MBA Program

OPN602 –Supply Chain Management

Assignment# 3
Structuring your supply chain

 Type: Group ( 3 to 5 members) Marks: 15 Deadline: December 10, 2022

 Submit it in Turnitin under Assignment#3 [Class ID: 36572873 Key: OPN602]
 The tolerance limit for similarity index is 25% max!! 
 There should be a front page containing all of your submission information including
members list. 
 Maximum page should not exceed 30 pages.

 Requirement: 
Suppose you have been appointed as a new supply chain manager in your company.
Your job is to redesign the supply chain for a particular product (focus any product
from your company). Structure/Design/Redesign the supply chain based on the
following steps and write down your plan in details.

1) Understand the nature of supply chain

a) Discuss the goal of your supply chain (value creation in most cases) and explain the
impact of supply chain decisions on the success of a firm.
b) Identify your decision making position among the three key supply chain decision
phases. [long vs mid vs short period]
c) Describe the cycle and push/pull views of a supply chain of your focused product/service
2) Strategic fit
a) Explain why achieving strategic fit is critical to a company’s overall success. [To achieve
strategic fit, a company must first understand the needs of the customers being served,
understand the uncertainty of the supply chain, and identify the implied uncertainty.
The second step is to understand the supply chain’s capabilities in terms of efficiency
and responsiveness.]
b) Describe how you will achieve strategic fit between the supply chain strategy and the
competitive strategy.
3) Understand influencing factors
a) Identify the major drivers of supply chain performance. [ facilities, inventory,
transportation, information, sourcing, and pricing]
b) Discuss the role of each driver in creating your strategic fit between the supply chain
strategy and the competitive strategy. [A company achieving strategic fit has found the

Course instructor: Dr. Md Shamimul Islam

 right balance between responsiveness and efficiency. For example, having more facilities
generally makes a chain more responsive, whereas having fewer, central facilities
creates higher efficiency. ]
4) Design the broad distribution network
a) Identify the key factors to be considered when designing a distribution network. [What
customer needs to be met and the cost of meeting these needs. Some key customer
needs to be considered include response time, product variety/availability, convenience,
order visibility, and return ability. Important costs that managers must consider include
inventories, transportation, facilities and handling, and information. ]
b) Which distribution network you will select and why ?[Manufacturer storage with direct
shipping , Manufacturer storage with direct shipping and in-transit merge, Distributor
storage with carrier delivery, Distributor storage with last-mile delivery,
Manufacturer/distributor storage with customer pickup, Retail storage with customer
pickup]
5) Design the network in the distribution
a) How to select your facility location(location of your factory, warehouses, distribution or
retail shops)
b) Discuss with the help of the framework presented at Chapter 5 , F IGURE 5-2 Framework
for Network Design Decisions at page 127
c) Discuss the tools and techniques that can be used for optimizing your facility locations.

Course instructor: Dr. Md Shamimul Islam