IOSCM (International Operations Supply Chain Management) concepts/tools to solve problems in managing international operations.
Individual Project Final Report Instructions
Note: The project report will be submitted to Turnitin to avoid plagiarism and ensure academic
integrity. The submission link will be posted under “Assignments” on the course website.
Students must check out the originality report generated by Turnitin after submitting the project
reports. Project reports with a similarity level of 30% or higher to existing sources will not be
accepted for grading. A project report that was previously submitted and graded in another class
will not be accepted for grading in this class.
The purpose of this assignment is to identify and apply IOSCM (International Operations Supply
Chain Management) concepts/tools to solve problems in managing international operations. To
this purpose, you should find an interesting IOSCM problem from the real business world and
think about how you can apply the IOSCM concepts/tools that you learned in this course to solve
the problem.
More specifically, each individual should:
• Find a problem in managing international operations supply chain from the real business
world (from your own work experience or from any business articles/cases)
• Identify specific IOSCM concepts/tools that can be applied to the problem
• Apply at least two operation supply chain concepts/tools to propose a solution to the
problem
• Analyze the expected results that may be obtained when the solution is implemented.
The table in the appendix below will serve as the grading rubric for this assignment.
The report should be 10-15 pages in length including the cover and appendices, with 1” margins
on all sides, double-spacing, and 12 point font. The cover of the report should include title,
class code and name, section number, your full name, and date of completion.
The report MUST follow the outline below:
1. Abstract (150 words maximum)
• Summarize the entire report, including problem statement, IOSCM concepts/tools that
have been applied to the problem, and expected results of the proposed solution.
2. Background information
• Clearly state whether the problem is from your own work or from business articles/cases.
If it is from business articles/cases, provide its source (title, author, name of the journal,
date published).
• Briefly introduce the company background (e.g., name, products, business size, location,
internal/external interesting facts, etc).
3. Problem Description
• Describe the problem clearly and specifically.
o You should focus on a single problem, although you can introduce several other
issues for informational purposes.
o The problem may involve either operational decision-making, process
improvement, or supply chain strategies in managing international operations and
supply chain.
• This section must include a problem statement starting with, e.g., “This paper considers
the problem of determining …”, “The main problem of the firm is how to …”, etc, either
in the beginning or at the end of the section.
4. IOSCM concepts/tools that can be applied
• Describe what specific IOSCM concepts/tools can be applied to the problem and why
they are appropriate to the problem. This section should make it clear that you understand
the concepts/tools you are about to use. Since section 5 need to apply two or more
IOSCM concepts, at least two IOSCM concepts need to be identified in this section.
5. Application of IOSCM concepts/tools
• Choose two or more IOSCM concepts/tools among the ones provided in section 4 and
apply it to propose a solution to the problem.
• This section should include your supportive evidence/calculations in details to show how
you have applied the IOSCM concept/tool(s) to develop the solution.
6. Analysis of expected results
• Analyze the expected results of the proposed solution.
• The expected results may include cost/revenue impact and/or improvement of operational
performance. You must be specific to receive full credit.
• Discuss the pros and cons of the suggested solution.
7. Conclusion
• Conclusion about the problem, IOSCM tools, analysis, and results.
• Compare what’s the difference between domestic and global operation supply chain
management in your case.
You are highly encouraged to find a problem from your own work if you work for a
multinational company, so that you may apply to your work the concepts/tools that you learned
from this course. However, if you want to find a problem from business articles/cases, you can
find one from any journals/newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes,
Harvard Business Review, and so on. Or you can surf the Internet to find an interesting
article/case.
The meaning of a problem in managing international operations will become clearer as you study
this course. As you can see in the textbook contents and course schedule, an IOSCM problem
may involve but not limited to global operations strategy, global sourcing, global supply chain
management, logistics network design for global operations, risk management in global
operations, information management for global operations, process design and improvement for
global operations, etc.
Examples of the IOSCM concepts/tools that can be applied to your problem include but not
limited to Strategic Importance and Criticality Matrix, third-party logistics, criteria for backward
vertical integration versus development of local suppliers, framework for supply chain structures,
three approaches for the orientation of facility networks, operational flexibility for minimizing