Global Procurement and Supply Strategy

Procurement and Supply Chains

Assessment Task and Purpose:

Select an organisation of your choice and acting as a procurement and supply consultant apply your learning to analyse an element of their current procurement and supply strategy. Provide recommendations for improvement in strategy and approach based on relevant academic thought and industry best practice. Do not forget the PRME agenda and discuss the organisation's attitudes and approaches to sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Learning Outcome 1: Explain the relationship between trends in globalization and strategic supply chain management.

Learning Outcome 2: Critically evaluate both the macro and micro concerns, which affect the overall operational performance of an organisation's procurement, as well as supply chain performance.

Learning Outcome 3: Apply appropriate theoretical frameworks to critically evaluate global supply chain strategies, in terms of their contribution to ensure the continued viability and enhanced overall strategic contribution of its procurement and supply chain management.

Learning Outcome 4: Apply the principles of sustainable and ethical procurement and supply chain management for organisations in various areas of both the public and the private sector.

Knowledge & Skills Assessed:
Organisation: eg: Defining work objectives, outcomes and performance standards, Proposing alternative routes for achieving an objective, Structuring and managing time and priorities, Planning or coordinating with a range of stakeholders/colleagues, Identifying, assessing and weighing risks, Working globally, managing tasks across time zones, Working to a budget and allocating resources to tasks

Learning & Adaptability: eg: Setting personal goals and objectives, balancing work and personal life, Evaluating and monitoring own performance, Meeting deadlines, Working to high personal standards, Working honestly, with integrity, ethically, in a fair and balanced way and maintaining confidentiality, Adhering to formal standards and procedures, Demonstrating dependability and reliability, Demonstrating a high level of dedication, a strong work ethic, Working with little or no supervision, self- motivation, Knowing own strengths, limitations and values, Investing time and effort in acquiring new skills, Understanding preferred learning style, Using peers to develop Perseverance & Initiative: eg: Maintaining performance under pressure, Demonstrating flexibility and adaptability in response to changing situations, Making things happen/taking action, demonstrating determination, Handling conflict effectively, Coping with uncertainty or ambiguity, Displaying a desire to meet new challenges, Demonstrating energy, drive, enthusiasm, passion, Making things happen, demonstrating determination, Acting on own initiative, Dealing positively and pro-actively with set-backs and criticism, psychological resilience - 'bouncing back'

Commercial Awareness: eg: Uses word processing packages to produce, format and present written work professionally,

Problem Solving: eg: Identifying need or opportunity e.g. customer, client requirement, research need, Gathering intelligence, Clarifying root cause of a problem/defining opportunity, Generating solutions, Proposing imaginative/creative solutions to new problems, Evaluating a range of solution/options, Translating ideas into practical actions, Making decisions without the need to refer to others, Looking to make processes more efficient and effective, Demonstrating cultural, political, commercial and environmental sensitivity in solution creation, Making decisions where there is no perfect option, Taking controlled risks

Introduction

This section should be 10% of the report (~400 words). This must present the following:
- Brief background to your selected organisation
- Brief overview of your selected organisation's approach to procurement and supply chain management
- Brief discussion on your analysis and underpinning academic ideas/concepts used

In this section, you need to critically evaluate your chosen organisation's procurement and supply strategy. You should underpin your analysis with relevant and topical academic ideas/concepts, thereby demonstrating understanding and application of theory to the practical environment. The analysis should consider the limits of the strategy as well as its strengths. This section needs to conclude with an overall evaluation of the effectiveness of the current procurement and supply strategy leading into the final section of your report. Be sure to discuss attitudes and approaches to sustainability and corporate social responsibility in this section.

Recommendations for improvement
This section should be 30% of the report (~1200 words).
You will present recommendations for how your chosen organisation can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its procurement and supply strategy. Your recommendations should be consistent with the evaluation presented in section 2 and be justified and underpinned by relevant and topical citation and evidence.

Conclusion
This section should be 10% of the report (~400 words).

Present a final discussion on the overall outcomes of the paper and your work. No new material here but be sure that you have answered and addressed the content of your introduction and have met all of the promises that you made in your initial section.