Individual Project (100%): This individual project aims to apply supply chain and related aspects covered in the course. The word count is 3000, with +/-10% limits allowed. The assignment accounts for 100% of your overall module marks. Topics are given below. You can select ONLY ONE topic and relevant application to solve a specific supply chain problem and relevant issues: 1. How does supply chain management contribute to performance dimensions (e.g., examples of agile supply chains contributing to performance dimensions during covid-19). Performance dimensions are social, environmental, and economical. 2. How do analytics and data contribute to performance dimensions (e.g., customer analytics to understand customer preferences and acting according to enhance performance dimensions) 3. How supply chain technologies contribute to performance dimensions (e.g., Internet of things and RFID for automated data collection and its effects on performance dimensions) 4. How do network analytics contribute to the dimensions of performance (e.g., exploring supply chain actors’ networks and analyzing their contributions to performance dimensions (e.g., Internet of things and automated data collection and its effects on business performance) 5. How do optimization and operational tools contribute to performance dimensions (e.g., optimizing supply chain flows to minimize supply chain costs) Submission Date:
The aim of this individual project is threefold:
• To help students relate the concepts and themes covered in the class to existing
supply chain operations;
To encourage creativity and innovative thinking around supply chain operations
management, sustainability and digitalisation based on the analysis of relevant
information;
To enable students to enhance their critical thinking as well as concise and critical
writing skills.
Detailed guidelines
You will need to apply concepts from the class to analyse or address a specific supply chain problem or issue. This could be the operations and supply chain
practices behind the production of a specific item (product or service). You could
choose a specific industry or company or product. Additional resources have been uploaded on MyAberdeen. You are encouraged to
consult these resources prior to completing the report.
Students should prepare and submit their reports in the following format:
Font: Verdana or Arial 12 point
Spacing: 1.5 spaced
Margins: Normal (2.5 cm)
Referencing: Harvard citation style
The maximum word count must be adhered to. The penalty for exceeding this limit is
a five-mark deduction.
• The actual word count of the assignment must be stated by the student on the
first page (cover sheet) of the assignment.
• The overall word count does include citations and quotations.
• The overall word count does not include the references or bibliography at the
end of the coursework.
• The word count does not include figures and tables.
Structure: Your project should be structured in the following sections and the focus should be as per the marks allocated.
1) Introduction and the scenario for the problem and issues you want to address (15%)
– Guiding the reader what is included in the project; the sequence and a brief explanation of each section
– Descriiption of the specific problem and related issues you want to address
2) Up-to-date literature review with a critical approach 20%
– Significance, breadth of sources, criticality, consistent referencing style, tightly connected with the topic, application, and examples for justification
3) Technical platform, relevant challenges, & the scenario after implementation of your solutions 35%
– Define the technological platform (or measures) that you think are the most suitable to solve the problem and issues described in Section 1, providing examples and justification using cross-referencing from Section 2.
– Solution(s) after implementation
4) Discussion and conclusions 15%
– Summarising – Compare findings with the literature – Recommendations for managers
– Limitations and future research recommendations
5) Overall quality 15%
– Logically written
– Overall, tightly connected with the question/topic/application – High quality of referencing
– Tables, figures, and data used
It is expected that you will apply and refer to concepts and frameworks from the
module in order to conduct the analysis. You should use organisational examples,
large and small, to illustrate your point and highlight key patterns and practices. This
means that you will have to do research into practical examples and will need to
select reliable information. You are encouraged here to make linkages with the
previous sections in terms of the identified supply chain issues, sustainability and
technology aspects.
NB. Remember that you have only 3,000 words so you will have to be selective
about the issues you cover and the concepts and frameworks that you bring in.
Reference List
You need to clearly reference every source of external material that you use in your
work. We expect that you will use a mix of academic sources (beyond the core text)
as well as reliable practical sources (e.g. corporate websites and reports, reliable
news sites…). Details for referencing can be found in MyAberdeen. Do use HBR2
style referencing; therefore, your report should contain a Reference List at the end
that is not included in the word count.
Do you allow +10% on word limit?
Yes
Can I choose a topic related to Covid-19?
Yes
Can I cite >20 references?
Yes
Can I pick a topic related to my current work/firm?
Sure
How to structure the report?
More guidelines and tips available on QB58C1 blackboard