2062 ass1

Assessment task 1 – tentative structure Title page (clearly indicate your name and student ID)

Executive summary (refer to the attached document on how to write a good executive summary) Table of contents (refer to the attached document on how to prepare a good table of contents) 1.0 Background

In this background section, concisely introduce:

  •                       Purpose of the briefing paper; 

  •                       Issues to be discussed and their significance. 
2.0 Supply Chain Analysis (use appropriate subheadings to divide the subsections) 
In this section, address the following assessment requirements: 

  •                       Draw a map of the supply chain of the selected product (including materials, information and 
financial flows); 

  •                       Identify the major upstream tier-one and tier-two suppliers in the supply chain of the selected 
product (real world organisations); 

  •                       Identify all downstream organisations and Singapore customers in the supply chain of the 
selected product (real world organisations); 

  •                       Identify the materials, information and financial flows in the supply chain of the selected 
product; 

  •                       Identify and discuss the challenges in the supply chain of the selected product. 
3.0 Conclusion (refer to the attached document on how to write a good conclusion) In this conclusion section, summarise the main points and conclude the paper. References
Appendices (optional) 
Notes: 

  •                       Word count: 1500 words (+/- 10%); 

  •                       Word count does not include title page, executive summary, table of contents and references; 

  •                       Refer to the grading criteria for further details; 

  •                       Note paper presentation and writing style (i.e. convey information coherently and concisely, in a 
quality written format appropriate to target audience); 

  •                       Check grammatical and referencing mistakes; 

  •                       Please observe JCU policies on plagiarism. Refer to https://www.jcu.edu.au/students/exams- 
and-results/what-is-plagiarism for detailed information. 


ASSESSMENT ITEM 1: DESCRIPTION

You are the Operations Manager of Lion Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company. You are analysing the supply chain of a particular product in the product portfolio of Lion Pte Ltd. For this analysis, you are to select only one product among electric bicycle, automatic coffee maker, or solar panel. You are to write a briefing paper to inform the newly appointed CEO of Lion Pte Ltd regarding the findings of the analysis.

Lion Pte Ltd designs a range of products in Singapore. Currently, Panda Co Ltd in Guangdong Province, China, is the contracted manufacturer of its products.

Instructions

The supply chain analysis should succinctly identify the supply chain of the selected product and discuss the relevant supply chain issues based on evidence.

The supply chain analysis is to address the following:

  • Draw a map of the supply chain of the selected product (including materials, information and financial flows); 

  • Identify the major upstream tier-one and tier-two suppliers in the supply chain of the selected product (real world organisations); 

  • Identify all downstream organisations and Singaporean customers in the supply chain of the selected product (real world organisations); 

  • Identify the materials, information and financial flows in the supply chain of the selected product; 

  • Identify and discuss the challenges in the supply chain of the selected product. Page 9 of 26 


Report structure

Use the following structure to write the briefing paper:

  1. Title page 

  2. Executive summary 

  3. Table of contents 

  4. Background
    1. Purpose of the briefing paper 

    1.  Issues to be discussed and their significance 

  5. Paper body 


       Address each of the assessment requirements listed in the instructions

  • Conclusion 

  • Reference list 

  • Appendices (optional) 


Where do I find more information about Lion Pte Ltd?

Lion Pte Ltd is fictional (so is the contract manufacturer Panda Co Ltd). They are mentioned in the assignment brief just to provide a context for the analysis. The only information we need to know about the company is that it is a Singapore company which designs its own products. However, the products are made by a contract manufacturer (Panda Co Pte) in China.

How do I write a description about Lion Pte Ltd?

There is actually no need to write a description about the company. Following the tentative report structure, you may write in the background section a sentence or two to mention something like: “This report is prepared for the CEO of Lion Pte Ltd on an analysis of the supply chain of [selected product].”

Can I make assumptions about the product?

You may make reasonable assumptions about the selected product and its supply chain. It is just like if you are to start up a new company to make a new product, you are now doing a research about the potential suppliers (upstream supply chain) and distribution partners (downstream supply chain).

How do I identify the real-world suppliers?

You should first select a product. Then, analyse the key components or materials that are needed to make the product. Having known about the key components or materials, you try to search online to identify some real-world suppliers who can supply these components or materials. You should identify up to two tiers of suppliers (not counting Panda Co Ltd). You may follow the same approach for the downstream supply chain.

How do I explain financial flow?

This is not about preparing some financial statements. In supply chain management, the term “financial flow” refers to payments for goods or refunds. In this case, you can concisely describe the flow of payments for goods, e.g. from end-customers to retailers, from retailers to distributors, from Panda Co Ltd to its suppliers, etc.

How do I explain information flow?

In supply chain management, the term “information flow” refers to the flow of information between supply chain partners (including end-customers), e.g. demand information, order or delivery details, inventory information, etc. Information flows in both upstream and downstream directions.

How do I draw the supply chain map?

You may use any software you like, e.g. Microsoft PowerPoint.

Should I include a detailed description about the real-world suppliers in the appendix?

You may just cite a company (and very briefly mention what it supplies) in your discussion and provide the URL of the company (if any) in the reference list (following the APA referencing style). You may follow the same approach for the distribution partners.