Robust Supply Chain Network Design

Question: Describe about the Robust Supply Chain Network Design. Answer: Proposed Solution Approach A Study Design The study is intended to show the results of the application of risk mitigation strategies particularly in line with the supply-chain management. The application of different types of strategies in the study will help foster an organizations growth and various types of supply chain activities. The use of concepts related to just in time inventory (JIT), lean manufacturing concept and application of program evaluation and review technique (PERT) will guide the approaches making improvement in the process management of the company (Huang, Goetschalckx 2014). The results will be produced by continuous monitoring of inventory and manufacturing process. The results related to the program evaluation and review technique needs to be assessed on the basis of preparing a sequence of supply-chain activities which will help in risk mitigation strategies and provide a plan to aid the operations of the supply-chain. The various types of information collected will be able to solve the several issues related to uncertainties due to sourcing of suppliers, manufacturing process and sequence of activities. The planning of activities is further shown by use of Gantt chart (Ellinger et al., 2015). Developing research methodology The planning is based on collection of information both secondary and primary data the use of survey instruments are defined below as follows: For collecting primary data: - The main part primary data is collected by observation method based on selection of group of supplier having a total population strength of 75. Among which 50 are suppliers and 25 on managers related to supply-chain industry. The selection of suppliers shows the differentiating prices charged by various suppliers and also the risk involved in the transit of goods from one location to another. The data entries of these suppliers are done using MS Excel software (Wieland Marcus Wallenburg 2012). For collecting secondary data: - the secondary data collected on the basis of questionnaires and interviews conducted from various types of managers and supplies. The questions are based with an intention to identify the possible risk parameters and have a clear understanding on the approach to solve the various types of problems related to risk mitigation (Sodhi et al., 2012). The interview questions relevant to the subject may include Is your organization concerned about supply-chain risks? (Yes/No) Have you integrated risk management with business units supply-chain agenda? (Yes/No) Are you periodically collecting risk information from your critical suppliers? (Yes/No) What is the present method of inventory evaluation technique of the company? Effectiveness of the present inventory techniques ? Ratings based on scale of 1 to 5 1-Not effective at all 2- Fairly effective 3- Moderately effective 4- Above average effectiveness 5- Highly effective What is the enterprise resource planning software used for material management, purchasing activities, production and planning? Effectiveness of the ERP to get the risks related to supply-chain. Ratings based on scale of 1 to 5 Is the company able to incorporate information technology into vendor managed inventory? (Yes/No) (Ghadge et al., 2016) Steps of the process Identification of the present problems in the supply-chain Gathering of information through observation from the selected list of suppliers Evaluating the results of questionnaire Preparing a hypothesis of the observed results Evaluation of the observed results Anticipated results Data collected-the data collected from the 50 suppliers shows the scope of research study considered the various factors that the report risk mitigation. Data Analyzed- The analysis of the data shows the response pattern of the several managers and suppliers. Artifacts built- the research further shows the various types of the information is useful for the process of risk mitigation. Things that need to be considered in each step The sourcing of data to consider the fairness of the various information related to the suppliers risk and gathering the information related to necessary use of techniques such as just in time inventory, program evaluation, review technique, and assess the effectiveness of such techniques at every stage. The risk aversion process needs to be done based on continuous monitoring of the various types of risk mitigation activities. In order to make the most efficient use of the risk mitigation techniques the management needs to focus on optimum manufacturing based on kaizen concept. This concept is related to starting manufacturing process only after receiving the orders (Baghalian et al., 2013). Things that need to be avoided The research topic should avoid the use of the irrelevant information for sourcing of the supplies and using of management concepts. The types of resources needed in each state The scope of the extent of study is based on qualitative analyses and hence only open-ended questions are to be considered as a resource in the state. Ensuring validity and quality of the results The validity and quality of the results to be assured by collection of the responses of various types of suppliers and managers included the beginning of study design. The success of the recommendation is verified coming the various types of journals and articles published relevant to risk management. Environment in which the results will be used The appropriate environment for the use of results deals with highlighting of supply-chain activities and process of risk aversion in a practical situation. Proposed work plan The process of risk management is expected start and end during late winter in the year 2017 (16.01.2017 to 17.02.2017) . The milestones included for the entire planning of the activities are shown below as follows Task No. Project phase Start Completion 1 Determination of the requirement for risk mitigation 16-01-17 21-01-17 2 Analysis of the requirement 22-01-17 23-01-17 3 Initiation of the improvement process 22-01-17 28-01-17 4 Specifying milestone requirement analysis 27-01-17 29-01-17 5 Beginning of second pilot phase of the project 28-01-17 04-02-17 6 Defining the requirements of the Milestones 05-02-17 09-02-17 7 Review of the milestones 28-01-17 05-02-17 8 Monitoring of the milestone report 04-02-17 06-02-17 9 Drafting of research plan for modifications 07-02-17 10-02-17 10 Final drafting of the project plan 09-02-17 12-02-17 11 Requirement analysis of the milestones 11-02-17 14-02-17 12 Milestone recommendation for taking the action for the improvement process 15-02-17 17-02-17 (Fartoukh De Maria 2014) The target date for completion of these activities is shown below with the help of a Gantt chart Figure: Gantt chart preparation based on duration for each activity (Source: Baker Trietsch 2013) Reference List Baghalian, A., Rezapour, S., Farahani, R. Z. (2013). Robust supply chain network design with service level against disruptions and demand uncertainties: A real-life case. European Journal of Operational Research, 227(1), 199-215. Baker, K. R., Trietsch, D. (2013). Principles of sequencing and scheduling. John Wiley Sons. Ellinger, A. E., Chen, H., Tian, Y., Armstrong, C. (2015). Learning orientation, integration, and supply chain risk management in Chinese manufacturing firms. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 18(6), 476-493. Fartoukh, S., De Maria, R. (2014). Database of Baseline Scenarios and Variants (No. CERN-ACC-2014-0069). Ghadge, A., Fang, X., Dani, S., Antony, J. (2016). Supply chain risk assessment approach for process quality risks. International Journal of Quality Reliability Management. Holliday, A. (2013). Validity in Qualitative Research. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Huang, E., Goetschalckx, M. (2014). Strategic robust supply chain design based on the Pareto-optimal tradeoff between efficiency and risk. European Journal of Operational Research, 237(2), 508-518. Sodhi, M. S., Son, B. G., Tang, C. S. (2012). Researchers' perspectives on supply chain risk management. Production and Operations Management, 21(1), 1-13. Wieland, A., Marcus Wallenburg, C. (2012). Dealing with supply chain risks: Linking risk management practices and strategies to performance. International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, 42(10), 887-905.