Food Chain: The Power of Lean Thinking Principles

- To analyze the case properly, you must focus on both the issues faced by and the environment surrounding the organization featured in the case.
- 1) consider and analyze the critical SCM issues facing an organization in a specific case context, and 2) apply the key principles and concepts of SCM learned during the degree program.
Instruction for this paper
General Steps to an SCM Case Analysis
Although there is no “one best way” to approach an SCM case study analysis, the following generic guidelines should be utilized in the process of analysis and recommendation development.
1. Preview the case
An effective SCM case study analysis procedure requires you to read the case scenario several times before attempting to solve it. Therefore, the first time you read through the case, he/she should only try to grasp a general idea of the overall situation of what is happening to the organization(s) and individual(s) described in the case. At this point, you should not try to identify the problem or develop specific problems, solutions, and/or recommendations – just get an overall sense of the scenario.
2. Read and study the case in detail
During subsequent readings of the case, you should strive to gain a more thorough understanding of the situation and circumstances affecting the organization(s). Then, you can identify specific facts, challenges, and opportunities that will guide him/her in developing relevant solutions or recommendations using class and text materials as rationale, justification, and support. At this stage, you should start to identify and consider major problems, sub-problems, key variables, situational constraints, resource limitations, possible alternatives, and any potential SCM tools and techniques that might be applicable.
3. Formulate the problem statement
If you have been diligent in completing the first two steps above, the problem statement will typically be a brief summary of the situation or environment faced by the case participant(s). In this step, you should not yet be overly concerned with identifying or applying specific SCM tools and techniques to address the problem. At this point, you should create a list of the major issues and challenges as the first steps in formulating a specific problem statement. This step may require you to reread relevant portions of the case scenario. Once the problem statement is adequately vetted and clearly stated, the remainder of the case analysis steps will be focused on resolving the problem as defined.
4. Consider important and relevant variables and issues
When you have developed a specific problem statement, he/she should strive to identify those variables and issues that are most relevant to the problem as identified in Step 3. It is also important to distinguish between those variables and issues that are controllable by the organization(s) and individual(s) in the case and those that are not. A controllable variable is one that can be affected or impacted by the manager(s) or organization(s) in the case, while an uncontrollable variable is one that cannot be affected or impacted by the manager(s) or organization(s). This section of the analysis should also include a brief, relevant history of the organization, an internal analysis, and an external or business environmental analysis.
5. Determine and consider strategic and organizational goals, objectives, and/or targets

All problem statements, potential alternatives, and final recommendations must be established and considered in light of the organization’s specific goals, objectives, and/or targets. For example, SCM goals and objectives are often concerned with cost minimization, quality improvement, and/or cycle time reduction and should never be considered independently from the organization’s strategic intent and overall goals and objectives.
6. Determine and consider situational constraints and resource limitations
No organization or individual has unlimited resources in terms of money, time, and effort; so your analysis of the case scenario and development of recommendations to address the problem statement must consider relevant situational constraints and resource limitations. In most case scenarios, you must consider developing appropriate solutions to immediate, short-term (< six months), moderate-term (six months to one year), and long-term (< one year) problems.
7. Determine potential alternative solutions
This key step is a brainstorming and data gathering phase that involves you to determine relevant potential alternative solutions that could potentially address the issues outlined in the problem statement he/she previously developed. Alternatives, at this stage, should only be listed and not be evaluated. The focus is on determining a variety of possible solutions on which data can be collected and applied in the next step.
8. Specify assumptions and evaluate potential alternative solutions
During this step, you should discover and specify any assumptions that apply to the case study scenario. Examples of assumptions that may be applicable to a typical SCM case might include: the nature of future demand, (i.e. growth rate, rate of demand, pattern of demand, etc.), return on investment criteria, nature of buyer-supplier relationships, time horizon, supply chain risk, and the like. You should prepare a list of the advantages, disadvantages, and costs and benefits for each potential alternative solution. Each potential alternative should be evaluated for feasibility and practicality according to a predetermined set of decision criteria. Examples of typical decision criteria might include: total cost, time to implement, level of resources needed, training needed, information technology support required, anticipated budget, etc.
9. Determine final recommendation(s)
Once the evaluation of potential alternative solutions has been completed, you should develop a final set of recommendations or solutions to address his/her problem statement. This step should include an action plan which is a detailed description of the final recommendation(s) or solution(s), accompanied by a thorough discussion of the advantages, disadvantages, and costs and benefits, the “what.” Where appropriate, you should also indicate show how the final recommendation(s) are to be implemented, i.e., the “who,” “when,” “where,” and “how.” Finally, you should provide sufficient justification (the “why”) for his/her final recommendation for the relevant decision maker in the case, using relevant course materials, models, tools, and/or techniques.
Summary of Expected Deliverables
Effective analysis of the case scenario (and a good grade) requires you to adequately address the following issues:
• Brief background and history of the organization;
• Accurate description of the specific situation and/or problem(s);
• Identification of key issues and concerns;
• Identification of several possible alternatives to address these key issues and concerns;
• Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative;
• Presentation and detailed discussion of your recommendation for a favored alternative, along with appropriate rationale (i.e., tell the instructor “Why” and support with relevant class materials, theories, models, etc.).
Additional points for you to consider in preparing and presenting an SCM case analysis.
Selectively use important information to illustrate the detailed analysis, defend a particular point of view, and/or discuss salient points.
• Avoid being merely descriptive; be analytical instead.
• Make sure the sections and subsections of the discussion flow logically and smoothly from one section to the next. Make an outline to help with this.
• Eliminate spelling and grammatical errors. As such, they make the analysis difficult to read and comprehend. Proofread it several times. Get someone else to do likewise.
• State explicitly how the strategy, alternative, or recommendation you select solves the specific problem identified.
• Clearly define what needs to be accomplished (and by whom) in order to implement each of the recommendation(s).
-The paper must be done in APA Style & Formatting.
- Please include an ABSTRACT for this paper.
- Please include a running header.