From SCM
Strategy, logistics planning drives the strategic direction and framework for its design planning.
For example, in the case of production procurement, the SCM strategy will describe the process,
vendor selection, procurement strategy, and order fulfilment mode, as well as cycle time and lead
time to provide to the production floor. In this particular circumstance, logistics specifies the
mode of travel from the distributor, delivery of goods planning, order trigger operation, package
unification, transportation modes and distributers, travel times, required documentation, and
implements the plan, safeguards, and displays the flow of goods from the point to point of
delivery to the manufacturing plant.
The third-party service provider who handles the inventories in his warehouse gets the cargo,
uncovers the shipment from wholesale skids to individual carton level, completes inbound
formalities such as inventory updates in its system, and stores the items in assigned rack places.
Both the vendors and Dell are brought up to date on the status of shipments and inventories. At
the Operation level, the warehouse stores inventory in the names of numerous vendors. The
majority of the time, these terminals are located near or adjacent to the factory. Following receipt
of a production order from Dell, items are picked up, loaded into supply cages and trays as per
predetermined design, and presented to the plant after achieving documentation and system
entries to extract inventory from its system held in the vendor's name, bill of lading raised, and
develop and maintain effective accompanied by papers completes the raw material supply chain
cycle.
Freight forwarders are companies that aggregate cargo and book it for further transit via an
aircraft or a shipping line, or via the ground transportation network, which includes rail services
when necessary. Freight forwarders do not own or operate any modes of transportation. They

negotiate the freight and book the space with airlines and shipping lines. They are responsible for
delivering origin and destination services, as well as single-window customer services through
third-party service providers. To support ground logistics operations, the majority of them have
in-house customs clearance divisions. Logistics also integrates with the notion of 4Party
Logistics solutions on the market, who act as the primary service providers on large projects
including huge amounts, various locations, and services. They create service updates and
patches, needs, and specifications, then select the best supplier for each segments or functionality
for each of the sites, ensuring that the consumer gets the full range of integrated services.
VMI's performance is dependent on a variety of factors. To begin with, the entire notion
represents a strategic coordination and alliance here between suppliers and the reseller, as well as
logistical network operators. Such an approach is driven by a collaborative model to growing the
partnership by making investments in improving client value and broadening the provider's
operational crm effort, wherein the provider concurs own the stock levels until the item on the
agenda off and persists to track and evaluate the inventory while also ensuring replenishments.
The customer, whether a distributor or a manufacturing facility, appreciates the supplier's
initiative and is interested in coordinating and cooperating with the provider in this case. The
delivery business announces the vessel's schedules a few months ahead of time. Container
availability is reserved by air freight providers based to pipe sales or estimations. The sender can
negotiate and trade for reduced costs effect on the amount that they can give or the cargo ships
that they can use. FCL Boxes are used to convey basic freight. Bulk Cargo Load (FCL) is an
approximation meaning truckload loading.
Warehousing operations, whether in finished goods or plant logistics, are crucial to the entire
supply chain. Consider an automobile factory that relies on a 3PL to handle all incoming
processes, such as vehicle unloading, inventory management, and just-in-time (JIT) deliveries to
the facility. The 3PL service provider is fully reliant on the manufacturing site. Both the buyer
and the 3PL coexist at the same place, and the systems and processes get entangled and
incorporated into the process of localization and practical solutions over time. In such instances,
any non-performance on 3PL's part, for whatever reason, will have an impact on the plant's

output. It is not possible to switch to a different 3PL overnight. As a result, the marriage must be
successful.
FCLs are available in two sizes: 20 inches and 40 feet, and their width is measured in feet. Each
container has a particular capacity in terms of size and weight. FCL Containers are provided by
shipping firms to freight forwarders, who load them with merchandise and seal them after
customs inspection. In the case of iron ore deliveries and OE supplies to manufacturing plants,
the VMI programmes are driven by the plants' procurement shipping line. Any licensed third-
party shipper (third-party logistics operator) on the business site or in a nearby location manages
the VMI warehouse. Regardless of whether the inventory belongs to the vendor or the payments
are paid for by the supplier, the chemical's supply chain management club focuses on external
factors, supervising, and managing the 3PL wireless carrier because suppliers cannot have
complete visibility or govern atop gray 3PL in those kind of remote locations.
In terms of both tangible and intangible rewards, reverse logistics provides a number of
advantages to the firm. In the first instance, businesses can recover damaged equipment and parts
that can be salvaged or reconditioned, allowing them to recuperate value from the problematic
parts. Second, the packaging and defective materials are collected and recycled, providing the
company with scrap value. Third, unsold and obsolete equipment is gathered at the point of sale,
encouraging distributors and stockists to buy with confidence knowing that they can always
return unneeded inventory and not lose money in the process. Distributors are more likely to
stock both quick and slow moving stocks. Defective spare parts, unlike good parts, necessitate
more handling and processing on the logistics provider's end. It has been observed that all parties
involved in the supply chain, including distributors and merchants, handle the good parts with
care. However, despite the fact that the process requires the defective item to be returned in
acceptable condition, both users and retailers do not pay enough attention to how defective parts
are handled. According to statistics, the defective parts have experienced more transit and
handling damage than the excellent parts. Few cases of sales personnel of companies as well as
retailers that treat defectives have a lack of understanding that the defective part offers worth to
the organisation. A procurement specialist must have an operational grasp of supply chain
logistics, as well as knowledge of commercial trade regulations and terminology, as well as
many agencies, policies, customs laws, taxation, commercial, logistical, and customs documents.
Choosing a procurement system, defining dynamic pricing, and determining requirements of the

customers, as well as planned, creating, and building a viable and competitive sourcing strategy,
are all part of the sourcing strategy. The strategy requires aligning or validating its goals with
those of operations and financial stakeholders. Any company's marketing and distribution efforts
are crucial. Finally, establishing competitive sourcing sources for raw materials, equipment, and
activities, as well as other factors, is part of the supply chain strategy.
A similar problem arises in the supply chain for aircraft spare components. Airplanes can get
stuck in any area, not just at the base from which they took off. As a result, the logistics of
locating the damaged part, requisitioning the part (in addition to the request being directed to the
central spare parts warehouse by the 3PL service provider), and managing to airlift or courier the
part in the quickest way is standard in this industry. The majority of the parts are high-value
items that cannot be kept or warehoused as inventory at all locations. Airplanes can all be ground
for an extended period of time, as this would result in significant losses for airlines.
All actions involved in the movement, storage, and distribution of finished goods from the point
of plant delivery to the point of sale are included in the FG Supply Chain. With the discrepancies
emerging from different countries' rules and logistical methods, supply chain management
becomes more challenging in the case of global supply chains. Students and SCM professionals
can learn about the dynamics of the computer hardware supply chain by looking at it. Computers
have a relatively short life cycle, and models and technologies are often updated. This element
must be considered when developing a Finished Goods supply chain plan to guarantee that
obsolete inventory does not block the pipeline and that inventory is kept lean. Over the previous
few decades, manufacturing processes have altered dramatically. Manufacturing has a JIT
system of manufacturing thanks to ERP systems.
Prompt and increasing fixed assets must still be made accessible in a nearby work center, and
logistical considerations must be established to bring them to the place in the quickest time
possible, usually a few hours. Typically, the civil engineer will perform diagnostic activities and
provide updates to the support team. The problem would then be forwarded to the technical
specialists, who would get involved in the problem's resolution. In a couple of hours, all of the
strategy, concern, and logistic arrangements must be finished. Service agreements specify such
critical performance parameters, and in most cases, a promise to 99 availability is required.

PART THREE [30 marks]
§ Describe research techniques
The researcher's philosophy on how accurate knowledge about a word or subject should be
gathered, analysed, and applied is referred to as research philosophy. The methodology in this
part will be classified into two groups: interpretivism and positivism (Suifan, Abdallah and Al
Janini, 2018). The interpretivist concept will be used in the study, allowing researchers to
analyse data more effectively (Bresler and Stake, 2017). Furthermore, positivism is a research
philosophy that will not assist an analyst in conducting a systematic study. The research
technique advertises itself as a simple and step-by-step strategy for performing a thorough and
accurate analysis of the issue. This research looks at two sorts of research methodologies:
inductive and deductive (Basu, 2017). Two types of research approaches will be used in this
investigation. In the case of the deductive approach, it covers noteworthy and relevant papers on
a current study problem. In numerous companies where providing excellent customer service is
critical to reaching a major goal, the company seeks to keep its employees linked and works to
develop positive individual behaviour. Employee engagement can be analysed from three
perspectives: cognitive, emotional, and behavioural. When it comes to the cognitive part,
employees' perceptions and beliefs are given more weight. In accordance with the emotional
aspect, the organisational determines an individual's attitude toward the company, whether the
person has a favourable or negative attitude. Finally, in terms of behaviour, an individual's
willingness to do the work impacts his or her attitude toward the organisation. As a result of
incorporating all three aspects of employee engagement, the organisation gains even more value.
As a result, as a safety measure in an organisation, employee involvement specifically looked
after the company's supervisors.
§ Make a work plan
Activities/ Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Choose of
research topic
Framing research
aims and

objectives
Developing the
research
questions
Drafting the
research
proposal
Working on the
Introduction
Drafting LR
Framing of
methodology
Gathering the
data
Analysing the
data
Discussion of the
research
Recommendation
and conclusion

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
A. Brandyberry, A. Rai, G.P. White Intermediate performance impacts of advanced
manufacturing technology systems: An empirical investigation
Decision Sciences, 30 (4) (1999), pp. 993-1020
T.A. Byrd, N.W. Davidson Examining possible antecedents of IT impact on the supply chain &
its effect on firm performance. Information and Management, 41 (2) (2003), pp. 243-25
S. Chopra, P. Meindl Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning & Operation. (3th ed)
Prentice-Hall. Inc, NJ (2007)
S. Cohen, J. Roussel Strategic Supply Chain Management: The Five Disciplines for Top
Performance McGraw-Hil, New York (2005)
P.J. Daugherty, A.E. Ellinger, D.S. Rogers Information accessibility: Customer responsiveness
and enhanced performance International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics
Management, 25 (1) (2017), pp. 4-17