INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES
An assignment submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master’s
Degree in Project Management
Student Name
Lecture
Student No.
Course
Project Supply Chain
Assignment No.
One
Due date
13th October, 2023
SECTION A
1. Push System
In a push-based supply chain, products are pushed through the channel from production up to the
retailers. This means that production happens based on the demand forecast. Using a push system
is preferable in instances where there is a high demand for a given product, and having large
amounts of inventory in stock is beneficial for meeting consumer demand (Koo, 2020). For
example, the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is a push system, since there are no prior
WIP limitations.
Which means goods are produced under the master production schedule with no regard to the
current status. Second, a company using the push system will forecast demand and employ the
Material Requirements Planning (MRP) process to produce goods and services ahead of time.
Third, the forecast may not always be accurate and will require inventory stockpiling, but it
remains a useful strategy for products that tend to have a lot of work in progress (WIP) or long
lead times. However, the push system is more convenient for products with high importance of
economies of scale in reducing costs.
2. Pull System
In a pull-based supply chain, procurement, production, and distribution are demand-driven rather
than based on predictions. Meaning, goods are produced in the amount and time needed. Pull
systems are often preferred in situations where there is limited demand for a specific product, or
when the cost of managing excess inventory outweighs the benefit of having a surplus of product
in stock (Koo, 2020).
The implication is, the pull system is a lean manufacturing method that uses the Just-in-Time
strategy of not producing goods until an order is received as a substitute of forecasting demand.
Because pull system only produces goods and services once they needed. An example of Pull
System is the classic Kanban which has a fixed number of cards available, and this limits the WIP.
3. Revenue management for bulk and spot demands
Revenue management can be defined as the application of pricing to increase profit, which is
produced from a limited supply of supply chain assets (Viswanathan, 2020). Revenue Management
is the use of pricing to increase profit, although supply is limited in a supply chain asset. To
increase the profit margin Supply Chain Managers must utilize all the levers available, including
price. Ideologically, revenue management suggest that firstly managers should use pricing as a
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lever, then they can proceed with the increase or eliminate assets. Revenue management increases
profits by finding correct balance between bulk price and spot market selling. Prices must be set
with a barrier that the segment willing to pay higher price is not able to pay the lower price, and
the amount of the assets reserved for the higher price segment is such that it equals the lower price
segment (Christopher and Peck, 2004).
In supply chain revenue management combines data mining, operation research, with strategy
understanding customer behaviour, and coordinating with sales, selling. Revenue management
must be analytic, oriented to be capable of thinking strategically, and manage relation with selling.
Revenue in the supply chain is associated with and utilized with pricing of products which are
perishable (Viswanathan, 2020).
4. Enterprise Resource Planning
Enterprise Resource Planning refers to a type of software that is used by companies to manage
day-to-day operations and business activities, like procurement, project and risk management or
accounting. Likewise, an Enterprise Resource Planning software organises, manages and
integrates business processes through a single system (Godlewska, 2021). Meaning, it refers to a
system that helps you organise and manage all your construction project management actions from
one place. Second, the technology connects all aspects of the project from the early design stage
to the final handover or maintenance processes. As such it aids project managers implementing
their projects to make important decisions such as:

Resource tracking,

How information flow,

Automation,

Time optimisation,

Productivity levels, and

Decision-making process and involvement.
5. Agile Supply Chain
Agile supply chain management is a term used to describe a supply chain that can rapidly respond
to changes in demand, and is a type of supply chain characterized with a flexible and the ability to
make changes quickly. An agile supply chain can quickly adapt to market and customer demand
changes (DFREIGHT, 2021).
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The implication is, an agile supply chain is a supply chain that is designed to be flexible and to
respond speedily to and rapidly to changes in demand. Second, an agile supply chain is essential
in meeting customer expectations by responding rapidly to changes in customer demand. Third,
an agile approach leads to shorter lead times and less waste, which can result in considerable cost
savings. Fourth, the agile approach can also lead to improved supplier relationships. Furthermore,
an agile supply chain management are clear. Finally, an agile supply chain can help improve the
company’s competitiveness which can be achieved through the use of an agile supply chain to
respond to changes in the market quickly and to adapt to the ever-changing needs of customers
quickly.
6. Stochastic modelling
Stochastic modelling is used to estimate potential outcomes where randomness or uncertainty is
present (CFI Team, 2023). Through sanctioning for random variation in the inputs, stochastic
models are used to estimate the probability of various outcomes. Meaning, the model sanctions
financial institutions to include uncertainties in their estimates, accounting for situations where
outcomes may not be 100% known. Illustratively, a bank may be interested in analysing how a
portfolio performs during a volatile and uncertain market.
Due to the uncertainty present in a stochastic model, the results provide an estimate of the
probability of various outcomes (CFI Team, 2023). Therefore, to estimate the probability of each
outcome, one or more of the inputs must allow for random variation over time which results in an
estimation of the probability distributions with mathematical functions that prove the likelihood of
different outcomes. Second, the model provides an estimate of the probability of various returns
based on the uncertain input (e.g., market volatility).
7. Bi-level optimisation
Bi-level optimization is a framework suitable to model several real-life situations. Also Bi-level
optimization refers to two related optimization tasks, each one is assigned to a decision level (i.e.,
upper and lower levels). Abbassi et al., (2020) is of the view that, in this way the evaluation of an
upper level solution requires the evaluation of the lower level; this hierarchical decision making
necessitates the execution of a significant number of Function Evaluations (FEs). As such, when
dealing with a multi-objective optimization context, new complexities are added and imposed by
the conflicting objectives and their evaluation techniques.
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Three techniques are proposed in supply chain: (1) a complete lower level approximation Pareto
front procedure, (2) a reference-based approximation selection procedure, and (3) a sub-set
reference-based approximation selection one. The statistical analysis demonstrates the efficiency
of each algorithm according to a set of metrics (Abbassi et al., 2020). Indeed, a large number of
savings are detected which confirms the efficiency for solving combinatorial optimization
problems.
8. Non-financial measures
Non-financial measures of performance are metrics that companies use to gauge their success and
performance in specific areas, without considering financial metrics. These measurements avoid
using monetary values to denote success or failure. Instead, they focus on other business areas and
typically look at the company's future prospects. In comparison, financial measures are lagging
metrics that focus on past performance.
Although non-financial performance measures don't directly correlate with financial performance,
they're often still numerical in nature. They can either be quantitative or qualitative and these
metrics often use numbers to show an organisation's progress. One particularly crucial area for this
is employee soft skills, as they're one of the biggest contributors to a company's non-financial
success and are flexible enough to allow for various measurements.
Significance of non-financial performance measures
Financial measures tend to focus on indicators that look into past performance, making them
relatively easy to analyse (Indeed Guide, 2023). Despite this, they are said to lack context, such as
why performance fell over a certain period. However, non-financial performance measures help
add context to this analysis. More illustratively, if the marketing resources fall short in one quarter,
the next quarter might experience a drop in sales.
The other main reason why non-financial measures are crucial for businesses is that you can align
them with certain parts of a business’s strategy (Indeed Guide, 2023). For example, it’s unlikely
for an organisation to include a mission or vision statement that focuses on financial measures. As
a substitute, they tend to align with things like best branding and this might be challenging to
equate to fiscal indicators. Second, non-financial measurements, such as brand awareness figures,
are much more useful in this regard.
Non-financial can be beneficial to performance measures including:
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
Determines strengths and weaknesses: For example, certain aspects of customer service,
such as long hold times, are easier to identify by using non-financial performance
measures.

Tracks business performance: One of the main benefits of using non-financial
performance measures is that they help track business performance. If the HR team
overspends, these metrics track this issue and may highlight high staff turnover rates as the
cause.

Improves staff feedback: These measures are also a great way of guiding staff to achieve
success and align with the business’s overall strategy. By using these metrics, staff gain
the opportunity to receive feedback that tells them what targets to meet to succeed in their
roles.

Adjusts for external factors: Non-financial performance measures also consider external
risks, such as market volatility or unforeseen global events. Due to this, using these metrics
allow companies to gain a clear overview of their performance, with any external factors
included in this outlook (Indeed Guide, 2023).
9. Returns management
Returns management is the process of handling returned products, from receiving and inspecting
the item to processing a refund or exchange and are an essential aspect of any business, as it can
impact customer satisfaction and financial performance (Damini, 2023).
However, in an age of globalization, managing returns in an e-commerce environment can be more
complex than in a brick-and-mortar store. And thus, factors such as shipping costs and the return
process can play a role in the customer’s purchase decision.
Meaning, this would push companies to focus more on improving product quality, providing
detailed product information, and offering free returns to reduce return rates. Additionally,
customer feedback can be used to identify and address issues that lead to returns. The results are
that:

Returns management can have a direct impact on customer satisfaction.

Companies can well re-defined Returns Policy to ensure customers know the processes and
the timelines for returning products.

Returns can also have an impact on the environment, and includes the carbon footprint of
shipping products back and forth and the disposal or repurposing of returned products.
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10. Warehousing
Warehousing is the process of storing physical inventory for sale or distribution. Warehouses are
used by all different types of businesses that need to temporarily store products in bulk before
either shipping them to other locations or individually to end consumers (Adobe Communications
Team, 2020).
For instance, many organizations will purchase products in bulk from their suppliers, who ship
them to their warehouse for storage for project purposes. When an organization intends to use such
product for their projects, they can pick and packs the product from the warehouse and ships it
directly to the site.
Interventions across communities has driven rapid growth throughout the warehousing industry.
As such, having additional inventory available in nearby warehouses helps ensure project
managers are always able to restock their stores during high volume times like the holidays, even
if their suppliers are in other countries and are slow to produce and ship new products (Adobe
Communications Team, 2020).
SECTION B
Question Two
A cost-effective reverse logistics program connects the incoming supply of returns with the
product information and demand for repairable items or re-captured raw goods. Thus, returns
management presents both challenges and opportunities for inbound logistics. Management
regulations and non-compliance penalties are increasing. Rising commodity prices and a growing
secondary marketplace, however, create an opportunity to recover value from used and scrapped
materials (Dwyer, 2012). Three pillars support returns management processes, and these are speed,
visibility, and control.
FIRST PILLAR: SPEED
For fast and easy returns management, automate decisions about whether to generate Return
Material Authorizations (RMAs) and how to process returned material. Dwyer (2012) helps us to
understand that three tools to speed returns processing are:
i.
Automated workflows. The disposition of the return depends on data points scattered
throughout the enterprise: the item’s value and materials, repair scope and cost, return source,
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and customer service contracts. Automating workflows drives repeatable processes and
consistent routing that is efficient and measurably faster.
ii.
Labels and attachments. Automated workflows validate RMAs, and generate labels and
shipping documents. Accurately labelled shipments with required paperwork and preaddressed, carrier-compliant labels experience fewer delays and create a predictable inbound
return stream.
iii.
User profiles. Profiles simplify user maintenance and permissions. User groups share
attributes such as physical locations, payment terms, service contracts, and product return
eligibility.
SECOND PILLAR: VISIBILITY
To improve visibility and predictability, information must be captured early in the process, ideally
before the return is delivered to the receiving dock. Dwyer (2012), three of the most effective and
easy-to-implement approaches to obtaining visibility are:
i.
Web-based portals: These online tools allow authenticated users to perform tasks from
any location and time zone. Integrating Web-based portals with product data and financial
applications provides consistent and accurate information across a diverse network of
manufacturing locations, business units, and third-party service providers.
ii.
Carrier integration: Linking RMAs to carrier tracking numbers provides shipment
visibility, both within Web-based portals and through automated notifications.
iii.
Bar-coded identifiers: Accurate inbound shipment information - including parts,
condition, quantity, and dates - ensures the receiving dock and repair depot are stocked
with the labour and equipment required to handle and process returns.
THIRD PILLAR: CONTROL
According to Dwyer (2012), synchronizing material movements is a common supply chain
management challenge, especially for returns. Thus project managers should pay close attention
to receipts and reconciliation, and notify stakeholders of impending quality issues. Reconciliation
enables enterprise-wide visibility and control.
Three control touchpoints to build into the returns management process are:
i.
Regulatory compliance: Compliance touches all aspects of the reverse logistics process.
In addition to national borders and individual state regulations, shippers must follow
industry-specific regulations, such as those governing food and drug safety. To Dwyer
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(2012) workflows used to speed up the process also provide controls that minimize
corporate liability.
ii.
Reconciliation and final disposition: Labelling and enterprise data integration reconcile
RMA information with physical shipment, value, and accounting data. Combining
financial systems and exception-based reporting enables quick shipment variance
resolution and accurate credits, maintaining both external customer satisfaction and
internal financial control (Dwyer, 2012). Integrating with product engineering determines
the raw materials’ resale potential and value.
iii.
Quality assurance: Timely feedback helps project and organizational teams address root
causes of returns. Product engineering identifies quality control issues, and distribution
centres review outbound delivery accuracy. Dwyer (2012) adds that finance quantifies
financial exposure and risks, and automated communication and metrics for each team
improve quality throughout the project life cycle.
The implementation of these, support a reliable and predictable returns process to provide value
across the organization.
SECTION C
Question one
Decision phases can be defined as the different stages involved in supply chain management for
taking an action or decision related to some product or services. As such, successful supply chain
management requires decisions on the flow of information, product, and funds that fall into three
decision phases. Here we will be discussing the three main decision phases involved in the entire
process of supply chain and these are:
a) Supply Chain Strategy
In this phase, decision is taken by the management mostly. The decision to be made considers the
sections like long term prediction and involves price of goods that are very expensive if it goes
wrong. It is very important to study the market conditions at this stage. These decisions consider
the prevailing and future conditions of the market. According to the Tutorial-Point (2023) indicate
three important aspects in correlation to decisions flowing from information: first, they comprise
the structural layout of supply chain. Second, after the layout is prepared, the tasks and duties of
each is laid out. Third, all the strategic decisions are taken by the higher authority or the senior
management. These decisions include deciding manufacturing the material, factory location,
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which should be easy for transporters to load material and to dispatch at their mentioned location,
location of warehouses for storage of completed product or goods and many more.
b) Supply Chain Planning
Supply chain planning should be done according to the demand and supply view so as to appreciate
customers’ demands, and in turn a market research will be done to get information for decisionmaking. The second thing to consider is awareness and updated information about the competitors
and strategies used by them to satisfy customer’s demands and requirements. As postulated,
different markets have different demands and can be approach differently.
According to the Tutorial-Point (2023), starting from predicting the market demand to which
market will be provided the finished goods to which plant is planned in this stage, all the
participants or employees involved with the company should make efforts to make the entire
process as flexible through sufficient information. A supply chain design phase is considered
successful if it performs well in short-term decision planning.
c) Supply Chain Operations
The third and last decision phase consists of the various functional decisions that are to be made
instantly that are strategic. The objective behind this decisional phase is minimizing uncertainty
and performance optimization. Starting from handling the customer order to supplying the
customer with that product, everything is included in this phase (Tutorial-Point, 2023).
For example, a customer demanding an item manufactured by your organization. Initially, the
marketing department is responsible for taking the order and forwarding it to production
department and inventory department. The production department then responds to the customer
demand by sending the demanded item to the warehouse through a proper channel and the
distributor sends it to the customer within a time-frame. All the departments engaged in this
process need to work with an aim of improving the performance and minimizing uncertainty.
QUESTION THREE
Production units are identified mostly with their decision to make or buy. In other words, do they
wish to produce the desired product on their own or do they want to purchase it from the foreign
market. This decision is critical because the third-party suppliers especially in organizations in
countries like China, and other low-cost parts of the world hold out the promise of essential
beneficiaries, which the developed nations fail to offer.
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However, the developed country’s organization can easily overcome the expenses cost in the
imported material through activities like human resources, information technology, maintenance
and customer relations (Tutorial-Point, 2023). If properly utilized, these activities may yield profit
rather than leading an organization to suffer more loss, and all the expense of outsourcing can be
regained through these activities and thus they should not be neglected when the options are
considered. The Make Vs Buy decision of an organization depends on three pillars, and these are
as follow:
a) Business strategy
b) Risks
c) Economic factors
a) Business Strategy
The first pillar in the Make Vs Buy decision is the business strategy adopted by a nation. Business
strategy strategically engages the importance of the company whose product or service is being
considered for outsourcing, in addition to the process, technologies or skills needed to design the
product or deliver that particular service (Tutorial-Point, 2023). As such, these rudiments ought to
be carefully deliberated on, not just on the foundation of the current competitive advantage or
environment but also by anticipating the changing competitive environment in future.
b) Risks
The second pillar strategy is risks involved with any decision. The major risk factors involved in
making a product in the home country or purchasing it from foreign countries are quality,
reliability, and predictability of outsourced solutions or services (Tutorial-Point, 2023). Along with
these, there are risks inherent in the process of labelling and selecting the right supplier and
structuring a workable ongoing relationship.
For example, when we have numerous suppliers, a single failure in the supply chain may not be
deadly, and even when the suppliers are making parts of an item instead of that completely
furnished item, there will be errors in manufacturing. These errors should be identified before the
products are assembled so that the faulty item cannot be delivered to the consumer directly.
On the other hand, outsourcing opens up a broad array of new risks. We need to be attentive of
any potential pitfalls with producers and examine outsourcing partners on the basis of their
importance to the company. Second, operations in outsourcing that lead to failure of service could
be overwhelming. For example, an IT network, a payroll processing system or element
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manufacturing, as compared to risks or problems like a glitch in a training program or a long-term
product development plan, which is much lesser.
It is very important to acknowledge the risks that are related to the location of an external supplier
as this is a very important decision to make. One has to go through all the available options and
select the best one out of them before making any commitments to the supplier because
outsourcing agreements can be difficult to amend or break.
c) Economic Factors
The third pillar is the economic factors residing in the country that needs to decide if to buy a
product or make it on its own. The various economic factors comprise the effect of outsourcing on
capital expenditures, return on invested capital and return on assets, along with the probable
savings gained by outsourcing (Tutorial-Point, 2023).
Those companies that found their decision on if they need to outsource solely on approximate
calculations of the in-house as compared to the external costs related to the outsourced function,
for example, the cost of each item produced or the price of running an HR department or an IT
network instead on the total costs. The net prices that need to be taken care of comprise the layouts
for handling the outsource supplier, exclusively as the outsourced process changes. These changes
prove to be very essential.
In another example, customizing some software on a third-party information technology network
can compute a large supplement to the outsourcing deal. Tackling the customization in-house, i.e.,
within the home country, where the IT department can work closely, their work can be easily
monitored and more productively with end-users to satisfy their demands can be obtained, tend to
be less costly.
The costs that are often neglected in outsourcing manufacturing operations are as follows:

Transportation and handling charges.

Expanded, extended inventories.

Administrative bills like the supplier management and quality control rates.

Casted complexity and its effect on lean flows.

Minimal return on invested capital.

Production dependability and quality control.
Finally, we can say that for a successful outsourcing relationship, the basic factors include the
sharing of savings from productivity progress, so that both sides have an inducement to merge.
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