In preparing the written case analyses, please adhere to the following guidelines:
1. Your group (max 5 people per group, no exceptions and you choose your own group
members) is required to select one out of the five available cases and to submit a written report
by 04:00pm, Friday, April, 3rd 2020.
2. Written group assignment should be at most 2,500 words and, if any, up to 5 pages of
appendix. They should contain any relevant supporting information that is too detailed for the
body of the paper.
3. Do the research using various source (the Internet, newspaper, academic journals etc.). Do use
materials beyond your text book.
4. Also remember that there might not be correct or wrong answers to case questions. Your
opinion matters.
Group assignments will be graded using the following criteria:
Analysis
1. Does the paper contain analysis of the major issues?
2. Does the analysis incorporate the relevant tools properly?
3. Are assumptions made in the analysis stated explicitly?
4. Does the analysis isolate the fundamental causes of problems in the case?
Recommended Actions
1. Are the criteria for choosing among alternative recommendations stated?
2. Are the criteria appropriate?
3. Is the plan of action integrated in a logical way and linked to the analysis?
4. Is the action plan specific, complete, and practical?
5. Is it likely that the recommendations will achieve their intended results?
Cases and questions:
1. Blockbuster, (Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2016). Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning and
Operation, 6th Ed., Pearson Education, 267p)
– What is required for achieving strategic fit and why is this so important for any kind of
company?
– In what ways did Blockbuster achieve better strategic fit than local stores and how did Netflix
achieve better strategic fit than Blockbuster?
– We all know that Blockbuster went bankrupt in 2010 What supply chain changes could have
saved it?
2. How They Did it: When Supply Chains Saves Lives, (Supply Chain Management Review, January/
February, 2013, 42p)
– Discuss the unique characteristics of humanitarian supply chain management. What kind of
problems did UNICEF Supply Division face until 2008?
– What were the main changes UNICEF Supply Division made to its supply chains to overcome
these problems and what lessons can commercial companies learn from this example?
– What else would you propose to UNICEF Supply Division to further improve their disaster
response?
3. National Blood Bank, (Slack, N., & Brandon-Jones, A. (2018). Operations and process management:
principles and practice for strategic impact. 5th Ed., Pearson Education, 314p)
– What are the factors that constitute holding cost, order cost and stock-out costs in National
Blood Service?
– What makes this particular inventory planning and control example so complex and how can
this complexity be tackled?
– How might the efficiency with which National Blood Service controls its inventory affect its
ability to collect blood?
4. How They Did it: Unilever’s Journey to “Zero Waste to the Landfill”, (Supply Chain Management
Review, November, 2015, 34p)
– Discuss the motive and structure of Unilever’s “Sustainable Living Plan” in comparison to the
common understanding of the sustainability concept.
– Which challenges did the company face during the implementation of the program and how
were they overcome?
– Which additional actions should Unilever take in the future to further improve its
sustainability and how would you assess its impact?
5. How They Did it: HP Meets the Challenge of a Supply Chain Merger, (Supply Chain Management
Review, November, 2014, 11p)
– Which supply chain related challenges did HP face following the Merger with 3Com and what
did the company do to handle them?
– Why is a large variety of products spread over a global network of manufacturing and
distribution sites problematic? And in which way can risk pooling help to reduce inventory
holding and cycle time?
– How was risk pooling implemented at HP and what other steps might the company have taken
to reduce demand variability?